Yahya Safavi

Yahya "Rahim" Safavi (, born 1952) is an Iranian military commander who served as the chief commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Currently, Safavi is serving as a senior military advisor to the leader of the Islamic revolution. Additionally, he has assumed the role of head of Defense and Security Commission within the Strategic Council on Foreign Relations.

Early life Safavi was born in 1952 in the Village of Homam, Lenjan County, Isfahan province,

In 1969, while he was completing his final year of high school, his mother died of cancer and was buried at Takht-e Foulad Cemetery in Isfahan. After receiving his high school diploma, Safavi took the national university entrance examination. Upon passing, he enrolled in 1971 in the Bachelor's program in Geology at the University of Tabriz.

From the beginning of the 1970s, he became involved in clandestine activities against the Pahlavi regime. To avoid being identified by SAVAK (the Shah's intelligence and security service), he adopted the alias "Rahim."

According to Safavi, the greatest challenge he faced as a student in Tabriz was not knowing the Azerbaijani language and not having access to student housing. He recalled:

Safavi received his Bachelor's degree in Geology in 1975. That same year, he began his compulsory military service, spending most of it at the Shiraz Infantry Training Center and with the 55th Airborne Brigade.

He recalled:

During his time as a student at the University of Tabriz Safavi, together with a number of other students, helped establish student organizations. He also participated in several demonstrations against the Pahlavi regime in the city of Tabriz. During one of these protests, he was shot in the leg and wounded.

In his book, Oral History: The Narrative of Seyyed Yahya Safavi, he describes the incident as follows:

During the height of the Iranian Revolution, Safavi was active in the city of Isfahan. In the early days of the revolution, he worked alongside Ali Sayad Shirazi to organize revolutionary forces in Isfahan.

In 1995, Rahim Safavi earned a Master's degree in Political Geography from Imam Hossein University. He later received a Ph.D. in Political geography from Tarbiat Modares University in 2001.

He has served as a professor of Political Geography at Kharazmi University, Shahid Beheshti University, the University of Tehran, and Tarbiat Modares University.

Career Safavi was one of the leaders of the Iran–Iraq War.

Safavi served as Commander of the IRGC Grund Forces from 1985 to 1986 and again from 1988 to 1989.

He served as the deputy commander of Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps from 1989 until 1997 when he was appointed its commander, replacing Mohsen Rezaee in 1997.

During the US-led invasion of Afghanistan, he played a key role in the uprising in Herat in November 2001, where American, Iranian and Northern Alliance troops supported a local uprising against the Taliban.

He was replaced as commander of the IRGC by Mohammad Ali Jafari, former director of the Strategic Studies Center of the IRGC on 1 September 2007. Then he was appointed by the Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei as his special military advisor.

Political views Safavi is a leading advocate of the Axis of Resistance, which includes Hezbollah, Hamas, and Iran-backed militias in Iraq, Syria, and Yemen. He argued that this network has already dealt strategic blows to Israel and has the potential to reshape the region's geopolitical future. According to Safavi, Israel has been "defeated by the Resistance," and he emphasizes that the liberation of Palestine will only be achieved through persistent armed struggle.

On Apr 7, 2024, Safavi opined that Hamas is an idea and an ideal that cannot be destroyed. During his speech at the 6th International Conference of Solidarity with Palestinian Youth, Safavi praised Hamas’s October 7 attacks on Israel, describing it as a "glorious" operation.

Asset freeze On 24 December 2006, Rahim Safavi was included on a list of Iranian individuals and organizations sanctioned by the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1737 due to their alleged involvement in the Iranian nuclear and ballistic missile programmes.

Controversy regarding family members

On 18 February, it was reported that Australia had granted permanent residency and health qualifications to Hanieh Safavi, Yahya Rahim Safavi's, drawing criticism from members of the Iranian diaspora and opposition lawmakers.