Hossein Salami was appointed as the new commander in chief of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps by order of the leader of the Islamic Republic, Ali Khamenei. Salami is succeeding Mohammad Ali Jafari who held this position for ten years.

The leader of the Islamic Republic thanked Jafari for his services and appointed him as the chairman of IRGC’s Baqiyatallah Institute.

This appointment comes one week after the designation of IRGC as a terrorist organization by the United States.

Mohammad Ali Jafari was listed among the 500 influential people in the world in 2013.

There were no previous indications or sign of the possible change in the leadership of IRGC.

Hossein Salami is known for his more aggressive views on domestic and foreign policy. He had recently emphasized on increasing the IRGC missile power and said: “The Islamic Republic’s missile power is unstoppable and uncontrollable, and if the Europeans try to conspire to take away our missile power, we will be forced to take a strategic leap.”

He has said that during the economic sanctions Iran’s defense power has increased and warned the other countries in the region that if they continue their policies, they will face Iran’s revenge: “If you cross our red lines, we will definitely cross yours.”