TEHRAN, AUG 10: Iranian supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei named Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) general Ali Abdollahi head of the country’s armed forces on Monday, while also confirming a new commander of the IRGC, putting his imprimatur on the country’s military.

Abdollahi had previously led the Khatam al-Anbiya, Iran’s inter-branch central military command tasked with coordinating operations.

A statement on Khamenei’s website announced that “Major General Ali Abdollahi has been appointed chief of staff of the armed forces. Brigadier General Ahmad Vahidi has also been appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps with the rank of major general.”

The pair represent Khamenei’s first senior military appointments since being named supreme leader early in the Middle East war after the death of his father in US-Israeli strikes.

Abdollahi has issued bellicose threats over the course of the war, warning regional neighbours earlier this month that “any country serving as a defensive shield for criminal and aggressive America will be engulfed by the flames of war.”