Hassan Firouzabadi, Iran’s former armed forces chief of staff, dies aged 70

According to Fars news agency, he died after contracting COVID-19.

Firouzabadi served as the chief of staff of the Iranian Armed Forces from 1989 to 2016.

Since then, he had been appointed as a senior military adviser to Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei.

He also served as a member of Iran’s Expediency Council, a legislative body tasked with settling disputes between the administrative government and the parliament in Iran, among other things.

Major General Mohammad Baqeri, the current chief of staff of the Iranian Armed Forces, expressed his grief over Firouzabadi’s demise.

In a message on Friday morning, Baqeri said the late commander’s invaluable and sincere services with the aim of safeguarding the country’s national security and protecting the Islamic Republic of Iran will be undoubtedly remembered.

Major General Hossein Salami, commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC), also said General Firouzabadi’s sincere and wise efforts during Iraq’s imposed war on Iran in the 1980s and the years he served as the chief of staff of the Iranian Armed Forces will pave the way for the proud Iranian Armed Forces.

Baqeri and Salami expressed their condolences to Ayatollah Khamenei, the late general’s bereaved family and the commanders and personnel of the Iranian Armed forces, and wished them patience to overcome his absence.