Major General Hossein Salami, who oversaw Iran’s most powerful military branch and answered directly to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was one of the country’s most influential figures as the covert Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) leader.
According to a US sanctions docket, Salami was born in 1960 and has been in charge of the IRGC since 2019. In this role, he oversaw one of the Iranian state’s most potent instruments, which has been crucial in stifling domestic opposition and demonstrating Iran’s might internationally.
According to analysts, the IRGC supports and finances an extensive network of militias in the area, which it exploits to attack American and other military forces in the Middle East.
The Houthis in Yemen are also thought to get supplies and assistance from the IRGC, which allows them to attack international ships in the Red Sea and target Israel with drones and missiles.
When Iran launched hundreds of drones and missiles at Israel between April and October of last year—the first direct attacks by Iran on Israeli territory—Salami was leading the IRGC. Salami was shown examining what the Iranian state media claimed was an underground military base involved in the assaults in footage made public in January.
Salami, sporting a short beard and a green military outfit, strolled the Israeli and American flags on the ground and accepted the salute of the soldiers within the vast underground installation.
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