Number two of the Revolutionary Guards for nine years, Hossein Salami was appointed as their head in 2019, at a time when the Iranian government was undertaking significant changes in the leadership of the organization. (Credit: Atta Kenare/AFP)
The head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), Hossein Salami, was one of the most powerful men in Iran. He was assassinated in part of Israel's country-wide attacks against Iran in the early hours of Friday morning, targeted in one of the strikes that hit Tehran.
He was known for his diatribes against Israel and the West. "If you make the slightest mistake, we will open the gates of hell for you," he said last month, warning against an Israeli or U.S. attack.
Born in 1960 in central Iran, Salami was a familiar face on state television, giving fiery speeches, echoing the rhetoric common among Iranian officials against the country's long-time enemy in the region, Israel.
According to Iranian media, Salami was the one to order Iranian forces to launch the mid-April ballistic missile and drone operation against Israel in retaliation for Israel bombing of the Iranian embassy in Damascus. It was Iran's the first such attack against its archnemisis.
In 2018, Salami warned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that he should "train to swim in the Mediterranean Sea" because he might be forced to flee his country.
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Engaged in the Iran-Iraq War
Salami joined the IRGC as a fighter during the bloody Iran-Iraq War (1980-1988). Nearly forty years later, Salami — who had also at one point led the Guards' aviation unit, — was appointed as the secretive armed wing's commander in 2019 by Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei after serving as deputy commander for nine years previous. He was 65 at the time of his death.
The appointment followed U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision during his first term in the White House to withdraw from the international nuclear deal with Iran and restore crippling sanctions on the country, which included sanctions against Salami personally. It also followed Trump’s designation of the Guard as a terrorist organization.
Salami became IRGC commander at a time when the Iranian government was undertaking significant changes in its leadership. This strategic role meant Salami could join the Supreme National Security Council, led by reformist President Massoud Pezeshkian. The function of this body is to report directly to the supreme leader on military, security and foreign policy issues.
Created in 1979 shortly after the Islamic Revolution, the IRGC has approximately 125,000 members who fall under Khamenei's direct authority, according to the International Institute for Strategic Studies. No official figures are available on their forces. Unlike the national army, their primary role is not to ensure the protection of Iranian territory but that of "the Revolution and its achievements," as stipulated in their constitution.