Executive Summary
The outbreak of the “12-Day War” on June 13th, 2025, which was triggered by Israeli airstrikes targeting key Iranian nuclear and military facilities, resulted in the assassination of IRGC Commander Hossein Salami. Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei appointed Major General Mohammad Pakpour as the new Commander-in-Chief of the Revolutionary Guard.
His response to U.S. strikes on nuclear facilities meant missile attacks on U.S. assets in the Gulf, suspension of IAEA inspections, and intent to unify Iran’s security apparatus. Regional proxy operations and asymmetric strategies can potentially intensify. While Pakpour holds a very strong institutional control, some factional tensions, particularly from the hardline IRGC nucleus, could challenge internal unity.
Backed directly by the Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, and holding authority across military, economic, and political areas, Pakpour is now among the most powerful figures in Iran.
Images Sourced From: Ninara, Hossein Zohrevand
Background
Born in 1961 in Urmia, West Azerbaijan Province, Mohammad Pakpour joined the IRGC during the early years of the Iran–Iraq War. He gained frontline combat experience and quickly rose through the ranks. Over the decades, he established himself as an important battlefield commander and strategist, contributing to IRGC operations in Kurdistan, Khuzestan, and eventually Syria and Iraq. From 2010 to 2024, he served as Commander of the IRGC Ground Forces. He was appointed to oversee both conventional deployments and expeditionary missions, including the integration of Quds Force operations in the Levant. [source, source]
Pakpour also directed major infrastructure projects through Khatam al-Anbia, the IRGC’s economic and engineering branch, expanding his influence into civilian governance and resource allocation.
About his academic life, he holds a PhD in political geography. He is well-known for articulating the IRGC’s doctrine of defense and internal stability. Trusted by the Supreme Leader and well connected to clerical elites, Pakpour’s mix of combat leadership, economic oversight, and ideological alignment makes him an undeniable successor to Hossein Salami. [source]