Hossein Dehghan

Hossein Dehghani Poudeh (Persian: حسین دهقانی پوده; born 2 March 1957), commonly known as Hossein Dehghan, is a former IRGC air force officer with the rank of brigadier general and the former minister of defense of Iran. He was designated for the position by President Hassan Rouhani on 4 August 2013 and confirmed by the parliament on 15 August.[1] He left the office on 20 August 2017.

Sardar

Hossein Dehghan
Dehghan in 2021
AllegianceIran
Service/branchRevolutionary Guards
Years of service1979–2004; 2013–2017
RankBrigadier general
Commands heldAir Force
Battles/warsIran–Iraq War
1982 Lebanon War
South Lebanon conflict
Awards Order of Courage (1st class)
Minister of Defence
In office
15 August 2013 – 20 August 2017
PresidentHassan Rouhani
DeputyAmir Hatami
Preceded byAhmad Vahidi
Succeeded byAmir Hatami
Vice President of Iran
Head of Martyrs Foundation
In office
8 May 2004 – 17 July 2009
PresidentMohammad Khatami
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
Preceded byPosition established
Succeeded byMasoud Zaribafan
Personal details
Born
Hossein Dehghani Poudeh

(1957-03-02) 2 March 1957
Pudeh, Isfahan Province, Imperial State of Iran
Alma materUniversity of Tehran

Early life and education

Dehghani was born in a village near Shahreza, called Pudeh, Dehaqan County, Isfahan province, in 1957.[1][2][3] He received a PhD in management from the University of Tehran.[4][5]

Career and activities

Dehghani served as a commander in the Iranian Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) and in its air force.[6][7] He left his hometown for Tehran and joined the IRGC shortly after the Iranian revolution in 1979.[2] His posts at the IRGC include commander of IRGC of Tehran (1980-1982), Isfahan, and Syria and Lebanon (1982-1983),[2] and general manager of the IRGC's Cooperatives Foundation (1996).[8][9]

During the Iran-Iraq war, he was among the leading and decision-making commanders of the IRGC along with Mohsen Rezaee, Rahim Safavi and Ali Shamkhani.[10] In Syria and Lebanon he was the commander of the training corps of the IRGC.[2] He was named the IRGC's air force deputy commander in 1986 and became its commander in April 1990.[11] His tenure lasted until 1992. He was replaced by Mohammad Hossein Jalali in the post.[11] Dehghani was named deputy chief of the IRGC Joint Staff in 1992.[8] He later was promoted to the rank of brigadier general.[8]

Dehghan with Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoygu, 16 February 2016

Next he served as deputy to the then defense minister, Ali Shamkhani, during the presidency of Mohammad Khatami from 1997 to 2003.[8][12][13] In 2003, he held the post of acting defense minister.[14] He was made Vice President of Iran and head of the martyrs foundation, "Bonyad Shahid", in 2005 and served as its president until July 2009.[15][8][9][16] In addition, he served as an advisor to the former President Mahmoud Ahmedinejad.[9][17] From 2009 to 2010 he was the deputy to Ali Shamkhani in the Armed Forces Strategic Studies Center.[8] Then he was appointed secretary of the Expediency Council's political, defense and security committee in 2010.[6] He also served as an advisor to Speaker of Parliament Ali Larijani and Tehran Mayor Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf.[8] However, Dehghani distanced himself from Ahmedinejad in 2012 and joined Moderation and Development Party led by Hassan Rouhani.[8]

He was nominated to head the defense ministry on 4 August 2013.[18] He was approved by the Majlis and replaced Ahmad Vahidi in the post. Dehghani received 269 votes in favor and 10 votes against.[19] Former Oil Minister Rostam Qasemi was named as Dehghani's advisor on 22 August.[20] On 1 August 2017, Dehghani announced that he would leave the defense ministry after the end of the first Rouhani government. He currently serves as an advisor to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.[21]

He has announced that he will be running in the 2021 Iranian presidential election.[22]

Sanctions

In November 2019, Deghgan was among many Iranian officials placed under the sanctions list by the United States Department of State due to his involvement as an IRGC commander in the 1983 Beirut barracks bombings which alleged Hezbollah militants killed 241 American soldiers.[23]

References
  1. Biography of Hossein Dehghani Archived 26 December 2013 at the Wayback Machine, Iranian government official website
  2. Shapira, Shimon (11 August 2013). "Iran's New Defense Minister: Behind the 1983 Attack on the U.S. Marine Corps Barracks in Beirut". Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs. Retrieved 13 August 2013.
  3. "Who is Hossein Dehghani, Hassan Rouhani's choice for defense minister". NCRI. 13 August 2013. Retrieved 13 August 2013.
  4. "President Hassan Rouhani's pragmatic conservative, security-intelligence-oriented Cabinet nominations". Iran Politik. 6 August 2013. Archived from the original on 21 October 2018. Retrieved 13 August 2013.
  5. "Key figures in Iran's new government". Bloomberg. 15 August 2013. Archived from the original on 15 August 2013. Retrieved 15 August 2013.
  6. "Former IRGCAF commander: I'm Rouhani's choice for DM". Iran Daily Brief. 1 August 2013. Retrieved 5 August 2013.
  7. Karimi, Nasser (4 August 2013). "Hasan Rouhani, Iran's new president, calls for 'lessening of hostilities'". MSNBC. Tehran. AP. Retrieved 5 August 2013.
  8. Will Fulton (7 August 2013). "Rouhani's Cautious Pick For Defense Minister". Al Monitor. Retrieved 11 August 2013.
  9. Frederic Wehrey; Jerrold D Green; Brian Nichiporuk; Alireza Nader; Lydia Hansell (31 December 2008). The Rise of the Pasdaran: Assessing the Domestic Roles of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (PDF). Rand Corporation. p. 59. ISBN 978-0-8330-4680-2. Archived from the original on 6 August 2013. Retrieved 5 August 2013.
  10. "The Islamic Republic's 13 generals". Iran Briefing. 3 February 2011. Retrieved 13 August 2013.
  11. Cordesman, Anthony H. (September 1994). "Iran's Military Forces: 1988-1993" (PDF). Center for Strategic and International Studies. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 October 2013. Retrieved 17 February 2013.
  12. "Russian Deputy Defense Minister arrives in Iran". Albawaba. 24 June 2002. Retrieved 5 August 2013.
  13. "Rouhani's proposed cabinet line-up". Iran Daily. 6 August 2013. Retrieved 16 August 2013.
  14. "Iran Military to Upgrade Its Shahab-3 Missiles". Arab News. Tehran. Reuters. 16 December 2003. Archived from the original on 5 August 2013. Retrieved 5 August 2013.
  15. Biography of Hossein Dehghan Hamshahri
  16. Appointment of Hossein Dehghan as Vice President of Iran by Mohammad Khatami Hamshahri
  17. Frederic Wehrey; Jerrold D. Green; Brian Nichiporuk; Alireza Nader; Lydia Hansell; Rasool Nafisi; S. R. Bohandy (2009). "The Rise of the Pasdaran" (PDF). RAND Corporation. Retrieved 20 August 2013.
  18. Soraya Lennie (4 August 2013). "Iran's revival of the moderates". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 5 August 2013.
  19. "Iranian Parliament Gives Vote of Confidence to Majority of Rouhani's Proposed Ministers". Fars News. 15 August 2013. Retrieved 15 August 2013.
  20. "Ex-Iranian Oil Minister Qasemi appointed advisor to Defense Minister". ILNA. 22 August 2013. Archived from the original on 16 October 2013. Retrieved 13 September 2013.
  21. Dehghanpisheh, Babak (5 February 2018). Hepinstall, Sonya (ed.). "Islamic State threatens Iran from "Tora Bora" borderlands". Reuters. Hossein Dehghan, a former defence minister and now an adviser to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said in a recent interview with the semi-official Tasnim news agency.
  22. "Hossein Dehghan and other military vets vie for Iran's presidency". 7 October 2020.
  23. "Treasury Designates Supreme Leader of Iran's Inner Circle Responsible for Advancing Regime's Domestic and Foreign Oppression".
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