Former IRGC commander Alireza Afshar dies from heart complications

Alireza Afshar, a senior figure in Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and former commander of the Basij Resistance Force, has passed away due to heart complications, Iranian state media reported.

Born in 1951 in Mashhad, Afshar graduated from Alavi School in his hometown and later earned a degree in mechanical engineering from Sharif University of Technology.

Prior to the 1979 Islamic Revolution, he was detained by the Shah’s security forces (SAVAK) for his political activism and spent four months in prison. After the revolution, he was among the students supporting Ayatollah Khomeini and participated in the takeover of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran.

Afshar held numerous key positions during and after the Iran-Iraq War, including deputy and chief of the IRGC’s central staff, spokesperson for the corps, and commander of the Basij from 1989 to 1997.

Between 1997 and 2000, he served as president of Imam Hossein University. His career also included senior roles in the General Staff of the Armed Forces, the Foundation for the Preservation and Publication of Sacred Defence Values, and the Ministry of Interior.

By Aghakazim Guliyev