Khamenei has replaced Admiral Hossein Khanzadi Commander-in-Chief of the Iranian navy with Admiral Shahram Irani. IRNA news agency has simply reported the replacement giving no reason for the change; that is worth considering! It has not been mentioned what would be the admiral Hossein Khanzadi’s next assignment. Assuming Khamenei has not been angered with Khanzadi’s performance, his next assignment so far is unclear.
If one looks at the perennial appointments of Navy commanders, after the appointment of a new commander, the former has been assigned more important positions to make use of their managerial experience. It should be noted that Hossein Khanzadi has been in command for a very short period, since 2016, compared with his predecessor Admiral Habibullah Sayyari, who served for ten years. Then Sayyari was appointed chief deputy coordinator for Iran armed forces and currently remains in that office. It is worth mentioning that Admiral Sayyari has always been threatened by IRGC commanders because they have failed to reap his managerial powers. For example, after the arrival of the coronavirus in Iran, Admiral Sayyari was able to protect the Iranian Army’s military personnel and barracks from corona infection, so as not to diminish the military’s efficiency and readiness. Previous Commander-in-Chiefs have also risen to higher positions. Admiral Abbas Mohtaj is currently the governor of Qom county, and Admiral Ali Shamkhani is the Secretary of the Country’s Supreme Security Organization.
Khamenei noted in the new appointment that it is time to make a difference in the Navy! What development is of interest to Khamenei is also worth considering. We have previously noted that after the Islamic Revolution in Iran and with the formation of three new forces for the IRGC, land, sea and air defense, a very high percentage of the army’s budget has been allocated and spent on creating and developing these unusual parallel forces. Therefore, keeping up to date military equipment has been the victim of wrong decisions of the Islamic Republic regime; in fact one may say the Iranian armed forces has been sacrificed for the sake of creating IRGC. As a result of Khomeini’s unwise move to create the IRGC and corruption for more than 40 years, the army’s land, air and naval forces have suffered and faced unprecedented shortages of funds to keep military up to date. However, army personnel have been able to maintain their efficiency and readiness as much as possible in defense of the country and to protect the personnel from the superstitions of the revolutionary ideology.
It should be noted that during the period of Hossein Khanzadi’s command, due to lack of funds to maintain military equipment to high standard, home produced Iran’s defense industry product has been replacing the advanced naval equipment. Therefore, the Iranian navy has faced many problems. IRIS Damavand which was constructed by the maritime defense industry in Bandar Anzali, was collided with Anzali Breakwater and drowned due to the inefficiency of personnel to save it. In 2018, with the installation of the defense industry missile launcher and harpoon-reverse-engineered missile on Jamaran destroyer, in a naval exercise off the coast of Mokran, due to a guided missile system mal-function, the missile hit, destroyed, and sank IRIS Konarak, which was carrying the target, a tragic incident. Several marines were killed. In addition, last year, the navy’s largest ship, a multi logistics ship, Kharg, when its mission has been converted to a training ship, exploded, and sank of the coast of Mokran. All of this has come about due to the rush in reverse engineering and not giving it sufficient time for training and testing. These incidents may have been out of the control of Admiral Hossein Khanzadi!
Currently, the IRIS Sahand constructed by the Maritime Defense Industries and the Bandar-Mokran, which has been converted from a commercial vessel to a helicopter carrier, are sailing outside Iranian territorial waters and participated in a Russian naval exercise in the Black Sea. It can be speculated that participation in this exercise by IRIS ships that are not comparable to the Russian Navy in terms of up-to-date equipment has most likely embarrassed Admiral Khanzadi. Like all other Navy commanders, Admiral Khanzadi understands the equipment installed on IRIS ships are incomparable with the progress in the past several years and should not have been participating in such unequal naval exercise. In addition, Admiral Khanzadi was invited to observe the exercise. I can surmise him by observing the incomparable participation and embarrassment of personnel admiral Khamenei has asked to be removed. It must be acknowledged that it is intolerable for the commander of the naval force to witness such foolish revolutionary acts. Khamenei may have been expecting lies and slogans from him, which Admiral Khanzadi could not and have not complied with.
IRNA news agency has also noted Admiral Shahram Irani’s credential: he has been born in Sanandaj in 1967 and took elementary and secondary education in Sarpol-e Zahab. In 1985, he entered Noshahr Naval Sciences University (Naval Cadet College) and graduated as line officer. During his currier in the Navy, he has held various positions and command.
Admiral Irani has the necessary training and experience to take on command of the Iran Navy. The Iranian Navy personnel congratulates his appointment and expects him to fulfill his duties according to Iranian Navy traditions, as has been done by the former Navy Commander-in-Chiefs.
Commander Mohammad Farsi
9 August 2021
