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Aziz Nasirzadeh
Iranian general (born 1965) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Aziz Nasirzadeh (Persian: عزیز نصیرزاده; born 1964) is an Iranian military officer and the Iranian Minister of Defense in Government of Masoud Pezeshkian since August 2024. He was Deputy of Chief of Staff for the Iranian Armed Forces from September 2021 to 2024, and the commander of the Iranian Air Force (IRIAF) from August 2018 to September 2021.[1] A veteran of the Iran-Iraq War, he graduated as a certified F-14 pilot, but never saw any combat.[2][3][4]
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Following June 2025 Israeli strikes on Iran, several opposition and foreign media outlets claimed that Nasirzadeh had been assassinated in the attacks targeting the Iranian Ministry of Defence headquarters in Tehran. However, pro-government journalist Dara Nassari said that "Amir Nasirzadeh is in full health and continues to serve the honorable people of Iran."[5][6]
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Military career
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Nasirzadeh began his military career as an F-14 Tomcat fighter pilot at the end of the Iran-Iraq War, though he never saw any combat. Over the years, he served in key positions in the Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force such as chief of staff and acting commander before his appointment as full commander in 2018 to 2021.[7]
From September 2021 to 2024 Nasirzadeh was appointed Deputy Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran, a position that reflects significant strategic responsibility across Iran’s entire military establishment.[8][9] In August 2024 he was appointed the Iranian Minister of Defense.
Nasirzadeh is involved in national-level security planning, including chairing Iran’s National Organization for Passive Defense, responsible for safeguarding Iran’s critical civilian, military, and nuclear infrastructure from potential U.S. or Israeli strikes. His international security engagements include defense cooperation with Armenia and joint military exercises with Azerbaijan, aimed at countering Israeli, Turkish, and Western influence in the South Caucasus.[10]
Following June 2025 Israeli strikes on Iran, several opposition and foreign media outlets claimed that Nasirzadeh had been assassinated in the attacks targeting the Iranian Ministry of Defence headquarters in Tehran. However, pro-government journalist Dara Nassari said that "Amir Nasirzadeh is in full health and continues to serve the honorable people of Iran."[11][12]
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Israel
Nasirzadeh supports the ideology of "Resistance", stating it is a deep-rooted belief system rather than a mere tactic. In 2024, he said that “Resistance will defeat Israel as it did in 2006”.[13] In a public statement, he warned that “any malicious action by the Zionist regime will result in its own destruction”, assuring that Iran is prepared to face any scenario. In August 2023, he said "Our current and next generations are impatiently and wholeheartedly waiting to fight the Zionist regime and wipe it off the Earth".[14]
United States
In June 2025, referring to a possible failure in the 2025 United States–Iran negotiations, Nasirzadeh stated, "If a conflict is imposed on us... all US bases are within our reach, and we will boldly target them in host countries."[15]
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References
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