Hossein Dehghan

Hossein Dehghani Poudeh (Persian: حسین دهقانی پوده‎; born 2 March 1957) 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 2020
Minister of Defense
In office 15 August 2013 – 20 August 2017
President	Hassan Rouhani
Deputy	Amir Hatami
Preceded by	Ahmad Vahidi
Succeeded by	Amir Hatami
Vice President of Iran Head of Martyrs Foundation
In office 8 May 2004 – 17 July 2009
President	Mohammad Khatami Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
Preceded by	Position established
Succeeded by	Masoud Zaribafan
Personal details
Born	Hossein Dehghani Poudeh[1] 2 March 1957 Pudeh, Isfahan Province, Imperial State of Iran
Nationality	Iranian
Political party	Independent[2]
Alma mater	University of Tehran
Occupation	Military person
Profession	Metallurgical Engineer, University professor[1]
Awards	Order of Courage (1st class)[3]
Signature
Website	Governmental website
Military service
Allegiance	Iran
Branch/service	Revolutionary Guards
Years of service	1979–2004
Rank	Brigadier general
Unit	Aerospace Force[4]
Battles/wars	Iran-Iraq War[1] 1982 Lebanon War[1] South Lebanon conflict[1]

Early life and education

Dehghan was born in a village near Shahreza, called Pudeh, Dehaqan County, Isfahan province, in 1957.[1][5][6] He received a PhD in management from the University of Tehran.[7][8]

Career and activities

Dehghan served as a commander in the Iranian Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) and in its air force.[9][10] He left his hometown for Tehran and joined the IRGC shortly after the Iranian revolution in 1979.[5] His posts at the IRGC include commander of IRGC of Tehran (1980-1982), Isfahan, and Syria and Lebanon (1982-1983),[5] and general manager of the IRGC's Cooperatives Foundation (1996).[11][12]

During the Iran-Iraq war, he was among leading and decision-making commanders of the IRGC along with Mohsen Rezaee, Rahim Safavi and Ali Shamkhani.[13] In Syria and Lebanon he was the commander of the training corps of the IRGC.[5] He was named the IRGC's air force deputy commander in 1986 and became its commander in April 1990.[14] His tenure lasted until 1992 and he was replaced by Mohammad Hossein Jalali in the post.[14] Dehghan was named deputy chief of the IRGC Joint Staff in 1992.[11] He later was promoted to the rank of brigadier general.[11]

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.[11][15][16] In 2003, he held the post of acting defense minister.[17] 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.[4][11][12][18] In addition, he served as an advisor to the former President Mahmoud Ahmedinejad.[12][19] From 2009 to 2010 he was the deputy to Ali Shamkhani in the Armed Forces Strategic Studies Center.[11] Then he was appointed secretary of the Expediency Council's political, defense and security committee in 2010.[9] He also served as an advisor to Speaker of Parliament Ali Larijani and Tehran Mayor Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf.[11] However, Dehghan distanced himself from Ahmedinejad in 2012 and joined Moderation and Development Party led by Hassan Rouhani.[11]

He was nominated to head the defense ministry on 4 August 2013.[20] He was approved by the Majlis and replaced Ahmad Vahidi in the post. Dehghan received 269 votes in favor and 10 votes against.[21] Former Oil Minister Rostam Qasemi was named as Dehghan's advisor on 22 August.[22] On 1 August 2017, Dehghan announced that he will leave defence ministry after the end of the first Rouhani government. He currently serves as an advisor to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.[23]

He has announced he will be running in the 2021 Iranian presidential election.[24]

References

1. Biography of Hossein Dehghan Archived 26 December 2013 at the Wayback Machine, Iranian government official website
2. Political affiliation of Rouhani Cabinet members, Mehr News Agency
3. "Iran's FM, nuclear chief, DM receive medals for role in nuclear deal". Iranian Students' News Agency. 8 February 2016. Archived from the original on 31 May 2016. Retrieved 15 April 2016.
4. Biography of Hossein Dehghan Hamshahri
5. 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.
6. "Who is Hossein Dehghan, Hassan Rouhani's choice for defense minister". NCRI. 13 August 2013. Retrieved 13 August 2013.
7. "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.
8. "Key figures in Iran's new government". Bloomberg. 15 August 2013. Retrieved 15 August 2013.
9. "Former IRGCAF commander: I'm Rouhani's choice for DM". Iran Daily Brief. 1 August 2013. Retrieved 5 August 2013.
10. Karimi, Nasser (4 August 2013). "Hasan Rouhani, Iran's new president, calls for 'lessening of hostilities'". MSNBC. Tehran. AP. Retrieved 5 August 2013.
11. Will Fulton (7 August 2013). "Rouhani's Cautious Pick For Defense Minister". Al Monitor. Retrieved 11 August 2013.
12. 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. Rand Corporation. p. 59. ISBN 978-0-8330-4680-2. Retrieved 5 August 2013.
13. "The Islamic Republic's 13 generals". Iran Briefing. 3 February 2011. Retrieved 13 August 2013.
14. Cordesman, Anthony H. (September 1994). "Iran's Military Forces: 1988-1993" (PDF). Center for Strategic and International Studies. Retrieved 17 February 2013.
15. "Russian Deputy Defense Minister arrives in Iran". Albawaba. 24 June 2002. Retrieved 5 August 2013.
16. "Rouhani's proposed cabinet line-up". Iran Daily. 6 August 2013. Retrieved 16 August 2013.
17. "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.
18. Appointment of Hossein Dehghan as Vice President of Iran by Mohammad Khatami Hamshahri
19. 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.
20. Soraya Lennie (4 August 2013). "Iran's revival of the moderates". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 5 August 2013.
21. "Iranian Parliament Gives Vote of Confidence to Majority of Rouhani's Proposed Ministers". Fars News. 15 August 2013. Retrieved 15 August 2013.
22. "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.
23. 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.
24. https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/iransource/hossein-dehghan-and-other-military-vets-vie-for-irans-presidency/

External links