Iran on Monday said it had replaced the commander of its army air defense force, state media reported, months after a punishing June war with Israel that drew widespread criticism of the Islamic Republic's air defense capabilities.
Iran appointed Brigadier General Alireza Elhami as commander of the army’s Air Defense Force, according to state media.
Elhami, who served as the force’s deputy commander since 2019, previously led the Air Defense University and held the post of deputy operations commander at the Khatam al-Anbia Air Defense Headquarters.
He replaces Brigadier General Alireza Sabahi-Fard, who had been in charge of the Air Defense Force until the latest appointment. State media did not say why the change was made.
In February this year, then Chief of Staff of Iran’s Armed Forces Brigadier General Mohammad Bagheri, with the approval of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, appointed Sabahi-Fard to head the Khatam al-Anbiya Air Defense Base headquarters while he retained his role as the army’s air defense commander.
Bagheri was among around 20 senior Iranian military commanders killed in Israeli strikes during the 12-day war in June.
Israel said the strikes crippled much of Iran’s air defense network and damaged a significant portion of its ballistic missile arsenal.
According to Israeli military officials 120 air defense systems were destroyed or disabled since the first wave of attacks—around a third of Iran’s pre-war total. Long-range systems, including Russian-supplied S-300s and Iran’s Bavar-373 batteries, were among those targeted.
Iranian officialdom also acknowledged that some of its air defense systems were damaged but has said they were quickly replaced.
Before the war, Sabahi-Fard had repeatedly spoken of Iran’s air defense capabilities, saying the force was able to counter advanced fighter jets and monitor hostile aircraft from long distances.
In April this year, he described Iran as a “superior regional power” and praised the “significant improvement in the security of the country’s airspace” and the monitoring of “every enemy stealth aircraft from many miles away.”
