Iran's Khamenei appoints Abdollahi as new armed forces chief of staff

TEHRAN, Iran — Iran's Supreme Leader and Armed Forces Commander-in-Chief Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has appointed Revolutionary Guards Corps Major General Ali Abdollahi as the new Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces, state media reported. The decree was issued on Monday. Abdollahi replaces Major General Abdolrahim Mousavi, who was killed in an Israeli and U.S. attack. The appointment formalizes a change at the top of Iran's military command structure. In the decree, Khamenei ordered the armed forces and the Basij paramilitary to strengthen their defense and security capabilities and to bolster preparations against various military threats. He also directed that the merger of the General Staff headquarters with the Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters be completed in line with previously issued directives. No further details on the transition were immediately available.