IRGC Commander Pakpour
IRGC Commander-in-Chief killed in the opening US-Israeli strikes on 28 February 2026. Had commanded IRGC Ground Forces for 15 years; appointed overall IRGC chief in June 2025 after his predecessor died in the Twelve-Day War.
Last refreshed: 31 March 2026 · Appears in 1 active topic
Iran's top general was dead within hours of the first strike: who has been running its ground forces since?
Timeline for IRGC Commander Pakpour
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Iran Conflict 2026Who was Mohammad Pakpour?
When was Pakpour confirmed killed in the Iran war?
How long was Pakpour in charge of IRGC Ground Forces?
Background
Major General Mohammad Pakpour was killed in the opening strikes of the Iran conflict on 28 February 2026, together with Defence Minister Nasirzadeh and other senior IRGC figures. Iranian state television and Al Jazeera confirmed the deaths; a Hengaw monitor report on 5 March provided further detail on Pakpour specifically. He had been appointed IRGC Commander-in-Chief in June 2025, succeeding Hossein Salami who was killed during the Twelve-Day War with Israel.
Born in 1961 in Arak, central Iran, Pakpour joined the IRGC following the 1979 revolution and fought throughout the Iran-Iraq War, commanding the 8th Najaf Ashraf and 31st Ashura divisions. He sustained combat wounds and earned a reputation as a pragmatic frontline commander. From 2010 to 2025 he led the IRGC Ground Forces, building expertise in border security, counter-terrorism in Iran's northwest, and asymmetric warfare doctrine. He held a PhD in political geography from Tarbiat Modares University.
Pakpour's death in the opening hours of the conflict eliminated the IRGC's entire senior command structure alongside Khamenei and the Assembly of Experts leadership. Whether Iran's ground forces have been operating through deputies, informal chains, or autonomous unit commanders since 28 February has not been publicly established.