Veterans of the Iran-Iraq war are among those replacing the Iranian commanders killed in Israel’s attacks, as experts warn the force could soon start filling its top ranks with a younger generation of hardliners.
The latest appointments are Maj Gen Amir Hatami as chief commander of the Iranian army, and Brig Gen Majid Mousavi, who becomes commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps' aerospace force, Iranian state news agency Irna reported on Saturday.
Mr Hatami served as defence minister from 2013 to 2021. He will replace Maj Gen Seyyed Abdulrahim Mousavi who will now lead the Iranian military as its chief of staff. Maj Gen Mousavi's predecessor, Mohammad Bagheri, was killed in the Israeli air strikes on Friday.
The new commander-in-chief of the elite Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps is Brig Gen Mohammad Pakpour, who threatened to open “the gates of hell” in retaliation for Israel’s attacks. He joined the IRGC after the 1979 revolution, in which he fought armed groups in the Kurdistan region.
“In retribution for the blood of our fallen commanders, scientists and citizens, the gates of hell will soon be opened upon this child-killing regime,” he said upon assuming the role on Friday.
Iranian army spokesman Brig Gen Abolfazl Shekarchi said the four newly appointed commanders “will advance the path of their predecessors with full power”.
Lessons from the Iran-Iraq war
The eight-year war between Iran and Iraq shaped the Iranian military system, and its veterans are likely to draw lessons from there.
Maj Gen Hatami was part of the volunteer Basij forces during the conflict and was honoured for his pushback against the dissident militant group Mojahedin e-Khalq (MEK). Maj Gen Mousavi is also said to have played a leading role in the 1980s conflict.
Brig Gen Pakpour commanded frontline divisions during the Iran-Iraq war, including the elite 8th Najaf Ashraf and 31st Ashura units, where he was wounded in combat, according to Iranian news network Press TV.
“The old generation of Guards is very ideological, but it is also risk-averse because it knows the devastation of war,” said Hamidreza Azizi, a visiting fellow at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs.
The Iran-Iraq war equipped the Iranian military to replace its top brass at speed. “This is a system that endured the war with Iraq. They have been prepared for such a scenario,” Mr Azizi told The National.
The dwindling number of veterans, however, could pave the way “step-by-step” for a new generation of military leaders who will take a more gung-ho approach to combat, and be less willing to come to the negotiating table, Mr Azizi fears.
“If the Islamic Republic can survive this war we will see a totally new creation in terms of hardliners,” he said.
Dwindling chain of command
Six high-ranking commanders are believed to have been killed on Friday, including the head of the IRGC Hossein Salami.
The IRGC's aerospace force – which handles Iran’s missiles – was the hardest hit, losing its commander, Brig Gen Amir Ali Hajizadeh, alongside 20 other senior officers who had convened for a meeting.
The Guards will struggle to replace the aerospace force losses due to the large number of high-ranking officers killed, Mr Azizi said.
Two deputy commanders of the Iranian army were also killed in the Israeli attacks, Iranian state media reported on Saturday, without naming them or the time of their deaths.
Esmail Qaani, the leader of the Quds Force – a branch of the IRGC that supports Iran’s regional proxies – is also reported to have been killed on Friday, but no replacement has been announced yet.
The President's Cake
Director: Hasan Hadi
Starring: Baneen Ahmad Nayyef, Waheed Thabet Khreibat, Sajad Mohamad Qasem
Rating: 4/5
Company profile
Date started: 2015
Founder: John Tsioris and Ioanna Angelidaki
Based: Dubai
Sector: Online grocery delivery
Staff: 200
Funding: Undisclosed, but investors include the Jabbar Internet Group and Venture Friends
Red flags
- Promises of high, fixed or 'guaranteed' returns.
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Courtesy: Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
Avatar: Fire and Ash
Director: James Cameron
Starring: Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver, Zoe Saldana
Rating: 4.5/5
U19 WORLD CUP, WEST INDIES
UAE group fixtures (all in St Kitts)
- Saturday 15 January: UAE beat Canada by 49 runs
- Thursday 20 January: v England
- Saturday 22 January: v Bangladesh
UAE squad:
Alishan Sharafu (captain), Shival Bawa, Jash Giyanani, Sailles
Jaishankar, Nilansh Keswani, Aayan Khan, Punya Mehra, Ali Naseer, Ronak Panoly,
Dhruv Parashar, Vinayak Raghavan, Soorya Sathish, Aryansh Sharma, Adithya
Shetty, Kai Smith
