Tehran, June 30, IRNA -- Army Commander-in-Chief Major General Ataollah Salehi in a message on Thursday congratulated Major General Mohammad Hossein Baqeri on the occasion of his appointment to the post of chief of staff of the Iranian Armed Forces.

'I and on behalf of the staff of the Islamic Republic of Iran Army congratulate your appointment to the post of chief of staff of the Iranian Armed Forces by Supreme Leader and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei which shows the Leader's wisdom and your merits and qualifications during the years of your service in the country's armed forces before that in during the holy defense years (1980-88 Iran-Iraq War),' parts of Major General Salehi's message read.

'I wish you success in the light of God's benevolence and in line with the implementation of the guidelines of the Supreme Leader on taking revolutionary measure to uphold the capabilities and defensive-security preparedness of the country's armed forces and popular mobilization forces as well as the possibility of responding to any threat against the holy system of the Islamic Republic of Iran,' he added.

On Tuesday, Ayatollah Khamenei appointed Major General Mohammad Hossein Baqeri as chief of staff of the Iranian Armed Forces, the first such replacement in the Islamic Republic's history.

Major General Baqeri replaced former Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces Major General Hassan Firouzabadi.

General Firouzabadi has been appointed as the top military aide of the Commander-in-Chief of the Iranian Armed Forces (i.e. the Supreme Leader).

Major General Baqeri is a veteran commander of Iran's Armed Forces and he is the brother of Mohammad Hassan Baqeri who was the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) first Intelligence and Operations Commander and martyred in 1980-88 Iran-Iraq war. The martyred Baqeri is recognized as a war hero.

Mohammad Hossein was the deputy Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces before today's appointment.

Major General Firouzabadi has also been appointed as Supreme Leader's military advisor.

General Firouzabadi was in the post ever since the General Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces was established in 1989.

By IRNA