ALWAGHT- Iran’s Supreme Leader has appointed Major General Ali Abdollahi as chief of the Armed Forces General Staff, underscoring the completion of its merger with the Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters in a major restructuring designed to unify strategic planning and operational command.
Iran has merged the Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters with the Armed Forces General Staff, uniting two key pillars of the country’s military command structure. The Khatam Headquarters was established in 1984 during the Iran-Iraq War to coordinate Army and IRGC operations, while the General Staff evolved from the Supreme Commander’s Staff into the armed forces’ main strategic coordinating body.
The two institutions remained separate for more than four decades, despite their complementary roles. The Khatam Headquarters focused primarily on operational command, while the General Staff handled broader issues including organization, personnel, training, logistics and defense planning.
The restructuring follows major military developments in 2025 and 2026 and the deaths of several senior commanders. On August 11, 2026, Iran’s Supreme Leader appointed Major General Ali Abdollahi as chief of the General Staff, formally completing the merger. Brigadier General Kioumars Heydari was named his deputy.
The integration is intended to bring strategic planning and battlefield command under a unified structure, reducing the chain of command and accelerating decision-making. The move reflects the demands of modern warfare, where rapid coordination across missile, drone, air, cyber and intelligence operations has become increasingly important.
