Mohammad Pakpour

Pakpur has a PhD in Political Geography.

Pakpour joined the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in the wake of the Iranian Revolution in 1979. He served during the 1979 Kurdish rebellion in Iran and the 8-year-long Iran–Iraq War. His responsibilities included five years of Army Operations Command, commander of the 8th Najaf Division, commander of 31st Ashura Division of Command chief Army's Northern Command headquarters. Among his duties is fighting terrorism in northwest Iran, establishing security in southeast Iran, and overseeing specialized exercises.^[4][5]

According to Pakpour, the IRGC seeks to promote the security of the region through new military tactics.^[6] He believes that drones like Hemaseh help to keep the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps on their toes and shows the consistency and preparedness of the force.^[7]

Commandos of the Saberin Unit special forces, under were his direct command, were responsible for neutralizing terrorists during the 2017 Tehran attacks.^[8]

On 24 June 2019, the U.S. Treasury Department sanctioned him, freezing any of his U.S. assets and banning U.S. persons from doing business with him.^[9] He has also been sanctioned by the European Union, Australia, Japan, and Canada for his involvement with the IRGC and its wider operations. Although these sanctions were temporarily lifted following the 2015 nuclear agreement, they were reinstated after the United States withdrew from the deal.^[10]