Amir Ali Hajizadeh

Brigadier General Ali Hajizadeh (born 28 February 1962 in Tehran) is an Iranian military officer who serves as the commander of the IRGC Aerospace Forces, a position he has held since October 2009.

During Eghtedar-e Velayat war games, on 8 March 2016, Hajizadeh said: "the reason we designed our missiles with a range of 2,000 km is to be able to hit our enemies from a safe distance."

Hajizadeh was also one of the main figures in Iran who led and executed the 2024 Iranian strikes against Israel, known in Iran as Operation True Promise. On July 1, 2024, he stated: "We are hopeful of the arrival of the opportunity for [conducting] Operation True Promise 2..." and spoke of his wish to have another chance to launch a large-scale attack on Israel.

He has also spoken openly about Iran arming its allies in the region, saying, for example: "As it is obvious from the weapons of our dear ones in Palestine, Lebanon and elsewhere, it has now become clear that they are in fact being helped and supplied by Iran". During a speech before students which aired on IRINN TV on December 1, 2023, Hajizadeh remarked: "Look, some people ask what the Islamic Republic has done with regard to Gaza. The Islamic Republic has done what it had to do. Until not so long ago their only means of defense was stones. Today they are defending themselves with rockets and they have advanced weapons and capabilities".

U.S. and Canada sanctions
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.

On 29 September 2022, following the protests to the death of Mahsa Amini, Canada added Amir Ali Hajizadeh's name to Consolidated Canadian Autonomous Sanctions List.

The downing of PS752
Hajizadeh was the commander of Aerospace Force of IRGC on 8 January 2020 when two surface-to-air missiles were shot to the Boeing 737-800, killing all 176 passengers and crew. Islamic Republic of Iran denied that missile brought down the plane for three days and pretended it was a plane crash. Some in Iran's media even called it impossible. As the evidence and international pressures escalated, IRGC issued a letter on 11 January 2020 and Hajizadeh accepted "full responsibility" for the shootdown. Despite this letter, no-one from IRGC, including Hajizadeh, has been demoted or punished for the crime.

About three years later, in November 2022, Hajizadeh blamed others for late acceptance of responsibility: "The decision was made after 48 hours. We knew what happened from the first hour, but other entities and organizations did not accept it.", he also added "48 hours is not too long (to tell the truth)".

Threat to kill Donald Trump and Mike Pompeo
In February 2023 Hajizadeh claimed Iran has developed a cruise missile with a range of 1,650 km, and threatened to kill former US President Donald Trump and former US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. "God willing, we are looking to kill Trump. Pompeo ...and military commanders who issued the order (to kill Quds Force commander Qasem Soleimani) should be killed," Hajizadeh said in the television interview.