IRNA reports Supreme Leader Khamenei replaces head of feared Basij militia with senior military officer subjected to UN sanctions over links to ballistic missile program; two other new military appointments also announced
Iran's supreme leader has replaced the head of the feared militia at the center of the postelection crackdown with a senior military officer under UN sanctions for links to the country's ballistic missile program, state media reported Monday.
The Basij militia — who operate in plain clothes and often armed with sticks and other crude weapons — were blamed for much of the violence against crowds protesting President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's disputed June 12 re-election.
Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei replaced commander Hossein Taeb on Sunday and announced two other new military appointments, the state-run Islamic Republic News Agency reported.
Taeb was replaced with Brig. Gen. Mohammad Reza Naqdi, a prominent figure in the elite Revolutionary Guard military force who is close to Khamenei.
Naqdi is one of Iran's top military figures and is among those subject to UN Security Council sanctions. A Security Council resolution passed in March 2008 says he worked to get around UN sanctions. It also identifies him as a person linked to Iran's alleged proliferation of sensitive nuclear activities or development of nuclear weapon delivery systems.
Source: Ynet
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