TEHRAN (Iran News) – Nasrallah Extends Condolences to Ayatollah Khamenei over Demise of Mohamamd Hejazi. Secretary General of Lebanese Hezbollah Movement Seyed Hassan Nasrallah expressed condolences to the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution on the passing away of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Qods Force Deputy Commander Brigadier General Mohamamd Hejazi.
Nasrallah, in his message of condolences to Ayatollah Khamenei extended his condolences to the Leader.
He also sent two separate messages of condolence to IRGC Commander Major General Hossein Salami, and IRGC Quds Force Commander Brigadier General Esmayeel Qa’ani.
Gen. Hejazi, 65, was a veteran of the Iraqi war under former dictator Saddam Hussein on Iran, which lasted eight years. After the war, he served as the commander of Iran’s Basij volunteer force for ten years and as the deputy commander of the IRGC for a year.
He was named the deputy commander of the IRGC Quds Force after the former prominent commander of the force, Lieutenant General Qassem Soleimani, was assassinated in a US airstrike in Baghdad in January 2020. He replaced Brigadier General Esmayeel Qa’ani, who was named the new commander of the force.
IRGC Spokesman General Ramazan Sharif announced that General Mohammad Hejazi passed away, blaming the impacts of chemical weapons used during the Iraqi-imposed war against Iran (1980-1988) for his demise.
“This honorable martyr had been exposed to chemical agents during the Sacred Defense and had been suffering from the effects. He also contracted the coronavirus a few months ago, from which he recovered,” Brigadier General Sharif said on Monday.
“A medical commission that formed yesterday at Baqiyatallah Hospital identified the cause of the martyrdom as the chemical effects,” he added.
In the statement, the IRGC extended its condolences over the loss of the Commander-in-Chief of the Iranian Armed Forces Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei, the Iranian nation, General Hejazi’s family, his comrades in arms in the IRGC and Basij, and fighters of the Resistance Front.
The Leader expressed his condolences to General Hejazi’s family, relatives and friends, saying the deceased led a life of tireless efforts and had a “creative intellect” and a “heart full of sincere faith”.
He was “full of motivation and determination, a force completely devoted to Islam and the Revolution,” Ayatollah Khamenei wrote in a message.
“He served in big and influential positions in the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps and emerged with his head held high and successful in all of them,” the Leader said. “His absence is truly a source of regret and sorrow.”
General Hejazi’s passing also prompted huge outpourings of condolences from top Iranian authorities and commanders, including Judiciary Chief Ebrahim Rayeesi, Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, Chairman of the Chiefs of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces Major General Mohammad Baqeri, and Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif.
