Mohammad Reza Naqdi
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Sardar Mohammad Reza Naqdi |
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|---|---|
Naghdi in the 2nd conference of the 'Supreme Assembly of Basij', December 2015
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| Nickname(s) | Shams |
| Born |
c. 1952 (age 64–65) or 1961 (age 55–56) Najaf, Iraq or Tehran, Iran |
| Allegiance | |
| Years of service | 1981–present |
| Rank | Brigadier General |
| Unit |
|
| Commands held | Basij |
| Battles/wars | |
Mohammad Reza Naqdi (Persian: محمدرضا نقدی) is a senior officer in the Revolutionary Guards.
According to the biography published by the semi-official Fars News Agency, Naqdi was born in March 1961 in a middle-class religious family in Shapour neighbourhood of Tehran. Aging 16, he enrolled in University of Guilan in 1977 and co-founded its Anjoman-e Eslami. He helped founding Jihad of Construction in June 1979, before joining Revolutionary Guards Intelligence Unit.
The Majalla claims that Naqdi is an Iraqi national with Iranian origins, son of Ali Akbar Thamahniy Shams, who was expelled in 1980 among convoys of Moaveds and was placed in the city of Naqadeh with his family. He was allegedly affiliated with the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq.
Earlier in his career Naqdi served as the Iranian Police Force's Counter-Intelligence Chief and is also reported to have been involved in "crackdowns" during the 1997-2005 administration of Khatami including the 1999 student protests. Amnesty International reported that in March 1999 Iranian authorities announced that General Naqdi, chief of police intelligence at the time, to be tried in May by a military court along with 10 of his subordinates. "The charges against them are believed to include `unlawful arrest` and `using torture to elicit confessions'." He was found not guilty.
Naqdi was appointed by Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei as commander of the Basij in October 2009, replacing Hossein Taeb. He has been described as possessing "conservative credentials" and his appointment was said (by Mohsen Sazegara) to have "shattered the hopes and plans of those who thought they could ease" the unrest and protest following the reelection of President Ahmadinejad.
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