Amir Ali Hajizadeh: Engineer of targeting oil tankers and threatening international navigation

Mahmoud Mohammadi

A statement by the US State Department on Sunday, August 1, blamed Iran for the attack on an Israeli oil tanker off the coast of Oman that took place on Friday, July 30, promising an appropriate and imminent response.

While Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh denied that his country was involved in the attack, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement that after reviewing the available information, Washington is confident that Iran launched the attack, adding that the attack was carried out by drone.

Constant threats

Iranian threats to the security of international shipping have not stopped in recent years, but they have been taking a low curve and then rising again, as is currently happening, especially after the last two attacks on ships in the Gulf of Oman, including the Israeli oil tanker Mercer Street.

The Israeli side pointed the finger directly at Amir Ali Hajizadeh, the commander of the Aerospace Force of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), based on his long experience in developing the Iran’s missile system since he took office in 2009.

Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz and Foreign Minister Yair Lapid said that Hajizadeh, along with Saeed Ara Jani, head of the Revolutionary Guard’s Unmanned Aircraft Command, oversaw the attack on the Israeli tanker.

Terrorist history

Amir Ali Hajizadeh enjoys the absolute confidence of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, as he has held the position of commander of the IRGC’s Aerospace Force for 12 years. Prior to that he was the missile director, operations commander, and air defense commander, in addition to coordinating and supervising engineering projects and tunnels for the Aerospace Force.

Hajizadeh is considered the primary person responsible for the Iranian missile development program. During his tenure, Iran announced that it had developed short and long-range missiles. He also admitted in 2015 that Tehran transferred short and medium-range ballistic missile technologies to Iran’s allies in the region, stressing, “Iran helped Iraq, Syria, Palestine and the Lebanese Hezbollah by exporting its technology to produce missiles and other equipment.”

Terror lists

On June 24, 2019, the US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control placed Hajizadeh on the terrorism list due to his work for the IRGC.

He was also placed on a similar Canadian list in 2010 due to his role in Iran’s nuclear proliferation activities and its development of chemical and biological weapons.