In a message on Saturday, Ayatollah Khamenei, who commands all Iranian armed forces, extended his condolences on the demise of General Alireza Afshar, a senior figure in Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and former commander of the Basij voluntary forces.

The Leader asked for God Almighty's forgiveness for him and patience for his relatives.

Afshar held numerous key positions during and after the Iran-Iraq War, including deputy and chief of the IRGC’s central staff, spokesperson for the IRGC, and commander of the Basij voluntary forces from 1989 to 1997.