Hossein Dehqan – ‘A merit-based administration’

Brigadier General Hossein Dehqan is a former minister of defense and currently serves as an adviser to Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei on military affairs.

Dehqan soon joined the IRGC, an elite military force that was established following the 1979 Islamic Revolution. He held several posts at different IRGC units, including as the commander of the IRGC Air Force.

During the Iran-Iraq War in the 1980s, Dehqan served as a leading IRGC commander.

He quit military duties to work at the Iranian administration in 2003, when he became deputy defense minister under the then-President Seyyed Mohammad Khatami.

The general also served as an adviser to former President Mahmoud Ahmedinejad, former Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani, and former Tehran Mayor Mohammad-Baqer Qalibaf.

However, Dehqan distanced himself from Ahmedinejad in 2012 and served as President Hassan Rouhani’s defense minister during his first four-year term.

Dehqan was born in 1957 in the village of Pudeh in Isfahan Province, central Iran, and holds a Ph.D. in management.

World should not believe can work with one Iranian faction but not another: Presidential hopeful

Hossein Dehqan, a former defense minister who has declared his bid for presidency in Iran’s 2021 election, says world countries should not believe that they can work with one faction in Iran but not another.

‘A merit-based administration’

Addressing a news conference after registering his candidacy, Dehqan said he will work, if elected, to form a merit-based administration.

“My administration will be that of strong Iranian citizens,” he said. “I will seek to bring real tranquility to the people’s lives.”

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