Amir Hatami

Amir Hatami is a Major General in the Iranian Army (Artesh) who served as Minister of Defense and Armed Forces Logistics (2017–2021) under President Hassan Rouhani, succeeding Hossein Dehghan. He was the first defense minister drawn from the regular Army rather than the IRGC in over two decades.

Hatami joined the Basij as a volunteer at age 14 and began serving in the Army in 1984, participating in the Iran-Iraq War including Operation Mersad. He trained at the Imam Ali Officers' Academy and later served as head of the Army's international relations office and deputy chief of staff of the armed forces. As defense minister, he pursued a missile-centric defense doctrine, overseeing development of the Khorramshahr and Fateh ballistic missile systems.

In June 2025, he was appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Iranian Army by Ali Khamenei, succeeding Abdolrahim Mousavi.