IRGC Spokesperson Says Cause of Death of IRGC Quds Force Deputy Was Not a "Heart Complication"

Although the IRGC's public relations department had announced the cause of death of Mohammad Hejazi, the deputy commander of the Quds Force, as "heart complications," the IRGC spokesman denied this and said that he died due to "chemical complications" resulting from the Iran-Iraq war.

According to Ramadan Sharif, Mr. Hejazi was infected with the coronavirus a few months ago but "recovered."

He also said that a special commission at the IRGC-affiliated Baghiyallah Hospital introduced Mr. Hejazi as a "martyred veteran" and considered "chemical reactions" to be the main cause of his death.

Regarding the possibility of assassinating Mr. Hejazi, the IRGC spokesman said that the Israeli government had been "seeking to assassinate" the deputy commander of the IRGC's Quds Force for years.

Yesterday, after the IRGC's public relations statement was released, Mohammad Mehdi Hemmat, the son of Mohammad Ebrahim Hemmat, one of the most famous commanders killed in the Iran-Iraq War, tweeted that the cause of Mr. Hejazi's death "was not and is not a heart condition."

He did not provide any further explanation, but used the hashtag "martyr."

Mohammad Hejazi had become the successor to the commander of the IRGC's Quds Force on January 18, 2019, after the killing of Qassem Soleimani, commander of the IRGC's Quds Force, in an attack by American forces.

Before being appointed as the deputy commander of the IRGC's Quds Force, Mohammad Hejazi also played an important role in Iran's regional policies, especially in the Syrian war.

He was the highest-ranking commander of the Revolutionary Guards in terms of military hierarchy who was directly involved in the Syrian war, and when the Syrian war began, he was in Lebanon working with Hezbollah, the Islamic Republic's largest and oldest proxy group in the Middle East.

During the 2009 post-presidential election protests, Hejazi was in charge of the Tehran Sarallah headquarters, which was the main institution responsible for suppressing the protests in the capital. Dozens of people were killed and thousands were arrested during those protests.

His role in suppressing protesters and violating human rights led to his name being placed on the European Union sanctions list in October 2011.

Source: Radio Farda