Former Iran Army Chief Dies of Covid-19

Former Iranian armed forces chief Hassan Firouzabadi died of coronavirus at the age of 70, local media reported on Friday.

Revolutionary Guards chief Hossein Salami praised Firouzabadi's "continuous efforts" to defend "the sacred system of the Islamic Republic of Iran", in a statement published on the Guards' Sepahnews website.

Firouzabadi once accused Western nations of spying on the country using lizards. He joined the Basij Islamic volunteer militia during the Iran-Iraq war of 1980-88 as a trained doctor.

Serving in administrative roles, he was named head of the armed forces in September 1989 by Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, remaining in the post until 2016.

The armed forces chief had authority over both the regular army and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Therefore, he was one of the main architects of military support for Baghdad and Damascus in their battles against the Islamic State group and other jihadist movements.

Replaced by Mohammad Hossein Bagheri at the head of the armed forces, the departed then served as Khamenei's military adviser until his death.