New leader selected for Iran’s Guard

TEHRAN, Iran — Iran’s supreme leader on Sunday appointed a new chief of the country’s Revolutionary Guard, picking a general with a history of threatening the U.S.

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s decision replaces the commander of a force that controls the Islamic Republic’s ballistic missile program and has had tense encounters at sea with American warships.

Tensions between the countries have risen since President Donald Trump decided last year to withdraw the U.S. from Iran’s nuclear deal with world powers and to restore sanctions against Iran. The U.S. further angered Iran earlier this month when it designated the Revolutionary Guard as a terrorist organization. Iran responded by labeling the U.S. military’s Central Command as a terrorist group.

Khamenei chose Gen. Hossein Salami, a 59-year-old who had been serving as a deputy commander in the Revolutionary Guard. Salami joined the paramilitary force at the outbreak of the Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s, later rising in the ranks to lead Iran’s air forces.

He replaces Gen. Mohammad Ali Jafari, who had been in charge of the Revolutionary Guard for more than 11 years. Leaders of the force have typically served for about 10 years.

A statement from Khamenei’s office praised Jafari. The supreme leader said he picked Salami based on the outgoing commander’s advice.

The Revolutionary Guard is separate from Iran’s standing military and runs its own intelligence operations.