Iran’s ex-army chief Firouzabadi dies of COVID-19 at age 70
He accused West of using chameleons as ‘nuclear spies’ to ‘find uranium mines’ in Iran
Former Iranian armed forces chief Hassan Firouzabadi, who once accused Western nations of spying on the country using lizards, has died of coronavirus aged 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.
A trained doctor, Firouzabadi joined the Basij Islamic volunteer militia during the Iran-Iraq war of 1980-88.
Serving in administrative roles, he swiftly rose up its ranks before being named head of the armed forces in September 1989 by Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, remaining in the post until 2016.
Iran’s armed forces chief has authority over both the regular army and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
That made Firouzabadi one of the main architects of Iranian military support for Baghdad and Damascus.
Replaced by Mohammad Hossein Bagheri at the head of the armed forces, Firouzabadi then served as Khamenei’s military adviser until his death. The Fars news agency reported that he died after contracting COVID-19.
In 2018, during an international face-off over the death in jail of
Iranian-Canadian environmentalist Kavous Seyed Emami, Firouzabadi accused Western countries of using lizards and chameleons as “nuclear spies” to “find uranium mines and atomic activity” in Iran.
Meanwhile, Britain reported 42,076 new COVID-19 cases on Friday, a rise on Thursday’s 38,154, and 121 deaths with 28 days of a positive test, down from 178 the previous day, according to government data.
Britain’s vaccine advisers said they were not recommending the vaccination of all 12- to 15-yearolds against COVID-19, preferring a precautionary approach in healthy children due to uncertainty over the longer term impact of rare side effects. The advice could see Britain pursue a different approach from the US, Israel and some European countries, which are pursuing broader vaccination of the age group.
However a final decision has not been taken, as the government said it would consult medical advisers to look at other factors, such as disruption to schools. Many politicians have spoken out in favor of vaccinating more children.