In his decree on Sunday, Ayatollah Khamenei stated that the installation was made upon a proposal by commander of Iran's Army Major General Abdolrahim Mousavi and in view of the commitment and valuable work experience of Nasirzadeh.

Nasirzadeh, an F-14 Tomcat pilot and veteran of the 1980s Iraqi-imposed war on Iran, has been the Air Force’s acting commander since 2017.

The Leader urged Nasirzadeh to make efforts to train experienced pilots, use state-of-the-art equipment, improve training based on the transfer of scientific and technical know-how to  youths and boost the combat preparedness of the forces.

Ayatollah Khamenei also thanked Brigadier General Hassan Shah Safi, who had previously held the post, for his great efforts and services.