Brig. Gen. Mohammad Hosseinzadeh Hejazi, a high-ranking general key to Iran's security apparatus, has died, the Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) announced on Sunday.
Hejazi, who died at 65, served as deputy commander of the Quds Force of the IRGC. The unit oversees foreign operations, and Hejazi helped lead its expeditionary forces and frequently shuttled between Iraq, Lebanon and Syria.
Born in 1956 in the city of Isfahan, Hejazi joined the Guard after the 1979 Iranian Revolution and came to lead the paramilitary Basij volunteer corps for a decade.
Hejazi took up the position of deputy commander of the Quds Force in April of last year after leading the Guard’s paramilitary forces in Lebanon. Iranian media reported that he joined forces fighting against ISIS in Iraq and Syria.
The Guard statement said he died of heart disease, without providing any further details.
