News- Middle East: Today, November 12, marks the 14th anniversary of the martyrdom of Hassan Tehrani Moqaddam, known as the ‘father of Iran’s missile program’ and a visionary military strategist who was ahead of his time.

He played an instrumental role in developing Iran’s indigenous missile capabilities during the 1980s imposed war and groomed many aerospace commanders who continued his mission.

Born in 1959 in Sarcheshmeh, a neighborhood in central Tehran, Tehrani Moqaddam completed his high school education in 1977.

In 1979, he earned a Bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Sharif University of Technology, which was followed two years later by a Master’s degree in industrial engineering from Khajeh Nasir al-Din Toosi University.

At the young age of 21, when the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) was established, Tehrani Moqaddam joined the intelligence division of the third region in northern Iran as a young cadet.

After the successful Samen-ol-A’emeh operation in 1981, which freed Abadan city in southwestern Khuzestan from West-backed Iraqi Ba'athist forces, he recognized the urgent need to strengthen fire support on the front lines.

This realization inspired him to draft a plan to address the challenge, which he submitted to Hassan Bagheri, then-IRGC intelligence chief. Following his proposal, the IRGC artillery corps and the artillery research center in Ahvaz were established.

Tehrani Moqaddam played a leading role in setting up the IRGC artillery, using 155 mm and 130 mm traction shells, as well as Portuguese 105 mm shells.

In the mid-1980s, when Iraq was escalating missile attacks on Iranian cities backed by Western governments, including the United States, Iran sought to compensate for its missile defense shortcomings through limited foreign assistance.

Leveraging acquired technologies, the IRGC under his visionary leadership began developing Iran’s first indigenous missiles, successfully launching the maiden missile at the Iraqi city of Kirkuk in March 1985.

The second missile struck an 18-story military building in Baghdad, followed by another hitting the Iraqi army officers’ club in the same city, killing approximately 200 Ba'athist military commanders who were involved in the war against Iran.

In 1986, Tehrani Moqaddam was appointed commander of the IRGC Air Force's missile division, and months later, he helped establish the first missile unit of Lebanon’s Hezbollah resistance movement.

During the war’s final two years, he was instrumental in developing Nazeat, a short-range tactical ballistic missile or rocket artillery system, alongside Oghab, one of the country’s earliest of its kind.

Post-war, he continued to spearhead Iran’s missile industry advancements, enhancing range, destructive power, and technology, which resulted in the Shahab and Zelzal missile series.

In the 1980s, Iran possessed Oghab with a 45 km range and Nazeat with 100 km, which later paved the way for medium-range ballistic missiles by the late 1990s, followed by numerous new models like Ashura and Sejjil in the next decade.

Over the years, thanks to his efforts, Iran emerged as a major missile power, with a wide missile arsenal capable of overwhelming any adversary, including the illegitimate Zionist entity.

Tehrani Moqaddam attained martyrdom on November 12, 2011, along with 16 of his comrades, at the Amir al-Mu’minin garrison in Malard, a city west of Tehran.

Tehrani Moqaddam and his fellow martyrs were interred with the highest state honors at Tehran’s Behesht-e Zahra cemetery, alongside many other martyrs, mostly from the 1980s war.

At a commemorative event in Tehran last year, General Majid Mousavi, then-deputy commander of the IRGC aerospace division, paid a heartfelt tribute to Tehrani Moqaddam and his enduring legacy.

“In the days after martyr Hassan Tehrani Moqaddam’s death, a photo of him circulated with a thought-provoking caption,” he said. “At that time, few noticed its significance, but today it resonates deeply.”

“That caption read: ‘Martyr Hassan Tehrani Moqaddam is a nightmare for the Zionist regime forever.’ This truth is evident today across the geography of resistance, in the holy lands now guided by Iran’s leadership and playing a key role in defending the Islamic Revolution.”

Tehrani Moqaddam had made a wish: 'When I die, write on my grave: here lies the person who wanted to destroy Israel.’

General Mousavi now heads the IRGC aerospace division after the martyrdom of General Amirali Hajizadeh, his predecessor, in the Israeli military aggression against Iran in June.

General Hajizadeh was one of the finest protégés of Tehrani Moqaddam’s school of thought and training, carrying forward his unfinished mission until his martyrdom earlier this year.

His legacy, along with that of Tehrani Moqaddam, was evident to all during the 12-day war, when hundreds of high-precision Iranian missiles pounded the occupied territories, piercing through multi-layered Israeli and American air defense systems. 

Iran’s powerful missile and space program today, unarguably the best in the world, stands as a proud testament to this great commander’s remarkable legacy.

Source: Press TV