Updated 13 March 2026 at 19:11 IST
Who is Ali Jafari, The Strategist Who Made Iran Impenetrable With 'Mosaic Defence Doctrine'?
Iran seemed battered on the 1st day of the war as it lost its Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and other top officials in airstrikes. The war has entered the 14th day and Iran continues to resist and retaliate. This is largely due to ‘Mosaic Defence Doctrine’, developed by Mohammad Ali Jafari.
Tehran: Iran seemed battered on the first day of the war with US and Israel as it lost its Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and other top officials in airstrikes. The war has now entered the 14th day and the Islamic Republic continues to resist, retaliate and fight back. This is largely due to the Iran's 'Mosaic Defence Doctrine', developed by Mohammad Ali Jafari.
Who Is Mohammad Ali Jafari?
Mohammad Ali Jafari is a former commander-in-chief of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and is widely regarded as one of the key architects of Iran’s modern defence strategy. He led the IRGC from 2007 to 2019, reshaping the force’s military doctrine, focusing on asymmetric warfare designed to counter technologically superior adversaries. It was late Iranian Supremo Ayatollah Ali Khamenei who appointed Jafari to the top post.
The 1957-born joined the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps soon after the 1979 Iranian Revolution, that culminated in the overthrowing of the Pahlavi dynasty. Jafari rose through the ranks during the Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s, where he gained battlefield experience and established a reputation as a capable military strategist. After the war, Jafari remained closely involved in shaping Iran’s military thinking, particularly through the IRGC’s strategic planning units.
Israel-Iran War
The United States of America and Israel launched joint airstrikes on Iran on February 28 in a massive military operation, codenamed ‘Operation Epic Fury’ by the US and ‘Operation Roaring Lion’ by Israel. Iran retaliated and launched attacks on US military bases located in different countries in the Middle East, including the UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Jordan and Saudi Arabia. Iran codenamed its retaliation 'Operation True Promise IV'.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said, “This operation against the positions of American-Zionist terrorists in the heart of the occupied territories and American terrorist bases began with massive explosions under the blessed code name 'Ya Hassan ibn Ali (peace be upon him)'.”
The war has entered its 14th day today (March 13).
Published By : Nidhi Sinha
Published On: 13 March 2026 at 19:01 IST