Yahya Rahim Safavi

Yahya Rahim Safavi (, born 2 January 1958) is an Iranian military commander who served as the chief commander of the Sepah from 1 September 1997 until 1 September 2007.

Early life
Safavi was born on 2 January 1958 to a lower-class Azerbaijani family (an ethnic Azeri) in a village in Isfahan.

Career
Safavi was one of the leaders of the Iraq-Iran War and played a key role in the 2001 uprising in Herat in November 2001. He also led the battle for Herat during the US invasion of Afghanistan.

He served as the deputy commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps until 1997 when he was appointed its commander, replacing Mohsen Rezaee in 1997.

He was replaced as commander of the IRGC by Mohammad Ali Jafari, former director of the Strategic Studies Center of AGIR on 1 September 2007. Then he was appointed the Supreme Leader Ali Khameini's special advisor.

Asset freeze
On 24 December 2006, Rahim Safavi was listed in United Nations Security Council Resolution 1737 asking for his assets (among others') to be frozen because of alleged involvements in Iranian nuclear and ballistic missile programmes.