Who is Nasser Shabani, the Controversial Commander of the IRGC Regarding Yemen?

Recently, the publication of a statement from an IRGC commander regarding the war in Yemen and the attack on Saudi oil tankers in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait has brought the name of this senior IRGC commander, "Brigadier General Shabani," into the spotlight. In the first account, this IRGC commander stated, "We told the Yemenis to hit two Saudi oil tankers, and they did." In the second account, the news was corrected, and this part of his statement was omitted. Following this, Brigadier General Ramadan Sharif, the spokesperson for the IRGC, also gave an interview stating that the remarks of this IRGC commander were misreported and that he currently holds no position in the IRGC. But who is Brigadier General Shabani, and why are his statements about Iran's relations with Saudi Arabia, the war in Yemen, and Iran's control and command over the Houthi militias significant? Brigadier General Nasser Shabani is one of the senior commanders of the IRGC with over 37 years of experience in the organization. He has held various command positions within the IRGC, from city commander to provincial and regional commander, and has been responsible for the highest security levels in the capital of the Islamic Republic, namely the Tharallah Headquarters in Tehran. His first significant responsibility dates back 37 years when he was the commander of the IRGC in Amol, Mazandaran Province. In this role, on February 25, 1981, he led the IRGC forces in clashes with communist guerrillas over control of Amol, a bloody battle that ended with the military defeat of the guerrillas. The eight-year Iran-Iraq war, especially its final year, elevated and solidified Nasser Shabani's position within the IRGC. In the later years of the war, when the IRGC was divided into regional and extra-provincial forces, he was appointed commander of the Fourth Baitullah Corps, responsible for leading IRGC forces in western Iran and the provinces of Kermanshah and Ilam, with its command center in Kermanshah. During the attack by the People's Mujahedin Organization from the Iran-Iraq border towards Kermanshah in August 1988, aimed at capturing Tehran, known as Operation Eternal Light, Nasser Shabani was the commander of the Fourth Baitullah Corps and was directly involved in the battle against the Mujahedin forces, with some of his units, including the Nabi Akram Brigade stationed in Ilam, also actively participating in the battle against the Mujahedin in the city of Islamabad. His presence and role in the Islamic Republic's counter-operation against the Mujahedin, known as Operation Mersad, further strengthened his position within the IRGC. He later developed a thesis for his doctorate from Imam Hussein University of the IRGC titled "Deadlock in Strategy, Failure in Tactics" under the supervision of Major General Baqeri, the current Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces. In the early 2010s, he was recognized and appreciated by the IRGC and other military and defense institutions for writing this book. During this period, Nasser Shabani was appointed as the deputy head of Imam Hussein University, the most important higher education institution of the IRGC. Two years after the end of the Iran-Iraq war, in 1991, during the Gulf War and the defeat of the Iraqi army by U.S. forces in Operation Desert Storm, when a public uprising by Shiites against Saddam's regime began, parts of the IRGC attempted to cross the border and assist the Shiite opposition to Saddam Hussein in their efforts to overthrow him. This operation, conducted under Nasser Shabani's command in the Fourth Corps, ultimately failed due to the suppression of the Shiite uprising by Saddam, leading to a deterioration in relations between Saddam and Iran. Nasser Shabani was later called to Tehran and assigned more significant staff responsibilities, including being appointed as the deputy of operations at the Tharallah Headquarters of the IRGC in the early 2010s. This headquarters is responsible for defending Tehran, the center of the Islamic Republic's government, against internal threats (popular and anti-government protests), uprisings or coups, as well as external threats originating outside Tehran. Reports published in media close to the government indicate that Nasser Shabani held this position at least from 2014 to 2018, including during the anti-government protests in January of last year in over a hundred cities in Iran. Although the IRGC spokesperson stated that Shabani currently holds no position in the IRGC, there has been no news in recent months indicating his removal from the deputy position at the Tharallah Headquarters, and the latest news from July of this year indicates his presence as the deputy of the Tharallah Headquarters. Furthermore, while the IRGC spokesperson claimed that Shabani has no responsibilities in the IRGC, reports published in media close to the IRGC until May of this year still introduced him as the deputy of Imam Hussein University, with no news of his dismissal from this position in recent months.