After Operation Barbarossa began, Selivanov, by now a colonel, remained with the 24th. Selected to command the 23rd Cavalry Division by an order of the district on 8 August, he led it in the invasion of Iran as part of the 47th Army between 25 August and 5 September. Remaining in Iran with the division, Selivanov became deputy commander of the 15th Cavalry Corps in Iran on 1 January 1942 and simultaneously fulfilled the duties of corps commander until 18 March. Promoted to major general, Selivanov was appointed deputy chief of staff and chief of the operations department of the Transcaucasian Front staff in May 1942. Serving as deputy commander of the 44th Army of the front from July, he held the same position in the 9th Army from October.