} as Approved For reilosd 20001080 cu-corecreor 9 SG1B Rafsanjani Named _ Fripay, JUNE 3, 1988 A2t (Chief Commander Approved For ae ; Washington Post Foreign Service “CAIRO, Egypt, June 2—Iran’s ‘powerful speaker of parliament, Hojatoleslam Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, today assumed the role as coimander-in-chief of Iran’s ‘armed forces with a mandate from Ayatollah’ Ruhollah Khomeini to re- “organize the military after two se- rious defeats in the land war with ‘Traq and a costly naval clash with the United States. - Tehran * ‘Radio and Iran’s state “news agency’ ‘arindunced that Kho- meini, the country’s 87-year-old Spiritual leader, issued an edict re- linquishing constitutional title of commander-in-chief to Rafsanjani. - The country’s president, Ali Kha- |. meini, who also sits as chairman of Iran’s Supreme Deferise Council, was reported to have urged Rafsan- jani’s appointment, calling him “the only suitable person to be assigned .-this, important responsibilty.” "Rafsanjani, a 53-year-old clergy- military training. -In the wake of parliamentary _ elections during April and May, the appointment is the clearest indica- tion to date that Rafsanjani. has litical force at the top of Iran’s rev- olutionary elite. Rafsanjani’ $ most important con- | stituent, Khomeini, has for the sec- ond time in six months responded to calls from his proteges in the highly factionalized government to consol- idate power and give the Rafsan- jani-led forces more authority to manage the economy and, now, the war. . In a commentary, Tehran Radio said, “It is hoped that this transfer | of power will be the beginning of “Airaor evelopments on ‘the battle- é acks in recent battles against : On ‘April, 17, Iraqi forces dis- ranian _occupation forces lodg “front the southert Faw Peninsula, and on “May 25, Iraq pushed Iranian troops from the eastern oiitskirts of | ort city of Basra back southern f 7 fee . gilernat ional border. ‘Jranian ‘warships “weré “sdk or “f eavily amaged when’ they en- gaged ‘US. “Navy vessels as they Te US. two Iranian oil platforms. The US. attack was in retaliation for an tanian mine explosion that ed the é frigate USS Samuel B. ® ‘oberts. man;"has not received any formal emerged as an everi stronger po- Of Tranian Forces ey Patrick E. Tyler es HASHEMI RAFSANJANI . + ‘the only suitable person” Brig. Gen, Ismael Sohrabi, and re-, with: placed him. with an offi ne more. solid revolution) créderb 2 tials, Col. Ali Shahbazi. In today’s edict, Khomeini au-. thorized Rafsanjani to reconstruct the armed forces command and to set up. a “general command head-. quarters and organize the full co- _ ordination of the armed forces, the . Revolutionary Guards, the security forces and volunteer mobilization forces,” Military analysts who monitor the nearly eight-year-old Iran-Iraq war have noted that in recent cam- paigns there appeared to be a lack of coordination between Iran’s reg-. ular armed forces and the Revolu- tionary Guards, whose leadership has built parallel ground, air and naval units under a separate com- mand structure. Some analysts have suggested. that Iran’s debilitated Air Force and ‘underfunded regular Army have failed to come to the assistance of Revolutionary Guards under attack at Faw and east of Basra. Khomeini, in today’s edict, stressed the importance of “com- plete unity” in the military and charged Rafsanjani with developing “specific objectives” in training, Jo- _gistics and défense industries. “day after the Faw defeat, six Rafsanjani has for some time car- ‘ried the title of Khomeini’s repre- sentative on the Supreme Defense Council and has been deeply in- volved’ in planning and directing military campaigns such as the oc- | cupation of Faw in February 1986 and the seizure of territory outside Basra in January 1987, which cost” ca aig eng TERRELL ET"