Iranian Military on High Alert As the commander in chief, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei had the authority to approve military operations and did so, in January 2020, through the Supreme Council for National Security (SCNS). The SCNS alerts military leadership, who in turn transmit orders through the regular military (Artesh) or the IRGC chains of command (See Annex B for further details on Iranian military structure Figure 1: Sites of Iranian Missile Impact in Iraq and defence planning). The IRGC’s mission is to defend the regime and its Islamic system of government from any threat, foreign or domestic, and remains the main actor influencing and implementing Iran’s security policy.7 Iran’s Ministry of Roads and Urban Development, a civil authority, is responsible for Iran’s Civil Aviation Organization, which oversees airports and the air navigation provider. In anticipation of a military response from the US, Iran had placed its air defence system on a higher level of alertness and deployed SAM units in the vicinity of Tehran’s IKA. This was confirmed by the head of the IRGC Aerospace Force, Brigadier General Amir Ali Hajizadeh, when he indicated that on the night of January 7–8, 2020, IRGC forces were at the highest level of alert and SAM units were relocated “to prepare for war.”8 Iran’s Final Report also indicated that Iran’s military was put on high alert immediately after it fired these missiles.9 In this environment of heightened tensions, the only measure that Iran’s military implemented to protect civil aviation in Tehran was to assume greater procedural control over civilian Flight PS752 departed Imam Khomeini flight operations, consisting of military approval for flight Airport in Tehran a little over four hours clearances.10 after Iran launched missiles into Iraq. As Iran was anticipating an American counterstrike, Iranian air defence forces were likely operating under rules of engagement that allowed for delegated authorities.11 During periods of heightened threat, most militaries will delegate approvals to engage hostile targets to lower levels. Iran has indicated, however, that missile release authority was never delegated down to the individual SAM operators. According to Iran’s Final Report, the SAM operator accused of having launched the missiles at Flight PS752 was required by IRGC procedure to contact a Coordination Center to verify targets and receive approval (command) to fire.12
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