After entering the IIAF and training to fly jets in the US, he returned to Iran and served in Vahdati AFB in Dezful in the southwest. There he served in the 202nd tactical fighter squadron (TFS) under Captain (later Major General) A. Minousepehr, flying the F-86 Sabre jet fighter. He went on to become an instructor in the newly established Fighter Weapons School at Vahdati. He also became an instructor pilot and member of the IIAF Golden Crown precision aerobatic team, led by Colonel (later General) Jahanbani.
By 1970 he had moved on to qualify on the brand new F-4 Phantom advanced fighter jet as a pilot and an instructor, and train numerous Iranian Phantom pilots. During the IIAF era, he held multiple commands including squadron and wing commander in the 6th tactical fighter base (TFB) in Bushehr on the Persian Gulf. He also successfully completed several advanced trainings in the US, including Fighter Weapons School in Nellis AFB (the USAF equivalent of and predecessor to Top Gun), Squadron Officer School (SOS) in Maxwell AFB (USAF Air University), and night gunnery and aerial refueling in Luke AFB.
