Fakoori joined the
Imperial Iranian Air Force in 1958 as a
F-100 fighter pilot. He later led a squadron of
F-4 aircraft. By 1978, he was promoted to colonel and stationed in
Tehran as a staff officer. After the
Iranian Revolution, it was found out that one of Fakoori's cousins was a prominent member of the outlawed
People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran, and had sought asylum in
Sweden. Regardless, then-
president Abolhassan Banisadr appointed Fakoori as the minister of national defense in 1980, with the reported consent of
Supreme Leader Ruhollah Khomeini. He commanded the newly-formed
Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force during the
Iran–Iraq War. ==Death==