Iran elevates veteran IRGC commander to top security post

Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei on Sunday appointed Mohsen Rezaei, a longtime Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps commander, as his representative to the Supreme National Security Council, while naming outgoing council secretary Mohammad Bagher Zolghadr as his political adviser — a dual reshuffle that deepens military influence over Iran's top security body during a period of heightened tensions with the United States.

A Return to the Inner Circle

Khamenei announced the appointment on social media, citing Rezaei's "valuable experience" as "one of the first commanders in the triumphant 8-Year Sacred Defense," Iran's term for the 1980–1988 Iran-Iraq War. Rezaei commanded the IRGC from 1981 to 1997 and currently serves on Iran's Expediency Discernment Council. He had been serving as Khamenei's military adviser since March.aa

Zolghadr, who assumed the council secretary role after Ali Larijani was killed in an Israeli airstrike during U.S.-Israeli military operations earlier this year, has resigned from that position and will transition to the political adviser role. The Jerusalem Post noted that Zolghadr held several senior IRGC positions since the 1979 revolution, including serving as deputy chief from 1997 to 2006.apnews+1

Strategic Context

The appointments come as the Supreme National Security Council plays a central role in shaping Iran's approach to the standoff over the Strait of Hormuz. The council on Saturday declared the strait would not reopen until the United States "corrects its behavior," demanding that Washington never threaten Iran again, permanently end hostilities, lift its naval blockade, withdraw militarily from the region, compensate Iran for war damage, lift sanctions, and release frozen assets.apnews

Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Sunday that negotiations with Oman about new maritime routes through the strait were in their final stages but stressed this "does not mean that the Strait of Hormuz will reopen".apnews

Consolidating IRGC Power

The New York Times reported that the move may signify "a deeper entrenchment of power within the nation's longstanding security apparatus". Both Rezaei and Zolghadr are founding-era IRGC figures, and their simultaneous elevation underscores the guard corps' expanding grip on Iranian decision-making. In March, Zolghadr was cited as saying the IRGC should gain more control over Iran, and The Economist described him at the time as an "IRGC apparatchik".nytimes+1

The reshuffle is the latest in a series of leadership changes at the council, which has cycled through secretaries amid the loss of several senior officials during the war with the U.S. and Israel.apnews