Iran appoints veteran IRGC commander Mohsen Rezaei to security council role

Mohsen Rezaei, one of Iran’s most enduring Revolutionary Guard figures, was appointed secretary of the Supreme National Security Council after first being named Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei’s representative on the body. Khamenei’s decree said, “In view of your valuable experience, I hereby appoint you ... as my representative on the Supreme National Security Council,” and described Rezaei as a veteran of the 1980-1988 Iran-Iraq War.

Rezaei commanded the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps from 1981 to 1997, including much of the war with Iraq, and later served as secretary of the Expediency Discernment Council. Another report described him as an adviser to the Supreme Leader, reinforcing how deeply he remains embedded in Iran’s security and political establishment.

The move replaced Mohammad Bagher Zolghadr at the helm of the Supreme National Security Council, Iran’s highest security decision-making body. Iranian media coverage of the appointment was conflicting, and Tasnim News, the IRGC-affiliated outlet, later removed a report that identified Rezaei as Mojtaba Khamenei’s representative and said he and Saeed Jalili were now serving as the Supreme Leader’s two representatives on the council.

That confusion has helped frame the appointment as more than a personnel change. Analysts and commentators said bringing Rezaei back to the center of power suggests the pool of seasoned IRGC commanders may be thinning, leaving the regime increasingly dependent on veterans of the Iran-Iraq War and the postwar reconstruction period. The choice also fits a broader pattern of consolidation by Iran’s old guard, with security institutions rather than civilian politics setting the tone.

The Supreme National Security Council sits at the core of that system. Rezaei’s elevation strengthens the hand of the Revolutionary Guard inside a body that helps steer Iran’s response to regional conflict, internal security and any future opening to the West. With leadership transitions and reshuffles continuing to favor hardline veterans, the appointment points to a security state increasingly built around men whose authority comes from the war years and from loyalty to the ruling circle.