Iran appointed former Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps commander Mohsen Rezaei as secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, backed by a decree from Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, amid faltering negotiations with the United States and ongoing disputes over the Strait of Hormuz.
Supreme Leader Decree Elevates Military Veteran to Top Security Post
Iran promoted a hard-line military veteran to its highest national defense coordinating post on Sunday, shaking up its top security architecture. President Masoud Pezeshkian appointed 71-year-old Mohsen Rezaei as the new secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, according to the state-run Islamic Republic News Agency and the Iranian president’s communications office. The appointment coincides with a broader leadership reshuffle following the March assassination of Ali Larijani in a U.S.-Israeli strike.
Rezaei replaces Mohammad Bagher Zolghadr, a fellow hard-liner who stepped down to take a new role as political adviser to Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei. Alongside President Pezeshkian’s decree, Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei issued a separate decree making Rezaei his official representative on the council.
In view of your valuable experience, I hereby appoint you …
Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, via Newscord
The decree specifically invoked Rezaei’s background as one of the pioneers of the Sacred Defence era during the 1980–1988 Iran-Iraq War. Senior military leadership quickly rallied behind the shift. The commander-in-chief of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and regular army chief Amir Hatami issued public congratulatory messages praising Rezaei’s decades of military and strategic leadership.
Decades of Revolutionary Guard Command and Expediency Council Tenure
Born in Masjed Soleyman with the birth name Sabzevar Rezaei Mirghaed, the newly appointed security chief carries a heavy historical footprint. He headed the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps from 1981 to 1997, steering the powerful military branch through sixteen years that included the height of the Iran-Iraq War. Under his tenure, the IRGC expanded its institutional depth, establishing ground, naval, and aerospace forces alongside the Khatam al-Anbiya Construction Headquarters.
That offensive ran into heavy Iranian casualties before being halted, an operation Rezaei later defended as having been converted into a deception operation.
After stepping down from active military command in 1997, Rezaei transitioned into civilian governance. He spent twenty-four years serving as secretary of the Expediency Discernment Council, which mediates legislative disputes between parliament and the Guardian Council. He also served as economic vice president under the late president Ebrahim Raisi, cementing his multi-faceted background in security, military command, and economic policy.
Strait of Hormuz Blockade and Stalled U.S. Negotiations
Rezaei assumes control of Iran’s security apparatus during an active naval standoff. Tehran has imposed a blockade on the Strait of Hormuz—a critical waterway carrying a fifth of global oil and gas supplies—in response to the ongoing U.S.-Israel war launched in February. Washington has countered with a naval blockade designed to exert severe economic pressure on Iran.
The appointment arrives as diplomatic channels remain frozen. While Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi stated that Tehran was close to an agreement with Oman regarding maritime management, he stressed that waterways would remain closed until the U.S. met Tehran’s demands. A prior June memorandum of understanding aimed at pausing the conflict collapsed over bitter disagreements regarding strait sovereignty and navigation rights.
Rezaei has maintained an uncompromising public stance regarding the vital trade route. Last month, he asserted that maintaining absolute control over the waterway was worth more than dozens of atomic bombs. More recently, he warned Washington that its continued naval enforcement would cause serious risks and casualties.
Balancing Domestic Factions and Military Interests
Analysts view Rezaei’s return to the center of power as a calculated effort to synchronize fractured state bodies. Abas Aslani, a senior research fellow at the Tehran-based Center for Middle East Strategic Studies, noted that the administration needed a figure capable of synchronising different bodies of the government while acting as an effective domestic balancing act.
Politically positioned between President Pezeshkian’s reform-minded diplomatic wing and hard-line conservative factions, Rezaei retains historical ties across the military establishment. During the 2024 presidential election, he threw his support behind parliamentary speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, aligning himself closer to mainstream conservatives than to the more rejectionist camp led by Saeed Jalili. Western commentators view his appointment as part of a wider consolidation of power by Iran’s old guard, though regional experts suggest his broad cross-factional ties provide unique room to maneuver between the presidency, parliament, and armed forces.
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