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Iran's Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei appointed former Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) commander Mohsen Rezai as secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, according to a statement posted on Khamenei’s social media account.
The statement credited Rezai’s military experience during the eight-year Iran-Iraq war and his long career in Iran’s security and political establishment as the basis for his appointment.
Rezai replaces Mohammad Bagher Zolghadr, who took over the security council post in March after the death of his predecessor, Ali Larijani, and has now been appointed Khamenei’s political adviser.
Born in Iran’s Khuzestan province in 1954, Rezai served as commander of the IRGC from 1981 to 1997, covering the Iran-Iraq war and the years that followed.
He later headed the Secretariat of Iran’s Expediency Discernment Council from 1997 to 2021.
Rezai ran for president several times but failed to secure enough votes. He also served for a period as a vice president under former president Ebrahim Raisi.
The secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) is the body’s senior coordinating official, which is chaired by the president and brings together senior political, military and security officials to formulate defense and national security policies and coordinate state institutions on security matters.
Its decisions require confirmation from the Supreme Leader before taking effect.
The appointment comes as Tehran remains engaged in discussions with Oman over the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, a critical route for global energy shipments. The talks have focused on the conditions under which Iran would allow shipping to resume through the waterway.
Any agreement on reopening the Strait of Hormuz would need approval from both the Supreme National Security Council and the Supreme Leader, according to the Financial Times.
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