Iran has appointed Mohsen Rezaei as secretary of its Supreme National Security Council, promoting a prominent hardliner and close ally of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei to a key security role more than five months into the conflict with the United States.
Rezaei replaces Mohammad Baqer Zolqadr as second-in-command of the body that coordinates Iran’s security and foreign policy and is chaired by President Masoud Pezeshkian. Zolqadr was appointed as political adviser to Khamenei.
Here is what you need to know about Rezaei, 71:
COMMANDED REVOLUTIONARY GUARDS AGED 27
Rezaei joined the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps shortly after the 1979 Islamic Revolution and became its commander in 1981 at the age of 27. He led the IRGC for 16 years, including for most of the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq war, and oversaw the expansion of its ground, naval and air capabilities.
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He is part of a generation of IRGC commanders who emerged from the revolutionary underground and later became senior figures in Iran’s security establishment.
A prominent figure in Iran’s political and security establishment since leaving his role as IRGC commander, Rezaei has been a perennial candidate for president of the Islamic Republic. He served as vice president for economic affairs from 2021 to 2023 under hardline President Ebrahim Raisi.
He holds a doctorate in economics from the University of Tehran.
ADVISER TO MOJTABA
Rezaei was appointed military adviser to Khamenei in March after he took over as Iran’s Supreme Leader, replacing his father, the late Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed at the start of the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran.
He has made frequent public statements during the war, voicing deep skepticism about negotiations and threatening the United States.
In April, Rezaei said it would be “great” if the U.S. launched a ground invasion of Iran, arguing that Iran could take thousands of American hostages and use them as leverage. He also said he personally opposed extending the ceasefire.
In June, before Iran signed a memorandum of understanding aimed at ending the war on June 17, Rezaei said the agreement contained ambiguities that needed to be clarified. On June 27, he accused Washington of violating the deal by creating tensions in the Strait of Hormuz.
Reflecting his close ties to Mojtaba, the Supreme Leader issued a decree on Sunday appointing Rezaei as his representative on the SNSC. Khamenei cited Rezaei’s “valuable experience” in the appointment, including his long military career.
OPPOSED THE SHAH
Rezaei was active in opposition to the Pahlavi monarchy, which was overthrown in 1979, while still a teenager. He was imprisoned by the Shah’s security service, SAVAK, in 1973.
He helped establish and develop the Mansouroun militant group, which was active against the monarchy during the 1970s. Members of the group who were imprisoned together, including Rezaei, later formed part of the senior leadership of the IRGC.
CONTROVERSY OVER RECORD IN IRAN-IRAQ WAR
Rezaei’s record during the Iran-Iraq war has been controversial in Iran. Critics have questioned his role in costly offensives that resulted in heavy Iranian casualties, including Operation Karbala-4, a December 1986 assault aimed at breaking through Iraqi defences toward Basra.
In 2018, Rezaei sparked renewed controversy by saying Karbala-4 had been carried out to deceive the enemy ahead of Karbala-5. He later clarified that the operation had originally been intended as a genuine offensive, but that Iran subsequently used its failure as a deception ahead of Karbala-5.
His comments prompted criticism from veterans, bereaved families and senior political figures.
WHAT HIS APPOINTMENT SIGNALS
Rezaei’s elevation places a veteran IRGC commander with decades of military and political experience at the centre of Iran’s national security decision-making at a particularly sensitive moment.
His close relationship with Mojtaba Khamenei is also significant. The appointment suggests that the Supreme Leader is relying heavily on figures with established military credentials and a hardline outlook as Iran navigates its confrontation with Washington and negotiations over the conflict.
Rezaei’s history of scepticism toward negotiations could also shape the tone of Iran’s security policy. While the SNSC includes representatives from across the Iranian establishment, the secretary plays an important coordinating role between the political and security institutions.
For Tehran, the appointment therefore represents more than a personnel change. It places one of the Islamic Republic’s most experienced Revolutionary Guard commanders in a position where military experience, political loyalty and resistance to U.S. pressure are likely to carry significant weight in Iran’s future security calculations.
With information from Reuters.
