Iran officially named Mohsen Rezaee, a veteran former commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), as the new Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council. President Masoud Pezeshkian finalized the appointment this Sunday, coinciding with Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei selecting Rezaee as his personal representative to the council.
At 71 years old, Rezaee brings decades of military experience, having served as the head of the IRGC between 1981 and 1997. He also maintains a seat on Iran’s Expediency Discernment Council. In a related move, the Ayatollah appointed Mohammad Bagher Zolghadr as a political advisor, citing his extensive background as a former deputy chief of the IRGC.
Rezaee takes over the position from the 72-year-old Zolghadr. Following recent regional unrest, President Pezeshkian publicly denounced airstrikes against police officers, describing the attacks as a calculated attempt to incite ethnic instability and fragmentation within the nation. He emphasized that these efforts failed. Furthermore, the President noted that Iran’s diplomatic relations with neighboring states such as Iraq, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Turkmenistan, and Azerbaijan are currently on a positive trajectory.
