Iran appoints ex-IRGC commander to top security position

Iran has confirmed Mohsen Rezaee, a former commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, IRGC, as the Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council.

President Masoud Pezeshkian appointed Rezaee to the role on Sunday, while Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei named him as his personal representative to the council.

Rezaee, 71, led the IRGC from 1981 to 1997 and is a member of Iran’s Expediency Discernment Council, an assembly created upon the revision to the Constitution on February 6, 1988.

The Ayatollah also appointed Mohammad Bagher Zolghadr as his political advisor. He has held several senior positions across the IRGC, including being deputy chief from 1997 until 2006.

Rezaee succeeds Zolghadr, 72, who was Secretary of Iran’s Security Council from March to August 2026 and Secretary of the Expediency Discernment Council from 2021 to 2026.

Over the weekend, Pezeshkian condemned the targeting of many law enforcement officers in airstrikes, saying the action was aimed at causing chaos throughout Iran.

“They hoped this would trigger ethnic tensions, ultimately leading to the country being torn apart,” the President noted. “All of their plans were completely foiled.”

He, however, said Iran’s communication with regional countries—including Iraq, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Turkmenistan, and Azerbaijan—is improving, compared to the height of the war.