Iran appoints former IRGC commander as top security official

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has appointed former Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) commander Mohsen Rezaee as secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, Iran’s presidency said on August 9.

Rezaee was appointed after Mohammad Baqer Zolghadr resigned from the post to take on a new role, according to Seyed Mehdi Tabatabaei, deputy head of communications and information at the presidential office, Caliber.Az reports per foreign media. 

The appointment came shortly after Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei named Rezaee as his representative to the Supreme National Security Council, citing his experience and role during the 1980–1988 Iran-Iraq War.

Rezaee commanded the IRGC from 1981 to 1997 and is also a member of Iran’s Expediency Discernment Council, which helps resolve disputes between parliament and the Guardian Council. He was appointed as a military adviser to the supreme leader in March.

Khamenei separately appointed Zolghadr as his political adviser, citing his experience.

By Sabina Mammadli