Image: 조선일보

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei Appoints Mohsen Rezaei Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council

10 August, 2026.Iran.61 sources

Mohsen Rezaei appointed Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council. Be designated as the Leader’s representative to the SNSC.

61 outlets1 divide1 fact unevenly coveredseverity 3/10

Beat 1 · The verdict

조선일보 frames the move as hardening; Tehran Times says it shows military-political lockstep

Beat 2 · The divide, quote v quote

“signals Iran's hardening stance, U.S. talks stall”

조조선일보 (Asian)

“far from representing a rupture between Iran’s political and military establishment”

TTehran Times (West Asian)

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Full story

Rezaei becomes SNSC secretary

Iran’s Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) leadership shifted after Mohsen Rezaei was appointed as secretary, with Deutsche Welle Persian News Desk saying the appointment came by decree from Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and naming Rezaei as the Leader’s representative to the SNSC.

“Mohsen Rezaei has become Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council of Iran”

Al-Manar TV Lebanon reported that Ahmad Vahidi, the commander of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), sent a message to “Dear brother, Dr. Mohsen Rezaei” congratulating him on his “well-deserved and wise appointment” as the representative of the Supreme Leader and secretary of the council.

Aajil

Deutsche Welle Persian News Desk also said Seyed Mehdi Tabatabaei wrote on X that “Given Mohammad Bagher Zolqadr’s resignation from the Secretariat of the Supreme National Security Council,” Dr. Massoud Pishgian was appointed by decree as secretary.

In the same reporting, Deutsche Welle Persian News Desk tied the change to internal SNSC personnel movement, noting that Mohammad Bagher Zolqadr’s resignation was implicitly confirmed by President Masoud Pishgian when he said: “There are some differences that we are trying to resolve.”

Sources

Al-Manar TV Lebanon

Hardline signals and reactions

Multiple outlets framed the appointment as a security-policy signal, with Chosun Ilbo describing Rezaei as an ultra-hardliner who said at a memorial service for former Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei last month that “This strategic strait (Hormuz) is more important than dozens of nuclear bombs.”

Chosun Ilbo also reported that Rezaei was appointed on the 9th (local time) as the new secretary of the SNSC, and it linked the personnel change to Iran-U.S. negotiations over reopening the Strait of Hormuz that it said remained deadlocked.

ABNA English

Tehran Times described the reshuffle as showing “lockstep coordination” between Iran’s military and political leadership, saying Rezaei replaced Mohammad Bagher Zolqadr, who was named as a political adviser to the Leader.

In that same account, Tehran Times quoted Rezaei warning the United States that it would “face serious risks and casualties” if the American blockade of Iranian ports continued.

Sources

조선일보

Tehran Times

Coordination, power, and next moves

The appointment was presented as part of a broader reshuffle around the SNSC, with ANI News saying Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei moved Mohammad Bagher Zolghadr into the role of his political adviser while appointing Mohsen Rezaei as his representative on the security council.

““In consideration of your valuable experience, I hereby appoint you to be my Political Advisor.””

ANI News

ANI News reported that Khamenei announced the appointments in posts on X, including the line: “In consideration of your valuable experience, I hereby appoint you to be my Political Advisor.”

Al-Manar TV Lebanon’s message to Rezaei emphasized his long record across IRGC and state roles, including “your 16 years of command of the IRGC” and “your 24 years as Secretary of the Expediency Discernment Council,” as justification for his ability to coordinate “between the field and diplomacy.”

In parallel, Jamaran described official readiness to cooperate with the NSC secretariat, quoting the Ministry of Interior’s message to the new secretary of the NSC that the NSC “bears a vital role in safeguarding the nation’s dignity, territorial integrity, and national wealth.”

Sources

ANI News

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