Khamenei tightens grip on Iran security council with hard-line former IRGC chief

Senior Iranian official Mohsen Rezaei, who served as an adviser to Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, has been appointed secretary of the country’s Supreme National Security Council. Mehdi Tabatabaei, the Iranian president’s communications aide, announced the appointment Sunday evening, saying Rezaei was appointed by presidential decree following Mohammad Bagher Zolghadr’s resignation and move to a new position. Iranian state media confirmed the appointment Sunday. Zolghadr had been appointed to the post only in March, after the killing of Ali Larijani. The position is one of the most senior in the Iranian regime. The Supreme National Security Council is responsible for coordinating Iran’s security and foreign policy and includes senior military, intelligence and government officials, along with representatives of the supreme leader, who has the final say on matters of state. Earlier Sunday, the office of Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei announced that Rezaei would serve as his representative on the Supreme National Security Council, while Zolghadr would become his political adviser. Iranian state media said Rezaei had been formally designated as the supreme leader’s representative on the council. Rezaei is a well-known veteran of Iran’s leadership establishment and served for 16 years as commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, from 1981 to 1997. He has also been among the figures most frequently quoted in pro-regime Iranian media in recent months. He is not considered a moderate and has repeatedly issued threats. Last week, he said that if the United States did not change its behavior, Iranian forces would not “stand idly by” while the naval blockade of Iran continued. Danny Citrinowicz, formerly head of the Iran branch in the IDF Military Intelligence research division and now a senior researcher in the Iran and Shiite Axis program at the Institute for National Security Studies, said Rezaei’s appointment may reflect Khamenei’s desire to strengthen his grip on the council. “The Supreme National Security Council of Iran has lost some of its luster,” Citrinowicz said. “There is an attempt to revive it, based on a clear understanding that this is an important body that balances the system and helps the supreme leader make the right decisions.” He said there may be disappointment with Zolghadr’s performance. “There is probably dissatisfaction with the way Zolghadr functioned, because he failed to establish a body capable of helping the leader,” Citrinowicz said. “Of course, there is a question mark here because we do not really know, but there is no doubt that the system is taking shape. “It may be that Zolghadr did not see himself as aligned with the current positions of the leadership itself, and that is why the change was made. Will this alter Iran’s positions regarding negotiations with the United States? I doubt it. Could it strengthen the Supreme National Security Council? That is possible.” Citrinowicz added that Rezaei’s background in the Revolutionary Guards is expected to preserve the strong connection between the IRGC and the council. He noted that Rezaei had also served as an adviser to Ali Khamenei and had, in his words, “in a sense mentored Mojtaba.” As for the official claim that Zolghadr resigned, Citrinowicz said the circumstances remain unclear. “We cannot know what happened behind the scenes,” he said. “There are several possibilities. It could even be that Iran’s current policy is not hard-line enough for him because he really is very extreme. There could also be personal disagreements that we do not know about. Ultimately, the system is taking shape and there are internal tensions. “I would not exaggerate and say that the system is out of control. It is under control, and we can see that they are managing to establish a consensus regarding their policy on the Strait of Hormuz.” According to Citrinowicz, Zolghadr will now serve as an adviser to Mojtaba Khamenei in order to keep him close, a method also employed by his father, Ali Khamenei. “The idea is to keep people close, prevent them from leaving and doing something foolish, give them the feeling that they are still part of the system,” he said. “You kick them upstairs.”