Setting the tone: Senior official close to Mojtaba appointed to influential position in Iran
Mohsen Rezaee, military advisor to the Supreme Leader and former commander of the IRGC, has been appointed by the President of Iran as Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council. Additionally, Mojtaba Khamenei has appointed Rezaee as his representative to the council, effectively consolidating control over Tehran's security and foreign policy in his hands.
Mohammad Bagher Zolghadr, Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council of Iran, announced that the Strait of Hormuz will remain closed until the US accepts Tehran's six conditions. According to the ISNA news agency, Zolghadr stated during an address marking Journalist Day that the council would not abandon these demands, "whether in war or in negotiations."
Zolghadr defined the necessary "correction of US behavior" as ending threats against Iran, halting what he termed the "insulting of the people's sanctities," ending wars against Iran and its allies in Lebanon, the Palestinian territories, Yemen, and Iraq, lifting the naval blockade on Iranian ports, withdrawing US naval and air forces from the region, paying full war reparations, lifting sanctions, and unconditionally releasing frozen Iranian assets.
President Masoud Pezeshkian has appointed Mohsen Rezaee as Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, one of the most sensitive and influential positions in the Iranian decision-making system. Simultaneously, Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei appointed Rezaee as his representative to the council, concentrating two senior roles in the hands of a figure responsible for shaping Tehran's security and foreign policy.
The appointment follows the resignation of Mohammad Bagher Zolghadr, who had issued the ultimatum regarding the Strait of Hormuz just days prior. Mehdi Tabatabaei, head of the government's information council, confirmed that Pezeshkian signed the decree following Zolghadr's resignation. According to the Saudi newspaper Asharq Al-Awsat, Zolghadr has since been appointed as a political advisor to the Supreme Leader.
In his decree, Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei praised Rezaee's experience, calling him "one of the pioneers of the glorious period of the eight years of Sacred Defense." Following this, Rezaee and Saeed Jalili will serve as the two representatives of the Supreme Leader on the council.
Observers note that these appointments mark a significant expansion of Rezaee's status within the inner circle of Khamenei. Rezaee already serves as the Supreme Leader's military advisor—the first position granted to him after Mojtaba Khamenei succeeded his father, Ali Khamenei, in March. Rezaee previously commanded the IRGC during the Iran-Iraq War and held various political and economic roles, including Secretary of the Expediency Discernment Council.
