Iran appoints former IRGC chief Mohsen Rezaee as representative to top security body

TEHRAN: Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei has appointed former Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) chief Mohsen Rezaee as his representative to the country’s Supreme National Security Council (SNSC), replacing Mohammad Baqir Zolghadr, according to a decree published on Sunday.

Announcing the appointment, an account attributed to Mojtaba Khamenei posted on X, “Dr Mohsen Rezaee, considering your valuable experience, I am hereby appointing you, who were one of the first commanders in the triumphant 8-Year Sacred Defence, to be my representative in the Supreme National Security Council”.

The position was formerly held by Ali Larijani, who was assassinated in US-Israeli strikes in March, and then Mohammad Baqir Zulqadr.

According to Al Jazeera, Rezaee is a former IRGC chief and a member of Iran’s Expediency Discernment Council, which resolves differences between parliament and the Guardian Council, a separate body that vets candidates for office. Rezaee was a military commander during the Iran-Iraq war of the 1980s, referred to in Iran as the ‘Sacred Defence’.

In a separate decree, Khamenei appointed Zolghadr as his political adviser and praised his efforts. “In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful. Dear respected brother, Dr Mohammad Baqer Zolghadr, in consideration of your valuable experience, I hereby appoint you to be my Political Advisor”, Khamenei said. He also expressed appreciation for Zolghadr’s “round-the-clock efforts” during his tenure.

Meanwhile, I would like to appreciate the round-the-clock efforts of our dear brother, Dr. Mohammad Baqer Zolghadr.

— Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei (@MKhamenei_ir) August 9, 2026

Meanwhile, on Sunday, Iranian state broadcaster Press TV claimed that President Masoud Pezeshkian held a meeting with Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei and discussed the country’s military and economic affairs, days after Israeli media reported that Khamenei was in an “extremely critical condition.”

According to Press TV, “The talks covered people’s livelihood needs, conditions and future prospects of the US-Israeli war of aggression against Iran, military developments, and ways to secure resources and manage rial, foreign currency and energy expenditures, as well as economic engagement with foreign partners”. The talks between the two leaders were also shared via the Farsi X account attributed to Mojtaba Khamenei.

“Coinciding with the Start of the Third Year of Dr Pezeshkian’s Presidency Meeting and Discussion of the President with the Supreme Leader on the Country’s Economic and Military Issues Mr Dr Masoud Pezeshkian, coinciding with the beginning of the third year of his presidency, held a meeting and discussion with His Eminence Ayatollah Seyyed Mojtaba Hosseini Khamenei”, the X post said.

The thread added, “In this meeting, detailed discussions were held on the country’s issues and problems, particularly the provision of the people’s livelihood needs, the current conditions of the third imposed war and the future ahead, developments in the military domain, solutions regarding the provision of resources and management of expenditures–“rial, foreign currency, and energy”–as well as economic interactions with foreign parties”.

Khamenei assumed the position of Supreme Leader shortly after his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was assassinated in joint US-Israeli military strikes on February 28. Since taking office, he has not made any public appearances and has communicated exclusively through written statements.

Reports indicated he was injured and potentially disfigured in the initial strikes that targeted his father’s compound, forcing him into hiding and compelling him to communicate with senior regime figures through a slow network of intermediaries to avoid targeting.

Iran’s Mehr RELEASES VIDEO of Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei for ‘FIRST TIME’ pic.twitter.com/v3Rp81VfLH

— RT (@RT_com) August 8, 2026

Recently, after Israeli media claimed that Iran’s Supreme Leader was in critical condition and had been rushed to a hospital, Iran’s semi-official Mehr News agency released an undated video showing Mojtaba Khamenei appearing to be in good health.

The video of Mojtaba Khamenei was published for the first time by Mehr, a semi-official news agency sponsored by the government of Iran and run by the Iranian government’s Islamic Development Organisation, as an effort to negate mounting speculation over Khamenei’s health and whereabouts. (ANI)