Iran hierarchy consolidation as IRGC veteran tapped for key security role

Tehran, Iran – The office of Iran’s ⁠⁠Supreme ⁠⁠Leader Mojtaba Khamenei has announced a series of new appointments in key positions, including the naming of a former wartime commander and longtime political insider to helm the country’s top security body.

Mohsen Rezaee, who was commander-in-chief of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) for 16 years, including during years of war with Iraq in the 1980s, was named secretary of the Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) and Khamenei’s representative in the top decision-making body on Sunday.

Six new military positions were also officially filled on Monday, with Ali Abdollahi, head of Iran’s joint war command, appointed as the new chief of staff of the armed forces and Ali Ozmaei named as the head of the IRGC Navy. Brigadier General Ahmad Vahidi was also confirmed as commander-in-chief of the IRGC “with the rank of major general”, officially succeeding Mohammad Pakpour, who was killed during the opening salvo of the US-Israel war on Iran in late Feburary.

Sina Azodi, assistant professor of Middle East Politics at the George Washington University, said the appointments signalled no softening in negotiations with the United States.

“There is little question that Khamenei, Vahidi and the IRGC leadership all share the view that continued resistance to the US is strategically necessary,” Azodi told Al Jazeera.

He said Rezaee brings deep institutional experience and considerable authority among both senior IRGC commanders and the rank-and-file. “His appointment therefore appears intended to strengthen internal cohesion, reinforce the leadership’s control over the organisation, and draw on the experience of a figure who helped shape the IRGC into the military and political institution it is today,” added Azodi.

Rezaee used to be the secretary of the Expediency Council, another top state arbitration body, as he increasingly turned to politics and macroeconomics after the end of the grinding Iraq war that left hundreds of thousands killed.

The 71-year-old also helped develop a long-term national development plan and was given high-level economic coordination authorities during the Ebrahim Raisi presidency between 2021 and 2024. But he has never held elected office, having run for president unsuccessfully four times.