On Aug. 9, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian announced the appointment of former IRGC commander Mohsen Rezaei as the new secretary of the Supreme National Security Council (SNSC), following the resignation of Mohammad Zolghadr from that post, reported IRNA. The appointment comes shortly after Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei named Rezaei as his representative to the SNSC, citing his “valuable experience” and role as “one of the pioneers of the eight-year Sacred Defense”—the Iran-Iraq war of the 1980s. Khamenei’s office subsequently announced that Zolghadr had been appointed as a political advisor to the supreme leader.
Hours earlier, according to Khamenei’s office, Pezeshkian had actually met with Khamenei himself, IRNA reported. The Information Center of the Leader’s Office announced that Pezeshkian and Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei discussed in detail the country’s issues and problems during their meeting. “It said that the talks focused on the people’s livelihood and the current domestic conditions, in the face of the US–Israeli-imposed war and the future course of action, especially in the defense field,” IRNA said. “Strategies and solutions regarding the provision of resources and management of monetary and energy expenditures, as well as economic interaction with foreign parties, were other issues Pezeshkian exchanged with the Leader.”
