A founding figure of Iran’s revolutionary security establishment has returned to the center of power as Tehran confronts war, succession and a widening confrontation with the West.
Tehran, Iran — August 2026. Mohsen Rezaei, one of the founding architects of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, has been appointed secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, placing a veteran military commander with an Interpol Red Notice at the heart of Tehran’s strategic decision-making.
President Masoud Pezeshkian formalized the appointment by decree, while Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei separately named Rezaei as his personal representative on the council. The dual designation gives the 71-year-old official significant authority over national security, defense and foreign-policy coordination.
Rezaei immediately signaled a confrontational approach. He declared that Iran would not open a second maritime corridor through the Strait of Hormuz and warned that American warships entering the strategic waterway could become targets. He also demanded an end to the conflict and the release of frozen Iranian assets before navigation through the strait could be fully restored.
Born Sabzvar Rezaei Mirgha’ed in Iran’s Khuzestan Province, he opposed the monarchy of Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi and was imprisoned by the SAVAK intelligence service during the 1970s. Following the 1979 Islamic Revolution, he helped draft the founding statutes of the Revolutionary Guard.
Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini appointed him commander-in-chief of the IRGC in 1981, when Rezaei was only 27. He led the organization for 16 years, including throughout much of the Iran–Iraq War, and later spent nearly 24 years as secretary of the Expediency Discernment Council.
His political ambitions, however, repeatedly failed at the ballot box. Rezaei ran for president four times without success. In the 2021 election, he received approximately 3.4 million votes—fewer than the number of ballots officially declared invalid.
Internationally, his name remains linked to the 1994 bombing of the AMIA Jewish community center in Buenos Aires, which killed 85 people and injured hundreds in the deadliest terrorist attack in Argentina’s history. Argentine prosecutors sought his arrest in connection with the bombing, and Interpol issued a Red Notice that remains active.
Iran and Rezaei have consistently denied involvement in the attack, describing the allegations as politically motivated. Argentina has nevertheless protested his previous appointments and requested his arrest and extradition during international travel, including a visit to Qatar.
Rezaei’s military record also remains controversial inside Iran. Operation Karbala-4, launched against Iraqi forces in December 1986, ended with heavy Iranian casualties after the offensive was detected and repelled. His later claim that the operation had been intended as a diversion was publicly disputed by former Quds Force commander Qassem Soleimani.
His return to the highest level of Iran’s security architecture comes after a devastating period for the Islamic Republic. American and Israeli strikes reportedly killed Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and dozens of senior military and security officials, forcing Tehran to rebuild its command structure under Mojtaba Khamenei.
Rezaei now inherits responsibility for national security at a moment of military pressure, economic isolation and uncertainty over the future of the regime. His appointment suggests that Iran’s leadership is relying on one of its oldest revolutionary figures to navigate its most dangerous transition in decades.
In a system fighting for survival, Iran has not turned toward a new generation—it has summoned one of the men who built the old order.