Iranian media reported on Tuesday that Mohammad Bagher Zolghadr, a retired Revolutionary Guard commander, has been appointed secretary general of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council.
The appointment is coming in the wake of the assassination of Ali Larijani in a targeted Israeli strike.
The appointment, confirmed by presidential decree and senior officials, was reported by Iranian news outlets citing an X post by Mehdi Tabatabai, deputy head of communications at the Office of the President.
Little is publicly known about Zolghadr. Born in the mid-1950s, he is a veteran of the Iran-Iraq War (1980–1988).
He spent his military career with the powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
He most recently served on the Conciliation Council, an arbitration body that mediates disputes within Iran’s political system.
The Iranian daily newspaper Shargh reported that Zolghadr previously led the election campaign of the ultra-conservative People’s Front of the Forces of the Islamic Revolution, a major opponent of Iran’s reformist camp.
Another hardline politician, Saeed Jalili, had been considered the frontrunner for the post following Larijani’s death in an Israeli airstrike in eastern Tehran last week. Jalili also belongs to Iran’s ultra-conservative political faction.
The National Security Council is Iran’s top body for strategic decisions, advising the supreme leader on matters of national security, defence and protection of the Islamic Revolution.
Chaired by the president, it includes around a dozen members, including ministers and military officials.
The secretary general acts as the supreme leader’s envoy.
Council decisions, including on Iran’s nuclear programme, become final once approved by the supreme leader, bypassing parliament.
