Iran has appointed an Islamic Revolutionary Guard veteran to lead its national security in the latest sign of the group expanding influence at a moment of acute vulnerability in the Islamic Republic.
Mohammad Bagher Zolqadr, a veteran regime operator was appointed as the new head of its Supreme National Security Council, replacing Ali Larijani, who was killed in an Israeli strike last week, Mehdi Tabatabaei, deputy for communications and information at Pezeshkian’s office said on X.
Zolqadr is a veteran regime insider who has held numerous high-level positions across Iran’s military, civilian and judicial institutions. His rise stems from his experience commanding a division in the IRGC during the Iran-Iraq War, where he was tasked with building relations with cross-border paramilitary groups, including Kurdish factions in Iraq.
The veteran rose to become second-in-command of the Revolutionary Guards for several years. More recently, he took charge of the Expediency Discernment Council, which advises Iran’s Supreme Leader and arbitrates between parliament and the Guardian Council.
His diverse institutional positions over four decades led observers to believe that he enjoyed the trust of the now-slain supreme leader, Ali Khamenei.
His wartime experience also led him to work closely with paramilitary groups inside Iran, such as the Basij and Ansar-e Hezbollah, which have been used to suppress opposition and dissent.
The appointment of a battle-tested and hardline figure like Zolqadr signals Tehran’s intention to maintain its posture on national security in the wake of Larijani’s death amid the IRGC expanding control over the nation.