Iran appoints ‘hardliner with IRGC background’ as new security chief

Iran on the 24th (local time) appointed Mohammad Bagher Zolghadr as the new chairman, succeeding Ali Larijani, head of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council (SNSC), who was killed in an Israeli airstrike.

According to Iran International (IRANINTL), Mehdi Tabatabaei, deputy head of public communications at the Iranian presidential office, said on social media platform X that “President Masoud Pezeshkian, with the Supreme Leader’s approval, appointed Zolghadr— a senior official with a background in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)—as secretary-general of the SNSC.”

Zolghadr has held senior security-related posts, including deputy interior minister in charge of public security and key positions within Iran’s military chain of command. He rose to the rank of brigadier general in the IRGC. He also served as secretary-general of Iran’s Expediency Council. As the secretary-general of the Expediency Council is appointed by the Supreme Leader, he is assessed as being among the closest confidants of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the current Supreme Leader.

Larijani, his predecessor, was killed on the 17th in an Israeli airstrike along with senior Basij figures, including Gholamreza Soleimani, commander of the Basij militia under the IRGC.

By Kim Dong-hyun 3code@hankyung.com