Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei has appointed former Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps commander Mohsen Rezaei as secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, succeeding Mohammad Bagher Zolqadr as the nation coordinates its high-level security and foreign policy.
The appointment, announced following reports from the Tasnim news agency, brings a prominent military figure back into a central administrative role (according to regional reporting). Rezaei carries decades of military and political experience from key leadership positions across the Iranian government.
Mohsen Rezaei and the Supreme National Security Council Shift
Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei cited Rezaei’s extensive background when issuing the appointment order, specifically referencing his service during the 1980 to 1988 Iran-Iraq War.
In view of your valuable experience, especially as one of the pioneers of the eight-year ‘Sacred Defense’ era, I hereby appoint you as my representative in the Supreme National Security Council, and I hope you will fulfill this important responsibility. Mojtaba Khamenei, Supreme Leader of Iran
Rezaei’s career spans multiple high-stakes posts within the Iranian state apparatus. He served as the chief commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps from 1981 to 1997, held the position of secretary of the Expediency Discernment Council from 1997 to 2021, and worked as vice president for economic affairs between 2021 and 2023 (as detailed in public profiles). Mojtaba Khamenei also named outgoing council secretary Mohammad Bagher Zolqadr as his political advisor, praising his prior work.
Presidential Confirmation and Institutional Mandate
The transition received formal backing from the executive branch shortly after the Supreme Leader’s announcement. Mehdi Tabatabai, deputy director for communications and press at the Iranian presidential office, confirmed the appointment on social media. Tabatabai noted that President Masoud Pezeshkian had officially designated Rezaei to lead the council (the outlet reported).
The Supreme National Security Council acts as the primary coordinating body for Iran’s defense and foreign policy. Its membership brings together senior figures from the military, intelligence apparatus, and government ministries alongside the direct representatives of the Supreme Leader. The IRGC itself was set up after the 1979 revolution to defend the country’s new Islamic system, growing into a powerful state arm with an estimated 190,000 active personnel and a reach extending beyond Iran’s borders.
UK Countermeasures Target IRGC Support and State Threats
While Tehran reshuffled its security leadership, international scrutiny on the Revolutionary Guard intensified in London. British Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood announced that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps would be designated as a national security threat in a written statement to Parliament. The government move criminalizes any level of support for the organization, ranging from expressing a positive opinion to assisting them, carrying penalties of up to 14 years in prison.
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Sir Keir Starmer stated that they would never let Britain become a playground for states aiming to spread fear, division, and violence on their streets. Sir Keir Starmer, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
Prime Minister Keir Starmer promised to fast-track the National Security (State Threats) Act in April, and draft regulations for proscription were laid before Parliament. Starmer noted that the UK has already taken tough action against the Iranian regime and those linked to it, alongside Russian operatives and networks targeting the country. Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood added that Iran and Russia were employing proxies and thugs to carry out their harmful activities on British shores, noting that she had swiftly designated three groups so that individuals working on their behalf would be hunted down and imprisoned.
British authorities linked the IRGC and associated proxy networks to targeted intimidation, death threats, and violent operations on British soil. MI5 figures cited in reporting indicated that security services identified at least 20 potentially lethal Iranian-backed plots against people in the UK in the last year, with the IRGC remaining central to state operations targeting the Jewish community and Iranian dissidents.
Expanding Proscriptions and Prosecution Powers
Alongside the IRGC designation, the British Home Office named two other entities under the new state threat framework: the Islamic Movement of Companions of the Right (IMCR) and the volunteer corps of Russia’s GRU foreign military intelligence agency, as outlined in parliamentary updates. Home Office minister Angela Eagle stated in a written submission that the IRGC’s role extends far beyond conventional military forces to encompass intelligence activity and proxy use answerable directly to Iran’s Supreme Leader.
The new measures grant expanded powers to police and intelligence agencies to combat espionage, foreign interference, sabotage, and physical attacks. If approved by Parliament, those conducting sabotage—including arson—on behalf of these groups could face life imprisonment. Legal adjustments mean prosecutors will no longer need to establish a foreign power connection in every case, simplifying the process of building legal actions.
The IMCR has been linked by authorities to multiple UK locations, including seven attacks directed at Jewish and Israeli communities. Among these incidents is a March 23 arson attack that burned the remains of a Jewish ambulance service, targeting four Hatzola ambulances in Golders Green, London.
