Iran named Mohammad Baqer Zolqadr on March 24 to replace the late Ali Larijani as head of the Supreme National Security Council (CSSN) following American-Israeli strikes that killed Larijani on March 17.
While Larijani was previously seen as a pragmatist in geopolitics and supported some economic liberalism inspired by Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping, Zolqadr is known for being a hardliner in Iranian politics.
Zolqadr has held important positions in the past, including deputy in charge of security at the Interior Ministry, deputy to the Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces, and advisor to the chief of the judiciary for crime prevention.
He led the electoral office of the hardline political faction, the Popular Front of Islamic Revolutionary Forces.
Since 2022, he has served as the secretary of the Discernment Council of the regime, an institution created in 1988 to resolve disputes between Parliament and the Guardian Council, which can veto laws and oversee elections.
The CSSN officially reports to President Masoud Pezeshkian and coordinates security and foreign policy, including high-ranking military, intelligence, and government officials, alongside representatives of the Supreme Leader who have final say on state matters.
Another key figure undergoing restructuring is Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, the Parliament president since 2020 and former commander of the Revolutionary Guards’ aerospace component. With military and political experience, he bridges the gap between combat forces and state institutions.
Meanwhile, President Donald Trump’s statements on negotiations with Tehran range from nuanced to contradictory. What is certain is that while Iranian political-military power has been targeted by Israeli-American military operations, it has reshaped internally.
Journalist Georges Malbrunot sums up the situation, emphasizing the regime shift in Iran from religious-military to purely military leadership, with the Revolutionary Guards in charge and the new Supreme Leader merely providing religious cover.
Aside from President Masoud Pezeshkian, who is a surgeon, the other officials mentioned in the article are former Revolutionary Guards members. The new Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution of Iran, Mojtaba Hosseini Khamenei, has yet to appear in public, although numerous messages purportedly from him have been circulated.
(Note: Corrections to previous errors and additional sources are referenced in footnotes within the article.)
