Iran has named Mohammad Bagher Zolghadr as the new head of its top security body. He replaces Ali Larijani, who was killed in an attack last week. The decision was announced by the government and reported by state media. Zolghadr will now lead the country’s Supreme National Security Council.
Who is Mohammad Bagher Zolghadr?
Mohammad Bagher Zolghadr is a senior figure in Iran’s security system with a long career in both military and government roles. He earlier served in the powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), where he rose to the rank of brigadier general. Over the years, Zolghadr has handled several important responsibilities linked to national security. He worked as a deputy interior minister focusing on security matters, a role that involved dealing with internal stability and law enforcement.
He has also been closely linked with Iran’s top decision-making institutions. Before his new appointment, he was serving as the secretary of the Expediency Council, an influential body that advises on major policy matters. During the early years of his career in the 1980s, Zolghadr played a role in training and education within the IRGC. He also led special units, including those focused on irregular warfare, showing his involvement in strategic and operational planning.
How was Iran security chief Ali Larijani killed?
Larijani, a veteran politician who helped lead Iran's wartime efforts against the US and Israel, was killed alongside his son, according to a statement by Iran's Supreme National Security Council on Tuesday and published by state media. As secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, Larijani was at the core of Iran's strategic decision-making system, said Ali Alfoneh, a senior fellow at the Arab Gulf States Institute.
He added that Larijani functioned primarily as a coordinator, gathering proposals from across the security establishment, presenting options to the leadership council, and overseeing the implementation of decisions.
Ali Larijani, secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, was considered one of the most powerful figures in the country since Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in an airstrike on the first day of the war.
"After a lifetime of struggle for the advancement of Iran and of the Islamic Revolution, he ultimately attained his long-held aspiration, answered the divine call, and honourably achieved the sweet grace of martyrdom in the trench of service," Iran's Supreme National Security Council announced.
Who was Ali Larijani?
Larijani, a former parliamentary speaker, was a senior policy adviser to the late Khamenei on strategy in nuclear talks with the Trump administration. He was sanctioned by the US Treasury in January for his role "coordinating" Iran's violent suppression of nationwide protests.
Born into one of Iran's most prominent political families, often compared to the Kennedys in the United States, Larijani held several key positions throughout his career. His brother Sadeq Larijani served as the head of Iran's judiciary, while another brother, Mohammad Javad Larijani, played a major advisory role in foreign affairs.
Larijani himself served as Iran's culture minister in the 1990s, where he enforced stricter censorship policies. He later became Speaker of Parliament from 2008 to 2020 and most recently headed the Supreme National Security Council. In addition to politics, he was also an author who wrote extensively on philosophy, including works on the German thinker Immanuel Kant.
Despite not being eligible to become Supreme Leader due to not being a Shiite cleric, Larijani was expected to remain a key power centre. Many observers believed he was effectively managing state affairs as Iran's leadership operated under intense pressure and security threats.
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