After serving in the 1980s war against Saddam Hussein’s Iraq, Zolghadr was the head of IRGC joint staff for eight years.
On Tuesday, Iran appointed a former Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) commander and a senior hardline political figure to succeed Ali Larijani as head of the Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) after Larijani was killed in U.S.–Israeli strikes last week.
Mohammad Bagher Zolghadr was named Larijani’s replacement as SNSC secretary, according to a post on X by the Iranian president’s deputy for communications.
🔴Mohammad Bagher Zolghadr appointed as the new secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council. pic.twitter.com/aNFaUhBT2R
— Press TV 🔻 (@PressTV) March 24, 2026
The SNSC formally led by the elected president, Masoud Pezeshkian oversees security and foreign policy matters. It brings together senior military, intelligence, and government officials, along with representatives of the Supreme Leader, who retains ultimate authority on state affairs.
Zolghadr is a former IRGC commander with a long career in security roles, including serving as deputy for security at the Interior Ministry, deputy at the armed forces’ general staff, and advisor to the judiciary chief on crime prevention.
He has also led the electoral efforts of the hardline faction known as the Popular Front of Islamic Revolutionary Forces.
Since 2022, Zolghadr has been secretary of the Expediency Discernment Council, a body that settles disputes between parliament and the Guardian Council, the clerical body that can veto legislation and oversee elections.
