Iran on Tuesday appointed former Revolutionary Guard commander Mohammad Bagher Zolghadr as the new head of the Supreme National Security Council. Zolgadhr, 72, replaced his slain predecessor Ali Larijani, state television said, as quoted by the AFP news agency.
Larijani, a powerful figure in the Islamic Republic, was confirmed dead after Israel said it killed him in a strike last week.
Who is Mohammad Bagher Zolghadr?
Zolghadr was previously a former commander of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards and had attained the rank of Brigadier General of the Guards. He serves as the Secretary of Iran’s Expediency Council.
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Zolghadr headed the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ education division in the 1980s and also commanded the IRGC’s Irregular Warfare Command.
Zolghadr was appointed Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces for Basij-related matters in 2007. In 2012, he became the Deputy Head of the Judiciary for Strategic Affairs.
In his new role, Zolghadr will lead one of the most powerful institutions in Iran, responsible for shaping the country’s defense, nuclear and foreign policies.
Early life, family and education
Zolghadr was born in 1954 in Fasa, near Shiraz, Pahlavi Iran. He studied at the University of Tehran, where he received a bachelor’s degree in economics from the Faculty of Economics before the Islamic Revolution in 1979.
Zolghadr’s wife Sedigheh Begum Hejazi served as Director General of the Women and Family Affairs Bureau. His son-in-law Kazem Gharibabadi is an envoy who has represented Iran at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and other global organizations.
Before the revolution, Zolghadr was associated with the Mansourun guerrilla group, an Islamist militant organization active at the time. Some reports said he was involved with Mohsen Rezaei in the 1978 killing of an American engineer and oil company executive. LiveMint could not verify these claims.
Zolghadr co-led the educational division of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps in the 1980s. He later served as commander of the IRGC Irregular Warfare Headquarters. Zolghadr also served as deputy commander of the IRGC.
In 2007, Zolghadr was appointed Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces for Basij-related matters.
Zolghadr was appointed Deputy Chief of the Judiciary for Strategic Affairs on 14 May 2012, having previously served as an advisor to Chief Justice Sadeq Larijani since 2010.
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Zolghadr is also the author of Qesse-ye Ghorbat-e Gharbi, or The Story of Western Alienation, published in 1381 (2002–2003) in Dowrye Aliye Jang Iran. Written in Persian, the work is a short volume that deals with topics related to Western society and culture, framed through a critical and ideological lens.
Who was Ali Larijani
On March 18, Iran confirmed the death of Ali Larijani, the Islamic Republic’s national security chief. Larijani was a key figure in his war leadership.
Confirmation of his death from Iran came hours after Israel earlier said it had killed him in a nighttime airstrike. Iranian Supreme National Security Councilwhich Larijani was driving, acknowledged his death in a statement, according to Bloomberg, citing the semi-official Tasnim news agency. The statement said he was killed alongside his son Morteza.
Larijani, 67, was killed while visiting his daughter on the eastern edge of the Pardis neighborhood on the outskirts of Tehran, Reuters reported, citing the Fars news agency.
What is happening on the war front?
The conflict in West Asia entered its fourth week, disrupting trade routes through the Strait of Hormuz. Tensions escalated after the killing of Iran’s 86-year-old supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khameneiin joint US-Israeli military strikes on February 28.
In retaliation, Iran targeted Israeli and US assets in several Gulf countries, causing further disruption to the waterway and affecting international energy markets as well as global economic stability.
Hostilities continued on March 24, even as US President Donald Trump signaled an end to the war. On March 23, Trump said negotiations with Iran were underway. However, Iranian missiles and drones continued to pound Tel Aviv and the Gulf states on March 23.
Key things
- Zolghadr’s appointment marks a continuation of Iran’s hardline security approach.
- Zolghadr’s extensive military background positions him as a powerful figure in shaping Iran’s defense and nuclear policies.
- The ongoing conflict in the region and the assassination of Larijani highlight the unstable security environment in Iran.
