Tehran appoints new security chief after Larijani's death
3/24/2026 5:26:10 PM
Iran named a former Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) commander to succeed Ali Larijani as head of Iran's Supreme National Security Council on Tuesday, March 24, after the veteran regime insider was killed in an Israeli strike.
Larijani was killed in an Israeli strike last week, ending the life of one of the most heavyweight non-clerical figures in Iranian politics, who had been seen as a possible pointman in any eventual talks with the United States.
Mohammad Bagher Zolghadr, whose appointment was confirmed by state TV channels, is a former deputy commander-in-chief of the IRGC, Iran's ideological army, who has also held senior posts in the Interior and Justice Ministries.
A long IRGC career
Zolghadr's career has been embedded in the IRGC, whose stated aim is to protect the Islamic revolution from internal and external threats. After serving in the 1980s war against Saddam Hussein's Iraq, Zolghadr was the head of the IRGC's joint staff for eight years, and then as the deputy commander-in-chief of the IRGC for another eight years.
In 2005, he was named deputy interior minister for security and police in the government of then-president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, a move that, at the time, was seen as bolstering the IRGC's influence in politics.
Since 2023, he has been the secretary of the Expediency Council, a powerful body that plays both an advisory and mediating role between Iran's various power structures and the supreme leader.
Larijani was killed in an Israeli strike last week, ending the life of one of the most heavyweight non-clerical figures in Iranian politics, who had been seen as a possible pointman in any eventual talks with the United States.
Mohammad Bagher Zolghadr, whose appointment was confirmed by state TV channels, is a former deputy commander-in-chief of the IRGC, Iran's ideological army, who has also held senior posts in the Interior and Justice Ministries.
A long IRGC career
Zolghadr's career has been embedded in the IRGC, whose stated aim is to protect the Islamic revolution from internal and external threats. After serving in the 1980s war against Saddam Hussein's Iraq, Zolghadr was the head of the IRGC's joint staff for eight years, and then as the deputy commander-in-chief of the IRGC for another eight years.
In 2005, he was named deputy interior minister for security and police in the government of then-president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, a move that, at the time, was seen as bolstering the IRGC's influence in politics.
Since 2023, he has been the secretary of the Expediency Council, a powerful body that plays both an advisory and mediating role between Iran's various power structures and the supreme leader.