Mohsen Rezaee | The Islamic apparatchik
Mohsen Rezaee, a long-time Iranian political figure and former IRGC commander, has been appointed as the military adviser to Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei. This move follows a major government reshuffle amid the ongoing war with the U.S. and Israel.
Why it matters
The appointment signals a consolidation of power within Iran's wartime leadership structure under the new Supreme Leader.
Some in Iran call him the “eternal candidate”. Maj. Gen. Mohsen Rezaee, now 71, ran for President of Iran three times — 2009, 2013 and 2021. The former commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has always remained an institutional insider and an ideologically committed apparatchik of the Islamic Republic, but, despite repeated attempts, he never managed to secure a position at the heart of Iran’s strategic decision making apparatus. The war the U.S. and Israel launched against Iran on February 28, 2026 changed that. Mr. Rezaee is now one of the most important decision makers in war-hit Iran and a close confidant of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei.
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