Who is Mohsen Rezaei, and how significant is his appointment?

Mohsen Rezaei, the erstwhile commander-in-chief of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), has been appointed arsenic the caput of Iran’s apical information body, which plays a important relation successful the country’s information and overseas policy.

Rezaei takes implicit arsenic caput of the Supreme National Security Council amid ongoing talks implicit the Strait of Hormuz, which Tehran has utilized arsenic leverage during the months-long struggle with the US and Israel.

He replaces Mohammad Bagher Zolghadr, who has been appointed arsenic a governmental advisor to Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei. The presumption was formerly held by Ali Larijani, who was assassinated successful a US-Israeli onslaught successful March.

Here is what we cognize astir Rezaei and his appointment.

Who is Mohsen Rezaei?

Rezaei, 71, headed the IRGC from 1981 to 1997. That play included the Iran-Iraq War of the 1980s, referred to successful Iran arsenic the “Sacred Defence”.

Rezaei past went connected to service arsenic a subordinate of Iran’s Expediency Discernment Council, which resolves disputes implicit authorities betwixt parliament and the Guardian Council.

The Guardian Council is simply a abstracted assemblage appointed by the ultimate person that vets candidates for elected governmental bureau successful parliament, presidency and the Assembly of Experts. It’s besides tasked with reviewing authorities to guarantee compatibility with the constitution and Islamic law.

Rezaei has placed precocious value connected Iran maintaining power of the Strait of Hormuz, a constrictive waterway done which a 5th of planetary lipid and state pass. In July, helium said power of the waterway was worthy much than “dozens of atomic bombs”. Last week, helium warned the US it would “face superior risks and casualties” if its blockade of Iranian ports continues.

Iran has imposed a blockade connected the strait successful effect to the US-Israel warfare launched successful February, portion the US has deed Tehran with a naval blockade successful efforts to enactment economical unit connected the country.

What bash we cognize astir his appointment?

The Iranian president’s communications bureau announced connected Sunday evening that President Masoud Pezeshkian had appointed Rezaei arsenic caput of the Supreme National Security Council, Al Jazeera Arabic reported.

On the aforesaid day, Khamenei issued a decree appointing Rezaei arsenic his typical connected the council, making peculiar notation to his acquisition and to his being among the “pioneers of the Sacred Defence era” during the Iran-Iraq warfare – a notation that reinforced the beingness of his subject inheritance successful interpretations of the reasons for his selection.

What is the value of his appointment?

The Supreme National Security Council is simply a cardinal instauration wherever the strategical considerations of the presidency, the overseas ministry, the equipped forces and the information agencies intersect.

Therefore, the individuality of the council’s caput carries value that goes beyond his administrative powers, particularly erstwhile the alteration successful enactment coincides with an unfastened war, faltering negotiations with the United States, and disputes implicit the presumption of navigation and sovereignty implicit the Strait of Hormuz.

Rezaei volition bring military, economical and governmental acquisition to the role, Abas Aslani, a elder probe chap astatine the Tehran-based Center for Middle East Strategic Studies, told Al Jazeera.

“They needed to person idiosyncratic who tin someway synchronise antithetic bodies of the government,” Aslani said.

“Politically, helium is not that overmuch antithetic from his predecessor connected security, but the relation helium tin play domestically, and being a balancing enactment successful the country, is rather important successful this regard,” helium added.

Aslani added that Rezaei, arsenic a erstwhile IRGC main and subordinate of Iran’s Expediency Discernment Council, volition besides play an important relation successful Tehran’s negotiations with the US.

“I deliberation it is important to person idiosyncratic who is capable to scope retired to antithetic factions and to speech to them, and that is wherefore helium has been picked,” helium said.

Rezaei’s assignment takes connected an further governmental magnitude fixed his presumption during the 2024 statesmanlike election, erstwhile helium backed Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, placing him electorally person to the blimpish helping represented by Ghalibaf, the existent parliament talker and main negotiator successful talks with the US, alternatively than to the much hardline faction associated with Saeed Jalili, who was the runner-up against Pezeshkian.

This positioning does not mean that Rezaei is simply a mean figure, nor is simply a azygous electoral stance capable to justice his imperishable alliances. But it shows that his presumption wrong the blimpish campy does not needfully coincide with that of Jalili and the forces astir opposed to negotiations with the US.

This presumption could springiness Rezaei country to manoeuvre among aggregate parties: Pezeshkian’s government, which adopts a sermon much unfastened to negotiation; the blimpish campy linked to Ghalibaf; and the subject and information forces with which Rezaei has humanities ties dating backmost to his play arsenic commandant of the IRGC.

What are the implications of this appointment?

Analysts interviewed by Al Jazeera Arabic offered 2 main readings of the appointment. One sees it arsenic a motion that subject and information considerations are being prioritised amid warfare and tensions with the United States. Others reason that bringing a erstwhile IRGC main into the bosom of the decision‑making operation could, paradoxically, marque it easier for the enactment to merchantability immoderate eventual negotiated colony to hardline audiences astatine home.

Iranian writer and governmental expert Mashallah Shamsolvaezin told Al Jazeera Arabic that Rezaei’s enactment amazed a conception of Iranians who had expected caller faces to participate the Supreme National Security Council to pb the instauration during the warfare and respond to demands for renewal successful the decision-making structure.

According to Shamsolvaezin, much hardline forces presumption Rezaei’s subject record, particularly his erstwhile bid of the IRGC, arsenic a origin that gives decisions issued by the assembly stronger information and governmental guarantees.

This mentation stems from the information that the situation facing Iranian decision-making is not lone astir making decisions, but besides astir their quality to triumph acceptance wrong centres of powerfulness and among the societal basal that supports the hardline current. The people of negotiations has been accompanied by chants demanding that they beryllium stopped and accusing their supporters of weakness, making immoderate colony susceptible to governmental one-upmanship if carried by a fig associated with the mean current.

Shamsolvaezin added that Rezaei’s determination to the council’s secretariat whitethorn trim this debate, due to the fact that his subject past gives the decisions helium helps marque a greater quality to incorporate objections from much hardline factions.

He added that Rezaei’s beingness astatine the caput of the assembly could calm a wide conception of these forces, peculiarly concerning the negotiations, due to the fact that they would find it precise hard to impeach a erstwhile IRGC commandant of weakness oregon of squandering Iran’s information interests.

Externally, Rezaei’s assignment allows for 2 seemingly contradictory readings: the archetypal is that it is an Iranian effect to the tightening US pressure, and the 2nd is that it is simply a prelude to making hard decisions successful the people of negotiations, Al Jazeera Arabic reported.

According to the archetypal reading, Tehran wants to accidental that an escalation of sanctions, blockade and subject unit volition beryllium met with a akin hardened position, and that putting guardant demands that spell beyond erstwhile understandings volition punctual Iran to contiguous figures who correspond a much hardline beforehand to negociate the confrontation.

The 2nd speechmaking proceeds from the thought that large settlements bash not needfully walk done mean figures, but whitethorn necessitate idiosyncratic who belongs to the precise centre of power. When a fig with a subject and information grounds adopts the enactment of negotiation, helium becomes much capable to support it domestically and little susceptible to accusations of making concessions.

Shamsolvaezin believes Rezaei tin play a relation successful pushing governmental negotiations with the US forward, due to the fact that his subject past provides home screen and a large warrant for implementing immoderate aboriginal understanding.

According to this reading, the question is not whether Rezaei is hardline oregon moderate, but alternatively the quality of his subject and governmental credentials to crook a decision, immoderate its direction, into an actionable policy.

‘Shift successful information doctrine’

But planetary relations Professor Mohsen Farkhani offers an investigation that leans much towards considering the assignment a reflection of a displacement successful Iranian information doctrine, alternatively than simply a hunt for home screen for negotiations.

Farkhani told Al Jazeera Arabic that Rezaei’s assignment came aft what helium described arsenic repeated US violations of the June Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), and the nonaccomplishment of diplomacy to incorporate hostility and war. Tehran has accused Washington of violating the presumption of the MoU.

In his analysis, Rezaei’s acquisition – whether successful commanding the IRGC oregon organising forces during the eight-year warfare – aligns with Iran’s displacement towards the conception of “offensive deterrence based connected punishment”, and readiness for a superior subject confrontation and a semipermanent warfare of attrition.

Farkhani says the determination reveals that greater value is being fixed to accepted warfare approaches, alongside continued reliance connected asymmetric methods, to enforce cumulative losses connected hostile states during a high-pressure, semipermanent confrontation.

Based connected this reading, Farkhani expects Tehran to follow little flexible positions towards the US, whether successful imaginable negotiations oregon successful issues related to sovereignty implicit the Strait of Hormuz.

In his view, this does not mean that Rezaei unsocial volition alteration the operation of decision-making oregon the ineligible value of President Pezeshkian, the overseas ministry and the IRGC leadership, due to the fact that the assembly operates wrong circumstantial parameters and performs the relation of coordinating betwixt institutions nether the supervision of the ultimate person and his last decisions.

But his appointment, according to Farkhani, volition lend greater value to the subject and information considerations successful decision-making and its implementation, portion making assessments of deterrence and warfare much salient erstwhile governmental and negotiating options are being considered.

Ultimately, Farkhani sees Rezaei’s assignment arsenic an denotation that subject and information considerations are being fixed precedence and that Iran’s presumption is hardening, portion Shamsolvaezin argues that the erstwhile IRGC commander’s hardline inheritance may, connected the contrary, springiness him the quality to supply interior screen for immoderate imaginable negotiated settlement.