TEHRAN: Iran's former Revolutionary Guards commander-in-chief Mohsen Rezaei has been named head of the country's highest national security body, while President Masoud Pezeshkian has held a rare meeting with Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, who has not appeared in public since assuming the post early in the Middle East war.
The Iranian presidency announced on Sunday that Rezaei, 71, would replace Mohammad Bagher Zolghadr as secretary of the Supreme National Security Council.
"In light of the resignation of Mohammad Bagher Zolghadr from his position as secretary of the Supreme National Security Council and his appointment to new functions, President Masoud Pezeshkian has named Mohsen Rezaei as the head of this body," presidency spokesman Mehdi Tabatabaei said on X.
Rezaei led the Revolutionary Guards from 1981 to 1997, a tenure that included almost all of the Iran-Iraq war, before occupying several senior political posts. He later served as military adviser to Khamenei.
Rezaei said in July that control of the Strait of Hormuz, now at the centre of the ongoing conflict between Iran and the United States, was "more important than dozens of atomic bombs".
Zolghadr, who was also a former Revolutionary Guards commander, took up leadership of the council in March. He will now become a political adviser to Khamenei, according to a statement released by the supreme leader's office on Sunday.
Meanwhile, Pezeshkian recently met Khamenei, the supreme leader's office said on Sunday, in what is a rare publicised meeting amid uncertainty over Khamenei's health and whereabouts.
"Dr Masoud Pezeshkian met Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei and spoke with him at the start of his third year in the presidency," the supreme leader's office said in a statement, without indicating the date of the meeting.
Pezeshkian, who took office in July 2024, had said in early May that he met Khamenei, also without specifying the date, but the supreme leader's office did not issue any statement at the time.
The president said on Wednesday that communication with Khamenei was "very difficult at the moment", while speculation has swirled about the supreme leader's health after he was reportedly wounded in strikes that killed his father.
Khamenei's office said the two "discussed in detail the country's issues and problems", including the "current military situation and future prospects".
Iran had been engaged in negotiations with Washington on ending the war launched by the US and Israel in February, but a preliminary deal fell apart. Its top diplomat has said talks are now limited to exchanging messages through mediators.
On Sunday, Tasnim news agency cited a general in the Revolutionary Guards as saying that images showing Khamenei among the people and during meetings would be "published in the future", without offering a timeline.