Iran Israel War | Mohammad Baqer Zolqadr appointed Iran’s new security chief

Mohhammad Baqer Zolqadr, a veteran commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), has been appointed as the new Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council.

Mr. Zolqadr, who currently serves as the secretary of Expediency Discernment Council, an advisory body to the Supreme Leader, replaces Ali Larijani, who was assassinated by an Israeli strike on March 17.

Iran-Israel war updates on March 24, 2026

“Zolqadr has been appointed to the top security chair by a direct presidential decree and with the endorsement of Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Mojtaba Khamenei,” state-run Press TV reported.

He previously served as deputy chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces for Basij, a paramilitary organisation, and held senior positions in the judiciary.

Larijani, one of the most influential non-clerical politicians in Iran, had emerged as the face of the country’s defiance after the U.S. and Israel started a war on Iran on February 28, assassinating Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.

Mr. Zolqadr, who fought the 1980-88 war against Saddam Hussein’s Iraq, headed the IRGC Joint Staff for eight years during the presidency of Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani.

In 2005, after Mahmoud Ahmadinejad became President, Mr. Zolqadr was named Deputy Interior Minister for security and police. He became an adviser to Chief Justice Sadeq Larijani in 2010, and appointed the deputy Judiciary chief for strategic affairs on 14 May 2012. He became the Secretary of the powerful Expediency Council in 2023, when Ebrahim Raisi was the President.

As the secretary of the Security Council Mr. Zolqadr will play a key role in decision making at a time when Iran is at war against the U.S. and Israel.

“This warrior brother, who has had the honour of serving for years in the noble and sacred uniform of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps alongside various political responsibilities, has taken up the path of the martyr scholar, the esteemed Dr. Ali Larijani, on his shoulders and is a clear exemplar of “a righteous man after a righteous one,” reminding us of the fulfilment of a divine promise,” Iran’s Parliament Speaker Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf said in a statement about the appointment of Mr. Zolqadr as the Security Council chief.

“Certainly, this soldier of the Supreme Leader of the Revolution and our martyr Imam, with his valuable experiences in political, military, and social spheres and his revolutionary and jihadi spirit, will shine on the path of elevating the proud and powerful Iran and confronting the American-Zionist oppressor,” he added.