Who is Mohsen Rezaee? Former IRGC commander appointed as military adviser to Mojtaba Khamenei

Sabereen News, a media outlet linked to pro-Iranian militias in Iraq, reported that Iran’s new Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, has appointed Mohsen Rezaei as his military adviser. Rezaei is a member of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council and a former commander-in-chief of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

Who is Mohsen Rezaee?

Rezaei is an Iranian principlist politician associated with the Resistance Front of Islamic Iran. He currently serves as a member of the Expediency Discernment Council and holds key economic policy roles, including secretary of the Supreme Council for Economic Coordination and secretary of the Iranian government’s Economic Committee. He previously served as secretary of the Expediency Discernment Council from 1997 to 2021 and as Iran’s Vice President for Economic Affairs from 2021 to 2023.

Before the Iranian Revolution, Rezaei was a member of the Islamist guerrilla group Mansouroun and later joined the Mojahedin of the Islamic Revolution Organization after the revolution. From 1981 to 1997, Rezaei served as commander-in-chief of the IRGC. He joined the IRGC early after the revolution and later became chief of its intelligence division. Appointed to lead the force by Ruhollah Khomeini, he assumed the role of commander-in-chief on 20 September 1981 at the age of 27 and played an active role during the Iran–Iraq War. In 1986, he was appointed a member of Iran’s Supreme Defense Council.

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Rezaei left the IRGC in 1997 amid political pressure from supporters of then-president Mohammad Khatami and concerns over his handling of perceived threats from the United States. He was succeeded by Yahya Rahim Safavi.

Often described as a “perennial candidate,” Rezaei has run in several Iranian presidential elections. In 2009, he placed third behind Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Mir‑Hossein Mousavi.

In 2013, he finished fourth behind Hassan Rouhani, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, and Saeed Jalili. In the 2021 presidential election, he was runner-up to Ebrahim Raisi, receiving about 3.4 million votes. On January 10, 2020, Rezaei was placed on the US Treasury’s Specially Designated Nationals list under Executive Order 13876 for alleged involvement in advancing the Iranian government’s destabilizing activities.

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