Iran has appointed Mohsen Rezaei as secretary of its Supreme National Security Council, elevating the prominent hardliner and close ally of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei to the post more than five months into the conflict with the United States.
Rezaei replaces Mohammad Baqer Zolqadr as second-in-command of the body that coordinates Iran's security and foreign policy and is chaired by President Masoud Pezeshkian. Zolqadr has been appointed as political adviser to Khamenei.
