Iran Replaces Head Of National Security Council

President Ebrahim Raisi has appointed the head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Strategic Center, Ali Akbar Ahmadian, as the new Secretary of the National Security Council.

Ahmadian will replace Admiral Ali Shamkhani, who held the position for 10 years.

Via Twitter, Shamkhani posted an excerpt from an Iranian poem on Sunday “alluding to media speculation about his resignation,” Iran’s semiofficial Tasnim news outlet reported.

According to the Iranian Nour News outlet, the Twitter post means that “Shamkhani will definitely resign.”

Ahmadian began his career as the commander of the IRGC navy in 1997, and in 2000 became the chief of the IRGC Joint Staff. He is a Tehran University graduate who received a Ph.D. in strategic management from the Supreme National Defense University of Iran.

His replacement of Shamkhani “marks a significant shift in the country’s security leadership” and “reflects the dynamic nature of Iran’s political landscape,” Chinesebased news outlet BNN Breaking wrote on 22 May.

“Effective leadership remains crucial in addressing complex security concerns, and Ahmadian’s appointment signals a commitment to navigating these challenges with a new perspective,” it added.

Shamkhani played a leading role in the country’s political scene for decades and was among the main Iranian officials involved in the recent Chinese-brokered restoration of ties between Iran and Saudi Arabia.

The news comes days in the wake of a speech by Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei’s stressing the importance of “flexibility” in foreign policy, adding that flexibility “does not have to compromise one’s principles.”

This is the second time Tehran has restructured its leadership in a year. Following the assassination of several nuclear scientists and IRGC officials between 2021 and 2022, Iran replaced the head of the country’s intelligence unit, who had held the post for 12 years.