Mojtaba Khamenei, Iran's supreme leader, who had sparked speculation of being in critical condition after not appearing at official events since taking office, has recently been replacing Iran's top leadership one after another. Assessments say he is both weakening the existing leadership through the shake-up and consolidating his own power.
On the 10th (local time), according to Iran's state-run IRNA and other outlets, Mojtaba carried out personnel changes in the military leadership, including the chief of the general staff of Iran's armed forces. Through a decree that day, Mojtaba appointed Maj. Gen. Ali Abdollahi as the new chief of the general staff of the Islamic Republic of Iran's armed forces. Abdollahi succeeds Abdolrahim Mousavi, the former chief of the general staff who was killed by U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran that began on Feb. 28. He also abruptly replaced the deputy chief of the general staff, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) commander in chief, the IRGC deputy commander, and the IRGC navy commander, among others.
The day before, Mojtaba appointed Mohsen Rezaei, known in Iran as an ultra-hardliner and the supreme leader's military adviser, as the new secretary of the Supreme National Security Council (SNSC), which oversees national security policy. The SNSC is a key body in which top administration and military figures, including the president and the IRGC commander, participate to decide on war, diplomacy, and security policy. Formally, the secretary is appointed by the president, but the role is effectively known to reflect the supreme leader's intent. Rezaei is regarded as a legendary figure in Iran's military for playing a key role in building the IRGC, launched right after the 1979 Islamic Revolution, into the military and security organization it is today.
Mohammad Bagher Zolghadr, Rezaei's predecessor, was appointed Khamenei's political adviser. While seating his close aide Rezaei at the SNSC, he is still keeping Zolghadr close. Citing Nournews, a media outlet under Iran's National Security Council (NSC), Al Jazeera said, "Rezaei's appointment is a signal of a broad strategic reshuffle suited to Iran's new wartime situation," adding, "Iran dismissed claims that Zolghadr was removed due to failure or dissatisfaction or that the government opposed his appointment."
Mojtaba rose to the position of supreme leader 10 days after his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was killed in U.S. and Israeli airstrikes in February. Mojtaba was also reportedly seriously injured in the course of the strikes, and after taking office he did not appear even once in public, prompting speculation about his condition. He even skipped his father's funeral, which was held as a state funeral in Iran from the 4th to the 9th of last month.
Major foreign media likewise assessed that Mojtaba, who has remained reclusive since taking office, suddenly moving to a sweeping reshuffle of the top leadership is an effort to consolidate power. The Financial Times (FT) of the U.K. said, "Analysts trying to interpret the personnel changes in Iran's opaque and complex theocracy take the move as a signal that Mojtaba Khamenei is consolidating power," adding, "Khamenei is imprinting his own stamp on the regime more distinctly."
The New York Times (NYT) also reported Rezaei's appointment the previous day, saying it was "a signal that Iran's long-standing security chiefs are seeking to further entrench power rather than opening the way for a transition to a younger generation of political elites," and assessed it as "part of a check on Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, who has led negotiations with the United States." In other words, it is an effort to weaken Ghalibaf, who led talks with the United States.
Experts also analyzed that Mojtaba has moved to undercut the power of the existing leadership through a sweeping personnel overhaul. Ali Vaez, an Iran expert at the think tank Crisis Group, said the elevation of Rezaei appears intended to build a force to check Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, the parliament speaker, adding, "If there is one thing Mojtaba learned from his father, it is that no matter how much you trust core insiders, no one should have power so excessive that it overshadows the presence of the supreme leader."