Iran's new Security Council shake-up reveals growing divisions over US deal

Iran's new Security Council shake-up reveals growing divisions over US deal Submitted by MEE correspondent on Wed, 08/12/2026 - 10:52 Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei appoints former IRGC commander Mohsen Rezaei to head Iran's top national security body Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and adviser to Iran's supreme leader, Mohsen Rezaei, attend a farewell ceremony for Iran's late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed on February 28 in a US-Israeli air strike, in Tehran, on 3 July 2026 (Reuters) Off Soon after Iranian negotiators reached a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the United States in late June to end months of hostilities, Iran 's Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) issued a statement endorsing the agreement. The statement was signed by Mohammad Bagher Zolghadr, a former hardline Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) general who had replaced the slain Ali Larijani, a prominent moderate figure who had supported a deal with Washington and was killed in a US- Israeli strike on 17 March. In Iran, the SNSC secretary, who is appointed by the president, does not have a vote on the council.