Iran will reorganize its Supreme National Security Council under a conservative stalwart, state media reported on Friday, as Tehran grapples with fallout from a June war with Israel.
"With structural reforms in the Supreme National Security Council finalized, informed sources report the establishment of a new body called the 'Defense Council' — a strategic council tasked with overseeing national defense policies, whose structure is expected to be finalized soon," the Revolutionary Guard-affiliated Fars News reported on Friday.
Ali Larijani, a top advisor to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, is likely to be appointed as the new secretary of the Supreme National Security Council in the coming days, the report said.
Larijani would replace Ali Akbar Ahmadian who is expected to "take charge of several special and strategic national dossiers," the report said, calling them "high-level, forward-driving and strategic missions that require overarching coordination and management."
The Defense Council is considered part of the new governance framework in the defense and security sphere, Fars News said without providing further details.
The move elevates a stalwart conservative and personal confidant of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, in what may signal a redoubled conservative stance as Iran’s security and diplomatic challenges mount.
Ali Akbar Velayati, another senior adviser to Iran’s Supreme Leader, earlier suggested Iran may reconsider its restrictive social policies in the aftermath of the war with Israel in a remark seen by Tehran media as a rare official acknowledgement of public discontent.
“Maintaining national cohesion, as emphasized by the Supreme Leader, can include changing certain social approaches of the establishment and prioritizing public satisfaction in a way that is tangible for the people,” former foreign minister Velayati posted on X on July 21.
Two days later, prominent imprisoned political activist and ex-official Mostafa Tajzadeh issued a statement demanding Khamenei admit profound failures following a war with Israel and usher in fundamental change or else quit.
The leader of Iran's Green Movement Mir-Hossein Mousavi who has been under house arrest since 2011 has also called for a referendum on a constitutional assembly, arguing that the current political system ruling Iran does not represent all Iranian people.
“The bitter situation the country has faced is the result of a series of major mistakes,” Mousavi said in a statement published on July 11.
