Iran International
Iran has established a new Defense Council under the Supreme National Security Council (SNSC), aiming to centralize military decision-making and prepare for crises ranging from war to potential leadership transition.
According to the SNSC Secretariat’s August 3 announcement, the council’s core responsibility is to enable swift, centralized defense decisions in wartime or national emergencies.
While it functions under Article 176 of Iran’s constitution alongside other SNSC sub-bodies—analysts say its timing and composition signal deeper institutional concerns.
Why now?
The move comes amid heightened tensions with Israel and the United States, and growing doubts over Iran’s ability to respond quickly in moments of crisis.
Abdulrasool Divsalar of the United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research said on X that Iran’s delayed response to Israel’s June attacks exposed “a crisis in the strategic military decision-making structure.”
Without secure digital infrastructure, he said, assembling the full SNSC during wartime could be dangerously slow and vulnerable to decapitation strikes.
The new council, by concentrating authority in a smaller group of key officials, is designed to reduce those risks.
MP Mohammad-Esmaeil Kowsari told Jamaran the Defense Council avoids the SNSC’s sluggish consensus model, replacing it with a “smaller, more focused group—allowing for faster and more effective decision-making.”
Lawmaker Mohammad Seraj added that in wartime, “any decision made by the Defense Council is equivalent to one made by the SNSC.”
Function and composition
The council will be chaired by the President and include the heads of the Judiciary and Parliament, two SNSC representatives appointed by the Supreme Leader, the Intelligence Minister, and the Chief of the General Staff.
A key difference from the SNSC is the Defense Council’s permanent inclusion of the top commanders of the Army, the IRGC, and the Khatam-al-Anbia Central Headquarters, which oversees joint military operations.
Though officially a sub-body, some observers see the council as more than a bureaucratic fix.
Writing in Ham Mihan, journalist Ahmad Zeidabadi called it “a move to re-centralize fragmented political authority amid a time of crisis,” alluding to doubts over what might happen if Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei becomes incapacitated.
In that case, the President—who chairs both the SNSC and Defense Council—would be the highest-ranking official in the country.
Institutional context
While the SNSC has long held final authority over Iran’s national security matters, its broad membership—spanning political, military, and economic leaders—makes it unwieldy in urgent situations.
Several lesser-known sub-councils already function under its umbrella, including the Passive Defense Council for critical infrastructure, the Intelligence Coordination Council made up of agency chiefs, and the National Security Council chaired by the Interior Minister.
The Defense Council is distinct in its mandate and composition: focused exclusively on defense, it aims to function as a standing wartime command center. Like the SNSC, its decisions require final approval from the Supreme Leader.
