Two senior Iranian lawmakers have welcomed the creation of a new Defense Council under the Supreme National Security Council (SNSC), calling it a timely move to streamline military decision-making in what they described as wartime conditions.
“The formation of this council was necessary given the current wartime situation and possible conditions in the future,” said Alaeddin Boroujerdi, a veteran parliamentarian and member of the National Security and Foreign Policy Committee.
“Due to the wartime conditions we are in, the establishment of this council and the concentration of military and defense decisions can create coordination and coherence in decision-making and execution in critical situations.”
Boroujerdi said the council’s focus on defense matters would complement the broader remit of the SNSC.
“Since the Supreme National Security Council deals with numerous security, national and foreign policy issues, there was a need for military and defense developments to be followed in a concentrated manner in one council,” he said, adding that its inclusion of senior armed forces commanders could “greatly strengthen our decision-making and policy-making in wartime.”
Esmaeil Kowsari, another member of the committee and a former Revolutionary Guards commander, said the council’s establishment met a necessity that emergedduring the recent war and would speed up the chain of command.
“In wartime it is necessary for decisions to be taken quickly, so there must be a headquarters or council where decisions are made with greater speed and decisiveness,” he said. “This council can play an important role in the country’s defense policies.”
Kowsari, recalling the 1980–88 Iran-Iraq war, said that rapid, centralized decision-making had been essential then and would be so again.
“We have never initiated a war and have always defended our country firmly and decisively, but we must be fully prepared,” he said. “The decisions and actions of this council must be designed in such a way as to have the ability to surprise the enemy and, with timely strikes, suppress threats.”
The SNSC approved the Defense Council’s formation on Aug. 3 under Article 176 of the constitution.
Chaired by the president, the council will include the heads of the judiciary and parliament, senior military commanders, and key ministers. Officials say its mandate is to serve as a standing wartime command center, enabling swift, centralized responses to military crises.
On Tuesday, Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei appointed conservative politician Ali Larijani to lead to lead the country’s top security body, the SNSC.
