Shafaq News- Tehran

Conflicting reports from Iranian news agencies on Saturday left unclear who holds the post of secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, the country's highest security decision-making body, after an item attributed to the semi-official Fars News Agency said former Revolutionary Guard commander Mohsen Rezaei had been appointed to the role, and the official Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) later carried a statement identifying the incumbent, Mohammad Baqer Zolghadr, in the same position.

Fars said the appointment content had been posted by users of its interactive platform rather than by its journalists, according to a clarification issued by the agency.

According to the version circulated under Fars's name, Rezaei had been named the representative of Iran's supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, on the council and its secretary, replacing Zolghadr only months into his tenure and following a reported resignation.

Hours later, IRNA and the semi-official Mehr News Agency published a fresh message from Zolghadr issued for Iran's national Journalists' Day. The message identified him without qualification as secretary of the Supreme National Security Council and set out Iran's positions on security and foreign policy.

Zolghadr was appointed secretary of the council on March 24, 2026, by President Masoud Pezeshkian and with the approval of Iran's leadership, succeeding Ali Larijani, who was killed in a strike earlier that month, according to Iranian state media and international reporting. Rezaei, one of the longest-serving commanders of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), Iran's elite military force, has since held senior political and economic posts, including secretary of the Expediency Discernment Council, an advisory body to the supreme leader.

The reformist newspaper Sazandegi and other Iranian outlets reported that Pezeshkian had declined to accept a resignation offer from Zolghadr and asked him to continue, a claim Shafaq News could not independently confirm. In the Journalists' Day message, Zolghadr wrote that the council "will not retreat, whether in war or in negotiations."

Fars said it treats posts published by users of its interactive platform as unverified and labels them accordingly, and that material carrying its name is official only when issued by its accredited journalist accounts.

The episode falls within an unusual period of turnover at the top of Iran's security establishment, which has lost several senior figures during the war with the United States and Israel that began early this year. Leadership of the country has passed to Mojtaba Khamenei, whose limited public appearances have added to questions abroad about how major decisions are being reached in Tehran.

As of Saturday, no Iranian government body had confirmed any change in the council's leadership.