The on-again, off-again conflict, characterized by tit-for-tat retaliatory strikes, is a lose-lose situation for both parties and for the region as a whole, yet we are unlikely to escape this tragic dynamic unless more realist strategic thinking prevails in both Washington and Tehran. Neither side can “win” this war, but they can cut their losses before they incur even higher human, financial, and military costs. The realist school of thought offers a compelling diagnosis of this conflict, and points the way to a mutually beneficial conclusion.
Archiv: Supreme National Security Council (Iran)
Der Iran wird zu einem Verlierer des Westasienkrieges
(July 19, 2026)
Für den einigermaßen wachen Beobachter erscheint es, als ob Mossad, CIA, MI6 und BND in Teheran an der Macht wären und sich einen ihren üblichen grausamen Scherze erlauben.
Iran Threatens to Attack US Bases in European Countries
“There is no justification for any country to fear Iran unless that country opens its territory to the United States for aggression against Iran,” Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei said on Monday. “It is Iran’s right to target the source and origin of any aggressive action against the Islamic Republic.”
Iran‘s new Security Council shake-up reveals growing divisions over US deal
In the mid-1980s, Rezaei became involved in secret contacts with the United States during the Iran-Contra affair, in which Iran received American weapons while proceeds from the arms sales were diverted to support the Contra rebels in Nicaragua.
Former Iranian President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani once told local media that his nephew, Ali Hashemi, a key intermediary in contacts with the administration of then-US President Ronald Reagan, had informed him and, subsequently, Rezaei about meetings with American officials.
Reopening Strait of Hormuz is a humanitarian imperative
It is worth recalling that the conflict did not begin over disputes about the Strait of Hormuz. As recently as February 28, commercial ships transited the waterway without restriction.
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With the US maintaining the naval blockade during the ceasefire period, Iran responded by stopping and, in several cases, attacking vessels attempting to cross the Strait without its approval. Insurance rates spiked, shipping lines rerouted around the Cape of Good Hope, and transit times increased by up to three weeks.
Wars of this nature benefit no party in the long term, and they rarely reach a logical conclusion. Their primary victims are innocent civilians who have no role in the conflict. Many civilians in Iran and Lebanon have lost their lives directly to strikes.
Inside the growing rift between Iran’s dealmakers and ultraconservatives
It was in this climate that a leaked video of Mohammad-Bagher Kharrazi, the brother-in-law of Masoud Khamenei, the younger brother of Iran’s supreme leader, emerged as part of what critics describe as a broader hard-line campaign.
In the video, Kharrazi claimed that Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei had “formally and publicly announced” that if Pezeshkian attempts to resign one more time, his resignation would be accepted.
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Soon afterward, however, another audio file surfaced in which Ali Saeedi, a conservative senior figure close to the Khamenei‘s office, claimed that the supreme leader had expressed support for the negotiations and criticised hard-line opposition to diplomacy.
According to Saeedi, Khamenei told one of his brothers: “I have never opposed negotiations, and I still do not. I was the one who authorised the negotiations, and I am not satisfied with the hard-line positions adopted by some people.”
Saeedi also claimed that Khamenei supports Ghalibaf, saying: “He is like [the late Quds Force commander] Haj Qassem Soleimani.”
Iran’s military reshuffle signals more offensive strategy
Khoshcheshm noted the appointments could also herald a major restructuring of Iran’s security and military apparatus, with a greater focus on pre-emptive strikes and more powerful responses to any US attack.
While he does not believe Iran would attack the US “offhand with no reason”, he says the new leadership is preparing Iran to develop its capabilities for pre-emptive strikes and stronger attacks on US military forces and positions in the region.
He described the appointments as creating a “more offensive-minded leadership for Iran’s security establishment across the board”.
Iran‘s Security Reshuffle Exposes Rift Dating Back To Cease-Fire Deal
Rezaei is a commander who holds some of the most closely guarded secrets of the 1980s Iran-Iraq war and the IRGC‘s founding years, and for just as long, he‘s been a favorite target of Iranian political satire. Now, at 71, he‘s back at the center of the Islamic republic‘s security decision-making.
Rezaei traded his uniform for politics in 1997 and ran for president four times, dropping out before the vote in 2005, then losing in 2009, 2013, and 2021, never pulling in more than about 3.9 million votes.
Iran Reshuffles Military Leadership as Khamenei Appoints Six Senior Commanders
The appointments came one day after Khamenei named Major General Mohsen Rezaei as his representative to Iran’s Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) and appointed outgoing SNSC secretary Mohammad Bagher Zolghadr as his political adviser.
President Masoud Pezeshkian separately appointed Rezaei as secretary of the SNSC, replacing Zolghadr.
Iran’s Supreme National Security Council issues drastic new demands of the US, as conditions for reopening Hormuz
Iran’s politburo-like body known as the Supreme National Security Council says the Strait of Hormuz will not open until the United States “corrects its behavior,” and issues drastic new demands that could shake up talks on a deal to manage the waterway and traffic on it.
Iran’s state broadcaster publishes the statement by the council’s secretary, Mohammad Bagher Zolghadr, who is also a commander in the powerful Revolutionary Guard.
Iran just appointed a national joke to lead security — this is what panic looks like
(August 7, 2026)
He has always had a rather delusional — and at times almost comical — view of security and intelligence affairs. He has a profoundly disturbed mind and a brain empty of knowledge, yet he is highly deceptive and destructive.
Like other Guard officers who once served as secretaries of the Supreme National Security Council, he is intensely anti-Israel. He will therefore naturally pursue the Iranian regime’s terrorist plans against Israel and greater coordination with terrorist groups across the Shiite crescent. Although the illusion that Mojtaba Khamenei is still alive continues to be raised, Rezaei is among those who fight for the survival of power and preservation of the regime.
Iran appoints new Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council
(August 6, 2026)
Iranian media reported on Thursday that former Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps commander Mohsen Rezaei had been appointed secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council (SNSC).
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Iran reopens Strait of Hormuz after US ceasefire
(5:43 pm / Pakistan timezone)
After the United States announced a ceasefire, Iran has confirmed it will reopen the Strait of Hormuz for all vessels for a period of two weeks.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, speaking on behalf of the Supreme National Security Council, thanked Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Chief of Defence Forces Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir for their active role in facilitating the ceasefire and easing regional tensions.