Iran’s new supreme leader has named the former head of the Revolutionary Guards as his military adviser, according to local reports on Monday.
“General Mohsen Rezaei was appointed as military adviser by the order of commander-in-chief Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei,” Mehr news agency reported.
Several other media outlets also confirmed the news of the appointment.
Rezaei, who is 71, once led the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, the ideological branch of Iran’s military, and has since held various high-level political roles.
The 56-year-old Mojtaba Khamenei took over as supreme leader earlier this month, following the death of his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in U.S. and Israeli strikes on February 28.
Since then, Iran has been engaged in a conflict with the United States and Israel that has impacted the entire Middle East.
During the previous leader’s tenure, Yahya Rahim Safavi served as the military adviser.
It is currently unclear if he will remain in that role under the new leadership of Mojtaba Khamenei.
On Monday, the new supreme leader issued a statement saying officials and heads of state institutions appointed under his father should “continue to carry on with their work”.
