The abrupt replacement of Iran’s top security official after just four months in the job has triggered widespread speculation in Tehran over the reasons for one of the shortest tenures at the helm of the Supreme National Security Council.
Mohammad-Bagher Zolghadr was replaced as secretary of the SNSC on Sunday, less than five months after taking the post on March 24 following the death of Ali Larijani.
No official explanation has been given for the unusually rapid change, leaving its significance and meaning for Tehran’s approach to talks with Washington the subject of intense speculation.
Some Iranian commentators are citing the reported ‘criticism’ of his handling of the post and tensions over decision-making during the war, including targeting vessels in the Persian Gulf during the week-long funeral of slain Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
Zolghadr was gone just hours after publicly detailing an expanded set of Iranian demands that he said Washington would have to meet before Tehran reopened the Strait of Hormuz.
The demands included an end to US attacks on Iran and its regional allies, the lifting of the blockade on Iranian ports, the withdrawal of US forces from around Iran, sanctions relief, the release of frozen Iranian assets and compensation for war damage.
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