Niloufer Moulai: Hashtags for Mohsen Rezaei have increased in cyberspace, especially since JD Vance, Trump’s vice president, called for peace talks in a letter to the Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, and now everyone is waiting to see what Tehran’s response will be. A user wrote sarcastically in X social space that; At one time, there was one positive comment among the eight hundred comments that were written for his posts, but today the number of his fans has increased.
But regardless of what Donald Trump’s vice president wrote in the letter to Mohsen Rezaei and what Iran’s response will be; Addressing him by a senior official of the American government indicates an important message; A message that hides another facet of Mohsen Rezaei’s responsibilities as the secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, and that is playing a diplomatic role by a figure who is known for his military background. The same history that has caused him to be called Mohsen’s brother in informal circles.
David Ignises, a senior analyst of international issues and columnist of the Washington Post, has narrated the reason why Vance sent the letter to Trump as follows: “The Trump administration has come to the conclusion that Mohsen Rezaei is the most important point of contact for reaching an agreement in Tehran and probably the only person who can create a consensus among the various branches of power to stop the nuclear program and end the war.”
Based on what he has claimed: “The assessment of American intelligence agencies is that Mohsen Rezaei has a continuous relationship with the leader of the Islamic Republic, and the two have talked to each other in recent days after receiving Vance’s letter.” It is also said that Mohsen Rezaei gained more influence in this institution after restructuring the Supreme National Security Council and appointing people close to him. His relationship with the officials responsible for Iran’s economy is another factor that has attracted Washington’s attention.”
But despite this claim, Mohsen Rezaei has experienced different responsibilities over the past years. He was among the high-ranking commanders of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, who commanded the Revolutionary Guards in the eight-year war with Iraq, and after the end of the war, he continued to command this institution until 1976, that is, 9 years after the war, and after that he went to one of the most important policy-making institutions in the country. His long presence in the Expediency Recognition Council as the secretary of this decision-making body, his candidacy for the presidential elections four times, and his experience as the economic deputy of the president in the 13th government are other parts of his work record. Now, with his presence in the secretariat of the country’s most important security institution, his name is tied to the country’s most important issues, including negotiations with America, military war with America and Israel, etc.
Commander of the Corps at the age of 27
His full name is Mohsen Sabzevar Rezaei Mirquaid, and he is called Mohsen Rezaei for short. He was born in Shahrivar 1333 in Masjid Suleiman, and after finishing elementary school and part of secondary education, he was accepted in the entrance exam of National Oil Company’s technical college, and migrated to Ahvaz. It was during this period that he started his campaign against Pahlavi and was arrested by SAVAK when he was preparing to participate in the entrance examination and was released after 5 months of imprisonment. In 1353, he was admitted to the Mechanical Engineering Department of the University of Science and Technology, and came to Tehran, and in the first years of his stay in the capital, he entered into guerrilla campaigns against the Pahlavi government.
He got married in the same year 1353, and his wife’s name is Masoumeh Khadang, who was introduced to Mohsen Rezaei by the imam of the Ahmadiyya Narmak Jami Mosque at the time. The result of this marriage is five children named Ahmad, Sara, Ali, Zahra and Mahdia.
Rezai, who had abandoned his university studies in 1353, after the establishment of peace, while changing his major from mechanical engineering to economics, completed his bachelor’s degree at Tehran University.
He was one of the members of the 12-person committee for drafting the IRGC constitution in the winter of 1357. He was the head of the IRGC Intelligence Department from 1998 to 1999; In 1360, when he was only 27 years old, he was appointed as the commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps by order of Imam Khomeini, and he worked in this position for 16 years until 1376.
In fact, Rezai’s command over the IRGC was not only a military responsibility during the war years; For a long period, he was at the head of the military institution, which was developing its military structure and capacities at the same time as the developments of the war, and Reza’i’s name is tied to the important war operations and military decisions of that era. Therefore, the experience of being in war and commanding the IRGC is one of the most important parts of Rezaei’s political and managerial identity.
Of course, his command period was not without controversy and disagreements. Some military decisions and how to manage war operations are among the issues that have been discussed in different narratives of the war years later. However, what is important in reviewing Rezaei’s record is his long position in the command of the IRGC and the experience he gained from being at the head of this military institution.
But after Rezaei resigned from the command of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in 1376 and became a member of the Expediency Council by the order of the Martyr of the Revolution, Rezaei’s political path changed. This transfer brought him from a direct military responsibility to an institution where macro political, economic and policy issues of the country are examined.
Brother Mohsen’s efforts to enter Pastor
24 years of relying on the secretary’s chair of the National Expediency Council led Mohsen Rezaei to transform from a military commander to a political figure present in the decision-making and policy-making structure of the country. As much as he tried many times to rely on the number one seat of the executive power by entering political contests and presidential elections, but despite running for election 4 times, he was never able to get to the Pastor Street building. In fact, Mohsen Rezaei’s election appearances can be seen as his attempt to establish his position as a political and executive figure. Although the result of these competitions did not lead to his reaching the presidential seat, these appearances made his name to be among the country’s political figures in several election periods.
Rezaei’s first appearance in the presidential election dates back to 2004. He entered the race with the slogan “Government of Love”, but two days before the election, he withdrew from the contest.
He also tried his luck in the presidential elections in 1988 and 1992, but he won 681,000 votes (73.1%) and 3,884,000 votes (59.10%) and came third and fourth, respectively.
His last electoral experience dates back to 1400; When, at the age of 66, he entered the low-profile elections of that year as the oldest candidate for the presidential election, and again he could not have a chance. During the death of Ebrahim Raisi in 1403 and the early holding of the presidential elections, Rezaei issued a notice announcing that; “At this critical juncture, he does not intend to run for the presidential election and devotes his efforts to building a consensus and helping the future government.”
Rezaei’s complaint from the devaluation of the Rial to his presence in Ebrahim Raeesi’s cabinet
He studied economics and once during the 1400 elections he said that his thesis was related to money and credit and he was accepted with a grade point average of 19. An issue that shows that Mohsen Rezaei, along with his political and military records, has tried to present his own views and plans with regard to economic issues. Although his complaint about the decline in the value and value of the national currency, that too by showing a thousand tomans bill in front of the TV camera, was in the public’s attention for years.
As he once reacted to people’s jokes in a tweet and wrote: “People jokingly say that we who have not achieved our dreams, let us do something so that at least so-and-so achieves his dreams! Dear people of Iran, my wish is that no one in the country is poor; my wish is that the wealth of the country reaches your hands. My wish is peace, happiness and prosperity for all of you. My wish is your wish.”
But despite these issues, Mohsen Rezaei’s economic views have always been criticized. Especially since in the early 1980s, the 20-year vision document was written with his cooperation and accompaniment in the Assembly so that “Iran will become the first power in Southwest Asia in 20 years”, but this did not happen. On the other hand, his entry into Ebrahim Raisi’s government, as the economic deputy of the president, gave Mohsen Rezaei an opportunity to pursue his experience as an executive official in the field of economy. But in the end, due to the failure and incoherence of Raisi’s government in the economic field and the ever-increasing cost, as well as the difference in his approaches and solutions with Mohammad Mokhbar, the first vice president at the time, he resigned from his position.
Vance’s letter and Rezaei’s presence in Shaam’s office; War or negotiation?
After the martyrdom of Ali Larijani and the resignation of Mohammad Bagher Zulqader as the secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, it was Mohsen Rezaei’s turn to be appointed as the secretary of the Supreme National Security Council by the decree of the president and to take over his representation in Shaam at the same time as the decree of the leader of the revolution. That too, in a situation where the shadow of war continues to weigh on the country and the Islamabad agreement had ended earlier than its legal term.
The Supreme National Security Council is the most important and the highest security institution of the country, the decisions of the system are reviewed and approved by its members, and after the signature of the leadership, it is announced to the related institutions for implementation. Therefore, the responsibility of the secretary of this council is not only limited to military issues and even social issues, internal politics, foreign policy and security relations with other countries are included in its field of activity.
In such a situation, the addressing of Mohsen Rezaei by the Vice President of the United States, regardless of his legal status, becomes more important. If the decisions regarding negotiations with the United States should be reviewed and approved by an institution such as the Supreme National Security Council, and after the leadership signs the resolution, the foreign minister will be tasked with fulfilling Iran’s positions as well as the country’s diplomacy.
From this point of view, Vance’s letter can be seen as an event that has once again put Rezaei in a different position than what the public thinks of him in the past years. He, who was the head of the Revolutionary Guards for many years, later became one of the political figures who is trying to participate in the presidential elections, now his name is tied in issues related to diplomacy and negotiations with the United States; Therefore, it should be seen whether or not Rezaei can play an effective role in diplomacy, considering his experiences in various fields.
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