Tehran has resurrected the Supreme Defense Council, a wartime command body last convened during the Iran–Iraq War (1980‑1988), within its Supreme National Security Council (SNSC), aiming to centralize military and security decision‑making after months of debilitating strikes against its air defences and nuclear infrastructure in the 2025 Iran–Israel conflict. President Masoud Pezeshkian was named chairman of the newly activated body, with former SNSC secretary Ali Larijani reportedly set to take over as its executive secretary, a role Riyadh-affiliated outlets openly link to Supreme Leader Khamenei’s inner circle.
According to Tasnim and Fars news agencies both aligned with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps the council’s remit, grounded in Article 176 of Iran’s constitution, is to streamline and accelerate combat decisions by unifying command between Iran’s IRGC and regular army, intelligence and planning ministries, alongside Supreme Leader representatives and judiciary and parliamentary leadership.
The reactivation marks the first use of such a body since the 1980s war, reflecting sweeping post‑conflict turmoil: Israeli air raids in June struck approximately one‑third of Iran’s long-range air defence systems and upended command chains by killing senior IRGC generals and advisers, deeply shaking Supreme Leader Khamenei’s inner circle a void that Iran already acknowledged as a grave threat to regime cohesion.
Observers note the move is as much political as military: conservative commentator Morad Vaisi warned IranInternational that the council appears aimed at preserving “the Islamic Republic and preventing its collapse,” rather than protecting the Iranian public; critics say the new power structure has been assembled to assert control over a demoralized IRGC and to insulate Khamenei from potential cases of military rotten trust or collapse.
