Iran Installs Hardliners Rezaei and Taeb as 6-Month War Deepens Standoff With U.S.
Updated
Updated · The Associated Press · Aug 29
Iran Installs Hardliners Rezaei and Taeb as 6-Month War Deepens Standoff With U.S.
2 articles · Updated · The Associated Press · Aug 29
Summary
Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei’s Aug. 11-12 decrees formalized a new leadership centered on hard-line generals and clerics, with Mohsen Rezaei taking the top security post and Hossein Taeb the Basij command.
Those appointments signal preparation for a long confrontation with Washington after the U.S.-Israel campaign killed Khamenei’s father and other senior leaders, while Tehran also moves to deter unrest at home.
Rezaei, 71, has threatened a “seismic” retaliation and warned no oil would leave the Persian Gulf if economic warfare continues, though he has left room for a deal if the U.S. meets ceasefire terms.
Taeb, 63, previously helped crush the 2009 protests and now takes over the Basij as economic pain spreads, reinforcing fears the state will tighten surveillance and street control before dissent reemerges.
The reshuffle underscores a split inside Iran: President Masoud Pezeshkian still argues for ending the war through negotiation, but the new inner circle appears built around cohesion, deterrence and repression.