Why Iran Just Replaced Its Security Chief Days After A Hardline Ultimatum

Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei has replaced Mohammad Baqer Zolqard as his representative on the Supreme National Security Council (SNSC), appointing the veteran commander Mohsen Rezaei as the new secretary of the council. The move came after days of speculation in Iranian media about Zolqadr’s fate, with rumors suggesting that he had submitted his resignation only for President Masud Pezeshkian, who on paper is the head of the SNSC, to reject it. The president formally chairs the SNSC, but in practice it's the secretary who…