Born into a religious family in Masjed Soleyman, Rezaei was a member of the Shia Islamist guerrilla group Mansouroun during the Iranian Revolution. He joined the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in 1980 and served as its commander-in-chief from 1981 to 1997. After leaving the IRGC, Rezaei pursued a political career, unsuccessfully running for president in 2009, 2013 and 2021. He served as secretary of the Expediency Discernment Council from 1997 to 2021 and as vice president of Iran for economic affairs from 2021 and 2023.
Rezaei is subject to sanctions imposed by the United States for alleged involvement in terrorism and nuclear proliferation. Since 2007, he has been wanted by Argentine authorities in connection with the 1994 AMIA bombing, allegations he has denied.
Rezaei was born in Masjed Soleyman on 9 September 1954 to a religious Lur family belonging to the Bakhtiari tribe.
In 1969, Rezaei and his family moved to Ahvaz, where he became involved in political activities opposing the rule of Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi. He was subsequently arrested by SAVAK, the Shah's intelligence and security agency, and spent five months in solitary confinement at the age of 17. Following his release, he continued his political activities.
During the 1970s, Rezaei established provincial branches of Mansouroun, a Shia Islamist, anti-monarchy guerrilla group. In 1974, he enrolled at the Iran University of Science and Technology to study mechanical engineering, but discontinued his studies amid an intensified SAVAK crackdown on guerrilla organizations with which he was affiliated. After the Iran–Iraq War, Rezai studied economics at the University of Tehran and received his PhD in 2001.
During the Iran–Iraq War, Rezaei emerged as a proponent of continuing the war against Iraq and its Western allies indefinitely, even after Iraqi troops had been expelled from Iranian territory. Rezaei faced opposition from within the IRGC, including a 1984 letter in which 90 IRGC commanders urged Supreme Leader Ruhollah Khomeini to restrain his authority. Khomeini instead responded by purging the dissenting commanders.
In 1986, Rezaei was appointed to the Supreme Defense Council. In July of that year, he clashed with Ali Sayad Shirazi, commander of Iran's ground forces, over military strategy. After their rivalry became public, Khomeini summoned both commanders to his residence on 19 July 1986 and urged them to "seek unity". As the prospects of an Iranian victory diminished, Rezaei reconsidered his position and, in 1988, sent a letter to Khomeini arguing that the war could not be won.
In 1997, Rezaei was removed as commander-in-chief of the IRGC and replaced by Yahya Rahim Safavi, reportedly following pressure from supporters of newly elected president Mohammad Khatami. In 2015, Rezaei was reported to have returned to the IRGC.
Following the outbreak of the 2026 Iran War, Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei appointed Rezaei as his military adviser.
Political career
In 1997, Rezaei became secretary of the Expediency Discernment Council. In 2002, he allegedly founded the conservative news website Baztab in response to the growing number of pro-reformist websites.
Rezaei was a candidate in the 2005 Iranian presidential election, but withdrew on 15 June 2005, two days before the election. He did not endorse another candidate, stating that his withdrawal was intended to promote the "integration" and "effectiveness" of the nation's votes.
On 23 April 2009, Rezaei announced his candidacy in the 2009 presidential election, after failing to find another conservative candidate to run against incumbent president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. In the run-up to the election, Rezaei criticized Ahmadinejad's statements questioning the Holocaust, describing them as "not useful" for Iran's international standing. Following the disputed election and subsequentprotests, Rezaei condemned the trials of political prisoners as unjust.
On 9 August 2026, Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei appointed Rezaei secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, replacing Mohammad Bagher Zolghadr, who was reassigned as a political adviser. The appointment came amid unconfirmed reports and speculation concerning Khamenei's whereabouts and condition.
Controversies
Accusations of terrorist activities
In 2006, Argentinian Judge Rodolfo Canicoba Corral issued international arrest warrants for Rezaei, six other Iranians, and one Lebanese national in connection with the 18 July 1994 AMIA bombing, a suicide bombing of a Jewish Community Center in Buenos Aires, Argentina, that killed 85 people and injured over 300 others. Since 2007, Rezaei has been subject to an Interpol Red Notice for alleged "Aggravated Murder and Damages" in connection with the 1994 AMIA bombing, which remains the deadliest terrorist attack in Argentine history to date. Rezaei denied the allegations, calling the charges "a sheer lie".
In 1998, Rezaei's eldest son, Ahmad, defected to the United States, where he told U.S. officials that the 1992 Buenos Aires Israeli embassy bombing had been planned in Tehran. He further claimed that he had accompanied his father to Lebanon to witness the training. In 2005, however, Ahmad Rezaei returned to Iran and recanted his statements about his father's involvement in the bombing. On 13 November 2011, his body was found in a hotel in Dubai. Initial reports suggested that he had been assassinated by a hotel employee at the behest of the Iranian government, but the Dubai Police Force attributed his death to suicide following the consumption of a large quantity of antidepressants.
On 16 June 2025, during the Twelve-Day War, Rezaei claimed on Iranian state television that Iran possessed "undisclosed" military capabilities, and that Pakistan had assured Iran it would launch a nuclear strike on Israel if Israel used nuclear weapons against Iran. However, Pakistan’s defense minister, Khawaja Asif, rejected the claim.
Personal life
Rezaei married in 1974 and has five children, two sons and three daughters. His brother, Omidvar, has served a member of the Islamic Consultative Assembly since 2008.
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