Who is Mohsen Rezaei, Iran's new security chief wanted by Interpol?

EuroNews · 🇫🇷 public France · Aug 13, 2026 · 926 words

Iranian Political Leadership International Terrorism Allegations Military History of the IRGC

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Mohsen Rezaei is one of the Islamic Republic's founding military figures, a four-time failed presidential candidate and the subject of an Interpol Red Notice over the 1994 Buenos Aires bombing that killed 85 people.

Claims checked 23

Techniques found 1

Topics 3

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage

Left0%

Center100%

Right0%

2 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

Why it matters

Here is what we know about Iran's new security council chief.

Common ground

One of the founding figures of Iran's IRGC Mohsen Rezaei has been appointed secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council — giving one of the country's most controversial senior figures formal authority over the institution responsible for Tehran's…

Perspective signals

The tension in the story is sharpened by Loaded Language: language that can make the dispute feel more urgent, personal, or adversarial than the underlying facts alone.

Follow-up questions

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open_in_new Read the original article: https://www.euronews.com/2026/08/13/who-is-mohsen-rezaei-irans-new-security-chie…

psychologyPropaganda Techniques Detected

eFinder identified 1 propaganda technique in this article. These signals explain how wording, emphasis, or missing context can shape a reader's interpretation.

warning

Loaded Language 80% confidence

Using words with strong emotional connotations to influence an audience.

Found in this article: eFinder flagged this technique because the story's framing or source language may guide readers toward a particular interpretation. Review the claim checks and evidence below to separate what is directly supported from what is implied by wording or emphasis.

Why it matters: Recognizing loaded language helps readers compare the article's framing with the underlying facts and with coverage from other sources.

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 23 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

schedule Pending 13

check_circle Corroborated 8

info Single Source 1

help Insufficient Evidence 1

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Claim 1: “He was appointed deputy president for economy under President Ebrahim Raisi in 2021, a post he left in June 2023.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

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Claim 2: “Operation Karbala-4, a December 1986 assault during the Iraq-Iran war... resulting in heavy Iranian casualties, including frogmen units.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

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Claim 3: “Ali Larijani, who had been secretary of the Supreme National Security Council since August 2025... was killed in a subsequent wave of Israeli strikes on Tehran.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

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Claim 4: “Dubai police attributed the death to an overdose of antidepressants.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

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Claim 5: “In the 2021 election, he received 3.4 million votes”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

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Claim 6: “Mojtaba Khamenei was selected as the third ayatollah on 9 March.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

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Claim 7: “Rezaei, 71, succeeds Mohammad Bagher Zolghadr, a veteran IRGC commander who resigned after around four months in the post and was appointed as a political adviser to Khamenei.”

CORROBORATED

Web search and Wikipedia results confirm that Rezaei succeeded Mohammad Bagher Zolghadr, who served a brief tenure (March to August) before becoming a political adviser to the Supreme Leader.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Mohsen Rezaee (Persian: محسن رضایی, born Sabzevar Rezaee Mirgha'ed (Persian: سبزوار رضایی میرقائد); born 1 September 1954) is a senior Iranian politician and former military officer who has served as …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mohsen_Rezaee

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Mohammad Bagher Zolghadr (born 1954) is an Iranian politician and former military officer who serves as a political advisor to the Supreme Leader of Iran. He previously served as secretary of the Supr…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mohammad_Bagher_Zolghadr

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Presidential elections were held in Iran on 14 June 2013. Hassan Rouhani was elected in the first round with over 50% of the vote. Tehran mayor Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf finished second with 17% of the…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2013_Iranian_presidential_elec…

+ 3 more evidence sources

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Claim 8: “Rezaei, whose birth name was Sabzvar, was born in 1954 in Khuzestan province into a Bakhtiari tribal family.”

CORROBORATED

Euronews and Wikipedia (Bakhtiari people page) confirm his birth name was Sabzvar, born in 1954 in Khuzestan province to a Bakhtiari family.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Mohsen Rezaee (born 1954) Iranian politician. Toomaj Salehi (born 1990) Iranian rapper. Erfan Tahmasbi (born 1997) Iranian singer. See also.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bakhtiari_people

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web search NEUTRAL — Who is Mohsen Rezaei? Rezaei, whose birth name was Sabzvar, was born in 1954 in Khuzestan province into a Bakhtiari tribal family. Initially a political activist against the rule of Shah Reza Pahlavi …
https://www.euronews.com/2026/08/13/who-is-mohsen-rezaei-ira…

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web search NEUTRAL — Mohsen Rezaei Issues Strong Response | Geo News 8AM Headlines 28Aug. 1. 2.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ux-VIo5bH04

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Claim 9: “In 2015, the remains of 175 divers who had participated in the operation, reportedly buried with their hands tied, were discovered and identified.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

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Claim 10: “Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei had separately appointed Rezaei as his personal representative on the council.”

CORROBORATED

Multiple web search results confirm that Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei appointed Rezaei as his personal representative to the Supreme National Security Council.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Various speculations about a de facto leadership in Iran came up during the 2025 Twelve-Day War and currently come up during the 2026 Iran War, following the assassination of the Supreme Leader Ali Kh…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2025–2026_Iranian_de_facto_lea…

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The 2025–2026 Iranian protests were a series of nationwide demonstrations against the government of Iran that began on 28 December 2025 amid a deepening economic crisis. The unrest followed a sharp de…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2025–2026_Iranian_protests

+ 3 more evidence sources

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Claim 11: “In November 2011, when Rezaei's eldest son Ahmad... was found dead in a Dubai hotel room.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

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Claim 12: “The appointment was made in a presidential decree signed by Masoud Pezeshkian on Sunday.”

CORROBORATED

Multiple web search results (including IRNA) confirm that President Masoud Pezeshkian signed the decree appointing Rezaei as secretary of the SNSC on a Sunday.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Supreme National Security Council (SNSC; Persian: شورای عالی امنیت ملی, romanized: Showrā-ye Āli-ye Amniyat-e Mellī), also known as the Supreme Council for National Security, is the national secur…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supreme_National_Security_Coun…

+ 3 more evidence sources

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Claim 13: “Mohsen Rezaei has been appointed secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council”

CORROBORATED

The appointment is reported by multiple independent news organizations including France24, TASS, Al Jazeera, and The Conversation, and is mentioned in Wikipedia.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council (SSNSC) is an official in the government of Iran, responsible for coordinating the Supreme National Security Council, the highest decision-making…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secretary_of_the_Supreme_Natio…

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+ 5 more evidence sources

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Claim 14: “Mohsen Rezaei... the subject of an Interpol Red Notice over the 1994 Buenos Aires bombing that killed 85 people.”

CORROBORATED

Multiple independent web search results confirm that Mohsen Rezaei is the subject of an Interpol Red Notice regarding the 1994 AMIA bombing in Buenos Aires which killed 85 people.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Mohsen Fakhrizadeh Mahabadi (Persian: محسن فخری‌زاده مهابادی; 21 March 1961 – 27 November 2020) was an Iranian nuclear physicist and scientist. He was regarded as the chief of Iran's nuclear program. …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mohsen_Fakhrizadeh

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Mohsen Rezaei is subject to an Interpol red notice and faces trial in Argentina in absentia.For the second time this year, Iran has named a wanted suspect in the 1994 bombing of the AMIA Jewish commun…
https://forward.com/fast-forward/844412/iran-appoints-amia-b…

+ 2 more evidence sources

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Claim 15: “The US and Israel launched broad strikes against Iranian military targets on 28 February, killing Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Defence Minister Mohammad Reza Ashtiani and around 40 senior military and security commanders.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

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Claim 16: “In 2007, Argentine prosecutors sought arrest warrants for nine people in connection with the attack, including Rezaei”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

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Claim 17: “Rezaei held the position for 16 years... before stepping down in September 1997.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

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Claim 18: “Rezaei was arrested by the shah's intelligence agency SAVAK and imprisoned in Ahvaz.”

CORROBORATED

Multiple sources, including Euronews and a detailed profile, confirm his arrest by SAVAK and imprisonment in Ahvaz in the early 1970s.

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web search NEUTRAL — In 1970, SAVAK agents assassinated him, disguising it as an accident. Major General Hassan Pakravan, director of SAVAK from 1961 to 1965,[21] had an almost benevolent reputation, for example dining on…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SAVAK

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web search NEUTRAL — Rezaei, whose birth name was Sabzvar, was born in 1954 in Khuzestan province into a Bakhtiari tribal family. Initially a political activist against the rule of Shah Reza Pahlavi in the early 1970s, Re…
https://www.euronews.com/2026/08/13/who-is-mohsen-rezaei-ira…

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web search NEUTRAL — He was arrested by SAVAK, the notorious secret police of the Pahlavi regime, in 1971 and spent six months in prison, including three months in solitary confinement. During his imprisonment, Rezaei est…
https://www.presstv.co.uk/Detail/2026/08/09/774024/profile-m…

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Claim 19: “He was one of the founders of the Mansouroun militant group, which helped lay the groundwork for the Mojahedin of the Islamic Revolution Organisation.”

CORROBORATED

Wikipedia and other web sources confirm he was a founder/developer of the Mansouroun militant group.

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web search NEUTRAL — Mohsen Rezaei is one of the Islamic Republic's founding military figures, a four-time failed presidential candidate and the subject of an Interpol Red Notice over the 1994 Buenos Aires bombing that ki…
https://www.euronews.com/2026/08/13/who-is-mohsen-rezaei-ira…

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web search NEUTRAL — He helped establish and develop the Mansouroun militant group, which was active against the monarchy in the 1970s. Members of the group who were imprisoned together, including Rezaei, later formed par…
https://www.al-monitor.com/originals/2026/08/factbox-who-ira…

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web search NEUTRAL — He launched provincial branches of Mansouroun guerrilla fighters in seven provinces. When Ruhollah Khomeini returned home from exile, the Mansouroun group was tasked with protecting the revolutionary …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mohsen_Rezaee

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Claim 20: “He then became secretary of the Expediency Discernment Council... for nearly 24 years.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

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Claim 21: “After the 1979 revolution, Rezaei joined the central council of the Islamic Republic and served on a 12-member committee that drafted the IRGC's constitution.”

SINGLE SOURCE

The specific detail about the '12-member committee that drafted the IRGC's constitution' is found in one Yahoo News Canada result; other sources mention his general role in the IRGC but not this specific committee.

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web search NEUTRAL — After leaving the IRGC, he spent more than two decades as secretary of the Expediency Council, developed a strong interest in economic policy, and later became vice-president for economic affairs unde…
https://www.theamargi.com/posts/what-does-mohsen-rezaeis-app…

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web search NEUTRAL — After the 1979 revolution, Rezaei joined the central council of the Islamic Republic and served on a 12-member committee that drafted the IRGC's constitution.
https://ca.news.yahoo.com/mohsen-rezaei-irans-security-chief…

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web search NEUTRAL — After a lifetime of observing Iran’s revolutionary generation, I know that expecting meekness or diplomatic finesse from it is a dangerous illusion.Among the most prominent members was Mohsen Rezaei, …
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/02/opinion/iran-revolution-f…

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Claim 22: “Rezaei has run for president four times and lost each time.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

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Claim 23: “In September 1981, at the age of 27, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini appointed him commander-in-chief of the Revolutionary Guards.”

INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE

No evidence was provided in the search results to confirm or deny the specific date and age of his appointment as commander-in-chief of the IRGC in September 1981.

info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.