Iran Reforms Defense Structure with New Council
Iran has established a new Defense Council following the 12-day war with Israel in June, which exposed critical weaknesses in its command structure, decision-making processes, and public confidence in the Islamic Republic’s military capabilities.
The council’s formation is the most significant reorganization of Iran’s defense architecture in decades. The June war revealed failures in coordination, vulnerabilities in air defense, and an inability among security agencies to respond effectively to strikes on military and nuclear facilities.
Even state media and pro-government outlets acknowledged the structural deficiencies the conflict had exposed, pushing Iran’s leadership to confront long-standing issues in their defense mechanisms that extended beyond hardware losses to fundamental problems in command coordination and institutional response.
According to Iranian officials and analysts, the 12-day war was one of the most critical moments in the Islamic Republic’s history.
The conflict laid bare not only military weaknesses but also a paralysis in decision-making, internal discord, and a crisis of public confidence, forcing the government to acknowledge systemic flaws that had long been denied or downplayed.
Officials say the war demonstrated that existing structures were too slow and fragmented to respond effectively to complex regional and international threats, necessitating a fundamental rethink of how Iran organizes its defense priorities.
The Supreme National Security Council approved the Defense Council’s formation under Article 176 of Iran’s constitution, which allows for the creation of subsidiary bodies for defense and security matters.
The Fars News Agency, close to Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, first reported plans for the council, describing it as having “strategic missions in the country’s defense policies,” with a structure to be finalized soon.
Tasnim News Agency added that the council aims to provide “comprehensive support for strengthening the country’s defense capabilities,” including the “presence of other military commanders, in addition to the chief of staff of the armed forces,” and to enable “faster decision-making in the country’s defense sector.”
Member of Parliament Mohammad Seraj explained the council’s emergency powers. He said, “When the country is in a defensive state, any decision the Defense Council makes is equivalent to one made by the Supreme National Security Council.”
He added, “Part of the Supreme National Security Council’s authority will be delegated to the Defense Council because convening the full Council during wartime could pose serious risks.”
The council’s formation initially faced resistance in Parliament.
On August 2, lawmaker Hamid Rasaei warned, “They want to create a Supreme Defense Council,” adding, “If the Defense Council secretariat says Parliament shouldn’t interfere in certain matters, and if these issues improve the country’s work efficiency, then we should shut Parliament down.”
The timing of the statement pointed to internal debates over the new council’s relationship with existing institutions and concerns about bureaucratic overlap.
Iranian media reported that Ali Larijani, senior adviser to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, has been appointed as secretary of the Supreme National Security Council.
Ali Akbar Ahmadian, the former secretary, will reportedly take on “several special and strategic national cases.”
Larijani returns to the council 17 years after resigning from the same post during disagreements with then-President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad over nuclear policy.
Hossein Marashi, secretary-general of the Executives of Construction Party, explained Larijani’s resignation at the time, saying that Ahmadinejad’s government had changed Iran’s official stance on nuclear negotiations without coordinating with Larijani and in contradiction to a compromise he was about to secure.
While Larijani was conveying messages to European counterparts, the foreign minister said in an interview that Iran would deliver its message later, leading to the disagreement that prompted Larijani’s departure.
Reformist politicians have welcomed Larijani’s return as a sign of potential structural improvement.
Mehdi Beik Oghli wrote in Etemad newspaper, “The end of one era is always accompanied by the beginning of a new one.”
Esmail Gerami Moghadam, deputy head of the National Trust Party (Etemad-e-Melli), believes the presence of “figures like Ali Larijani and other reformist, development-oriented, and technocratic individuals helps achieve the change people desire.”
“Larijani is someone who can deliver the transformation sought by the people, the leadership, and the government,” he added.
Esmail Kowsari, a member of Parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Commission, said the council enables “more decisive and firm decision-making to confront future threats,” emphasizing that it should be “designed to surprise the enemy and neutralize threats with timely strikes.”
Reformist activist Mohammad Ali Abtahi said that the council should not be seen as purely military. He added that the inclusion of government members allows better use of executive capabilities.
He said the Defense Council should also consider economic, social, and public satisfaction issues, as strengthening defense depends on improving the country’s overall situation.
Some analysts believe the new council could strengthen President Masoud Pezeshkian’s position.
Mehrdad Khadir wrote in the Hammihan newspaper that the Defense Council could help streamline military decision-making under a unified framework. If the president leads it, he could take on a larger political role in national defense and security.
According to Khadir's analysis, this would allow the president to move beyond being responsible only for “bread and water” and play a part in shaping security policy.
The new Defense Council recalls the now-defunct Supreme Defense Council, which operated during the 1980–1988 Iran-Iraq War before being replaced by other structures.
Formed after the collapse of the Pahlavi regime’s military following the 1979 revolution, the original Supreme National Defense and Security Council was created at the request of the provisional government to address both domestic and external threats.
Initially tasked with reconstructing the army and overseeing military and intelligence affairs under the prime minister, its duties included managing border security, army affairs, and intelligence analysis.
With the adoption of the 1980 constitution, command of the armed forces and authority to form the Supreme Defense Council were transferred to the Islamic Republic’s leader.
The council evolved into a political-military body composed of seven senior members, including the heads of the government’s branches, military and Revolutionary Guard commanders, the defense minister, and advisers to the leadership.
When the Iran-Iraq war broke out in 1980, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, then Iran's Supreme Leader, granted the Supreme Defense Council full authority over defense and wartime operations through a formal decree.
It became the central command for military operations, media propaganda, defensive foreign policy related to the war, and coordination between the army and the Revolutionary Guard.
Historical records show that the council also played a significant role in foreign policy decisions beyond domestic defense missions. After the liberation of Khorramshahr in June 1982, the council issued Iran’s conditions for peace negotiations. "Creating a land corridor through Iraqi territory to enter the battle against Israel, forming an Islamic government in Iraq, and securing $150 billion in reparations from Baghdad."
At that time, the Islamic Republic planned to deploy forces to southern Lebanon to confront Israel. According to official documents, then-President Ali Khamenei, who chaired the council, sent a delegation to Syria to arrange deployment. The government of Mir Hossein Mousavi also approved a special budget to confront Israel.
However, Khomeini opposed the force deployment and set the condition that, since there was no way to reach Israel, passage through Iraqi territory was essential.
Ten days later, the council head announced that no deployment would occur until the war with Iraq ended, but pledged that Iranian forces would “definitely” be sent to southern Lebanon afterward to fight Israel.
A constitutional revision in 1989 replaced the Supreme Defense Council with the Supreme National Security Council - a broader, more multidimensional body responsible for defense, politics, intelligence, economics, and diplomacy from a security standpoint.
Unlike its predecessor, which mainly coordinated military efforts, the Supreme National Security Council became a sovereign decision-making entity.
However, its performance during wartime has since been seen as inadequate, prompting the recent institutional changes.
Political analyst Ali Beigdeli described the new Defense Council as a “positive action” for enhancing coordination between military and political institutions, saying, “This institution will operate under the supervision of the leadership.”