The U.S. and Israeli war on Iran has targeted the Islamic Republic’s most senior leaders and mobilized every branch of its sprawling state apparatus in a fight for survival.

In the past, power ultimately rested with the supreme leader, the country’s top authority. But since last year’s 12-day war, important national security and foreign policy decisions have increasingly been devolved to other individuals and across a number of civilian and military institutions and councils. This system has become more entrenched since the onset of the current conflict.

A number of key players have been killed in airstrikes, including Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, his national security chief Ali Larijani and several top advisers, as well as the defense and intelligence ministers. The armed forces chief of staff and head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps also lost their lives, along with the leader of the Basij paramilitary force.

Here’s a run-down of who’s who in the Islamic Republic at one of the most pivotal moments in its 47-year history.

Mojtaba Khamenei

Position: Supreme Leader

Political Leaning: Hard-line conservative

After Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei was killed in an Israeli attack at the start of the war, Iranian clerics appointed his second-oldest son, Mojtaba, to succeed him. The choice signaled continuity of his father’s hard-line rule at home and anti-U.S. foreign policy.

The younger Khamenei hasn’t appeared in public or on camera since the war started. He issued his first statement as leader in writing, and U.S. officials said he was likely wounded and possibly disfigured.

Sanctioned by the U.S., he’s considered close to the IRGC and Iran’s regional militia allies like Hezbollah and Hamas. He also oversees a sprawling investment empire stretching from Tehran to Dubai and Frankfurt, Bloomberg reported in January. He didn’t respond to requests for comment at the time.

Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf

Position: Parliament Speaker

Political Leaning: Conservative

Ghalibaf’s position in parliament gives him a seat on the influential Supreme National Security Council, and his profile has risen since the 12-day war with Israel and the U.S. last June.

He was previously mayor of Tehran and an IRGC commander. He ran in several presidential elections, but never got far, and took up his current post in 2020.

A staunch defender of Iran’s theocratic system, he congratulated the Guards for crushing recent protests — which he described as orchestrated by the U.S. and Israel.

With U.S. President Donald Trump claiming that he’s in talks with Iran to end the fighting, Ghalibaf has emerged as a possible key counterpart. He’s denied peace talks are underway, and his history and comments since the conflict began suggest he’s unlikely to bow to any U.S. demands.

He’s implied Iran is winning the war by causing chaos in global energy markets, piling up economic pressure on Trump.

Mohammad-Bagher Zolghadr

Position: National security chief

Political Leaning: Hard-line conservative

Zolghadr was named secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council after Larijani was killed.

A hard-line former deputy commander of the IRGC, he entered politics in 2005, when then-President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad named him deputy interior minister.

While Larijani had decades of experience as a political insider — with ties to both moderate and more hard-line figures — and served as Iran’s chief negotiator in nuclear talks with the West, Zolghadr is a military man through and through.

He previously served as chief of the IRGC’s joint staff and as commander of its Ramadan Headquarters — a unit within the elite Qods Force which used unconventional military tactics when fighting the Iran-Iraq war.

Mohsen Rezaee

Position: Military Adviser

Political Leaning: Conservative

The new supreme leader’s first personnel decision was to appoint Rezaee as his military adviser. Sanctioned by the U.S., Rezaee led the IRGC’s intelligence unit after the 1979 revolution and rose through its ranks during the grueling Iran-Iraq war that followed to become commander of the entire force.

He later moved into politics, running unsuccessfully for president several times and joining the Expediency Discernment Council that advises the supreme leader.

Rezaee is wanted by Interpol for his alleged participation in the bombing of a Jewish community center in Buenos Aires in 1994.

Masoud Pezeshkian

Position: President

Political Leaning: Reformer

The formal role of the president is largely confined to domestic economic policy. Pezeshkian also sat on the three-person interim council that ruled until the selection of the new supreme leader.

A reformist, Pezeshkian was elected in 2024 after the death of hard-line President Ebrahim Raisi.

After the recent protests, he encouraged the late Khamenei to address public grievances, to no avail — a sign of his limited influence.

Abbas Araghchi

Position: Foreign Minister

Political Leaning: Moderate technocrat

A respected and experienced career diplomat — both inside and outside the country — Araghchi is considered a pragmatic technocrat.

He’s worked for different administrations, pushed for talks with the U.S. and led nuclear negotiations, while cautioning in the latest round that Iran was prepared for war if necessary.

He’s also a former IRGC member and a staunch supporter of the Islamic Republic’s core policies.

Ahmad Vahidi

Position: Commander of the IRGC

Political Leaning: Conservative

A veteran of the Guards, Vahidi previously served as interior and defense minister. Like Rezaee, he’s also under an Interpol red notice for his alleged participation in the Buenos Aires bombing.

The U.S. has sanctioned him for his role overseeing the suppression of protests in Iran in 2022.

He was promoted from deputy commander after his predecessor Mohammad Pakpour was killed at the start the war.

Ali Abdollahi Aliabadi

Position: Commander of Joint Military HQ

Political Leaning: Conservative

Aliabadi is a longtime IRGC member who now leads Iran’s Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, which oversees operations by both the guards — formally tasked with protecting the revolution — and the conventional army. His last two predecessors were killed in the 12-day war.

The joint HQ has played a key role in Iran’s messaging during the current war, issuing threats to target U.S. naval escorts in the Strait of Hormuz and announcing attacks on oil tankers.

Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Ejei

Position: Chief Justice

Political Leaning: Hard-line conservative

Mohseni-Ejei is the head of the judiciary and was the second member of the interim leadership council. A cleric appointed by the supreme leader, he had been the elder Khamenei’s enforcer.

As a prosecutor, he targeted dissenters and dissidents.

As intelligence minister, he rooted out what he called “soft subversion” by arresting academics and researchers.

The European Union and U.S. have sanctioned him, alleging human rights abuses. In January, he vowed to speed up the prosecution of protesters.

Hassan Khomeini

Position: Heir

Political Leaning: Moderate loyalist

Khomeini is the grandson of the Islamic Republic’s founder, Ruhollah Khomeini.

While a loyalist, he’s perceived as a relative moderate for his association with reformists who were increasingly ostracized from power under Khamenei.

He’s the custodian of his grandfather’s vast mausoleum complex in Tehran, which serves as a pilgrimage site.

_____

(With assistance from Golnar Motevalli, Chris Miller, Yasufumi Saito, Arsalan Shahla and Chris Reiter.)

©2026 Bloomberg L.P. Visit bloomberg.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.