Rear Admiral Ali Akbar Ahmadian, a senior officer in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), was appointed to be secretary of the Supreme National Security Council (SNSC), the highest body in charge of foreign policy and national security, on May 22. He replaced Ali Shamkhani, a former rear admiral and defense minister who had held the position from 2013 to 2023. The reshuffle marked the latest consolidation of the IRGC in positions of power.

After a decade surviving Iran’s fractious politics, Ali Shamkhani was removed as secretary of the Supreme National Security Council (SNSC), the highest body in charge of foreign policy and national security, on May 22. The former rear admiral, a young hero during the eight-year Iran-Iraq war who rose to become minister of defense in the 1990s, had served three presidents from rival factions as head of the SNSC. He was pushed aside in favor of Rear Admiral Ali Akbar Ahmadian, a senior Revolutionary Guards officer.

May 22

International: Iran decried the G7 statement, released on May 20, that had criticized Iran’s nuclear advances, human rights violations and regional adventurism. The communique was “selective” and “vague,” Foreign Ministry Spokesman Nasser Kanaani said.

In 2022, Iran executed at least 576 people – more than any other country except China – according to Amnesty International’s annual report on the death penalty. Executions were up 83 percent compared to 2021. The spike was linked to death sentences for drug-related offenses and murder.

In 2022, Iran imprisoned the second most writers worldwide, according to PEN America, an advocacy group for freedom of expression. “The state of free expression globally remained perilous” in 2022, PEN said in its annual Freedom to Write Index. Key factoids include:

On May 15, the State Department released its annual report on religious freedom. Secretary of State Antony Blinken condemned the Iranian government for the crackdown on protesters.