Mohsen Rezaei has been appointed secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, replacing Mohammad Bagher Zolghadr as Tehran navigates high-stakes negotiations over reopening the Strait of Hormuz. The Financial Times, citing Iranian state media, said Rezaei replaced Zolghadr, who had taken the post after Ali Larijani was killed in March and has now been named a political advisor to the supreme leader. Rezaei, described as a key advisor to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, led Iran’s Revolutionary Guards during the Iran-Iraq War, later held several senior government roles and unsuccessfully ran for president multiple times. The implications for Iran’s negotiating stance remain unclear because both Rezaei and Zolghadr are hardliners and former IRGC commanders. President Masoud Pezeshkian said Iran’s unity and strength made it a good moment to strike an agreement over the strait and added that the conflict must eventually end, saying, "We cannot fight forever. It has to be brought to an end at some point." Iran said over the weekend that an agreement with Oman on new shipping lanes was in its final stages, but also maintained that the waterway would not reopen unless the U.S. met several conditions, including an end to further U.S. aggression and the release of frozen Iranian assets. President Donald Trump said the U.S. was "only semi-negotiating" with Iran while pointing to the country’s high inflation and weak finances. CENTCOM said U.S. forces had redirected 55 commercial vessels as of Sunday, up from 35 on Aug. 2, and had disabled two ships and boarded two others under a naval blockade.