The former commander of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), Mohsen Rezai —who faces international terrorism charges— marked 22 days at the helm of his country’s state-terror security apparatus. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei appointed him secretary of the Supreme National Security Council and his personal representative to the body, making him a crucial liaison between the armed forces, the executive branch, and the clerical establishment.
Rezai previously visited Managua as a high-level representative of the Iranian government to attend the 2022 inauguration of Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo, where he met directly with both figures. The official visit was formally documented. The Ortega-Murillo regime hosted the delegation led by Rezai, then Vice President for Economic Affairs, from January 9 to 12, 2022, to participate in the so-called «Swearing-in Ceremony of the People’s President.»
Khamenei assumed the role of Iran’s Supreme Leader in March following a U.S.-Israeli military offensive that killed his father. Days later, he named Rezai as his military advisor, one of two appointments that further empowered Rezai amid ongoing conflict.
According to state-run outlet El 19 Digital, Rezai was introduced alongside the few international delegations attending Ortega and Murillo’s inauguration. Foreign attendance was sparse following the 2021 presidential elections, which were marred by fraud and the imprisonment of all potential opposition candidates, leading the Organization of American States (OAS) to declare the electoral process illegitimate. Beyond their mutual contempt for the democratic process, Iran’s ruling regime and its counterpart in Managua share a distinct pattern of human rights abuses, state terror, and impunity.
The Case of Alessio Casimirri
Rezai’s recent rise in 2026 comes as Ortega’s international alliances face heightened global scrutiny. At the OAS, the United States has explicitly designated the Nicaraguan regime a threat to regional security.
The high-ranking Iranian official is not the only controversial figure harbored by Managua. Italian national Alessio Casimirri has lived under state protection in Nicaragua since the 1980s. In July, Ortega and Murillo severed diplomatic relations with Italy after Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani publicly denounced the regime for granting Casimirri impunity. Casimirri, a former member of the Red Brigades terrorist group, is serving six life sentences in absentia for his involvement in the 1978 kidnapping and murder of former Italian Prime Minister Aldo Moro.
International Outcry Over Rezai in 2022
The presence of the Iranian official in Managua sparked international outrage. On January 11, 2022, the Argentine Foreign Ministry formally delivered a diplomatic protest note to the Nicaraguan Embassy regarding Rezai’s attendance at Ortega’s inauguration.
Buenos Aires reiterated that Rezai remains subject to an active Interpol Red Notice and international arrest warrant requested by Argentine judicial authorities. He stands indicted for his role in the July 18, 1994, suicide bombing of the Argentine Israelite Mutual Association (AMIA) Jewish community center in Buenos Aires, which killed 85 people and injured hundreds more.
The Argentine Foreign Ministry issued a stern condemnation over the senior official’s presence in Nicaragua, describing his participation in the inauguration as an «affront to Argentine justice and to the victims» of the AMIA terrorist attack.
This was not the first time Argentina reacted to Rezai’s government appointments. The Foreign Ministry noted that in August 2021, it had formally condemned his appointment as Iran’s Vice President for Economic Affairs due to the outstanding criminal charges against him in the AMIA bombing case.
Rezai’s Ties to Ortega and Murillo
In addition to attending the swearing-in ceremony, Rezai held a private bilateral meeting with Ortega and Murillo. On January 13, 2022, state media outlet El 19 Digital reported that the autocratic couple met with the Islamic Republic of Iran’s delegation.
State-controlled network TN8 identified Rezai as head of the mission, noting he was accompanied by Iranian foreign ministry and presidential officials, as well as then-Iranian Ambassador to Nicaragua Majid Salehi.
During the meeting, Ortega emphasized the political alignment between Managua and Tehran. State media reports noted that Ortega highlighted how both the Iranian Revolution and the Sandinista Revolution triumphed in 1979, describing them as «sister revolutions.» Both authoritarian regimes took power that year following the respective overthrows of the Shah of Iran and Nicaraguan dictator Anastasio Somoza Debayle.
Rezai reaffirmed Tehran’s backing of the Ortega-Murillo regime, explaining that his presence in Managua demonstrated solidarity against pressure from the United States. «Iran stands with Nicaragua; Iran is right alongside Nicaragua,» the official declared during the meeting.
He added that Iran was fully prepared to «collaborate and cooperate» with Managua, framing the bilateral partnership as a unified front against common adversaries, while explicitly expressing his admiration for Ortega.
The visit occurred as Managua and Tehran sought to deepen bilateral ties centered around anti-American rhetoric. On January 12, 2022, while Rezai was still in Nicaragua, Rosario Murillo announced that both governments were drafting a joint cooperation framework spanning scientific, educational, technical, health, energy, academic, and investment initiatives.
However, many of these commitments have turned out to be empty promises. In late December 2021, Ortega held a phone call with then-Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi to discuss expanding bilateral cooperation, though tangible outcomes remain minimal.
Nicaragua’s growing alignment with extra-hemispheric autocratic powers continues to draw sharp criticism from Washington. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has spearheaded a series of policy measures targeting left-wing state-sponsored terrorism, placing Ortega under intensified scrutiny for his ties to Cuba, Iran, and other foreign adversaries.
