Iran International
Veteran powerbroker Ali Larijani has been reappointed as Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council (SCNS), returning to a role from which he resigned two decades ago after clashes with ultra-hardline President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
His comeback underscores not only his enduring relevance in Iran’s power circles but also a career defined by strategic shifts, navigating factions and consistent loyalty to the country’s ultimate authority Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
For much of his career, Larijani was known as a staunch conservative.
He vocally opposed reformist President Mohammad Khatami and the broader reform movement, using his position as head of the state broadcaster IRIB to discredit Iranian intellectuals.
The program Hoviat ("Identity") targeted cultural figures like poet Ali Akbar Saeedi Sirjani, some of whom were later victims of the Intelligence Ministry’s multiple targeted murders.
‘Problem solver’
Yet by 2015, Larijani emerged as a key supporter of the Iran nuclear deal, helping secure its approval in parliament in under 20 minutes despite conservative opposition. The move aligned him with then-president Hassan Rouhani and marked a dramatic pivot from his earlier hardline stance.
Khamenei publicly praised Larijani at the time as a "problem-solver," though his growing closeness to Rouhani reportedly raised eyebrows in the Supreme Leader’s inner circle.
Throughout these shifts, Larijani remained attuned to the political winds.
His alliances with Presidents Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani and Khatami cooled as soon as Khamenei distanced himself from them—underscoring a deeper, more consistent alignment with the Supreme Leader over any political faction.
Return to the fold
Despite being sidelined in recent presidential elections—disqualified by the Guardian Council in both 2021 and 2024 allegedly over his daughter studying abroad—Larijani has evidently regained the trust of Iran's theocrat.
Following President Ebrahim Raisi’s death last yer, he was handed two sensitive tasks: overseeing the Iran-China strategic accord and acting as an intermediary with Russia after Israeli strikes on Iranian soil.
While many establishment figures kept a low profile during the crisis, Larijani reemerged as a visible supporter of the Islamic Republic and its top leadership.
An operator without a party
Though courted by moderate conservatives to form a party during Rouhani’s presidency, Larijani resisted. One reason may be his limited popular base.
In parliament, he represented Qom, where a few thousand votes suffice to win a seat—far fewer than the million-plus votes typically needed in Tehran.
Larijani’s political instincts appear rooted more in elite maneuvering than popular mobilization, consistent with his background in a deeply clerical family tied to the seminaries of Qom and Najaf.
The Larijani legacy
Ali Larijani is part of one of Iran’s most influential political dynasties. His father, Hashem, was a respected cleric who steered clear of politics, but his sons embraced the Islamic Republic’s institutions.
Ali's four brothers have held senior roles across Iran’s judicial, legislative and security branches. Ali, the only full-time politician in the family, carved out a career that included 12 years as Speaker of Parliament, top roles in the media and culture ministries and ongoing membership in the Expediency Council.
Educated at the Qom Seminary and Tehran University—where he earned a PhD in Western philosophy—Larijani blends ideological training with technocratic credentials.
He is married to the daughter of Ayatollah Morteza Motahari, a key architect of the Islamic Republic, further cementing his position within Iran’s ruling elite.
A Loyal chameleon
While Larijani now often echoes hardline rhetoric against the United States, he has occasionally voiced cautious support for dialogue.
Deeply skeptical of Europe but pragmatic when necessary, he remains one of the few establishment figures with the credentials and adaptability to help steer Iran toward diplomatic de-escalation, should that path ever open.
Few Iranian politicians have changed stripes as fluidly as Larijani. Yet through all the turns—from hardliner to moderate broker, from sidelined veteran to high-level envoy—his loyalty to Khamenei has never wavered.
In a system where ideological purity is often less important than proximity to the Supreme Leader, Larijani has mastered the art of staying close to the only power that truly matters.
