Two senior Iranian lawmakers have welcomed the creation of a new Defense Council under the Supreme National Security Council (SNSC), calling it a timely move to streamline military decision-making in what they described as wartime conditions.
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.
“The formation of this council was necessary given the current wartime situation and possible conditions in the future,” said Alaeddin Boroujerdi, a veteran parliamentarian and member of the National Security and Foreign Policy Committee.
“Due to the wartime conditions we are in, the establishment of this council and the concentration of military and defense decisions can create coordination and coherence in decision-making and execution in critical situations.”
Boroujerdi said the council’s focus on defense matters would complement the broader remit of the SNSC.
“Since the Supreme National Security Council deals with numerous security, national and foreign policy issues, there was a need for military and defense developments to be followed in a concentrated manner in one council,” he said, adding that its inclusion of senior armed forces commanders could “greatly strengthen our decision-making and policy-making in wartime.”
Esmaeil Kowsari, another member of the committee and a former Revolutionary Guards commander, said the council’s establishment met a necessity that emergedduring the recent war and would speed up the chain of command.
“In wartime it is necessary for decisions to be taken quickly, so there must be a headquarters or council where decisions are made with greater speed and decisiveness,” he said. “This council can play an important role in the country’s defense policies.”
Kowsari, recalling the 1980–88 Iran-Iraq war, said that rapid, centralized decision-making had been essential then and would be so again.
“We have never initiated a war and have always defended our country firmly and decisively, but we must be fully prepared,” he said. “The decisions and actions of this council must be designed in such a way as to have the ability to surprise the enemy and, with timely strikes, suppress threats.”
The SNSC approved the Defense Council’s formation on Aug. 3 under Article 176 of the constitution.
Chaired by the president, the council will include the heads of the judiciary and parliament, senior military commanders, and key ministers. Officials say its mandate is to serve as a standing wartime command center, enabling swift, centralized responses to military crises.
On Tuesday, Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei appointed conservative politician Ali Larijani to lead to lead the country’s top security body, the SNSC.
