Ali Larijani, former chairman of the parliament of Iran, walks after meeting with Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri in Beirut, Lebanon November 15, 2024. (photo credit: REUTERS/THAIER AL-SUDANI)
Larijani is a seasoned conservative and confidant of Khamenei.
Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian appointed Ali Larijani, a senior adviser to Iran’s supreme leader, as secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, the semi-official Fars news agency reported on Tuesday.
The appointment takes place amid institutional changes following a 12-day air war with Israel in June, the Islamic Republic’s most severe security challenge since a war with Saddam Hussein‘s Iraq in the 1980s.
A former member of the Revolutionary Guards, Larijani held the same top security position from 2005 to 2007 and was parliamentary speaker from 2008 to 2020. He now replaces Ali Akbar Ahmadian, who had become SNSC secretary in 2023.
Larijani is a seasoned conservative and confidant of Khamenei.
Iranian Armed Forces to move to supporting role
According to Mansour Haghighatpour, a former lawmaker close to Larijani, the council will move the Armed Forces General Staff into a supporting, rather than commanding, role.
Ali Larijani, former chairman of the parliament of Iran, reacts after meeting with Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri in Beirut, Lebanon November 15, 2024. (credit: REUTERS/THAIER AL-SUDANI)
On Sunday, Iran revived an Iraq war-era Defense Council to review defense plans and enhance the capabilities of its armed forces in a centralized manner.
Both the Defense Council and the SNSC are headed by Iran’s president.
Alex Winston contributed to this report.