Ali Ardashir Larijani[c] (3 June 1958[10] –17 March 2026) was an Iranian politician,military officer,and philosopher who served as the secretary of the Supreme National Security Council from 2025 until his assassination in 2026. He previously served in the position from 2005 to 2007. From December 2025 until his assassination,he was widely considered to be the de facto leader of Iran.[11][12][13]
From circa. 28 December 2025 until 17 March 2026,[16][17] Larijani was described by multiple newspapers like Haaretz as the country's most powerful man,[18] or as de facto leader by The Australian and others.[11] Reportedly the IRGC supported his de facto leadership.[19][12] On 15 January 2026,following a wave of protests and massacres in Iran,the United States imposed new sanctions on Larijani,for his part in repressing protestors.[20][21][22] According to a report,Larijani was the "mastermind" of the January 2026 crackdown,leveraging his close ties to IRGC commanders and intelligence services,together with his family's longstanding connections to senior clerics,to consolidate support across rival factions and prepare to assume leadership after Khamenei's death.[23] In response to the European Union's decision to label the IRGC as a terrorist organization,Larijani tweeted that the military forces of any countries supporting the EU's decision against the IRGC would be considered terrorist groups and would face consequences of their actions.[24][25] On 17 March 2026,Larijani was assassinated by an Israeli airstrike.
Early life and education
Ali Larijani was born in Najaf,Iraq,to Iranian parents. He hailed from a religious Shia gentry family based in Amol,a city in the Mazandaran Province,located in northern Iran.[26] His father was a leading Twelver Shia cleric,Hashim Larijani.[27] His parents moved to Najaf in 1931 due to pressure of the ruler Reza Shah,but returned to Iran in 1961. During the later years of Reza Shah's reign,members of the Larijani family,including Hashim Larijani,were exiled to the Kurdish-inhabited cities of Bukan and Sardasht in northwestern Iran,where they resided for a time before eventually being allowed to return to northern Iran.[28][29][26]
Larijani meeting with Croatian president Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović,2016Larijani meeting with Swedish prime minister Stefan Löfven,2017Larijani with Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe in 2019
Larijani was a presidential candidate for the 2005 presidential elections,where he ranked sixth,winning 5.94% of the votes. He was considered the most important presidential candidate of the conservative alliance for the 2005 presidential elections. He was supported by the Islamic Society of Engineers (ISE),among other conservative groups. He was the final choice of the conservative Council for Coordination of the Forces of the Revolution,made up from representatives of some influential conservative parties and organizations. However,he proved to be the least popular of the three conservative candidates,the others being Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (second rank in the first round,winner in the second round) and Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf (fourth rank in the first round).
In 2005,Larijani was appointed the Supreme National Security Council secretary. This body helps draw up nuclear and other policies by the ayatollah.[34] He replaced Hassan Rouhani in the post.[35] As a chief nuclear negotiator,Iranian analysts said he differed with the president over how to pursue negotiations with his European counterparts and say he backed a more pragmatic approach.
Larijani was the secretary of the Supreme National Security Council from 15 August 2005 to 20 October 2007,appointed to the position by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad,[37] replacing Hassan Rouhani. Larijani's resignation from the secretary position was accepted on 20 October 2007 after President Ahmadinejad turned down his previous resignations.[38]
In the March 2008 parliamentary election,Larijani won a seat from Qom. He said he was willing to work with Ahmadinejad;according to Larijani,he did not disagree with Ahmadinejad on ideological issues and had only "differences in style". In May 2008,Larijani became speaker of the parliament. He was reelected in the next year as chairman of the parliament. He was re-elected in 2012 elections as the Qom district's high-receiving candidate. He was also elected for another term as chairman of the parliament on 5 June 2012 and was sworn in on 11 June 2012.
Larijani implied on 21 June 2009 that authorities took the side of one candidate without clarifying which candidate.[39] Just after the election,Larijani reportedly congratulated presidential candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi as he,having "access to firsthand and classified information and news",believed Mousavi had won the election.[40] However,on 22 October 2012,during a QA meeting with the students of Iran University of Science and Technology,Larijani denied the allegations that he had congratulated Mousavi.[41] He was elected as speaker in the new Majlis in May 2016.[42]
In May 2021,Larijani declared his bid for the presidency in the 2021 Iranian presidential election. However,the vetting Guardian Council,in a decision that astounded both the conservatives and reformists,disqualified him from running. Considering Larijani's long career as an Islamic Republic insider who has been part of the top echelons of power since the 1979 revolution,his disqualification was a possibility even his staunch detractors could not envision.
In May 2024,Larijani submitted his application for his candidacy for the president in the 2024 Iranian presidential election,but was again rejected by the Guardian Council.[43][44]
In March 2025,US president Donald Trump sent a letter to Iran seeking to reopen nuclear weapons negotiations.[45] Ayatollah Ali Khamenei later said,"Some bullying governments insist on negotiations not to resolve issues but to impose their own expectations," which was seen as in response to the letter.[46][47] Following this,in late March 2025,Larijani said Iran would have no choice but to develop nuclear weapons if attacked by the United States,Israel or its allies.[48]
On 5 August 2025,Larijani was appointed by President Masoud Pezeshkian to become secretary of the Supreme National Security Council for a second time.[51]
According to The New York Times,Larijani has effectively been running Iran since January 2026 and was in "charge of crushing,with lethal force,the recent protests demanding the end of Islamic rule".[52] Following the assassination of Ali Khamenei,Larijani said that the Iranian government will not "leave Trump alone."[53]
Larijani supported pragmatism[66][67] and was because of this seen as a "pragmatic conservative",he was also inspired by Deng Xiaoping's model of China.[68] However Larijani was critical of too much state involvement in the economy.[69][70][71][72] According to Ali Alfoneh,Larijani was also a Iranian nationalist.[73]
One day before his death,Larijani rebuked Islamic countries –particularly the UAE –for "abandoning Iran" and siding with the US and Israel.[76]
Public image
According to a poll conducted in March 2016 by Information and Public Opinion Solutions LLC (iPOS) among Iranian citizens,Larijani had a 45% approval and 34% disapproval ratings and thus a +11% net popularity,while 11% of voters did not recognize the name.[77]
On the night between 16–17 March 2026 during the Iran war,Larijani was the target of an Israeli airstrike.[87] Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said that Larijani was killed.[88] Iran confirmed hours later that Larijani was killed in the attack.[89] His son Morteza and head of his office Alireza Bayat were also killed in the strike.[90]
↑M. Mahtab Alam Rizvi (2012). "Evaluating the Political and Economic Role of the IRGC". Strategic Analysis. 36 (4): 589. doi:10.1080/09700161.2012.689528. S2CID153576427. The Majlis speaker, Ali Larijani, was an IRGC brigadier general.
12Frederic Wehrey; Jerrold D. Green; Brian Nichiporuk; Alireza Nader; Lydia Hansell; Rasool Nafisi; S. R. Bohandy (2009). "The Rise of the Pasdaran"(PDF). RAND Corporation. Retrieved 20 August 2013.
↑CNN report: "Although the Guardian Council is made up of religious individuals, I wish certain members would not side with a certain presidential candidate," Larijani told the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) without naming whom he meant.
↑Mohseni, Payam (2016). "Factionalism, Privatization, and the Political economy of regime transformation". In Brumberg, Daniel; Farhi, Farideh (eds.). Power and Change in Iran: Politics of Contention and Conciliation. Indiana Series in Middle East Studies. Indiana University Press. p.43. ISBN978-0-253-02079-6.
↑Kaveh-Cyrus Sanandaji (2009), "The Eighth Majles Elections in the Islamic Republic of Iran: A Division in Conservative Ranks and the Politics of Moderation", Iranian Studies, 42 (4): 621–648, doi:10.1080/00210860903106345, S2CID153397356
↑Katayoun Kishi (24 February 2016). "Iran's Election Coalitions". United States Institute of Peace. Archived from the original on 29 February 2016. Retrieved 10 March 2016.
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