New Delhi: After the death of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the establishment in Tehran has turned towards Ali Larijani to steer the Islamic republic through its most challenging period since the 1979 revolution.
Larijani, a veteran statesman known for his philosophical depth, along with a three-man council is at the heart of managing the West Asian country in this ensuing period. The process is already on to choose Khamenei’s successor.
Since the inception of the joint military operation by the US and Israel on Iran, Larijani’s ‘X’ official handle has become active, expressing the nation’s grief and resolve.
“We will make the Zionist criminals and the shameless Americans regret their actions. The brave soldiers and the great nation of Iran will deliver an unforgettable lesson to the hellish international oppressors,” he wrote 1 March.
Criticising the US president for turning the West Asian region into chaos, he posted, “Trump plunged the region into chaos with his delusional fantasies and now fears more American troop casualties.”
“With his delusional actions, he turned his self-made ‘America First’ slogan into ‘Israel First’ and sacrificed American soldiers for Israel’s power-hungry ambitions,” added Larijani.
Six US service members have been killed in the ongoing American military operations against Iran, the US Central Command said Monday.
In diplomatic circles, Larijani is often considered a pragmatic leader who helped in securing the Iran nuclear deal in 2015. However, in sharp contradiction, he now stands as an emblem of a hardened Persian resistance, dismissing any possibility of negotiation with Washington.
ThePrint looks at the life and intellectual pursuits of Ali Larijani, who currently leads Iran’s Supreme National Security Council.
Influential family
Born in 1958, Larijani was raised in the power circles of Tehran. Time magazine once described his family as the ‘Kennedys of Iran,’ due to their influence across Iran’s elite clerical, military, and intelligence institutions.
His father was a renowned scholar, while his brothers have long held judicial and clerical power.
Larijani was connected with the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), an elite armed force that is responsible for defending Iran’s Supreme Leader and the ideals of the Islamic Revolution.
At the age of 20, he married Farideh Motahari, the daughter of a confidant to the Islamic republic’s founder, Ruhollah Khomeini. His daughter Fatemeh Larijani completed residency in internal medicine and studied at the University Hospitals of Cleveland, according to The Washington Times.
Despite his traditional roots, Larijani was inclined toward academics. He is often referred to as a ‘mathematician philosopher,’ as he holds a degree in Computer Science and a doctorate in Western philosophy, with a focus on the 18th-century German thinker Immanuel Kant.
The 67-year-old’s professional journey began in the early 1980s within the IRGC, but he moved toward civil leadership. He served as the Minister of Culture and was the head of the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB), the state broadcaster.
Later, Larijani became Khamenei’s representative in the Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) in 1996. He then went on to become Iran’s chief nuclear negotiator between 2005 and 2007.
From 2008 to 2020, Larijani served as a speaker of the Iranian parliament for three consecutive terms. He also played a pivotal role in shaping Iran’s long-term strategy, including a major 25-year agreement with China.
Political growth
Larijani suffered multiple political hindrances, including two disqualifications by the Guardian Council in 2021 and 2024, from participating in the presidential elections.
However, the supreme leadership in Tehran relied on him due to his experience in the recent nationwide protests and escalating tensions. In August 2025, he was reappointed as the secretary of the SNSC, after a gap of 20 years.
He was one of the few prominent individuals in Tehran who viewed negotiation with the US as the ‘rational path’, but due to the recent air strikes by Washington and Tel Aviv, he has shifted his stance. Larijani has ruled out any possibility of backchannel diplomacy. He further accused America of prioritising an ‘Israel First’ agenda over the safety of its own troops.
As the region stands in the midst of the conflict, Iranians view him as one of the few figures who is capable of holding the system together under external pressure. With Tehran’s leadership in transition, Larijani has promised a response to the US and Israel of a force they have “never experienced before”.
(Edited by Tony Rai)