Ali Larijani

Early life

Ali Larijani was born in Najaf, Iraq to Iranian Persian parents. He hails from a religious Shia gentry family based in Amol in the province of Mazandaran. His father was a leading cleric, Ayatollah Mirza Hashem Amoli. His parents moved to Najaf in 1931 due to pressure of the ruler Reza Shah, but returned to Iran in 1961.

Education

Larijani is a graduate of Qom seminary. He also holds a Bachelor of Science degree in computer science and mathematics from Aryamehr University of Technology and holds a master's degree and PhD in Western philosophy from the University of Tehran.

Career

Larijani is a former commander of the Revolutionary Guards. In March 1994, he was appointed head of the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting, replacing Mohammad Hashemi Rafsanjani in the post. He was in office until 21 July 2004 and was succeeded by Ezzatollah Zarghami after serving ten years in the post. He became security adviser to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in August 2004.

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 had been announced as the final choice of the conservative Council for Coordination of the Forces of the Revolution, made 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 Khamenei. He replaced Hassan Rouhani in the post. 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.

As Iran's top nuclear envoy, Larijani said on 25 April 2007 that he expected "new ideas" from senior EU official Javier Solana at talks on resolving the deadlock between Tehran's refusal to freeze its nuclear programme and United Nations Security Council demands that it do so.

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. 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. 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. He was elected as speaker in the new Majlis in May 2016.

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 couldn't envision. The Guardian Council did not announce the reason for barring him.

In May 2024, Larijani submitted his application for his candidacy for the president in the 2024 Iranian presidential election.

In March 2025, US President Donald Trump sent a letter to Iran seeking to reopen nuclear weapons negotiations. 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. 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.

On 13 June 2025 the Iran–Israel war broke out with attacks on several nuclear facilities. On June 22, the United States Air Force and Navy attacked the Natanz Nuclear Facility, Fordow Fuel Enrichment Plant, and the Isfahan Nuclear Technology/Research Center.

On 5 August 2025, Larijani was appointed by president Masoud Pezeshkian to become secretary of the Supreme National Security Council for a second time.

Affiliation

Larijani was considered to maintain Motalefeh membership and views while in Hashemi Rafsanjani cabinet (1992–1994). Iranian scholar Mehdi Moslem in his 2002 book named Factional Politics in Post-Khomeini Iran, suggests that Larijani had been a member of Motalefeh and part of the ‘traditional right’. Payam Mohseni, a fellow at the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, classifies Larijani as a lead figure in the ‘theocratic right’ camp, whose other prominent members are Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi and Mohammad Reza Mahdavi Kani.

Larijani was one of the leaders of the Principlists Pervasive Coalition in 2008 parliamentary elections, and a United Front of Principlists leader. During Iranian 2016 parliamentary election Larijani was the leader of the Followers of Wilayat faction, although he was backed by the reformist List of Hope and said he is running as an independent candidate.

He is also described as a center-right politician who has "slowly distanced himself from the Principlist camp" and a "conservative-turned-moderate".

Larijani is known to have close associates, including the interior minister Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli, Behrouz Nemati, spokesman for the parliament's presiding board, and Kazem Jalali, head of the parliament's research center.

Electoral history

Main article: Electoral history of Ali Larijani

Public image

According to a poll conducted in March 2016 by Information and Public Opinion Solutions LLC (iPOS) among Iranian citizens, Larijani has 45% approval and 34% disapproval ratings and thus a +11% net popularity, while 11% of voters do not recognize the name.

Personal life

Larijani is a brother of Sadiq Larijani (President of the Judicature), Mohammad-Javad Larijani, Bagher Larijani (Faculty Member of Tehran University of Medical Sciences), and Fazel Larijani (Iran's former cultural attachée in Ottawa). Larijani is also a cousin of Ahmad Tavakkoli (Larijani's and Tavakkoli's mothers are sisters). His daughter, Fatemeh Ardashir Larijani, studies at the University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center in the United States.

On 2 April 2020, Larijani tested positive for coronavirus (COVID-19) and was placed in quarantine.

Books

Notes

References

References

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