WANA (Aug 06) – The return of Ali Larijani to Iran’s Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) has once again placed his name at the forefront of the country’s strategic developments. It is the very body where, two decades ago in the 2000s, Larijani — as the Supreme Leader’s representative and its secretary — played a central role in Iran’s most sensitive political and security case: the nuclear dispute.

 

At that time, he served as Iran’s chief negotiator and reached an agreement with then–IAEA Director General Mohamed ElBaradei on the so-called “Modality Plan.” The framework aimed to resolve, step by step, outstanding questions about Iran’s nuclear activities, while committing the Agency not to raise new or repetitive questions. Larijani stated back then that “we cannot let America drag out the nuclear case with bad faith until Judgment Day.” He also took a positive view of talks with the Europeans, calling their efforts to resolve the issue through diplomacy “a right step.”

 

Yet Larijani’s record extends far beyond the nuclear file and the SNSC. He served as Speaker of Iran’s Parliament for twelve years, a period that cemented his reputation as a parliamentary figure and a seasoned political dealmaker. Before that, from the 1980s to the 2000s, he held key positions including Deputy Chief of Staff of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance, and Head of the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB).

Meeting Between Ali Larijani, Special Envoy of Iran's Leader, and Najib Mikati, Speaker of the Lebanese Parliament

Meeting Between Ali Larijani, Special Envoy of Iran’s Leader, and Najib Mikati, Speaker of the Lebanese Parliament. Social Media / WANA News Agency

Larijani is the son of Ayatollah Mirza Hashem Amoli and the son-in-law of the late Ayatollah Morteza Motahhari. Though he began his academic career in mathematics, he later shifted to philosophy and the humanities. Since 2020, he has continued his political engagement as an adviser and representative of the Supreme Leader and as a member of the Expediency Discernment Council.

 

His recent activities — from a visit to Beirut as Iran’s envoy amid concerns among certain Lebanese factions over foreign interference, to public remarks following the so-called “True Promise 1 and 2” operations — show that he continues to see himself at the heart of regional developments. In response to recent regional wars, Larijani emphasized that Iran’s goal is not to disrupt the internal balance of countries but to support nations in the face of external pressures.

 

Now, with structural changes in the Supreme National Security Council and his succession by Ali Akbar Ahmadian, Larijani’s return is being read as a signal of a new phase in Iran’s security and political calculus. The central question is whether his experience and negotiation-oriented outlook can once again alter the course of sensitive dossiers — particularly in the nuclear and regional arenas.