On March 1, a day after the U.S. and Israel began bombing Iran, U.S. President Donald Trump mentioned in an interview that the Iranian leaders wished to renew negotiations. “I’ve agreed to speak,” he mentioned. A response got here swiftly from Ali Larijani, Secretary of Iran’s Supreme Nationwide Safety Council. “We is not going to negotiate with the People,” he wrote in a social media submit. “You may have set ablaze the hearts of the Iranian individuals,” he mentioned in an interview, referring to the assassination of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the Supreme Chief. “We’ll burn the hearts of our enemies.” Within the days that adopted, the U.S. and Israel stepped up their bombing marketing campaign throughout the nation. Iran retaliated by launching missiles at American bases within the Persian Gulf, and Israel. “The martyrdom of Imam Khamenei will precise a heavy worth from you,” Mr. Larijani mentioned on March 4. On March 6, each President Masoud Pezeshkian and Overseas Minister Abbas Araghchi mentioned Iran was not instantly in search of a ceasefire. Mr. Trump then demanded “an unconditional give up” from Iran’s rulers.
Because the conflict unfolds with regional implications, Mr. Larijani has emerged as a defiant face and voice of the Iranian state. The Safety Council he leads is among the most essential establishments of the state, particularly throughout wartime. Based in 1989 beneath the revised Structure, the Council’s principal accountability is to outline defence and nationwide safety insurance policies. The secretary of the Safety Council is roughly the equal of the Nationwide Safety Adviser of India.
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Mr. Larijani got here of age through the tremulous years of pre-revolutionary Iran. His father, Grand Ayatollah Hashem Amoli, a famend Shia cleric, fled to Iraq within the Thirties to keep away from persecution beneath the Shah. Ali Larijani was born in Najaf, the central Iraqi metropolis which hosts the tomb of Imam Ali, in 1958. The Larijanis moved again to Iran in 1960. Ali Larijani studied in a spiritual seminary in Qom and acquired a bachelor of science diploma in pc science from Aryamehr College of Expertise, Tehran. For his Grasp’s and Ph.D., he switched to Western philosophy.
In accordance with a profile of Mr. Larijani on the College of Tehran web site, he has revealed three books on Immanuel Kant (all in Farsi) — The Mathematical Methodology in Kant’s Philosophy, Metaphysics and the Precise Sciences in Kant’s Philosophy, and Instinct and Artificial A Priori Judgments in Kant’s Philosophy. He has additionally written a e book on Descartes’ Discourse on the Methodology. He has moreover revealed on Saul Kripke — the American thinker of language and modal logic — and David Lewis, the analytical metaphysician.
A member of the elite
Like a lot of his era, who have been impressed by the 1979 revolution, Mr. Larijani joined the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), the paramilitary organisation based by Ayatollah Khomeini quickly after the revolution. The IRGC grew into one of the crucial formidable establishments of the Islamic Republic through the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq conflict. Most of the veterans of the conflict emerged as future leaders of the nation. Through the administration of President Hashemi Rafsanjani (1989-97), Mr. Larijani was appointed as Minister of Tradition and Islamic Steerage. In 1994, he grew to become the director common of the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB), an arm of the Workplace of the Supreme Chief. This position introduced him nearer to the chief (rahbar), Ayatollah Khamenei. By the flip of the century, Mr. Larijani had grow to be one of many key figures of the elite of the Islamic Republic, with shut ties with the nation’s conservative institution.
Mahomud Ahmadinejad, the conservative who grew to become President in 2005, appointed Mr. Larijani as the pinnacle of the Safety Council and chief nuclear negotiator. As a nuclear negotiator, he had despatched combined alerts. He as soon as likened European incentives to desert Iran’s nuclear programme to “exchanging a pearl for a sweet bar”. However the identical Mr. Larijani give up the Safety Council in 2007 amid disagreements with Mr. Ahmadinejad, whose hardline insurance policies had deepened Iran’s isolation on the planet. It was a uncommon public rupture within the conservative camp.
After falling out with Mr. Ahmadinejad, Mr. Larijani moved to parliamentary politics. In 2008, he acquired elected to the Majles and have become Speaker, a place he would maintain until 2020. So when Hassan Rouhani pursued nuclear talks with the U.S. and signed a deal in 2015 with world powers, Mr. Larijani, as speaker, offered the much-needed legislative help for Mr. Rouhani. When the Joint Complete Plan of Motion (JCPOA), the nuclear deal, was put to debate within the Majles, Mr. Larijani gave simply 20 minutes to debate it for Parliament’s 290 members, earlier than pushing it via.
In home politics, he has been related to the principalist (hardline) camp. He was supported by the Islamic Society of Engineers, a principalist political organisation. In 2005, when he stood for the presidential elections for the primary time, his bid was supported by the Council for Coordination of the Forces of the Revolution, an umbrella group of conservative organisations. He ranked sixth, successful solely 5.94% of votes, however grew to become the Safety Council Secretary. In 2021 and 2024, he registered for the presidential election, however his nomination was rejected by the highly effective Guardian Council. However Masoud Pezeshkian, who received the 2024 presidential election, introduced Mr. Larijani again because the Safety Council chief.
Safety czar
For years, Iran had constructed a sprawling community of allies in West Asia, each as a deterrent and as an offensive technique. Iranians referred to as it the “ahead defence” doctrine. The champion of ahead defence was Qassem Soleimani, the Quds Pressure common who was assassinated by the U.S. in January 2020. When Normal Soleimani was killed, Mr. Larijani warned that the killing would alter the political steadiness of the area and that the U.S. “will probably be held accountable” for this “brutal act”.
“The response to Haj Qassem Soleimani’s blood ought to be measures to make American forces flee from the area,” he mentioned, in accordance with Tehran Occasions. However the Iranian response was a token strike at a U.S. army base in Iraq. U.S. troops continued to remain within the area.
In April 2025, amid rising tensions between Israel and Iran, Mr. Larijani mentioned if attacked, Iran would have “no alternative” however to get nuclear weapons. “We aren’t shifting in direction of nuclear weapons, however if you happen to do one thing fallacious within the Iranian nuclear concern, you’ll power Iran to maneuver in direction of that as a result of it has to defend itself,” he mentioned. In two months, Israel began bombing Iran, triggering the 12-day conflict. The U.S. joined Israel on June 22 in bombing Iran’s nuclear amenities. Within the months that adopted the June conflict, Mr. Larijani, as a confidant of the Supreme Chief, emerged because the go-to man within the system. Whereas President Pezeshkian’s position was restricted to working the day-to-day issues of the nation, Mr. Larijani grew to become the safety czar.
He endorsed the nuclear talks that opened in January following protests in Iran. The U.S. and Iran held three rounds of talks. On February 27, Oman’s Overseas Minister, who was mediating the talks, mentioned a deal was inside attain. Inside hours the U.S. and Israel launched the conflict, killing Khamenei and several other different high leaders. Amid conflict and a political vacuum, a livid Iran responded with its drones and ballistic missiles. “The courageous troopers and the good nation of Iran will ship an unforgettable lesson to the hellish worldwide oppressors,” Mr. Larijani mentioned in the midst of the conflict. Eight days into the conflict, Iran has been hit exhausting by the U.S. and Israel. Tehran has additionally retaliated by escalating its assaults. Donald Trump has demanded an unconditional give up. However the IRGC, the revolutionary organisation the place Mr. Larijani reduce his enamel, has warned of a “extended conflict”.
Revealed – March 07, 2026 06:34 pm IST