Ali Larijani

Ali Larijani (born June 3, 1958, Najaf, Iraq—died March 17, 2026, Tehran, Iran) was a senior official in Iran for several decades and the de facto leader of the country from supreme leader Ali Khamenei’s death on February 28, 2026, until his own death on March 17, 2026, both of which occurred from U.S.-Israeli strikes during the 2026 Iran War. He was uniquely positioned for leadership within the embattled regime because of his family’s close ties to the clerical establishment and his strong personal ties to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and the political elite. Because Larijani was not a cleric, he was not eligible to replace Khamenei as supreme leader, and Mojtaba Khamenei was selected to take his father’s place in a formal capacity while Larijani managed the country’s affairs in the background. Larijani was also instrumental in Iran’s nuclear policy, having served as former president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s first chief negotiator with the West (2005–07) and later guiding parliamentary support for the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) as speaker of the Majles (parliament; 2008–20). His official role at the time of his death was secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council (SNSC; 2005–07; 2025–26).

Background and career

Although Larijani was not a cleric, he was born into a prominent clerical family. His father, Hashem Amoli, was a grand ayatollah, one of the most senior ranks in Twelver Shiʿi Islam, as was his maternal grandfather, Mohsen Ashrafi. Sadeq Larijani, one of his brothers, achieved the rank of ayatollah and has served on government deliberative bodies reserved for high-ranking clerics, including the Council of Guardians and the Assembly of Experts. In the 1930s Larijani’s father left Iran amid tensions between the clerical class and the ruling Pahlavi dynasty (1925–79) and settled in Najaf, Iraq, the main center for Shiʿi scholarship and spirituality outside Iran. The family returned to Iran in the 1960s.

Larijani first entered public life as a member of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), which during the Iran-Iraq War grew into one of the most influential institutions in the Islamic Republic. He ascended the ranks to senior posts in the IRGC, including that of a liaison between the IRGC and the Majles. Larijani served in the cabinet of Pres. Hashemi Rafsanjani (1989–97) as minister of culture and Islamic guidance. Later he became director general of the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB), an arm of the Office of the Supreme Leader (Bayt-e Rahbārī) that reports directly to the rahbar. By the end of the 20th century Larijani had fostered relationships across the upper echelons of the Islamic Republic’s various institutions: the clerical class, the IRGC, elected politicians, and the rahbar.

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Role in nuclear negotiations

In the early years of the Iran nuclear crisis, Larijani succeeded centrist Hassan Rouhani as secretary of the SNSC and as Iran’s chief nuclear negotiator. In 2007 Pres. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (2005–13) replaced him with Saeed Jalili, a hard-line academic in foreign policy. Larijani ran for a seat in the Majles in 2008 and became speaker, a position he held until 2020. In that role, he was a proponent of Rouhani’s efforts as president to forge an agreement with the United States and other foreign powers. Larijani, as a conservative former negotiator who nevertheless backed Rouhani’s deal, was considered instrumental in getting the JCPOA past the finish line.

Becoming a leading figure in Iran

Larijani twice attempted to run for president, first in 2021 and again in 2024. In both cases, however, he was disqualified by the Council of Guardians. This was ostensibly because his daughter lived in the United States and had British citizenship, but it was believed that, in addition, Khamenei did not want figures from Rouhani’s presidency to compete in those elections.

As the Israel-Hamas War took on regional consequence, especially affecting Iran and its ally Hezbollah in Lebanon, Khamenei tapped Larijani as an experienced emissary to help navigate the crisis. In 2025, following Israel’s 12-day war with Iran, Pres. Masoud Pezeshkian appointed Larijani secretary of the SNSC. In that role, Larijani played a key part in the brutal suppression of the Iranian protests in January 2026. As the United States used the protests to ramp up pressure on Iran, Larijani became the central figure in Iranian foreign policy, as both head of security and a veteran of nuclear negotiations. In February, Khamenei designated Larijani as the premier decision-making authority in Iran in the event of Khamenei’s death and, when Khamenei was killed on February 28 at the outbreak of the 2026 Iran War, Larijani appeared to take the helm. Mojtaba Khamenei, a son of Ali Khamenei, was designated supreme leader days later, but Larijani was believed to continue managing the country until his death by an Israeli air strike on March 17.