Who is Ali Larijani: The 'pragmatic' philosopher turning Tehran's sword toward the west

Ali Larijani was regarded as one of the most calm and pragmatic figures within Iran's political establishment for decades. He is a conservative insider who wrote on the 18th-century German philosopher Immanuel Kant and helped steer nuclear negotiations with the West.

On 1 March, the 67-year-old Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council took to state television with a different rhetoric, reports Al Jazeera.

His shift came just 24 hours after US-Israeli airstrikes killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and IRGC Commander Mohammad Pakpour.

"America and the Zionist regime (Israel) have set the heart of the Iranian nation ablaze," he wrote on social media. "We will burn their hearts. 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 added.

Now serving as secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, Larijani stands at the centre of Tehran's response to what is being described as its gravest crisis since the 1979 revolution.

He is expected to play a key role alongside the transitional leadership council managing state affairs following Khamenei's death.

From elite lineage to power politics

Born on 3 June 1958 in Najaf, Iraq, to a prominent clerical family from Amol, Larijani belongs to one of Iran's most influential dynasties.

His father, Mirza Hashem Amoli, was a respected religious scholar, while his brothers have held senior posts in the judiciary and the Assembly of Experts, the body responsible for appointing and overseeing the supreme leader. In 2009, Time magazine described them, as the "Kennedys of Iran".

His family's ties to Iran's post-1979 revolutionary leadership are also personal. At 20, Larijani married the daughter of Morteza Motahhari, a close associate of Islamic Republic founder Ruhollah Khomeini.

Despite his conservative background, Larijani pursued a strong secular academic path. He earned a bachelor's degree in mathematics and computer science from Sharif University of Technology in 1979, later completing master's and doctoral degrees in Western philosophy at the University of Tehran, focusing on Kant.

Career inside the establishment

After the revolution, Larijani joined the IRGC in the early 1980s before moving into government roles. He served as culture minister under President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani and later headed Iran's state broadcaster from 1994 to 2004, where critics accused him of tightening media restrictions.

He ran unsuccessfully for president in 2005 but was soon appointed secretary of the Supreme National Security Council and chief nuclear negotiator. Differences with then-President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad led to his resignation in 2007.

Larijani entered parliament in 2008, representing Qom, and went on to serve three consecutive terms as speaker until 2020. In that role, he played a key part in securing parliamentary approval for the 2015 nuclear agreement between Iran and world powers, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

His subsequent attempts to return to the presidency in 2021 and 2024 were blocked by the Guardian Council, moves widely interpreted as efforts to consolidate power behind hardline factions. Nevertheless, in August 2025, President Masoud Pezeshkian reappointed him as secretary of the Supreme National Security Council.

From pragmatist to hardline voice

Since his reappointment, Larijani's rhetoric has hardened. In October 2025, he reportedly cancelled a cooperation agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), declaring its reports "no longer effective".

Yet he had, until recently, been seen as one of the few senior figures capable of balancing confrontation with diplomacy. In February, indirect talks between Tehran and Washington were held through Omani mediation. Larijani publicly described negotiations as a "rational path", arguing that the US had realised military options were not viable.

That diplomatic opening appears to have collapsed following the latest air strikes.

In his recent remarks, Larijani assured the nation that plans were in place to arrange the leadership succession according to the Constitution. He warned the US that it was delusional to think killing leaders would destabilise Iran.

"We are not intending to attack regional countries", he clarified, "but we are targeting any bases used by the United States".

With Iran's leadership in transition and tensions with the US and Israel escalating, Larijani, once viewed as a cautious strategist has now emerged as the chief architect of a promised retaliation he says will come "with a force they have never experienced before."