Who is Ali Larijani? Top Iranian official anticipated to step into energy vacuum left by Khamenei’s dying | EUROtoday

Ali Larijani, the chief of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, is the person regarded by consultants because the most probably to step into the ability vacuum left by the dying of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei after joint US-Israeli strikes.

Hours after the lethal strikes, Mr Larijani, 67, took to X – a platform banned to most Iranian residents – to jot down: “Today we’ll hit them with a power that they’ve by no means skilled earlier than.”

His aggressive approach hardened over the weekend as a three-person interim committee officially took over the leadership of the Islamic Republic. He also hit out at reports that he had made a new effort to continue nuclear talks with the Trump administration.

“We will not negotiate with the United States,” he responded, adding that the US president held “delusional fantasies” about the unfolding war.

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Who is Ali Larijani?

Born in Najaf in June 1958, Mr Larijani began his career in government as deputy minister of labour and social affairs. In 1994, he was appointed head of the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting, where he remained for a decade.

In 2005, Mr Larijani was appointed as Supreme National Security Council secretary, putting him in charge of Iran’s nuclear negotiations. He had recently been overseeing Tehran’s efforts to reach a nuclear deal with the US.

While Mr Larijani himself is not among the new three-man council, power in Iran is believed to remain concentrated within the Security Council, which had reportedly already sidelined Khamenei since the disastrous 12-day war with Israel in June last year.

Mr Larijani’s power has also eclipsed that of the official president, Masoud Pezeshkian, as he has not only taken the lead in the international arena in recent months, but also domestically. He was among the earliest and loudest voices in Iran’s leadership calling for deadly violence to crush political demonstrations that erupted at the end of 2025 amid a deepening economic crisis.

The unrest – which has been the largest uprising since the 1979 Islamic Revolution – was met with a brutal crackdown in an effort to quell the wave of dissent. As many as 30,000 people are believed to have been killed by the Iranian regime this year, according to Iran International.

How powerful is Larijani?

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Mr Larijani’s grip on power comes despite the fact he is not among the clerics Khamenei had identified as potential successors. The supreme leader had left a shortlist of three religious figures, with the role formally reserved for a cleric.

But Khamenei’s death and US-Israeli aggression has upended long‑held assumptions about the continuity of clerical rule, opening the door to the possibility that a hardline security figure like Mr Larijani could take the helm.

Mr Larijani is therefore regarded by experts not just as a plausible leadership contender for the country, but one who could steer Iran toward an even more militarised model of governance.

While Donald Trump has said he wants to see regime change in Iran, the interim leadership has vowed vengeance against the US and Israel.

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How has Larijani responded to the assaults?

Mr Larijani has accused the US and Israel of attempting to plunder and disintegrate Iran and warned “secessionist groups” of a harsh response in the event that they tried any motion, state tv stated on Sunday.

In a put up on X on Sunday, Mr Larijani claimed Washington had plunged the area into chaos.

“With his delusional actions, he has transformed his self-made slogan of “America First” into “Israel First” and sacrificed American troopers for Israel’s quest for energy,” Mr Larijani stated.

“He once again imposes the cost of his cult of personality on American soldiers and families. Today, the Iranian nation is defending itself,” he stated, including that “the Iranian armed forces did not initiate the invasion”.