Overview
- Unconfirmed reports say Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has designated Supreme National Security Council secretary Ali Larijani to temporarily lead if top officials are killed or incapacitated.
- Larijani is serving as Iran’s key behind-the-scenes player on the nuclear file, with talks with U.S. negotiators set for Thursday in Geneva, according to AFP.
- He has recently handled high-level outreach, including a late-January meeting with Vladimir Putin in Moscow and trips to Gulf states engaged in mediation.
- Despite his operational clout, he is not considered eligible to become Supreme Leader because he is not a senior Shiite cleric, a role ultimately decided by the Assembly of Experts.
- Larijani’s trajectory includes IRGC service, a decade running state broadcaster IRIB, chief nuclear negotiator from 2005 to 2007, and speakership of parliament from 2008 to 2020; he was barred from presidential races in 2021 and 2024 and was sanctioned by the U.S. in January over protest crackdowns.