Iran appoints moderate leader Ali Larijani as top security council chief

Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian has appointed veteran politician Ali Larijani as the new secretary for the country's highest security body, the Supreme National Security Council, state media reported on Tuesday.

The decree, reported by the state-run IRNA news agency, marks Larijani's return to a post he previously held for two years from 2005 to 2007. He replaces Gen. Ali Akbar Ahmadian, who had been in the role since 2023  Larijani, 67, a moderate conservative, has served as an adviser to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in recent years. Khamenei holds the final say on all state matters in the country.

He also served as parliament speaker from 2008 to 2020, when Pezeshkian worked as his deputy.

The appointment is seen as a sign that Iran's theocracy is seeking to shift from a hardline course toward a more moderate one.

It came a day after Iran announced the creation of a new defence council to handle defensive plans and improve the armed forces' capabilities, following attacks by Israel and the US in June. The council will also be headed by Pezeshkian.