Supreme National Security Council

Supreme National Security Council

شورای عالی امنیت ملی
Leadership
Chairman
Secretary
Seats13
Meeting place
Tehran, Iran

The Supreme National Security Council (SNSC; Persian: شورای عالی امنیت ملی, romanized: Showrā-ye Āli-ye Amniyat-e Mellī), also known as the Supreme Council for National Security, is the national security council of the Islamic Republic of Iran. The council was formed for the protection and support of national interests and Islamic revolution and territorial integrity and national sovereignty of the country. This institution was founded during the 1989 revision of the constitution.[2]

The previous secretary of the Supreme National Security Council was Ali Larijani who was assassinated on 17 March 2026. Larijani was succeeded by Hossein Dehghan, a former defence minister, appointed by Tehran on March 19, 2026.[1]

Functions

The responsibilities of the council are defined by the constitution as:

  1. Determining the defense and national security policies of the country within the framework of general policies determined by the Supreme Leader.
  2. Coordination of political activities, intelligence, social, cultural and economic fields relating to general policies of defense and national security.
  3. Exploitation of material and intellectual resources of the country for facing the internal and external threats.

Nuclear policy

Supreme National Security Council formulates the country's nuclear policy. The nuclear policies formulated by the council would become effective if they are confirmed by the Supreme Leader.[3] The secretary of the Supreme council was the chief nuclear negotiator of Iran until 5 September 2013 when responsibility for nuclear talks was assigned to the ministry of foreign affairs.[4]

Composition

This National Security Council is mandated by Article 176 of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran to be presided over by the president of the country.[5] The President appoints the Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council through an official decree.[6] The decisions of the Council are effective after the confirmation by the Supreme Leader.[7] Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and the Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) are at the top of the foreign policy decisions process.

List of secretaries

Main article: Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council
№ Secretary Tenure Political position Appointed by President Supreme Leader
Name Picture Took office Left office
1 Hassan Rouhani 12 October 1989[8] 15 August 2005 Right wing Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani Ali Khamenei
Mohammad Khatami
2 Ali Larijani 15 August 2005 20 October 2007 Principlist Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
3 Saeed Jalili 20 October 2007 10 September 2013
4 Ali Shamkhani 10 September 2013 22 May 2023 Reformist Hassan Rouhani
Ebrahim Raisi
5 Ali Akbar Ahmadian 22 May 2023 5 August 2025 Principlist Ebrahim Raisi
Masoud Pezeshkian
6 Ali Larijani 5 August 2025[9] 17 March 2026 Principlist
7 Hossein Dehghan 19 March 2026[1] Incumbent Reformist Mojtaba Khamenei

Members

As of 17 March 2026, following members are:[10][11]

# Appointer Ex officio member Current officeholder Position in the Supreme Council
1 Popular election President Masoud Pezeshkian Chairman
2 Indirect election Speaker of the Parliament Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf Member
3 Supreme Leader Chief Justice Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Eje'i
4 BG Hossein Dehghan Secretary[a]
5 Saeed Jalili Member
6 Chief of the General Staff Vacant (since February 28, 2026)
7 Chief of the Army MG Amir Hatami
8 Chief of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps BG Ahmad Vahidi
9 President Minister of Foreign Affairs Abbas Araghchi
10 Minister of the Interior BG Eskandar Momeni
11 Minister of Intelligence Vacant (since March 18, 2026)
12 Head of Plan and Budget Organization Hamid Pourmohammadi
13 Minister related with the Subject of Agenda of the Council (with voting rights in the Council) Other Cabinet Ministers Temporary member

See also

References and notes

  1. ^ Appointed in consultation with the President
  1. ^ a b c "Iran names former defense minister Dehghan as top security official". Iran International. 2026-03-19. Retrieved 2026-03-20.
  2. ^ Islamic Republic of Iran, The Supreme National Security Council (SNSC)
  3. ^ Article 176
  4. ^ "Iran's Rouhani shifts responsibility for nuclear talks". BBC. 5 September 2013. Retrieved 5 September 2013.
  5. ^ § 1 of Article 176
  6. ^ [1] Archived 2007-10-24 at the Wayback Machine
  7. ^ § 5 of Article 176
  8. ^ "Chronology July 16, 1989–October 15, 1989". Middle East Journal. 44 (1): 114. Winter 1990. JSTOR 4328058.
  9. ^ "Ali Larijani reappointed secretary of Iran's top security body". Reuters. 2025-08-05. Retrieved 2025-08-05.
  10. ^ Iranian Supreme National Security Council Archived 2007-09-28 at the Wayback Machine
  11. ^ "article 176 of constitution". Website of Iranian parliament. Retrieved 2025-07-04.

Further reading

  • Wege, Carl Anthony. "Iranian intelligence organizations." International Journal of Intelligence and CounterIntelligence 10.3 (1997): 287-298.
  • Wege, Carl Anthony. "Iranian Counterintelligence." International Journal of Intelligence and CounterIntelligence 32.2 (2019): 272-294.

35°47′02″N 51°31′51″E / 35.7840°N 51.5308°E / 35.7840; 51.5308

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