The Supreme National Security Council (SNSC; ), 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.Islamic Republic of Iran, The Supreme National Security Council (SNSC)
Ali Larijani, secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, was assassinated on 17 March 2026. He was succeeded on 24 March by Mohammad Bagher Zolghadr, then secretary of the Expediency Discernment Council. Zolghadr remained in office until 9 August 2026, when he was succeeded by the current secretary, Mohsen Rezaee.
The Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council is appointed by the President of Iran, currently Masoud Pezeshkian, by presidential decree.
Functions The responsibilities of the council are defined by the constitution as: Determining the defense and national security policies of the country within the framework of general policies determined by the Supreme Leader. Coordination of political activities, intelligence, social, cultural and economic fields relating to general policies of defense and national security. 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.Article 176 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.
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.§ 1 of Article 176 The President appoints the Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council through an official decree. The decisions of the Council are effective after the confirmation by the Supreme Leader.§ 5 of Article 176 Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei and the Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) are at the top of the foreign policy decisions process.
List of secretaries
№SecretaryTenurePolitical positionAppointed by President Supreme LeaderNamePictureTook office Left office1Hassan Rouhani12 October 198915 August 2005PragmatistAkbar Hashemi RafsanjaniAli KhameneiMohammad Khatami2Ali Larijani15 August 200520 October 2007PrinciplistMahmoud Ahmadinejad3Saeed Jalili20 October 200710 September 20134Ali Shamkhani10 September 201322 May 2023IRGCHassan RouhaniEbrahim Raisi5Ali Akbar Ahmadian22 May 20235 August 2025IRGCEbrahim RaisiMasoud Pezeshkian6Ali Larijani5 August 202517 March 2026Principlist7Mohammad Bagher Zolghadr24 March 20269 August 2026PrinciplistMojtaba Khamenei8Mohsen Rezaee9 August 2026IncumbentPrinciplist
Members As of 10 August 2026, following members are:Iranian Supreme National Security Council # Appointer Ex officio member Current officeholder Position in the Supreme Council1 Popular electionPresidentMasoud Pezeshkian Chairman2 Indirect electionSpeaker of the ParliamentMohammad Bagher GhalibafMember3 Supreme LeaderChief JusticeGholam-Hossein Mohseni-Eje'i4 Representative of the Supreme Leader of Iran MG Mohsen Rezaee Member and Secretary5 Representative of the Supreme Leader of IranSaeed JaliliMember6 Chief of the General StaffMG Ali Abdollahi7 Chief of the ArmyMG Amir HatamiTemporary Member8 Chief of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard CorpsMG Ahmad Vahidi9 PresidentMinister of Foreign AffairsAbbas AraghchiMember10 Minister of the InteriorBG Eskandar Momeni11 Minister of IntelligenceVacant 12 Head of Plan and Budget OrganizationHamid Pourmohammadi13 Minister related with the Subject of Agenda of the Council Other Cabinet Ministers Temporary Member
See also Politics of Iran History of the Islamic Republic of Iran
Notes
References
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.
External links Supreme Defense Council (SDC) Iran’s President Criticized Over Nuclear Issue