Saeed Jalili

Saeed Jalili (; born 6 September 1965) is an Iranian politician and diplomat, who was secretary of the Supreme National Security Council from 2007 to 2013. He is currently a member of the Expediency Discernment Council, and is the former nuclear negotiator for Iran.

He was previously deputy foreign minister for European and American Affairs, and an unsuccessful candidate in the June 2013 presidential election, placing third. He also ran in 2021, but withdrew in favour of Ebrahim Raisi before the election. Jalili contested the 2024 presidential election but was defeated by Masoud Pezeshkian in a runoff election.

Jalili was a soldier in the Iran–Iraq War and had lost part of his right leg during the Siege of Basra. Upon this event, he earned the title of "Living Martyr". He holds a PhD in political science, and teaches the "Prophet's diplomacy" at the Imam Sadiq University. In 2009, Jalili was named as one of the 500 most influential people in the Muslim world. His tenure as chief negotiator on Iran's nuclear program was characterized by an uncompromising approach.

Jalili is known for his staunch hardline positions and confrontational rhetoric against the West, while pushing for stronger relations with Russia and China. Backed by the fundamentalist Paydari Front, He attributes Iran's economic troubles to international sanctions and rejects social liberalization. This has earned him significant influence as well as discomfort among the more pragmatic factions within the Iranian establishment.

Personal life and education

Jalili was born in 1965 in Mashhad, in northeastern Iran to a Kurdish father and a Turkish mother. His father, Mohammad Hasan Muallem, was the principal of Nawab Safavi Primary School in Mashhad. He married with Fatemeh Sajjadi, a doctor of internal medicine, in 1992. They have one child, a son named Sajjad. Jalili was a resident of Karaj until 2004. Vahid, Jalili's brother, is one of the fundamentalist cultural activists. Jalili is familiar with English and Arabic.

He holds a PhD in Political Science from Imam Sadeq University and his doctoral thesis entitled "The Paradigm (Foundation) of Political Thought of Islam in the Qu’ran" was later developed into a book by the name of "The Foreign Policy of the Prophet (Prophet Muhammad)." After graduating, he served in the Iran–Iraq War as a member of the Basij volunteers of the Revolutionary Guards. During the fighting, he was injured severely, losing the lower portion of his right leg in 1986. He has taught political science since 2000 in different intervals at Imam Sadeq University.

Career

Following the war, Jalili began working as a university lecturer at his alma mater. In 1989 Jalili began working at the ministry of foreign affairs in addition to his teaching post. From 1995 to 1996 he served as director of the inspection office at the ministry. In 2001, he was appointed senior director of policy planning in the office of the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Jalili was also made a member of the Supreme National Security Council in 2002.

Following the election of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to the presidency in August 2005, Jalili was appointed deputy foreign minister for European and American affairs. He was in office until October 2007. During the same period, he also served as an advisor to Ahmedinejad. On 20 October 2007, Jalili replaced Ali Larijani as secretary of the council and became responsible for international negotiations over Iran's nuclear program. Jalili's term as secretary of the council ended on 10 September 2013 when Ali Shamkhani was appointed to the post. Immediately after leaving the office, he was appointed by the Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei to the Expediency Council as a member.

Activities and views

Jalili is a leading figure of the "neo-principalist" group in the Iranian political scene and a protégé of Mojtaba Khamenei. A 2008 leaked diplomatic cable described how a European Union official who met Jalili call him "a true product of the Iranian revolution." Mohammad Marandi, a professor at Tehran University, described Jalili as a tough negotiator who "believes strongly in Iran's nuclear program and its sovereign rights. He's not the sort of person to give major concessions." Jalili describes himself as a strong believer in " velayat-e faqih", the central principle of Iran’s political system, which holds that a senior Islamic jurist should have the highest authority in both political and religious matters.

In an interview with ''The Boston Globe'' in 2006, Jalili defended Iran's plans to develop nuclear energy, noting that, under the Shah and before the Iranian Revolution, US companies had contracts to build nuclear power plants in Iran.

Saeed Jalili is known for his loyalty to Khamenei and his close adherence to the doctrine of ''velayat-e faqih'', which places the Supreme Leader at the apex of political authority.

As part of his role as Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council (SNSC), Jalili coordinated Iran's regional policies, including engagement with the Islamic Republic’s proxies. He is reported to have met with the leadership of Hezbollah in Lebanon, held talks with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, and hosted senior officials from Hamas in Tehran as part of Iran’s broader regional outreach. In an interview with Kuwait’s ''Al-Seyassah'' newspaper, Lebanese MP Fadi Karam of the Lebanese Forces party stated that Jalili’s visit to Lebanon was intended to express support for Hezbollah and the Syrian government.

Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Jalili has 18 years of experience in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. At the age of 26, he was elected as the head of the Inspection Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and remained in the position until 1996. In 1997, he became the director of current investigations of the leadership office in the Mohammad Khatami's government, he later returned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's government and worked as the deputy foreign minister for European and American Affairs.

Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council

In 2006, Gholam-Hossein Elham, the spokesman of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's government, announced the resignation of Ali Larijani and introduced Saeed Jalili as the secretary of the Supreme National Security Council. After that, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, chose Jalili as his representative at the Supreme National Security Council in 2007. The peak and indicator of Jalili's activity in the Supreme National Security Council was his heading of the negotiations concerning Iran's development of nuclear technology. When Hassan Rouhani took office in August 2013, he dismissed Jalili and appointed Ali Shamkhani as the secretary of the council.

Member of the Expediency Discernment Council

As the secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, Jalili was a legal member of the Expediency Council. After being dismissed by Rouhani, Ali Khamenei appointed him again as a member of the council in 2013.

Member of the Foreign Relations Strategic Council

Khamenei appointed Saeed Jalili as a member of the Strategic Council of Foreign Relations in 2014. He is currently the head of this council.

2013 presidential candidacy

Jalili was a candidate in the 2013 presidential elections, announcing his candidacy on 22 March 2013. He was supported by Front of Islamic Revolution Stability and also by Kamran Bagheri Lankarani, the party's main candidate who declined his candidacy in favour of Jalili. His campaign slogan was "A Pleasant Life". He received 4,168,946 and was ranked third, behind president-elect Hassan Rouhani and runner up Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf.

Shadow Cabinet

In 2013, after his defeat in the presidential election, Jalili proposed a plan of the Shadow Cabinet to help the Hassan Rouhani government and compensate for its shortcomings. He has held several meetings to criticise the government and offer a solution. In early 2021, he met 19 members of parliament and explained a plan to reform the budget structure. They also took a petrochemical refinery development plan to the Larijani parliament (right-wing political opposition) and approved it, and the plan was communicated to the Rouhani government (left-wing political opposition) for implementation. Jalili explained the Shadow Cabinet is neither a party nor an organisation, but a Discourse and it means that everyone must follow the process of developments, shadow by shadow to have a positive impact on the path of the Islamic Revolution.

2021 presidential candidacy

Before the last day of registration for the presidential election, he was considered one of the most likely candidates. Although Jalili had said he would not register if Ebrahim Raisi entered the election, with the flood of members and supporters of the established government such as Jahangiri, Larijani, Shariatmadari, Akhundi and Hemmati, it is conflict that he registered in the election individually or to support Raisi.

2024 presidential candidacy

In May 2024, Jalili registered his candidacy for president in the 2024 presidential election. On 29 June, he secured 40.38% of the votes during the first round of the election, taking second place behind reformist candidate Masoud Pezeshkian, and thus qualifying for runoff. Jalili received support from unsuccessful candidate Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, who placed third, as well as from Alireza Zakani and Amir-Hossein Ghazizadeh, who had both previously dropped out.

Electoral history

Books

* ''Foreign Policy of the Prophet of Islam'' ()
* ''The Paradigm of Islamic Political Thought in Quran'' ()

References

External links

2021 presidential campaign website

Interview
with The Boston Globe

FACTBOX: Iran's new atomic negotiator Saeed Jalili
from Reuters

Iranian Presidential Candidate Saeed Jalili Calls for Enrichment to 100 Percent
from the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jalili, Saeed
1965 births
Living people
Imam Sadiq University alumni
Vice ministers of Iran
Politicians from Mashhad
Iranian nuclear negotiators
Candidates for President of Iran
Academic staff of Imam Sadiq University
Representatives of the supreme leader
Volunteer Basij personnel of the Iran–Iraq War
Iranian amputees
Iranian politicians with disabilities