# Supreme National Security Council

Supreme National Security Council (SNSC; Persian: شورای عالی امنیت ملی Showrāye Āliye Amniyate Mellī also Supreme Council for National Security) is the national security council of the Islamic Republic of Iran. The current secretary of the Supreme National Security Council is Ali Akbar Ahmadian. He was appointed to position of secretary by President Ebrahim Raisi on 22 May 2023. 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.
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 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.

## 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. The Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei selects the secretary of the Supreme council. The decisions of the Council are effective after the confirmation by the Supreme Leader. Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and the Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) are at the top of the foreign policy decisions process.

## 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. 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.

## List of secretaries

| № | Secretary | Secretary | Tenure | Tenure | Political position | Appointed by | Supreme Leader |
| № | Name | Picture | Took office | Left office | Political position | Appointed by | Supreme Leader |
| 1 | Hassan Rouhani | | 12 October 1989 | 15 August 2005 | Right wing | Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani | Ali Khamenei |
| 1 | Hassan Rouhani | | 12 October 1989 | 15 August 2005 | Right wing | Mohammad Khatami | Ali Khamenei |
| 2 | Ali Larijani | | 15 August 2005 | 20 October 2007 | Principlist | Mahmoud Ahmadinejad | Ali Khamenei |
| 3 | Saeed Jalili | | 20 October 2007 | 10 September 2013 | Principlist | Mahmoud Ahmadinejad | Ali Khamenei |
| 4 | Ali Shamkhani | | 10 September 2013 | 22 May 2023 | Reformist | Hassan Rouhani | Ali Khamenei |
| 4 | Ali Shamkhani | | 10 September 2013 | 22 May 2023 | Reformist | Ebrahim Raisi | Ali Khamenei |
| 5 | Ali Akbar Ahmadian | | 22 May 2023 | | Principlist | Ebrahim Raisi | Ali Khamenei |
| 5 | Ali Akbar Ahmadian | | 22 May 2023 | | Principlist | Masoud Pezeshkian | Ali Khamenei |

## Members

As of 2024, following members are:
| # | 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 | Member |
| 4 | Supreme Leader | Secretary of the Guardian Council | Ahmad Jannati | Member |
| 5 | Supreme Leader | Supreme Leader Representatives | Ali Akbar Ahmadian | Secretary (appointed by President) |
| 6 | Supreme Leader | Supreme Leader Representatives | Saeed Jalili | Member |
| 7 | Supreme Leader | Chief of the General Staff | MG Mohammad Bagheri | Member |
| 8 | Supreme Leader | Chief of the Army | MG Abdolrahim Mousavi | Member |
| 9 | Supreme Leader | Chief of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps | MG Hossein Salami | Member |
| 10 | Supreme Leader | Chief of the General Command of the Law Enforcement | BG Ahmad-Reza Radan | Member |
| 11 | President | Vice President | Mohammad Reza Aref | Member |
| 12 | President | Minister of Energy | Abbas Aliabadi | Member |
| 13 | President | Minister of Foreign Affairs | Abbas Araghchi | Member |
| 14 | President | Minister of Finance | Abdolnaser Hemmati | Member |
| 15 | President | Minister of Defence | BG Aziz Nasirzadeh | Member |
| 16 | President | Minister of Information | Sattar Hashemi | Member |
| 17 | President | Minister of the Interior | BG Eskandar Momeni | Member |
| 18 | President | Minister of Intelligence | Esmaeil Khatib | Member |
| 19 | President | Minister of Science | Hossein Simaee Sarraf | Member |
| 20 | President | Head of Plan and Budget Organization | Hamid Pourmohammadi | Member |
| 21 | President | Head of Atomic Energy Organization of Iran | Mohammad Eslami | Member |
| 22 | President | Permanent Representative of Iran to the United Nations | Amir Saeed Iravani | Member |
| 23 | President | Minister related with the Subject of Agenda of the Council | Other Cabinet Ministers | Temporary member |