Jalili was born in September 1965 in Mashhad in northeastern Iran. He holds a PhD in political science from Imam Sadeq University and his doctoral thesis is entitled "The Foreign Policy of the Prophet Muhammad." After graduating, he served in the Iran–Iraq War as a member of the Basij volunteers of the Army of the Guardians of the Islamic Revolution. During the fighting he was injured severely, losing the lower portion of his right leg in 1986. Upon this event, he earned the title of "living martyr". He has taught political science since 2000 in different intervals at Imam Sadeq University.