That distinction has come into sharper focus with Mohsen Rezaei’s appointment as secretary of the council. Rezaei was first appointed by Supreme Chief Mojtaba Khamenei as considered one of his two representatives on the SNSC, giving him a constitutional seat and a vote. President Masoud Pezeshkian then appointed him secretary, placing him answerable for the council’s secretariat as effectively.
The order was notable, as in current many years, the extra acquainted sample had been for the president to decide on a secretary first and for the Supreme Chief to subsequently appoint the identical individual as considered one of his representatives, successfully giving the secretary a vote.
With Rezaei, the method labored the opposite approach round: Khamenei positioned him on the council first, and Pezeshkian adopted by making him secretary.
The transfer was welcomed by some hardliners as an indication that Pezeshkian was deferring to the brand new Supreme Chief and demonstrating his loyalty, amid lingering uncertainty over Mojtaba Khamenei’s authority after months out of public view.
The episode additionally highlighted one thing that’s usually misplaced in descriptions of the SNSC: being secretary and being a voting member are two separate issues.
What’s the SNSC?
The Supreme Nationwide Safety Council was created in its present kind when Iran’s Structure was revised in 1989, shortly after the tip of the Iran-Iraq battle and the loss of life of Islamic Republic founder Ruhollah Khomeini.
Article 176 of the Structure offers it three broad tasks: figuring out protection and nationwide safety insurance policies inside the common insurance policies set by the Supreme Chief; coordinating political, intelligence, financial, social and cultural actions associated to nationwide safety; and mobilizing the nation’s sources towards inner and exterior threats.
Its remit is due to this fact a lot broader than army affairs. Questions involving battle and peace, nuclear coverage, negotiations with international governments, sanctions, home unrest, web restrictions, intelligence issues and main regional safety points can all fall inside its orbit.
The president chairs the council, however that doesn’t imply the president controls it. The SNSC was designed to deliver collectively a number of facilities of energy that don’t reply to the president alone, together with the judiciary, parliament, the armed forces and the Supreme Chief’s workplace.
And there may be one other necessary restrict on its authority: its selections don’t turn out to be binding just because the council approves them. Below the Structure, SNSC resolutions take impact solely after approval by the Supreme Chief.
As soon as authorised by the Chief, no different state physique, together with parliament or the judiciary, has a proper veto over them.
Who’re the everlasting members?
Article 176 offers for 10 officers who maintain seats on the council by advantage of their positions.
They’re the president, who chairs the council; the speaker of parliament; the pinnacle of the judiciary; the chief of the Armed Forces Normal Workers; the official liable for planning and finances affairs; two representatives appointed by the Supreme Chief; the international minister; the inside minister; and the intelligence minister.
These 10 positions kind the mounted constitutional core of the SNSC.
The 2 representatives of the Supreme Chief are significantly necessary. They don’t seem to be representatives of the federal government or of one other state establishment. They sit instantly on behalf of the Chief and have the identical proper to vote as the opposite constitutional members.
At current, these two seats are held by Saeed Jalili and Mohsen Rezaei.
Who could be added when wanted?
The Structure additionally names three further classes of officers who can be a part of the council relying on the difficulty being mentioned.
These are the highest-ranking officer of the common Military, the highest-ranking officer of the Revolutionary Guards, and the minister liable for the matter into account.
That distinction issues as a result of the Military and IRGC commanders are sometimes casually described as everlasting members of the SNSC. In observe, they attend many necessary conferences and should seem like a part of the council’s standing membership. Constitutionally, nonetheless, their participation is tied to the topic earlier than the council.
After they take part in that capability, they’re members of the council for that dialogue and have the suitable to vote.
The identical applies to an extra minister. If the council is discussing a difficulty that instantly considerations vitality, communications, well being, transport or one other authorities portfolio, the related minister could be introduced in as a member for that difficulty and might vote.
This implies the variety of voting members is just not essentially the identical at each assembly. The council has 10 mounted members, however the quantity can rise relying on which army commanders or ministers are required for a selected dialogue.
In June, Iranian state media reported that twelve out of the 13 voting members of the Council voted to approve the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the USA.
Who can attend and not using a vote?
The SNSC may also invite different officers whose experience or institutional position is related to a dialogue.
That might embody, for instance, the pinnacle of state broadcaster IRIB, the central financial institution governor, the pinnacle of the Atomic Power Group, senior police officers, financial officers or army commanders who don’t maintain one of many positions particularly named in Article 176.
Their presence doesn’t make them members of the council.
They might transient the SNSC, participate in discussions or reply questions, however they don’t purchase voting rights just because they’ve been invited to a gathering.
This creates an necessary distinction between three classes of individuals within the room: mounted constitutional members, issue-specific constitutional members who can vote, and invited officers who can take part however can not vote.
Why the secretary is completely different
The secretary is among the most seen figures related to the SNSC and infrequently acts because the day-to-day face of Iran’s nationwide safety institution.
However there may be an uncommon characteristic within the Structure: the secretary is just not listed among the many council’s members.
The secretary runs the secretariat, helps put together conferences, coordinates between establishments, follows up on selections and could be entrusted with main diplomatic or safety recordsdata. The president appoints the secretary.
However that appointment alone doesn’t give the secretary a seat or a vote.
For a lot of the SNSC’s historical past, this obvious hole has been resolved by giving the secretary one other place on the identical time: one of many Supreme Chief’s two consultant seats.
That second appointment, not the secretaryship itself, is what offers the secretary voting rights.
The outcome has been a long-running association through which one individual normally wears two hats. He’s the president’s appointee as head of the secretariat and, individually, the Supreme Chief’s consultant as a voting member of the council.
That twin position additionally offers the secretary political weight that goes effectively past administration. He doesn’t merely arrange the assembly; he sits contained in the decision-making physique and speaks and votes as one of many Chief’s representatives.
Which appointment normally comes first?
There has by no means been a constitutional requirement that one appointment precede the opposite.
In current many years, nonetheless, the most typical sample has been for the president to nominate a secretary and for the Supreme Chief to then appoint the identical individual as his consultant.
That occurred with Ali Shamkhani in 2013. President Hassan Rouhani selected him as secretary, and Ali Khamenei appointed him as considered one of his representatives shortly afterward.
The identical occurred with Ali-Akbar Ahmadian in 2023, when President Ebrahim Raisi appointed him secretary and Khamenei named him as his consultant at across the identical time.
When Ali Larijani returned to the SNSC in August 2025, Pezeshkian appointed him secretary first, and Khamenei subsequently gave him considered one of his two consultant seats.
However this order has not been common.
When Larijani first turned SNSC secretary underneath Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in 2005, he was already considered one of Khamenei’s representatives on the council earlier than the president appointed him secretary.
The identical authorized separation is seen within the case of Saeed Jalili. Ahmadinejad appointed him secretary in 2007, however he was not made considered one of Khamenei’s representatives till months later. After leaving the secretaryship in 2013, Jalili saved his seat because the Chief’s consultant, exhibiting clearly that the 2 places of work are unbiased of each other.
The broader historic sample is due to this fact not that the president at all times chooses first and the Chief follows. It’s that the 2 positions have normally been mixed, no matter which appointment got here first.
Zolghadr was the larger institutional exception
If Rezaei’s appointment was uncommon due to the order through which the 2 posts had been assigned, Mohammad-Baqer Zolghadr’s quick tenure earlier in 2026 was uncommon for a extra basic cause.
After Ali Larijani’s loss of life in March, Pezeshkian appointed Zolghadr as secretary of the SNSC. However Zolghadr was not publicly appointed as one of many Supreme Chief’s two representatives.
That meant the 2 roles had been separated in a approach not often seen within the council’s historical past. Zolghadr ran the secretariat however, on the publicly obtainable document, didn’t maintain a constitutional voting seat merely by advantage of being secretary.
The excellence turned particularly seen throughout deliberations over the Iran-US settlement in June, when a public account of the vote listed the collaborating members however didn’t embody Zolghadr amongst these casting ballots.
Who has served as secretary?
Hassan Rouhani turned the SNSC’s first secretary after the council was established in its present kind in 1989. He served for about 16 years, spanning the presidencies of Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani and Mohammad Khatami, and have become intently related to Iran’s nationwide safety and early nuclear diplomacy.
Ali Larijani changed him in 2005 underneath President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Larijani was already considered one of Khamenei’s representatives on the council earlier than changing into secretary. He served till 2007 and resigned amid disagreements with Ahmadinejad over Iran’s nuclear technique.
Saeed Jalili succeeded him and served from 2007 to 2013. He turned considered one of Khamenei’s representatives months after taking up as secretary and remained in that consultant seat even after leaving the secretariat.
Ali Shamkhani was appointed by President Hassan Rouhani in 2013 and served for practically a decade. Khamenei additionally appointed him as his consultant, preserving the dual-role association. Shamkhani turned probably the most outstanding figures in Iran’s regional diplomacy and remained secretary till 2023.
Ali-Akbar Ahmadian, a senior former IRGC commander, changed Shamkhani underneath President Raisi in 2023. He too served concurrently as secretary and as considered one of Khamenei’s representatives.
Ali Larijani returned for a second tenure in August 2025 after Pezeshkian appointed him secretary. Khamenei then appointed him as considered one of his representatives. Larijani remained within the position till his loss of life in March 2026.
Mohammad-Baqer Zolghadr succeeded him and served for a number of months. In contrast to his speedy predecessors, he was not publicly given one of many Chief’s two seats, leaving him and not using a vote in his capability as secretary.
Mohsen Rezaei changed Zolghadr in August 2026. This time the order was reversed: Mojtaba Khamenei first appointed Rezaei as his consultant, and Pezeshkian then made him secretary.
How selections are made
The SNSC is commonly described as Iran’s highest nationwide safety physique, however it’s higher understood as a spot the place the Islamic Republic’s main energy facilities are introduced collectively to barter and formalize coverage.
The president chairs the conferences. The heads of parliament and the judiciary take part. Key ministers are current. The Armed Forces Normal Workers has a everlasting seat. The Military and IRGC can be a part of as voting members when required. The Supreme Chief has two direct representatives contained in the room.
The exact voting procedures are much less clear than the membership guidelines. Article 176 establishes who belongs to the council however doesn’t publicly lay out a single detailed voting formulation for each kind of choice.
In observe, deliberations can contain bargaining earlier than a matter ever reaches a proper vote. Delicate selections might have already got been mentioned with the Chief’s workplace, the armed forces or different senior our bodies earlier than they arrive earlier than the SNSC.
And even after a majority or different required threshold is reached, the method is just not completed.
The Structure says SNSC resolutions turn out to be efficient solely after the Supreme Chief approves them.
That provides the Chief affect at a number of factors within the course of. He units the broad nationwide safety insurance policies inside which the council operates, appoints two voting members instantly and retains the ultimate authority to approve its selections.
The president, in the meantime, controls one other necessary a part of the establishment: he chairs the council and chooses the secretary who runs its day-to-day equipment.
