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.[1]
Supreme National Security Council شورای عالی امنیت ملی | |
|---|---|
| Leadership | |
Chairman | |
Secretary | Ali Akbar Ahmadian since 22 May 2023 |
| Seats | 23 |
| Meeting place | |
| Tehran, Iran | |
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
editThis 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.[2] The Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei selects the secretary of the Supreme council.[3] The decisions of the Council are effective after the confirmation by the Supreme Leader.[4] Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and the Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) are at the top of the foreign policy decisions process.
Nuclear policy
editSupreme 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.[5] 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.[6]
List of secretaries
edit| № | Secretary | Tenure | Political position | Appointed by | Supreme Leader | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Picture | Took office | Left office | ||||
| 1 | Hassan Rouhani | 
|
12 October 1989[7] | 15 August 2005 | Right wing | Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani | Ali Khamenei |
| Mohammad Khatami | |||||||
| 2 | Ali Larijani | 
|
15 August 2005 | 20 October 2007 | Principlist | Mahmoud Ahmadinejad | |
| 3 | Saeed Jalili | 
|
20 October 2007 | 10 September 2013 | |||
| 4 | Ali Shamkhani | 
|
10 September 2013 | 22 May 2023 | Reformist | Hassan Rouhani | |
| Ebrahim Raisi | |||||||
| 5 | Ali Akbar Ahmadian | .jpg)
|
22 May 2023 | Principlist | Ebrahim Raisi | ||
| Masoud Pezeshkian | |||||||
Members
editAs of 2024, following members are:[8]
See also
editReferences and notes
edit- ^ Islamic Republic of Iran, The Supreme National Security Council (SNSC)
- ^ § 1 of Article 176
- ^ ISNA - 08-15-2005 - 84/5/24 - سرويس: / سياسي / شماره خبر: 569141 Archived 2007-10-24 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ § 5 of Article 176
- ^ Article 176
- ^ "Iran's Rouhani shifts responsibility for nuclear talks". BBC. 5 September 2013. Retrieved 5 September 2013.
- ^ "Chronology July 16, 1989–October 15, 1989". Middle East Journal. 44 (1): 114. Winter 1990. JSTOR 4328058.
- ^ Iranian Supreme National Security Council Archived 2007-09-28 at the Wayback Machine
Further reading
edit- 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.
