All five Larijani brothers have made a mark in the Iranian politics. In Will Iran’s ‘Kennedys’ Challenge Ahmadinejad?, Robin Wright writes:
Over the past 30 years, the five sons of a senior cleric have been a major force in Iran’s power structure, either serving in or running for positions including the presidency and various diplomatic roles as well as posts in Cabinet ministries, the Council of Guardians, the legislature, the powerful National Security Council, the judiciary, Iran’s top broadcasting authority and even the Revolutionary Guards. Over the past year, they have consolidated their power.
With Ali Larijani’s appointment as the speaker of parliament and Sadegh Larijani’s appointment as the head of the Iranian judiciary, the Larijani brothers are in control of two out of the three branches of Iran’s government. As discussed in Will Iran’s ‘Kennedys’ Challenge Ahmadinejad?, what make Larijani brothers particularly worth watching is that they are emerging as a powerful counterweight to President Ahmadinejad from within the conservative camp and they are fully endorsed by Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The brothers are viewed by most as being “pragmatic conservatives.”
Ali Larijani
Ali Larijani was one of the people identified in the Time’s list of top 10 players in Iran’s power struggle. As the article states:
Currently the speaker of parliament, Larijani is a longtime regime strategist and national-security adviser to the Supreme Leader. He handled nuclear negotiations with the West for a period before being ousted from the role by President Ahmadinejad. Larijani is considered a pragmatic conservative who is at once close to the Supreme Leader but also strongly at odds with Ahmadinejad over policy as well as personal differences. Since the election, Larijani has both congratulated Ahmadinejad on his victory and condemned his government’s Interior Ministry for attacks on students during the protests that followed the poll.
Sadegh Larijani
Sadegh Larijani has served for eight years on the powerful 12-member Council of Guardians. Mehdi Khalaji provides more details on Sadegh Larijani in his article, Militarization of the Iranian Judiciary. He states:
In 2001, Sadeq Larijani was the youngest jurist ever to be appointed to the Guardian Council, the twelve-person body responsible for approving all laws passed by the Majlis and for supervising elections. In the course of his Guardian Council activities, he has tried to remain under the radar by avoiding public appearances and media interviews. He has also made every effort to keep his relationships with Khamenei, the intelligence apparatus, and the IRGC under wraps.
Khalaji believes that Sadegh Larijani’s appointment signals that “the judiciary, the IRGC, and the intelligence agencies will be more closely aligned then ever.”
Other Lariijani Brothers.
Though other Larijani brothers are not as influential as Ali and Sadegh, they still are significant. Mohammad Javad Larijani is the deputy head of the judiciary and an adviser to the Supreme Leader. He was formerly deputy foreign affairs minister and a member of parliament. He is also a Berkeley-educated mathematician. Javad Larijani is the son-in-law of Hassan Hassanzadeh, an ayatollah in Qom. While Bagher Larijani, a physician, has served as Deputy Minister of Health and Fazel Larijani, a diplomat, spent years posted in Ottawa.
Picture taken from the Time.
Picture taken from the ISNA.
