Iran names moderate Larijani to head top security body
"Ali Larijani was appointed secretary of the Supreme National Security Council in a decree by President Masoud Pezeshkian," official news agency IRNA reported.
Larijani, 68, who is seen as a moderate conservative in Iran, replaces Ali Akbar Ahmadian, a Revolutionary Guards general who was named to the position in May 2023.
His appointment comes after a 12-day war in June, launched by Israel and later joined by the United States, during which key Iranian nuclear and military sites were hit.
The security council is responsible for laying out Iran's defence and security strategy, but its decisions must be approved by the country's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
The secretary, as the most senior member of the council, oversees the implementation of its decisions.
A former member of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Larijani has held several senior government positions over three decades.
Khamenei made him one of his advisers in May 2020.
The following year, Larijani's presidential run was blocked by a government vetting body despite him being considered a leading candidate.
Starting in 2005, Larijani had led Iran's nuclear policy but resigned after two years of negotiations with Western powers, citing "serious differences" with the president at the time, ultra-conservative Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
As parliament speaker from 2008 to 2020, Larijani put his weight behind the 2015 nuclear agreement with world powers.
The son of a grand ayatollah, Larijani comes from an influential Shiite Muslim family with ties to the government, and holds a doctorate in philosophy.
Tehran and Washington had been engaged in negotiations aimed at reaching a new nuclear deal earlier this year, but the talks were derailed by the Israel-Iran war.
Israel said its offensive was aimed at preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons, an ambition Tehran has consistently denied pursuing.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Time of India
9 minutes ago
- Time of India
"I don't know anything about it": Trump on US imports of Russian chemicals and fertilizers
Donald Trump claimed ignorance about US imports of Russian chemicals and fertilizers. This followed India's assertion that the US continues to import these items. Trump also threatened to raise tariffs on India for buying Russian oil. India strongly rejected this, citing its energy security needs. Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads US President Donald Trump on Tuesday (local time) stated that he had no knowlegde that the United States imports Russian Chemicals and fertilizers. The rebutall came after India claimed that US continues to import from Russia uranium hexafluoride for its nuclear industry,fertilisers, as well as asked by the about US Imports of Russian chemicals and fertilizers during a press conference at the White House, Trump said, "I don't know anything about it. We will have to check."ANI has reached out to the presidents press team and awaits for a comment came a day after the US President announced that the United States would "substantially raise" tariffs on India over its purchase of Russian oil."India is not only buying massive amounts of Russian Oil, they are then, for much of the Oil purchased, selling it on the Open Market for big profits. They don't care how many people in Ukraine are being killed by the Russian War Machine. Because of this, I will be substantially raising the Tariff paid by India to the USA. Thank you for your attention to this matter!!!" Trump had said in a post on Truth Social on US President's statement was strongly rejected by India, with the Ministry of External Affairs calling the targeting of India "unjustified and unreasonable."In a detailed response, India said its imports from Russia were based on market needs and energy security, especially after Western nations diverted traditional supplies to Europe following the Ukraine conflict."In fact, India began importing from Russia because traditional supplies were diverted to Europe after the outbreak of the conflict. The United States at that time actively encouraged such imports by India for strengthening global energy markets stability. India's imports are meant to ensure predictable and affordable energy costs to the Indian consumer. They are a necessity compelled by global market situation. However, it is revealing that the very nations criticizing India are themselves indulging in trade with Russia. Unlike our case, such trade is not even a vital national compulsion," the statement government also pointed to continued trade between Russia and both the United States and the European Union."Where the United States is concerned, it continues to import from Russia uranium hexafluoride for its nuclear industry, palladium for its EV industry, fertilisers, as well as chemicals. In this background, the targeting of India is unjustified and unreasonable. Like any major economy, India will take all necessary measures to safeguard its national interests and economic security," the statement said," the MEA statement's also noted that the EU's bilateral trade with Russia in 2024 reached Euro 67.5 billion in goods, along with 16.5 million tonnes of LNG, more than its own trade volume with said it will take all necessary steps to safeguard its national interests and economic security.
The Hindu
9 minutes ago
- The Hindu
U.S. envoy Witkoff to visit Moscow ahead of sanctions deadline
U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff will meet on Wednesday (August 6, 2025) with the Russian leadership in Moscow as President Donald Trump's deadline to impose fresh sanctions over Russia's war in Ukraine looms. Mr. Trump has given Russia until Friday (August 8, 2025) to halt its offensive in Ukraine or face new penalties. The White House has not outlined specific actions it plans to take on Friday (August 8, 2025), but Mr. Trump has previously threatened to impose 'secondary tariffs' targeting Russia's remaining trade partners, such as China and India. The move would aim to stifle Russian exports but would risk significant international disruption. Mr. Trump said on Tuesday (August 5, 2025) that he would await the outcome of the Moscow talks before moving forward with any economic retaliation. 'We're going to see what happens,' he told reporters. 'We'll make that determination at that time.' An American source did not specify if the meetings will include Russian President Vladimir Putin, whom Mr. Witkoff has met with several times previously. Despite pressure from Washington, Russia has continued its onslaught against its pro-Western neighbour. Three rounds of peace talk in Istanbul have failed to make headway on a possible ceasefire, with the two sides appearing as far apart as ever. Moscow has demanded that Ukraine cede more territory and renounce Western support. Kyiv is calling for an immediate ceasefire, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy last week urged his allies to push for 'regime change' in Moscow. Nuclear rhetoric In recent weeks, Mr. Trump has increasingly voiced frustration with Mr. Putin over Moscow's unrelenting offensive. When reporters asked Mr. Trump on Monday (August 4, 2025) what Mr. Witkoff's message would be to Moscow, and if there was anything Russia could do to avoid the sanctions, Mr. Trump replied, 'Yeah, get a deal where people stop getting killed.' Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Monday (August 4, 2025) it considered the talks with Mr. Witkoff to be 'important, substantial and helpful' and valued U.S. efforts to end the conflict. Mr. Putin, who has consistently rejected calls for a ceasefire, said on Friday (August 1, 2025) that he wants peace but that his demands for ending his nearly three-and-a-half-year offensive were unchanged. Russia has frequently called on Ukraine to effectively cede control of four regions Moscow claims to have annexed, a demand Kyiv has called unacceptable. Mr. Putin also wants Ukraine to drop its ambitions to join NATO. The visit comes after Mr. Trump said that two nuclear submarines he deployed following an online row with former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev were now 'in the region.' Mr. Trump has not said whether he meant nuclear-powered or nuclear-armed submarines. He also did not elaborate on the exact deployment locations, which are kept secret by the U.S. military. Russia, in its first comments on the deployment, urged 'caution' on Monday (August 4, 2025). 'Russia is very attentive to the topic of nuclear non-proliferation. And we believe that everyone should be very, very cautious with nuclear rhetoric,' the Kremlin's Peskov said.
NDTV
23 minutes ago
- NDTV
Trump Was Asked If US Imports Uranium, Fertilisers From Russia. His Reply
Washington: Amid the United States' tariff threats to India over Russian oil imports, US President Donald Trump has claimed he was unaware of Washington's uranium and fertiliser trade with Moscow-- a point New Delhi has highlighted while defending its Russian imports. He also indicated increasing duties on nations continuing their trade relationship with Moscow, but did not disclose any number for the same. "I don't know anything about it. I have to check it out," Trump said on India's claim that Washington was singling it out unfairly while continuing to do business with Moscow itself. The remarks were made during a press conference at the White House, originally called to discuss the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. #WATCH | Responding to ANI's question on US imports of Russian Uranium, chemical fertilisers while criticising their (Indian) energy imports', US President Donald Trump says, "I don't know anything about it. I have to check..." (Source: US Network Pool via Reuters) — ANI (@ANI) August 5, 2025 US-Russia Trade Three years after Russian President Vladimir Putin launched his full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the United States still import billions of dollars worth of Russian energy and commodities, including enriched uranium. Since January 2022, the US has imported $24.51 billion of Russian goods. In 2024 alone, Washington imported fertilisers worth $1.27 billion, uranium and plutonium worth $624 million and palladium worth around $878 million from Moscow. More Tariffs Incoming When asked about his threat of imposing a 100 per cent tariff on countries buying Russian energy, Trump said, "I never said a percentage, but we'll be doing quite a bit of that. We'll see what happens over the next fairly short period of time... We have a meeting with Russia tomorrow. We're going to see what happens..." India this week lashed out at what it called Western double standards, after facing renewed threats from Trump over its surging purchases of Russian crude oil. Mounting Criticism Former US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley took a dig at Trump on Tuesday for his announcements about substantially hiking tariffs over oil imports from Russia, saying he had given "China a pass" and cautioned him against burning "a relationship with a strong ally like India". Haley said in a post on X that China is an adversary of the United States and "number one buyer of Russian and Iranian oil," has been given a 90-day tariff pause by the Trump Administration. "India should not be buying oil from Russia. But China, an adversary and the number one buyer of Russian and Iranian oil, got a 90-day tariff pause. Don't give China a pass and burn a relationship with a strong ally like India," she said. Trump's Mounting Threat Trump on Tuesday said he would increase the tariff charged on imports from India from the current rate of 25 per cent "very substantially" over the next 24 hours due to New Delhi's continued purchases of Russian oil. "They're fueling the war machine, and if they're going to do that, then I'm not going to be happy," Trump told CNBC in an interview. According to the report, he added that the main sticking point with India was that its tariffs were too high, but did not provide a new tariff rate.
