In October 2007, Ali Larijani resigned from his post as secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council because of what he called a “serious managerial disagreement” with President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Deputy Foreign Minister for European and American Affairs Saeed Jalili replaced him. Now, eight years later, the Iranian media is reporting that Jalili is preparing to run for parliament and to replace Larijani again, this time as speaker of the Iranian parliament.
In May, Aryanews reported, “It seems Saeed Jalili, who surprisingly became a candidate in the 11th presidential election and changed the political equations of the Principlists and the election itself, has now apparently decided to try his chance at becoming a parliamentarian.” With parliamentary elections scheduled for February 2016, there have also been reports that the ultraconservative Ayatollah Mohammad Taghi Mesbah Yazdi, head of the Imam Khomeini Institute and a supporter of Jalili’s bid in the 2013 presidential polling, is considering once again putting his weight behind him.