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.
— Scott Macleod