Saeed Jalili (Persian: سعید جلیلی; born 6 September 1965) is an Iranian politician and diplomat, who was secretary of the Supreme National Security Council from 2007 to 2013.

[2] He was previously deputy foreign minister for European and American Affairs, and an unsuccessful candidate in the June 2013 presidential election, placing third.

[9] Jalili is known for his staunch hardline positions and confrontational rhetoric against the West, while pushing for stronger relations with Russia and China.

Backed by the fundamentalist Paydari Front, He attributes Iran's economic troubles to international sanctions and rejects social liberalization.

Following the election of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to the presidency in August 2005, Jalili was appointed deputy foreign minister for European and American affairs.

[24] On 20 October 2007, Jalili replaced Ali Larijani as secretary of the council and became responsible for international negotiations over Iran's nuclear program.

[24][28] A 2008 leaked diplomatic cable described how a European Union official who met Jalili call him "a true product of the Iranian revolution."

Mohammad Marandi, a professor at Tehran University, described Jalili as a tough negotiator who "believes strongly in Iran's nuclear program and its sovereign rights.

Then he started giving a 40-minute long speech and weaving unnecessary philosophy about the Iranian culture and history, as well as the constructive role it can play in the region.

[32] In 2006, Gholam-Hossein Elham, the spokesman of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's government, announced the resignation of Ali Larijani and introduced Saeed Jalili as the secretary of the Supreme National Security Council.

[33][34] The peak and indicator of Jalili's activity in the Supreme National Security Council was his heading of the negotiations concerning Iran's development of nuclear technology.

[37] He was supported by Front of Islamic Revolution Stability and also by Kamran Bagheri Lankarani, the party's main candidate who declined his candidacy in favour of Jalili.

In 2013, after his defeat in the presidential election, Jalili proposed a plan of the Shadow Cabinet to help the Hassan Rouhani government and compensate for its shortcomings.

[48] On 29 June, he secured 40.38% of the votes during the first round of the election, taking second place behind reformist candidate Masoud Pezeshkian, and thus qualifying for runoff.

[49] Jalili received support from unsuccessful candidate Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, who placed third, as well as from Alireza Zakani and Amir-Hossein Ghazizadeh, who had both previously dropped out.