Ali Akbar Ahmadian was appointed by the founder of the Iranian revolution, Imam Khomeini, in 1985 as chief of staff of the Revolutionary Guards' naval force. Ahmadian continued to progress in military and security positions until President Ebrahim Raisi installed him on May 22, 2023, as secretary-general of the Supreme National Security Council.
In 2007, the US Treasury designated Ahmadian along with other senior IRGC officials, and the European Union took a similar step in April of the same year.