Ali Shamkhani

Ali Shamkhani (born 29 September 1955) is an Iranian naval officer and politician who served as the secretary of the Supreme National Security Council of Iran from 2013 to 2023. He is a member of the Expediency Discernment Council of Iran and political advisor of the Supreme Leader of Iran since 2023.

Israel Defense Forces (IDF) claimed to have assassinated Shamkhani with an airstrike on 13 June 2025 during the start of the Iran–Israel war. However, Iranian media claimed on 20 June that Shamkhani is still alive, and is in stable condition after recovering from his severe injuries from the strike. He is one of the political appointees overseeing the United States–Iran negotiations aimed at reaching a nuclear peace agreement.

Early life and education

Shamkhani was born on 29 September 1955 in Ahvaz, Khuzestan, Iran. His family is of Iranian Arab origin. Before the Iranian Revolution, Shamkhani was member of a clandestine Islamist guerilla group named ''Mansouroun'' (), engaging in armed struggle against the Pahlavi dynasty. After the revolution, he joined the Islamist Mojahedin of the Islamic Revolution Organization. He studied engineering at Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz.

Career

Shamkhani served as the commander of the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) navy with the rank of rear admiral. Later he also commanded the Iranian Artesh navy in addition to the IRGC navy. He was appointed the Minister of Revolutionary Guards in 1988.

He held the post of the Minister of defence and Armed Forces Logistics from August 1997 until August 2005 in the government of Mohammad Khatami. Shamkani was replaced by Mostafa Mohammad-Najjar in the post. Shamkhani also ran for office in the 2001 Iranian presidential elections, coming in third.

He was the director of the Iranian think tank Center for Strategic Studies from 2005 to 2013. He was also military advisor to the Supreme Leader of Iran, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

On 10 September 2013, Shamkhani was appointed to secretary of the Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) of Iran by president Hassan Rouhani.

After the US airstrike on 3 January 2020 killed the head of IRGC's Quds force Qasem Soleimani as he travelled in Baghdad, Iraq, Shamkhani said on 6 January that Iran’s response would be a "historic nightmare" for the US: "Even if the weakest of these scenarios gains a consensus, the implementation of it can be a historic nightmare for the Americans... The entirety of the resistance forces will retaliate," he said to the Fars News Agency. The SNSC was assessing 13 revenge scenarios.

At a Baghdad news conference after meeting with Iraqi politicians on 7 March 2020, Shamkhani said "Zionists are against regional security."

Shamkhani resigned as the country's top security official in May 2023. The ''New York Times'' disclosed that the Iranian government removed Shamkhani from his position as a national security official following scrutiny over his close ties with a senior British spy. Speculation about his departure arose in January after his former ally, Iranian-British politician and military officer Alireza Akbari, was executed for espionage on behalf of the UK.

In June 2023, a report Iran International revealed that Shamkhani was forced to resign after his involvement as a key member of the government circle linked to Naji Sharifi-Zindashti, who allegedly headed a cartel engaged in kidnapping and drug trafficking in collaboration with the IRGC, was made public.

In 2025, Shamkhani is overseeing the United States–Iran negotiations aimed at reaching a nuclear peace agreement.

Sanctions

On 10 January 2020, the US State Department extended its sanctions under Executive Order 13876 to Shamkhani and seven other individuals, and "twenty-two entities and three vessels pursuant to Executive Order 13871" as well as a Chinese steel trading organization under the Iran Freedom and Counter-Proliferation Act. According to secretary Steven T. Mnuchin, Shamkhani and other senior Regime Officials were sanctioned for "their involvement and complicity in Tuesday’s ballistic missile strikes". according to the statement, the sanctions will continue until all terrorist support and promotion by the Iranian regime ends.

On 20 February 2020, the US Treasury Department extended its sanctions again under Executive Order 13876 to Shamkhani amongst other individuals, following "the disqualification of several thousand electoral candidates by Iran's Guardian Council".

Personal life

Ali Shamkhani is the father of Hossein Shamkhani, said to successfully manage international oil trading operations despite U.S. sanctions targeting Iranian oil. According to U.S. officials, Hossein is a major figure in the supply of Iranian arms to Russia.

Awards and honors

In 2003, Shamkhani received the Shoja'at Medal, the highest military medal from President Mohammad Khatami.علی شمخانی، دبیر شورای عالی امنیت ملی ایران شد
''Shafaqna'' (in Persian) He was also honored for his eight years service as minister of defense in 2005. In 2004, Shamkhani received the Order of Abdulaziz Al Saud, the highest award in Saudi Arabia from King Fahd for his prominent role in the design and implementation in developing relations with Arabic countries in the Persian Gulf. He was the first Iranian minister to receive the medal and received medals from the presidents of Syria and Lebanon in February 2004.

Assassination attempt

Israel Defense Forces (IDF) claimed to have assassinated Shamkhani with an airstrike on 13 June 2025 during the start of the Iran–Israel war. However, Iranian media claimed on 20 June that Shamkhani is still alive, and is in stable condition after recovering from his severe injuries from the strike.

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Shamkhani, Ali
1955 births
Living people
Candidates in the 2001 Iranian presidential election
Commanders of Islamic Republic of Iran Navy
Defence ministers of Iran
Iranian Arab military personnel
Iranian civil servants
Iranian individuals subject to U.S. Department of the Treasury sanctions
Islamic Republic of Iran Navy rear admirals
Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps personnel of the Iran–Iraq War
Mojahedin of the Islamic Revolution Organization politicians
People from Ahvaz
Recipients of the Order of Fath
Representatives of the supreme leader
Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz alumni