Ali_Shamkhani

Ali Shamkhani

Ali Shamkhani

Iranian general

Ali Shamkhani (Persian: علی شمخانی, romanized: ʿAlī Shamkhānī, born 29 September 1955) is an Iranian rear admiral upper half (two-star general). He served as the secretary of the Supreme National Security Council of Iran from 2013 to 2023. He is currently member of the Expediency Discernment Council and political advisor of Supreme Leader of Iran since May 2023.

Quick Facts Amir, Allegiance ...
Shamkhani next to Federica Mogherini in 2016

Early life and education

Shamkhani was born on 29 September 1955 in Ahvaz, Khuzestan. His family is of Iranian Arab origin.[1][2] Before the Iranian Revolution, Shamkhani was member of a clandestine Islamist guerilla group named Mansouroun (lit. 'The Victors'), engaging in armed struggle against the Pahlavi dynasty. After the revolution, he joined the Mojahedin of the Islamic Revolution Organization.[3] He studied engineering at Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz.[4]

Career

Shamkhani served as the commander of the IRGC navy with the rank of rear admiral.[5] Later he also commanded the Artesh navy in addition to the IRGC navy.[6] He was appointed the Minister of Revolutionary Guards in 1988.[7]

He held the post of the minister of defense from August 1997 until August 2005 in the government of Mohammad Khatami.[8][9] Shamkani was replaced by Mostafa Mohammad-Najjar in the post.[6] Shamkhani also ran for office in the 2001 presidential elections.[2][10]

He was the director of the Iranian Armed Forces' Center for Strategic Studies from 2005 to 2013.[11][12] He is also military advisor to the Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.[13][14]

On 10 September 2013, Shamkhani was appointed to secretary of the Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) by president Hassan Rouhani.[14]

After the US airstrike that was responsible for killing on 3 January 2020 the head of IRGC's Quds force Qasem Soleimani as he travelled in Baghdad Iraq, Shamkhani said on 6 January of the response that it 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.[15]

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.[16]

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".[17]

At a Baghdad news conference after meeting with Iraqi politicians on 7 March 2020, Shamkhani said "Zionists are against regional security."[18]

Awards and honors

In 2003, Shamkhani received the Shoja'at Medal, the highest military medal from President Mohammad Khatami.[19] He was also honored for his eight years service as minister of defense in 2005.[19] 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.[19][20] He is the first Iranian minister to receive the medal.[19] and received medals from the presidents of Syria and Lebanon in February 2004.[21]

See also

References

  1. [1]
    Bar, Shmuel (2004). "Iranian Defense Doctrine and Decision Making" (PDF). Institute for Policy and Strategy. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 April 2012. Retrieved 29 July 2013.
  2. [2]
    Antony Preston (August 2001). "Yards Compete for Denmark's Command and Support Vessels". Navy League of the United States. Archived from the original on 7 January 2011. Retrieved 27 August 2013.
  3. [3]
    Alfoneh, Ali (2013), Iran Unveiled: How the Revolutionary Guards Is Transforming Iran from Theocracy into Military Dictatorship, AEI Press, p. 10
  4. [4]
    "Ali Shamkhani". Los Angeles Times. Tehran. 15 November 1998. Retrieved 21 August 2013.
  5. [5]
    Zeb, Rizwan (12 February 2003). "The emerging Indo-Iranian strategic alliance and Pakistan". CACI Analyst. Retrieved 21 August 2013.
  6. [6]
    "Rouhani's Cautious Pick For Defense Minister". 7 November 2017. Archived from the original on 7 November 2017. Retrieved 26 March 2018.
  7. [7]
    Rahnema, Ali (20 February 2013) [15 December 2008]. "ii. Jamʿiyat-e Moʾtalefa and the Islamic Revolution". JAMʿIYAT-E MOʾTALEFA-YE ESLĀMI i. Hayʾathā-ye Moʾtalefa-ye Eslāmi 1963-79. Encyclopædia Iranica. Fasc. 5. Vol. XIV. New York City: Bibliotheca Persica Press. pp. 483–500. Retrieved 15 March 2016.
  8. [8]
    Bahman Baktiari (1996). Parliamentary Politics in Revolutionary Iran: The Institutionalization of Factional Politics. University Press of Florida. p. 157. ISBN 978-0-8130-1461-6. Retrieved 27 August 2013.
  9. [9]
    Rachel Ingber (14 August 1997). "Khatami's Cabinet Choices: On the Record". Archived from the original (Policy Watch 264) on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 28 August 2013.
  10. [10]
    Sahliyeh, Emile (2002). "The reforming elections in Iran, 2000–2001" (PDF). Electoral Studies. 21 (3): 526–533. doi:10.1016/s0261-3794(01)00041-5. Retrieved 21 August 2013.
  11. [11]
    "Iran to Down Other US Drones If Violations Continue". The Journal of Turkish Weekly. 16 December 2011. Archived from the original on 27 August 2013. Retrieved 27 August 2013.
  12. [12]
    "General Mohammad Salimi". Iran Briefing. 3 February 2011. Retrieved 17 February 2013.
  13. [13]
    Jamil Theyabi (12 August 2008). "The Iranian "Giant"". Al Hayat. Archived from the original on 6 March 2016. Retrieved 27 August 2013.
  14. [14]
    "Rouhani Appointed Former Defense Minister as the Secretary of NSC". Nasim Online. 10 September 2013. Archived from the original on 14 October 2013. Retrieved 10 September 2013.
  15. [15]
    Mehrotra, Kartikay (6 January 2020). "Texas Says Attempted Cyber Infiltration Surges: Iran Update". Bloomberg News.
  16. [16]
    "Intensified Sanctions on Iran". US Department of State. 10 January 2020.
  17. [17]
    "Treasury Designates Senior Iranian Regime Officials Preventing Free and Fair Elections in Iran". US Department of the Treasury. 20 February 2020.
  18. [18]
    Frantzman S (8 March 2020). "Iran's regime pushes antisemitic conspiracies about coronavirus". The Jerusalem Post. Archived from the original on 10 March 2020. Retrieved 11 March 2020.
  19. [19]
    علی شمخانی، دبیر شورای عالی امنیت ملی ایران شد Shafaqna (in Persian)
  20. [20]
    علی شمخانی گزینه اصلی تصدی گری وزارت کشور روحانی Archived 9 May 2016 at the Wayback Machine Barfaaz
  21. [21]
    "تاواريش". Virasty (in Persian). Retrieved 20 December 2023.

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