Ali Shamkhani


Ali Shamkhani is an Iranian Rear Admiral Upper Half. He is the secretary of the Supreme National Security Council of Iran.

Early life and education

Shamkhani was born on 29 September 1955 in Ahvaz, Khuzestan. His family are 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 Mojahedin of the Islamic Revolution Organization. He studied engineering at Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz.

Career

Shamkhani served as the commander of the IRGC navy with the rank of rear admiral. Later he also commanded the Artesh navy in addition to the IRGC navy. He was appointed the Minister of Revolutionary Guards in 1988.
Then he held the post of the minister of defense 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 presidential elections.
He was the director of the Iranian Armed Forces' Center for Strategic Studies from 2005 to 2013. He is also military advisor to the Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
On 10 September 2013, Shamkhani was appointed secretary of the Supreme National Security Council by President Hassan Rouhani.
Shamkhani condemned the US-led coalition airstrikes in Mosul in March 2017 which he said killed more than 200 civilians and accused the United States of committing war crimes.

Awards and honors

In 2003, Shamkhani received the Shoja'at Medal, the highest military medal from President Mohammad Khatami. He was also honored for his eight years service as minister of defence in 2005. In 2004, Shamkhani received the Order of Abdulaziz Al Saud, the highest Medal 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 is the first Iranian minister to receive the medal.