Corruption within the Shamkhani family
The resignation of Ali Shamkhani from the position of Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council was accompanied by many controversies. Many believe that the reason he left this sensitive position after ten years is the revelation of widespread corruption within the Shamkhani family. This corruption, in which the closest relatives of Ali Shamkhani are involved, has had a financial turnover of billions of dollars.
The controversies surrounding Ali Shamkhani’s family, the former Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, have been making headlines in domestic and international media in recent months. Among them, the role of Hussein Shamkhani, the son of Ali Shamkhani, is more prominent. Iran Gate has conducted an investigative study on this matter, examining its various dimensions. The first part of this study introduces the Shamkhani family.
Who is Ali Shamkhani?
Ali Shamkhani was born on October 28, 1955, in Ahvaz. He completed his primary education in the same city. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Agricultural Engineering with a major in Management from Jundi Shapur University, a Master’s degree in Military Strategy from the National Defense University, and a Doctorate degree in Military Strategy from the same university.
Ali Shamkhani also has a record of imprisonment during the Pahlavi regime. At the age of 18, he was arrested by SAVAK in 1973. After his release, he joined a group called Mansooreen, led by Mohsen Rezaee, who later played a significant role in the revolution.
After the victory of the revolution in 1979, Ali Shamkhani became a member of the Revolutionary Committee. He then joined the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and in 1979, he was appointed as the commander of the IRGC in Khuzestan. It should be noted that the IRGC in Khuzestan played a crucial role in the eight-year Iran-Iraq war. The Shamkhani family also played an important role on the frontlines, to the extent that Ali Shamkhani’s two brothers, Mohammad and Hamid Shamkhani, were martyred in 1980 and 1981 respectively.
In 1981, Ali Shamkhani was appointed as the Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the IRGC. He continued his activities until 1986, when he ultimately assumed the position of Commander of the Ground Forces of the IRGC while retaining his position as Deputy Commander-in-Chief.
After the death of the first Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic, Ali Khamenei, in 1989, Seyyed Ali Khamenei, the then Supreme Leader, ordered Hossein Shemkhani to join the Islamic Republic of Iran’s army with the rank of Lieutenant General. He was appointed as the commander of the army’s navy. He continued his activities in this position until 1997 when he was introduced by Mohammad Khatami, the seventh president, as the Minister of Defense in the first government. He managed to gain the vote of confidence from the fifth parliament. Despite being a competitor in the 2001 elections against Mohammad Khatami, he was once again appointed as the Minister of Defense in Khatami’s second government, the eighth government.
When Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s government came to power, Shemkhani left the government and took on marginal positions. However, in September 2013, with the appointment of Hassan Rouhani as the President, he replaced Saeed Jalili as the Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, a position he held until April 2023.
Shemkhani has apparently been married three times, but his first wife is Azarmidokht Tabatabai, who is the mother of his four children. Ali Shemkhani is the father of Fatemeh, Zeynab, Hossein, and Hassan. Some sources claim that he also has another child from one of his other two wives.
Who is Hossein Shemkhani?
Hossein Shamkhani is one of the children of Ali Shamkhani and his eldest son. Hossein has been the most controversial member of the Shamkhani family, and many scandals and cases of economic corruption involving him have been published in the media. The most important documents exposing the misconduct of Hossein Shamkhani have been published by Saeed Aghangi, an Iranian journalist. These publications have also faced reactions from the Shamkhani family. Mehdi Nassiri, the former editor-in-chief of Kayhan newspaper and a conservative journalist, has accused Ali Shamkhani’s son, Hossein, of stealing oil money.
Exact information about Hossein Shamkhani’s date of birth is not available, but according to the information obtained by Iran Gate, he is currently around 40 years old as of Khordad 1402 (May/June 2023). Apparently, Hossein has graduated from an American university in Beirut, and he has a prominent presence in various cases, including the seized Admiral ship, which was dissolved after its seizure was reported. The involvement of Hossein in various cases will be further discussed in subsequent sections.
Who is Azarmidokht Tabatabaei?
She is the first wife of Ali Shamkhani and the mother of four children. Her name, Azarmidokht, was first mentioned in the media when the case of Elahieh properties in Tehran was made public by domestic journalists. According to a video released by Mehdi Sadral-Sadati in 1400, the first wife of Ali Shamkhani owns a luxury apartment complex on Farshad Street in Tehran.
However, Azarmidokht Tabatabaei’s involvement in the Lavasanat villas case is also significant, although Ali Shamkhani’s role in this case is more evident than others. But the first wife of the former Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council was also involved in this case.
Who is Hassan Shamkhani?
Hassan is the second son and youngest child of Ali Shamkhani from his first wife. Hassan’s activities are not extensive, but he was heard in the media for the first time in the case of the dissolved company Admiral, which owned the Admiral ship. There is no precise information available about him, but it seems that after the Admiral incident, Hassan also faded into the background, and Hussein Shamkhani took on a more prominent role. The only information available about Fatemeh Shamkhani has been published by Saeed Aghangi and includes a photo of Fatemeh, which received widespread reactions on Twitter by this Iranian journalist.
Ali Shamkhani’s Daughters and Son-in-Laws
Ali Shamkhani has two daughters named Fatemeh and Zeinab. The only information available about Fatemeh Shamkhani is her residence in England. It is also mentioned that she prefers to be known as Setayesh instead of Fatemeh.
However, Zeinab is another daughter of Ali Shamkhani and Azarmidokht Tabatabaei. Zeinab is more well-known than Fatemeh Setayesh. There have been cases where Zeinab Shamkhani has intervened with members of the Mir Mohammad Ali family. One of these cases was related to the Kaspin and Farashtegan financial institutions, which led to the seizure of billions of dollars in Zeinab’s accounts.
It was in this case that a picture of Zeinab’s son’s passport, who was born in 1394, was published. In 1397, a picture of a court order was released in the media, indicating that Zeinab’s grandson’s bank account with a balance of over 95 billion Tomans had been seized. Other documents were also published on social networks, indicating the ownership of several villas in Lavasan under the name of Ali Shamkhani’s grandson.
Other Relatives of the Shamkhani Family
Many controversies involving other members of the Shamkhani family have been published in the media, among which the most important and well-known ones are Abdulazim Shamkhani, Mo’oud Shamkhani, and Naji Shamkhani.
Abdolazim Shamkhani is the cousin of Ali Shamkhani, whose name was mentioned alongside Mo’oud Shamkhani in the case of the media metroplex building. Abdolazim was the former CEO of the Beautification Department of Ahvaz Municipality and the former deputy mayor of Ahvaz. However, according to Sadrosadati, he only had a high school diploma and was not qualified for the specialized responsibilities he held.
Mo’oud Shamkhani is one of the nephews of Ali Shamkhani, whose name was heard in the tragic case of the metroplex building. Mo’oud was the technical deputy of the Arvand Free Zone Organization at the time of the metroplex disaster in Abadan. However, his collaboration and partnership with Hussein Abdolbaghi, the owner of the metroplex building, became very controversial.
Naji Shamkhani is also a cousin of Ali Shamkhani, whose images with his Arab brother have been circulated on social media. Naji was the manager of the Iranian House Company and was responsible for several projects in the Arvand Free Zone. His name was heard even before the metroplex tragedy, but after the collapse of the tragic metroplex in Abadan, Naji Shamkhani’s name was once again mentioned in the media. It is said that Naji has executed numerous projects in the cities of Abadan and Ahvaz in collaboration with Hussein Abdolbaghi, the owner of the metroplex building.
The special case of Shamkhani has been exclusively reviewed and written by Iran Gate. You can read other sections of this article from the following links.
- زیر و بم فساد خاندان شمخانی/قسمت اول (در حال مطالعه این قسمت هستید)
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