Latest news with #AliShamkhani
LeMonde
08-07-2025
- Politics
- LeMonde
How Israel tracked down and assassinated scientists involved in Iran's nuclear program
Thousands of supporters of the Iranian regime marched along Enghelab Avenue, in central Tehran, on Saturday, June 28, behind the coffins of victims of Israeli strikes that decimated the country's security apparatus. On that day, the Islamic Republic held state funerals for its high-ranking officers and several nuclear scientists killed during the first bombings, an unprecedented wave of assassinations in the country's history. Admiral Ali Shamkhani, reported dead on the first day of the war and then rumored to have lost a leg, reappeared for the occasion, wounded but standing on his own two legs, leaning on a cane. The bodies of the scientists were laid to rest in a Shiite mausoleum in the impoverished Rey neighborhood, where dignitaries of the regime and artists are buried. Israel had tracked these men's every move for two decades. The country had already attempted to assassinate one of them, Fereydoun Abbasi, in 2010. This physicist, a zealous ideologue, as pious as he was hard-working, had jumped out of his car with his wife just before a bomb, believed to have been planted by Israeli agents, exploded. So began the first wave of assassinations of Iranian scientists attributed to Israel. Abbasi went on to become vice president of the country and head of its Atomic Energy Organization – a vantage point from which he fought against any international agreement that would restrict Iran's nuclear program. He died on June 13. He was buried alongside colleagues linked to the Organization of Defensive Innovation and Research (SPND, its Persian acronym): a center suspected of having conducted research since the 1990s aimed at militarizing the uranium enriched by Iran, in order to acquire the capability to assemble a nuclear weapon, should the regime choose to do so.
Asharq Al-Awsat
30-06-2025
- Politics
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Shamakhani Recounts How He Survived Assassination Attempt: I Was Trapped 3 Hours Under Rubble
Ali Shamkhani, a high-ranking adviser to Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, recounted on Iranian television Sunday how he survived an Israeli strike that targeted his residence on the first day of the war between Iran and Israel, stating that he was trapped under the rubble for three hours before being rescued. 'I was mainly injured internally; my ribs were broken,' the official said on Iranian state television. 'At first, I thought it was an earthquake. I was trapped under the rubble for three hours,' he said during the interview, where he was seen using a special inhalation device to help rehabilitate his lungs — a lasting result of his injuries. 'I was lying in bed. My phone was on the floor, a bit away from me. My family was asleep in the next room. I was dozing off, about to wake up for morning prayer, when suddenly the entire room collapsed on top of me,' he said. Shamkhani also recalled the moments he survived under the rubble. 'My room had collapsed two or three stories downward. I began clearing the rubble from my legs,' he said. The Iranian general said his wife and son were also injured during the attack, adding that he was unable to speak clearly at the time due to oxygen pressure. Shamkhani declined to say why he was targeted but said, 'Israel knows why it attacked me—and so do I. But I can't say.' Shamkhani previously served as Iran's navy commander, defense minister and secretary of the Supreme National Security Council. He said there is no house or office left for him to stay or work and that the interview was conducted at a café. The interview came hours after Shamkhani made his first public appearance Saturday at the funerals of Iranian nuclear scientists and military commanders killed in the war with Israel. At the funeral, Shamakhani was shown in a civilian suit leaning on a cane and surrounded by his bodyguards and members of his family, according to an image distributed on state television's Telegram channel. Initial reports following the Israeli attacks on Iran claimed Shamkhani had been killed, while others said he was seriously wounded. Last week, the Iranian general confirmed he had survived. 'I've almost died three times—once before the Revolution, once during the Iran-Iraq War, and now this time,' Shamkhani said. The Iranian official said, 'All our commanders—our minds and muscle—had been targeted, yet within 12 hours, they were replaced, and the operation began. It wasn't improvised. It was pre-planned.' Shamkhani then emphasized the need for constant vigilance and readiness to counter enemy threats, while urging further advancement of the nation's military capabilities. He stressed that Iran's leadership has been fully prepared for any scenario, noting that all operations were carried out according to pre-established plans. This preparedness reflected the country's robust military and security posture against any form of escalation or infiltration, he said. Last week, Shamkhani, said in a post on X that 'even if nuclear sites are destroyed, game isn't over, enriched materials, indigenous knowledge, political will remain.' He added, 'With legitimate defense right, political and operational initiative is now with the side that plays smart, avoids blind strikes. Surprises will continue!'
Memri
29-06-2025
- Politics
- Memri
Khamenei's National Security Advisor Admiral Ali Shamkhani Severely Injured in Israeli Strike: They Know Why They Targeted Me; 'I've Beaten the Hell Out of Their Big Boss'; the Iranians Proved That Th
Admiral Ali Shamkhani, member of Iran's Expediency Council and National Security Advisor to Supreme Leader Khamenei, who was severely injured during the Iran–Israel war, discussed his injuries in a June 28, 2025 interview on IRINN TV (Iran). He said his entire room collapsed on top of him, and he was buried under the rubble for three hours. Shamkhani said that his ribcage was fractured, and he sustained many internal injuries in the attack. He added that the Israelis know why they targeted him, as does he, but he is not at liberty to elaborate. He said he has 'beaten the hell out of their big boss' and that he holds many secrets. Shamkhani also described how Iran responded to Israel's attack, following a plan based on guidance from the Supreme Leader, and adapted according to Iran's capabilities.
Time of India
29-06-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
'Not Afraid Of Israel': Khamenei Advisor Declared 'DEAD' Surfaces On LIVE TV
Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei's advisor back from the 'DEAD' after an assassination bid by Israeli defence forces. The IDF claimed it killed Ali Shamkhani in June 13 strike, according to multiple reports, but the aide of Khamenei emerged over the weekend, saying he was buried 'under rubble for three years, but survived the attack. Watch. Read More
Indian Express
28-06-2025
- Politics
- Indian Express
Top Khamenei aide appears on state TV following reports of his death in Israeli airstrike
The 12-day conflict between Iran and Israel ended with a ceasefire brokered by US President Donald Trump and Qatar on June 24 and it was reported that Ali Shamkhani — a close aide to Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei died in Israeli airstrikes which was earlier confirmed by both Israeli and Iranian authorities, appeared on an Iranian state TV and apparently gave an interview on Saturday. Shamkhani was attending a mass funeral in Tehran which was organised to bid adieu to the dozens of military commanders and nuclear scientists killed in the Israeli attack. Shamkhani's death was surrounded in mystery after initial reports emerged that he was killed during Israel's June 13 strike on Iran. Though several reports also claimed that Shamkhani had survived the attack and he was seriously wounded. 1- A 9-minute interview with former national security adviser Ali Shamkhani. His injuries are more or less internal. Shamkhani was under rubble for 3hs after Zionist regime's attack on his flat on the first night of aggression. — Fereshteh Sadeghi فرشته صادقی (@fresh_sadegh) June 28, 2025 Last week, several Iranian outlets, including IRNA, Tasnim and Fars reported that Shamkhani had not died in the Israeli airstrike, instead had been 'severely injured and hospitalized' in Tel Aviv's attack, though no photos of him were released by any media outlet. Thereafter, Shamkhani appeared in the pictures of Iran's state media on Saturday covering the state funeral for those who died during the 12-day conflict with Israel. And on the same day, Iran's state news agency IRIB ran Shamkhani's interview, which the news outlet touted as Iran's top official's first television interaction since the attack. In the televised interview, Shamkhani claimed that he was trapped under the debris of his home for three hours after Israel's strike. 'I did my morning prayer while under the rubble,' he said, reported CNN. 'At first, I thought it was an earthquake. But when I heard the sound of vehicles, I realized it was not,' top Khamenei aide said during the interview. Israel and Iran are currently observing a ceasefire in hostilities which is fragile, and if broken, could rapidly escalate the tension in the Middle East region.
