Former Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) commander Ali Shamkhani was among those targeted by Israel during its strikes on Iran on Saturday morning.
This incident is not the first time the 70-year-old has been a target of such operations. During a 12-day war between Israel and the United States last year, Shamkhani was rescued alive from the rubble of his Tehran residence following an attack.
Military rise and the Iran-Iraq War
Shamkhani’s prominence within Iran’s military establishment began in 1980, when he rose through the ranks of the IRGC during the Iran-Iraq War. By 1982, he had been appointed as the deputy to the IRGC commander-in-chief, Mohsen Rezaei.
By the end of the conflict in 1988, Shamkhani was the commanding officer of the IRGC’s ground forces and was appointed as the Minister of the Revolutionary Guard.
Naval and political career
In 1989, following the appointment of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Shamkhani was transferred to the navy. Within a year, he was granted simultaneous control of both the regular and IRGC navies.
His political influence continued to grow under former President Mohammad Khatami, where he served as the Minister of Defence from 1997 to 2005. Later, in 2015, Shamkhani played a role in the implementation of the nuclear agreement.
Shamkhani served on the Supreme National Security Council from 2013 until 2023. Since leaving that position, he has remained a key figure in the Iranian leadership, serving as a political adviser to Ayatollah Khamenei.
