Ali Shamkhani

Ali Shamkhani is an ethnic Arab from Khuzestan who rose through the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy to become one of Iran's most senior security officials. He commanded the IRGC Navy during the Iran–Iraq War and later served as combined IRGC/Regular Navy commander. Mohammad Khatami appointed him Defense Minister in 1997 — a moderate appointment widely seen as signalling detente — and he served for the full eight years. Hassan Rouhani appointed him Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council in 2013, where he served until 2023. He brokered the 2023 China-mediated Iran–Saudi Arabia normalisation agreement. He was replaced as SNSC Secretary by Ali Akbar Ahmadian in 2023.