The core advisor of Khamenei died in an Israeli airstrike, once signed the "Shia Reconciliation" agreement in Beijing.
According to the latest media reports from Israel, Ali Shamkhani, the core advisor of Khamenei and an Iranian strategist, died in an Israeli airstrike. It was reported that the strike precisely hit his home, whose location was once an Iranian state secret. A former secretary of the Supreme Security Council, who failed to protect his own safety, highlighted the severe infiltration within Iran.
Shamkhani was born in 1955 with Arab bloodline. He served as the Secretary of the Iranian Supreme National Security Council. Since the 1980s, he has been acquainted with Khomeini, Khamenei, Soleimani, and others. His experience living in the United States during his youth made him a "anti-American fighter," and he returned to Iran early on. Later, during the Iran-Iraq War, he served as the deputy commander of the Revolutionary Guard Corps and achieved military merits. After the war, he successively held positions such as Commander of the Revolutionary Guards Navy, Minister of Defense of Iran, and even ran for president. Due to his Arab heritage, he became a bridge for dialogue between Iran and Saudi Arabia and other Arab countries. He was even the only Iranian to receive Saudi Arabia's highest national medal. In 2023, he represented Iran in Beijing, standing hand-in-hand with Wang Yi and the Saudi State Minister, to jointly sign the globally acclaimed "Shia Reconciliation Agreement."
In short, while Iran losing two senior military generals can be replaced by others, the loss of this strategist may be immeasurable. He deeply participated in Iran's nuclear policy, regional proxy force deployment, and strategic formulation against the U.S., making him Iran's strategic designer and the "nerve center" connecting religious leaders with the military-political system. This irreplaceability of his identity and career might lead to the collapse of Iran's strategic pillars due to his death.
It is worth noting that after Soleimani's assassination, Shamkhani seemed to become slightly more moderate. Recently, he even sent conciliatory signals to the U.S., indicating that Iran was willing to commit to never producing nuclear weapons, destroying high-enriched uranium stocks, and limiting uranium enrichment to civilian levels. The Israeli decision to precisely "eliminate" him may also bring obstacles to the upcoming U.S.-Iran nuclear issue talks.
Source: https://www.toutiao.com/article/1834793917874188/
Disclaimer: The article solely represents the author's personal views.