US narrative on the removal of Ali Shamkhani

After a decade surviving Iran’s fractious politics, Ali Shamkhani was removed as secretary of the Supreme National Security Council (SNSC), the highest body in charge of foreign policy and national security, on May 22, 2023.

The former rear admiral, a young hero during the eight-year Iran-Iraq war who rose to become minister of defense in the 1990s, had served three presidents from rival factions as head of the SNSC. He was pushed aside in favor of Rear Admiral Ali Akbar Ahmadian, a senior Revolutionary Guards officer.

The reshuffling, which followed the execution in January of a former Shamkhani aide charged with treason, could significantly impact deliberations at the SNSC, which has only 12 permanent members.

“Shamkhani is considered a balancing factor in the decision-making process in Tehran,” Danny Citrinowicz, a fellow at the Institute for National Security Studies in Tel Aviv, told The Iran Primer.

Shamkhani was widely regarded to be pragmatic on contested issues, such as negotiations with the United States over Iran’s nuclear program. He was a moderate voice who called for discussions and dialogue, Alicia Kearns, British House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee chair, told the BBC in January 2023.

Shamkhani has long been the most senior ethnic Arab in Iran’s government, largely dominated by Persians and other groups. He earned the trust of officials ranging from Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, a hardliner, to President Mohammad Khatami (1997-2005), a reformist, due to his years of distinguished service in both the IRGC and the conventional military.

Shamkhani’s nearly 10-year term as SNSC secretary, from 2013 to 2023, was second only to Hassan Rouhani, who served in the position from 1989 to 2005. Shamkhani has been a survivor in a regime that has increasingly purged reformists, centrists and even some conservatives.  

Shamkhani has political enemies. For years, critics have charged him and members of his family, including his sons and son-in-law, of corruption and amassed wealth through shipping and construction companies.

In November 2022, Shamkhani reportedly faced criticism from hardliners for failing to quash the nationwide protests that erupted in September 2022.

In January 2023, Iran executed Alireza Akbari, who served as Shamkhani’s deputy from 2000 to 2004. Akbari was convicted of spying for Britain and corruption on earth. The execution triggered media speculation about Shamkhani's fate. IRGC-linked media reported that he might step down, but a news agency linked to the SNSC denied the reports.

Shamkhani’s last major accomplishment was helping to broker Iran’s rapprochement with regional rival Saudi Arabia. In March 2023, he led a delegation to Beijing for talks with the Sunni kingdom. The two countries agreed to restore diplomatic ties seven years after severing relations.

Shamkhani appeared to foreshadow the end of his term with a cryptic tweet on May 21. He quoted a 16th-century poem that Iranian media took as a sign of his imminent removal.

On May 22, President Raisi appointed Ali Akbar Ahmadian, an IRGC commander, to replace Shamkhani. Supreme Leader Khamenei then selected Ahmadian as his representative on the SNSC, which indicated his approval.

“I would like to thank and appreciate Ali Shamkhani's responsible, persistent presence and his efforts as the leader’s representative during these years,” Khamenei wrote in a decree.

Khamenei named Shamkhani his political advisor. “In light of the closeness between the two and the degree of Khamenei's trust in Shamkhani, he will likely continue to play a significant role in the decision-making process in Tehran,” according to Citrinowicz, who headed the Iran branch of Israel Defense Intelligence’s Research and Analysis Division. “Shamkhani has a great deal of knowledge and experience, with an emphasis on the nuclear issue.”

Khamenei also appointed Shamkhani as member of the Expediency Council, a body that resolves constitutional disputes between the Parliament and the Guardian Council. The body, which includes some three dozen members, has often included officials who have fallen out of favor. So the role could be largely ceremonial.

 

Alireza Akbari sentenced to death on spying for Britain

Alireza Akbari, who served as Iran’s Deputy Defense Minister, has been sentenced to death on spying for Britain.

In a televised-interview, he touched upon how he was deceived and recruited by the MI6 to launch UK-orchestrated plans and ploys to infiltrate Iranian high-profile figures to obtain sensitive information.

He confessed that from the outset he was identified by the intelligence agent working in the British embassy in Tehran, saying, “In a diplomatic session, the UK ambassador along with another person approached me for an informal chitchat and then they gave me a card. After a while, I received a phone call from a person who told me the UK ambassador wanted to meet you.”

Akbari furthered, “They offered me a long-term visa in case of having close contacts with the UK embassy.” He added, “I accepted the offer and paid a visit to embassy to hold talks with the UK ambassador along with another person who I finally found out he was working for the MI6.”

“During the meeting, the MI6 agent got closer to me and said the whole story about the espionage by informing me about how to provide sensitive information to him. I was given a laptop, telling me if you open a page, we can trace you. In other words, they did this because of having a safe kind of communication,” he added.

He also mentioned that during his time spying for the UK, several intelligence agents had changed but all of them had one thing in common, infiltration. To put it more clearly, the MI6 agents tried to get sensitive information by asking him invariably about the recent events and happenings in Iran. For example, they sought for all kinds of information regarding the JCPOA, the official name for the 2015 nuclear deal.

“What they strived to get from me was pieces of information regarding Iran’s top nuclear scientist, Mohsen Fakhrizadeh who was assassinated when his car was ambushed on a highway outside Tehran in November 2020,” Akbari added.

In other words, he said, the MI6 agents wanted to get aware of events surrounding all Iranian key figures.

Akbari was once arrested by the Intelligence Ministry in 2008 on espionage charges but, afterwards, was released on bail and then left Tehran to London on medical grounds.

MI6 was in fear of his detention in Iran, and then did its best to orchestrate a plan of fake stroke for him to steer clear of any potential arrest.  

He confessed that MI6 agents suggested him to pretend a fake stroke to stay more in London for the fear of his life. “They told me you will have a fake stroke, being carried to hospital and then you will be unable to fly back. Therefore, the time of your stay in London will linger. After a while, your family will travel to Britain on the excuse of visiting you.”

What is really interesting is that Akbari revealed some momentous points about UK intelligence agents, saying they comported themselves with great respect while knowing all details concerning his case.

He also underlined that all of those agents were aware of his personal beliefs, interests, and characteristics, respecting his religious beliefs.

Akbari concluded that he was swindled by MI6 agents and failed to comply with revolutionary slogans which were inscribed on his working place walls, saying, “One moment of negligence brought him misery.”

In a reaction to the death sentence against Akbari, British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly requested his immediate release.

The British Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, meanwhile, repeated requests for consular access to Akbari.

Akbari has been sentenced to death over disrupting Iran’s internal and external security through the transmission of information to the UK which was confirmed by the Supreme Court.

In a statement issued by the Ministry of Intelligence on Wednesday, it was emphasized that Akbari was considered as a leading agent working for the British spy service (MI6), collecting sensitive information from Iran in a bid to provide it to the service.  

Akbari had worked in various positions since 1980s, including the Deputy Minister of Defense under the presidency of Mohammad Khatami.

During the process of obtaining a visa from the British embassy in Tehran, he was flagged by the intelligence agents stationed there and then became a full-fledged employee for the British spy agency.