Iranian official sparks renewed criticism as video of daughter’s controversial wedding resurfaces
The footage also triggered further backlash amid the government’s recent announcement of a new “Modesty and Hijab Operations Room” and the deployment of 80,000 morality police officers.
Ali Shamkhani, a senior adviser to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, accused Israel of leaking a video from his daughter’s controversial 2024 wedding, which recently resurfaced on Iranian social media and went viral.
“Hacking into people’s privacy is Israel’s new method of assassination,” Shamkani said, as quoted by Iran International.
According to Iran International, former regime minister Ezzatollah Zarghami defended Shamkani, stating that he had kept his head down and that the ceremony was ‘female-only.’
“Some women were veiled, and the rest were close relatives,” Zarghami said.
The wedding video
The video, which the BBC shared, showed Shamkhani accompanying his daughter wearing a revealing gown, women with loosely worn headscarves that do not cover their hair, while the groom and a woman, believed to be his mother, are dressed in Western-style clothing.
Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei looks on during a meeting at the IRGC Aerospace Force achievements exhibition in Tehran, Iran November 19, 2023 (credit: Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader/West Asia News Agency/Reuters)
Iranian newspaper Arman Melli, which first reported on the event, questioned how regime officials can ask the public to remain patient amid economic sanctions while hosting lavish celebrations, held at the Espinas Persian Gulf Hotel.
“If we are not to be accused of pessimism, allow us to ask how one can call on people to show patience under economic sanctions when Shamkhani’s daughter’s wedding is held in one of the country’s most luxurious and expensive venues,” Arman Melli wrote.
Who is Ali Shamkhani?
Shamkhani served as secretary of the Supreme National Security Council from 2013 to 2023. The motive behind the renewed circulation of the video remains unclear, but social media users have sharply criticized the ceremony’s “Western” character and its departure from traditional Iranian wedding customs.
The footage also triggered further backlash amid the government’s recent announcement of a new “Modesty and Hijab Operations Room” and the deployment of 80,000 morality police officers.
Critics condemned these enforcement initiatives, pointing to the contrast between such crackdowns and the lavish lifestyle of Iran’s ruling elite.
