Shamkhani wedding controversy, anti-terror financing law signed—and more
The Iranist for the week of October 24, 2025
THE هفت/SEVEN THINGS TO KNOW THIS WEEK:
۱/1 Shamkhani is ‘still alive!’
On October 17, the 2024 wedding video of the daughter of Ali Shamkhani—a senior advisor to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei—circulated online, prompting widespread criticism (New York Times). Rear Admiral Shamkhani, former secretary of the Supreme National Security Council (2013-2023), survived an assassination attempt by Israel during the 12-day war. Shamkhani is sanctioned by the United States, and his son, Mohammad Hossein, an Iranian oil tycoon, is both blacklisted by the European Union and the United States.
In the video, Shamkhani is seen escorting his daughter, Fatemeh, alongside his wife into a wedding hall at Tehran’s luxury Espinas Palace Hotel. The bride wears a strapless white dress with a low neckline. The clip quickly went viral on Persian- and Arabic-language social media.
As the New York Times explains:
“It is a display of exuberant wealth when most Iranians are struggling to get by and many young people can’t afford to get married; it shows disregard for conservative Islamic values; and it depicts Western-style wedding traditions, with the father walking the bride down the aisle instead of the Iranian practice of the bride and groom entering together.”
The wedding was segregated, however, which accounts for the women appearing without mandatory hijab.
Many memes about the wedding went viral, including this one of the photos of young protesters killed during the 2022 Woman, Life, Freedom uprising:
Some on social media alleged Israel was behind the leak, as the clip reportedly first appeared on a Hebrew-language Telegram channel (Iran International). Earlier this month, Shamkhani accused former President Hassan Rouhani of knowing “from the earliest minutes” that Ukrainian passenger airliner PS752 had been downed by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), despite Rouhani claiming to have learned of it days later. The video leak may have been a smear campaign by political rivals close to the former president, who is said to be eyeing the role of Supreme Leader (Iran International). State media offered varying takes. Hardline daily Kayhan, the Supreme Leader’s mouthpiece, called it a “proxy character assassination” by Rouhani and his government (Iran International).
On October 20, Shamkhani posted on X in separate Persian and Hebrew posts, “Bastards, I’m still alive!” Apparently, Shamkhani’s comment was a quote from the 1973 prison escape film Papillon starring Steve McQueen (IranWire). He reportedly made the remark in response to the wedding video after being asked about it at a funeral—and later tweeted it (New York Times).
A meme from a scene in Papillon:
Two days later, on October 22, Shamkhani told state media:
“We are all on board a ship that the martyrs of the Islamic Revolution launched, and it’s a shame that, with differences, a weak point should be found in this ship. The enemy is trying to catch each of us and disrupt the foundation of the country.” (IranWire)
He did not address the video or allegations of corruption.
The incident, nevertheless, underscores suspicions within the clerical establishment.
Meanwhile, according to US-based academic Mehrzad Boroujerdi, his father, Malek—an oil executive under the Shah—was killed in 1978, with Shamkhani among those involved (RFERL).
۲/2 The latest on Iran’s nuclear program
NUCLEAR PROGRAM STILL KICKING On October 18, the Iranian Foreign Ministry released a statement saying it is no longer bound by the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), also known as the nuclear deal, and that the provisions of United Nations Security Council Resolution 2231 have expired (The Guardian/Iran International).
On October 20, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said:
“Trump says he is a dealmaker, but if a deal is accompanied by coercion and its outcome is predetermined, it is not a deal but rather an imposition and bullying. The US president proudly says they bombed and destroyed Iran’s nuclear industry. Very well, keep dreaming! What does it have to do with America whether Iran has nuclear facilities or not? These interventions are inappropriate, wrong, and coercive.” (Reuters)
Read President Donald Trump’s interview on the Gaza ceasefire with TIME, which mentions Iran extensively.
Meanwhile, on October 18, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Grossi said in an interview with Swiss newspaper Neue Zürcher Zeitung that, per the nuclear watchdog’s findings, the “majority” of Iran’s 60 percent enriched uranium “remains in the nuclear facilities in Isfahan and Fordow, and some in Natanz.” (Times of Israel) He estimated that Tehran has roughly 400 kilograms of 60 percent enriched uranium still in its possession.
US STILL OPEN TO TALKING On October 21, US Vice President JD Vance told reporters in Jerusalem:
“(US President Donald Trump) actually wants Iran to be prosperous. He wants to have good relations with the Iranians, but they cannot have a nuclear weapon. So we’re going to keep on using and exhausting every diplomatic means possible to try to ensure that Iran does not have a nuclear weapon. That’s our focus, and that will remain our focus for the indefinite future.” (Iran International)
The next day, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said, “Talks that were ongoing with the US as well as New York negotiations were suspended and did not go forward because of excessive US demands.” (Reuters)
۳/3 Iran ratifies law joining anti-terror financing convention
۴/4 More than 800 artists and writers against executions
On October 18, Iran executed a man on the alleged accusation of spying for Israel’s intelligence agency, Mossad (Times of Israel).
۵/5 ‘Human Rights in Post-Islamic Republic Iran’ conference
At the international conference in Oslo, Norway, Iranian and non-Iranian activists, legal scholars, and political figures debated the path of a human rights-based future for Iran post-Islamic Republic. Nobel Laureate Shirin Ebadi was amongst the attendees and noted:
“Using broad terms like democracy and freedom as a basis for unity has not worked. We must ask what kind of democracy we want, define what we mean by freedom of expression, and see where we truly agree.”
A joint statement signed by attendees expressed strong opposition to the death penalty and condemned the ongoing wave of executions in Iran (IHRNGO).
۶/6 Iran to deploy 80,000 volunteers for hijab campaign
۷/7 Zarif again accuses Russia of sabotaging nuclear talks
Meanwhile, on October 20, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said:
“Russia is definitely ready to expand cooperation with Iran in all areas. Iran is our partner, and our relations are developing very dynamically.” (Reuters)
OTHER اخبار/NEWS THAT MADE HEADLINES:
Human Rights
۰ Police kill 7-year-old boy at checkpoint, rights group reports (IranWire)
۰ Political prisoner’s hunger strike highlights plight of religious and political prisoners (CHRI)
۰ Tehran’s ‘Christian’ metro station opens as persecution intensifies (IranWire)
۰ Iran business closures mark renewed crackdown on gender mixing, veil (Iran International)
Domestic Issues
۰ Political infighting as Iran navigates sanctions, lingering threat of war (Al Jazeera)
۰ Gen Z cornered by crackdowns, sanctions, and conflict (DW)
۰ 800,000 Iranians suffer severe malnutrition, official says (IranWire)
۰ Judiciary reports arrest of ‘famous actor’ on sexual assault charge (IranWire)
Foreign Policy + Security
۰ Crimes and utter stupidity: A former Iranian-American hostage speaks out (IranWire)
۰ State TV doxxes journalists in Israel as post-war spy hunt intensifies (Al-Monitor)
۰ Israel says Iran was behind Yom Kippur cyberattack on hospital (Times of Israel)
۰ Iran will turn region into ‘hell’ if attacked, Guards commander warns (Iran International)
۰ Iran says detainee in France part of prisoner exchange talks with Paris (Iran International)
۰ Senior Iranian official says Tehran warned Hezbollah about explosive pagers operation (Ynet)
۰ Top Iraqi security delegation arrives in Tehran (Rudaw)
Iran Deal + Sanctions
۰ Iran sentences ex-IAEA scientist to 10 years for alleged spying for UK, wife says (Iran International)
۰ New Zealand reimposes sanctions on Iran over nuclear non-compliance (Reuters)
۰ Iran risks severe economic downturn, unrest as renewed UN sanctions bite (Reuters)
۰ How Western sanctions on Iran have hurt the same middle class that drives reform (CNN)
۰ Drug shortages in sanctioned Iran force cancer patients to abandon treatment (IranWire)