Iranian official sparks renewed criticism as video of daughter’s controversial marriage ceremony resurfaces

The footage additionally triggered additional backlash amid the federal government’s latest announcement of a brand new “Modesty and Hijab Operations Room” and the deployment of 80,000 morality cops.

Ali Shamkhani, a senior adviser to Iran’s Supreme Chief Ali Khamenei, accused Israel of leaking a video from his daughter’s controversial 2024 marriage ceremony, which lately resurfaced on Iranian social media and went viral.

“Hacking into individuals’s privateness is Israel’s new methodology of assassination,” Shamkani mentioned, as quoted by Iran Worldwide.

In keeping with Iran Worldwide, former regime minister Ezzatollah Zarghami defended Shamkani, stating that he had stored his head down and that the ceremony was ‘female-only.’

“Some ladies have been veiled, and the remaining have been shut kin,” Zarghami mentioned.

The marriage video

The video, which the BBC shared, confirmed Shamkhani accompanying his daughter carrying a revealing robe, ladies with loosely worn headscarves that don’t cowl their hair, whereas the groom and a lady, believed to be his mom, are wearing Western-style clothes.

Iranian newspaper Arman Melli, which first reported on the occasion, questioned how regime officers can ask the general public to stay affected person amid financial sanctions whereas internet hosting lavish celebrations, held on the Espinas Persian Gulf Resort.

“If we’re not to be accused of pessimism, permit us to ask how one can name on individuals to indicate persistence beneath financial sanctions when Shamkhani’s daughter’s marriage ceremony is held in one of many nation’s most luxurious and costly venues,” Arman Melli wrote.

Who’s Ali Shamkhani?

Shamkhani served as secretary of the Supreme Nationwide Safety Council from 2013 to 2023. The motive behind the renewed circulation of the video stays unclear, however social media customers have sharply criticized the ceremony’s “Western” character and its departure from conventional Iranian marriage ceremony customs.

The footage additionally triggered additional backlash amid the federal government’s latest announcement of a brand new “Modesty and Hijab Operations Room” and the deployment of 80,000 morality cops.

Critics condemned these enforcement initiatives, pointing to the distinction between such crackdowns and the lavish life-style of Iran’s ruling elite.