Rear Admiral Ali Shamkhani, one of Iran’s most powerful defense and national security officials, is at the center of a growing scandal after a video from his daughter’s wedding in Japan surfaced online. The video, which quickly went viral, has ignited fierce debate across Iranian society, exposing deep rifts over privilege, piety, and the rules that govern everyday life in the Islamic Republic.
The controversy erupted after images and footage from the April 2025 wedding of Shamkhani’s daughter, Setayesh, began circulating on social media and were picked up by major news outlets. According to BBC Persian, the video shows Setayesh in a low-cut, strapless wedding gown, her mother in a revealing blue lace evening dress, and several other women present without hijabs. These scenes stood in stark contrast to the strict Islamic dress codes that Shamkhani has long enforced in his official capacity.
Shamkhani, a confidant of Iran’s supreme leader and until recently the country’s top negotiator in nuclear talks with the United States, has built his career on upholding—and at times aggressively enforcing—the Islamic Republic’s rules on women’s attire and public morality. As noted by The New York Times, Shamkhani has overseen violent crackdowns on protesters and ordered the morality police to patrol the streets, ensuring compliance with hijab regulations. In fact, the Iranian government had just announced the deployment of 80,000 morality police officers and the creation of a new 'Modesty and Hijab Operations Room' shortly before the video surfaced.
The images from the wedding, however, tell a different story. Not only did they depict a lavish celebration at a time when many Iranians are struggling with economic hardship, but they also revealed a disregard for the very religious codes Shamkhani has championed. The wedding featured Western traditions, including Shamkhani himself walking his daughter down the aisle—a custom not typical in Iran, where couples usually enter together.
Reaction was swift and intense. On Monday, the reformist-leaning Shargh newspaper ran a front-page photo of Shamkhani with the headline “Buried Under Scandal.” Political commentators and veterans of Iran’s war with Iraq took to the Clubhouse app to demand his resignation and a public apology. The criticism didn’t stop there; Amir Hossein Mosalla, a journalist and editor of a political publication, posted on social media, “The regime officials themselves have no belief in their own laws that they support, they only want to make people’s lives miserable.”
The scandal has struck a particularly sensitive nerve in Iran, where the gap between the ruling elite and ordinary citizens often feels insurmountable. Many young Iranians, struggling to make ends meet, find it increasingly difficult to afford marriage, let alone host the kind of opulent celebration seen in the Shamkhani wedding video. The display of wealth and disregard for religious norms has only fueled resentment among a population already weary from years of economic sanctions and political repression.
Shamkhani’s critics argue that the episode is a clear example of hypocrisy at the highest levels of government. “It’s hypocrisy in its purest form,” said Omid Memarian, an Iran expert at DAWN, a Washington-based research organization focused on U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East, as quoted by The New York Times. The sentiment was echoed by women’s rights activist Ellie Omidvari, who posted on social media, “Their bride is in a palace, our bride is buried under the ground,” referencing the hundreds killed in recent protests, including many young women.
For context, Shamkhani’s influence in Iran is hard to overstate. He currently serves as the supreme leader’s representative to the newly created National Defense Council and, until July, was the secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council—a position that put him at the center of national and foreign policy decisions. He is also a former defense minister and once commanded both the navy and the Revolutionary Guards’ naval forces. The United States imposed sanctions on Shamkhani in 2020, targeting both him and his sons, who reportedly control a vast shipping empire responsible for transferring oil from Iran and Russia to China.
Shamkhani’s own response to the uproar was defiant. On Monday, he posted on his official X (formerly Twitter) account, “Bastards, I’m still alive!” When approached by Iranian news media at a funeral, he reiterated the same message. The Tasnim news agency, which is affiliated with the Revolutionary Guards, criticized Shamkhani’s lifestyle but also questioned the ethics of publishing a private video, suggesting that he might be the target of a political smear campaign. Some of Shamkhani’s supporters insist the wedding was a private, gender-segregated event and that the outrage is being stoked by rivals seeking to undermine him.
Still, analysts point out that the Islamic Republic has not hesitated to enforce its rules on the private lives of ordinary citizens, often raiding weddings and house parties deemed un-Islamic. The apparent double standard has only intensified public anger. As BBC Persian observed, the controversy comes at a time when the government is doubling down on morality policing, yet its own leaders appear to flout the very regulations they impose on others.
The scandal also comes on the heels of recent political turbulence. In 2022, Shamkhani was a key figure in the government’s response to nationwide protests sparked by the death of a 22-year-old woman in the custody of the morality police. The protests, led by women burning their headscarves, were met with brutal force. One lawmaker recalled asking Shamkhani what should be done if protesters refused to leave the streets. Shamkhani reportedly replied, “We will attack them until they return home.”
The fallout from the wedding video has extended beyond social media. Some observers believe the incident reflects a broader crisis of legitimacy for Iran’s ruling class. With the government struggling to maintain its authority amid economic woes and popular unrest, episodes like this one risk further eroding public trust. The juxtaposition of private privilege and public piety has become a lightning rod for criticism, underscoring the challenges facing a regime that demands strict conformity from its people while its leaders appear to live by a different set of rules.
As the debate rages on, it remains to be seen whether Shamkhani will heed calls to step down or whether the furor will fade in the face of Iran’s many other challenges. For now, the scandal has laid bare the tensions at the heart of Iranian society, offering a rare glimpse into the lives—and contradictions—of those who govern it.