Iran's Shamkhani Steps Down as Top Security Official

Iran's Supreme National Security Council Secretary Ali Shamkhani stands next to Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi before a meeting in Tehran, Iran, December 6, 2021. WANA (West Asia News Agency) via Reuters
Iran's Supreme National Security Council Secretary Ali Shamkhani stands next to Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi before a meeting in Tehran, Iran, December 6, 2021. WANA (West Asia News Agency) via Reuters
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Iran's Shamkhani Steps Down as Top Security Official

Iran's Supreme National Security Council Secretary Ali Shamkhani stands next to Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi before a meeting in Tehran, Iran, December 6, 2021. WANA (West Asia News Agency) via Reuters
Iran's Supreme National Security Council Secretary Ali Shamkhani stands next to Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi before a meeting in Tehran, Iran, December 6, 2021. WANA (West Asia News Agency) via Reuters

Ali Shamkhani, long-time ally of Iran's supreme leader, has stepped down as the country's top security official, Iranian state media said on Monday. 

An Iranian insider said the change in leadership at the Supreme National Security Council was unlikely to have an impact on its policies and that Shamkhani might be considered for a "more important position" in Iran. 

He did not elaborate, but with a parliamentary election due in February - when analysts believe the turnout will be low amid mounting political dissent and growing economic hardships - such moves of senior personnel are being closely watched. 

A Revolutionary Guards commander, Ali Akbar Ahmadian, has replaced Shamkhani, state media said, who served as chief of the Guards Joint Staff in the 2000s and later as head of its strategic center. 

Active across the political spectrum in the country for decades, Shamkhani was appointed the secretary of the security council in 2013 and served as defense minister under two-term reformist president Mohammad Khatami from 1997 to 2005. 

Born in Iran's oil-rich Khuzestan province in 1955, Shamkhani joined Iran's Guards shortly after its formation in 1979. He served as deputy commander of the Guards from 1981 to 1988.  



Russian Attack Kills Two in City of Poltava, Ukrainian Officials Say

A view shows the site of a Russian drone strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Poltava, Ukraine July 3, 2025. Press service of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine in Poltava region/Handout via REUTERS
A view shows the site of a Russian drone strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Poltava, Ukraine July 3, 2025. Press service of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine in Poltava region/Handout via REUTERS
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Russian Attack Kills Two in City of Poltava, Ukrainian Officials Say

A view shows the site of a Russian drone strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Poltava, Ukraine July 3, 2025. Press service of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine in Poltava region/Handout via REUTERS
A view shows the site of a Russian drone strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Poltava, Ukraine July 3, 2025. Press service of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine in Poltava region/Handout via REUTERS

A Russian attack on the city of Poltava in central Ukraine killed two people and damaged a military recruitment center, the Ukrainian military and regional officials said on Thursday.

Regional governor Volodymyr Kohut said 11 people were also wounded, while the military reported fires in the military recruitment building and in a nearby residential building, reported Reuters.

Photos from the scene posted by emergency services showed firefighters battling blazes as well as damaged buildings and cars.

Russia has stepped up drone and missile attacks on Ukraine in the last month, and has launched some of the biggest attacks since its full-scale invasion that began in February 2022.

The aerial assault followed a drone attack on Monday near a military recruitment center in the central city of Kryvyi Rih.

Civilians were wounded in Kryvyi Rih, the military said, adding that military personnel and civilian employees of the recruitment center had sheltered during the air alert.

Ukrainian officials, including President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, have underlined the urgency of assistance on air defense from allies to defend against such assaults.