Senior Khamenei adviser previously thought dead attended funeral in Tehran over the weekend — report

Ali Shamkhani, a senior adviser to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei who was previously reported killed in an Israeli airstrike last month, appeared publicly over the weekend at a funeral in Tehran, The New York Times reports — contradicting earlier claims by Iranian state media and other outlets that he had died from his injuries.

According to The Times, Shamkhani, a longtime political and military figure, was seen walking with a cane, visibly weakened and hunched over, at a procession honoring senior Iranian military officials killed in the recent Israeli-Iran conflict.

It was his first public appearance since Israel targeted his penthouse apartment in northern Tehran on June 13, in a strike that began a 12-day military campaign aimed at crippling Iran’s nuclear and military command infrastructure.

In an interview aired on Iranian state television on Saturday, Shamkhani recounted being buried under rubble for three hours following the strike, suffering serious internal injuries and broken bones.

He did not disclose why he was targeted but claimed he had played a role in “making Israel miserable.”

Initial reports had placed him among some 20 senior Iranian officials killed, including top IRGC and Armed Forces commanders.