 Several days later the Iranian mission to the United Nations sent a letter of protest to the "Washington Post" over the previous article, claiming that Shahwani's statements about Iranian involvement were baseless.Shawani is married to a Shiite.He had three sons, Major Anmar al-Shahwani, Captain Ayead al-Shahwani, and Lt. Atheer al-Shahwani, who were killed by Saddam Hussein for plotting a coup.