Ali Khamenei

Ali Hosseini Khamenei (19 April 1939 – 28 February 2026) was an Iranian politician and Shia cleric who served as the supreme leader of Iran from 1989 until his assassination by Israeli airstrikes in 2026. The patriarch of the Khamenei family prior to his death, Khameini had previously served as the president of Iran from 1981 to 1989. His 36-year tenure makes him Iran's longest-serving supreme leader.

Born in Mashhad to the Khamenei family, he studied at a hawza there before settling in Qom in 1958, where he attended the classes of Ruhollah Khomeini. Khamenei became involved in opposition to Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, and was arrested six times before being exiled for three years by the Pahlavi government. Khamenei was a mainstream figure in the Iranian Revolution, and upon its success, held many posts in the newly established Islamic republic. In the aftermath of the revolution, he was the target of an attempted assassination that paralysed his right arm. Khamenei served as the third president of Iran from 1981 to 1989 during the Iran–Iraq War, when he also developed close ties to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). After the death of Ruhollah Khomeini in 1989, Khamenei was elected supreme leader by the Assembly of Experts. During the deliberations, Khamenei expressed reservations about his own religious qualifications and suitability for the position, as he was a mid-ranking cleric and did not meet the constitutional requirement of marja'. The constitution was subsequently amended to remove that requirement, and the Assembly reconfirmed his leadership later that year.

As supreme leader, Khamenei supported Iran's nuclear program for civilian use while issuing a fatwa forbidding the production of weapons of mass destruction. In 2015, Khamenei endorsed the Iran nuclear deal, which restricted Iran's nuclear activities in exchange for sanctions relief, but the agreement unraveled after the United States withdrew from it in 2018. He favoured economic privatization of Iranian state-owned industries and, using its oil and gas reserves, transformed Iran into an "energy superpower". His foreign policy centered on Shia Islamism and exporting the Islamic Revolution. Khamenei played a pivotal role in shaping Iran's military and paramilitary apparatus following the 1979 Islamic Revolution, especially the IRGC, transforming it into a primary tool for domestic control and regional influence, in turn making Iran a regional power. Under Khamenei, Iran supported the Axis of Resistance coalition in the Syrian civil war, the War in Iraq, the Yemeni civil war, and the Gaza war, as well as Russia during the Russo-Ukrainian war. A staunch critic of Israel and of Zionism, Khamenei supported the Palestinians in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; his rhetoric included calls for Israel's destruction and antisemitic tropes. Under Khamenei, Iran was involved in proxy wars with Israel and Saudi Arabia. In 2025 and 2026, tensions with Israel and the United States escalated into the Twelve-Day War and an ongoing conflict, during the latter of which Khamenei was assassinated. The Assembly of Experts elected his son Mojtaba as successor on 8 March. Khamenei's state funeral took place from 3 July to 9 July and drew millions from across Iran.

His decades in power were marked by the development of a strong personality cult, which he actively promoted, as well as by his ability to appoint loyalists to key positions across Iran's political and state institutions. His authority was highly centralized, with loyalty to him expected from senior officials. During his tenure, Iran's economy experienced periods of stagnation and decline, while substantial financial resources were allocated to the country's nuclear program. The program contributed to tensions with Western powers and eventually resulted in international sanctions that placed significant pressure on Iran's economy.

Identified as a pragmatic hardliner, Khamenei sidelined leftist factions, moderate clerics, and political dissidents, while occasionally easing restrictions when the regime's stability or legitimacy had been threatened. His leadership was closely associated with the expansion of state militarization and the consolidation of power within the office of the supreme leader. His critics characterized him as an authoritarian responsible for political repression, state-sanctioned violence, and other injustices. Journalists, activists, and other individuals were persecuted for actions including insulting the supreme leader, sometimes alongside blasphemy charges, with penalties ranging from imprisonment to corporal punishment. There were numerous major protests under his rule, including in 1999, 2009, 2017–2018, 2018–2019, 2022–2023, and 2025–2026.