A look at the journey and political impact of Iran’s supreme religious leader, who was killed in the Israeli-American attack on February 28 in Tehran:
Ali Khamenei was born in 1939 to a cleric in Mashhad.
He received his early education in the local madrassa.
Studied Shia jurisprudence at the age of 18. Had deep interest in poetry and literature. Victor Hugo’s work Les Miserables was considered ‘the best novel in the history of literature’. He was an admirer of Jawaharlal Nehru’s Glimpses of World History and Discovery of India. He admired and often quoted Tolstoy and Mahatma Gandhi.
Khamenei’s wife Masad also belonged to a religious family. He has four sons Mustafa, Mojatba, Masood, Maysam and two daughters Boshra and Hoda. Mojtaba, who survived the attack, has been given the acting responsibility in place of his father Ali Khamenei.
Khamenei rose to politics in the 1960s and 1970s as a supporter of exiled leader Ayatollah Khomeini. He was at the forefront of protests against the US-supported regime of Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi of Iran and had to go to jail several times.
In the 1979 revolution, the Shah was forced to flee the country and Iran became an Islamic republic. Khamenei was made a member of the Islamic Revolutionary Council and deputy minister of defense.
Khamenei was elected president in 1982 after President Mohammad Ali Razai was assassinated in a bomb attack in Tehran. Just before the elections Khamenei was attacked twice attempting to assassinate him, paralyzing his right arm. Khamenei won a landslide victory with 95 percent of the vote.
As Chairman of the Supreme Council, Khamenei was the main architect of the strategy for the eight-year war with the government of Saddam Hussein of neighboring Iraq from 1980 to 1988.
Following Khomeini’s death in 1989, Khamenei was elected Rahbar-e-Moazzam, or Supreme Leader, by a council of 88 clerics. Khamenei called for an “end to Israeli occupation” of Palestine by 2040.
Under his leadership, Iran formed an “axis of resistance” against Israel in partnership with Assad’s Baathist party in Syria, which included West Asian paramilitary organizations such as Hezbollah, Hamas, and the Houthis (or Ansar Allah).
But there were also protests against Khamenei’s rule in different periods. There was public anger against rising petrol prices, slow economic progress and the increasing number of political prisoners. Many times big demonstrations have taken place and voices have been raised against Islamic restrictions. The opposition to the Hijab law in 2022 was fierce.
During these years, dissatisfaction among his supporters was also at its peak. There was pressure on President Pezeshkian. 798 people were hanged in 2024.
Grassroots uprisings and pro-democracy protests in Iran in 2022 and 2023 led to changes in the power structure and included some moderate leaders in the government.
Khamenei’s hold was strengthened by the Israeli-American attack in June last year.
In January this year, the government was again shaken by the protests against inflation but it was suppressed strictly.
But on February 28, at least 30 bombs were dropped on his residence in a joint Israeli-American attack, killing Khamenei’s family members and several top government and military officials.
new rehbar mojatba
Martyr Ali Khamenei’s second son Mojtaba was elected Rahbar-e-Moazzam or Supreme Leader
The 88-member Majlis-e-Khubrakan, or expert council of scholars, ultimately elected Mojtaba, the second son of Shaheed Ali Khamenei, as Rahbar-e-Moazzam, or supreme leader. In a sense, this is also a response to the threats of Trump and Netanyahu. Mojtaba joined the army in 1980 at the age of 17 and was active in the eight-year war with Iraq. Later, he also helped his father in political and government work. He is considered to work quietly and stays away from the limelight. He is also considered a hardliner and is responsible for harsh actions against liberals and protesters in previous years. They are said to be closer to the Revolutionary Armed Guards. He is also considered a supporter of strong attacks on Israel.
