Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Who Ruled Iran With Iron Grip And Defied The West, Killed In Strike

BEIRUT — Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Hosseini Khamenei, who was killed successful nan U.S.-Israeli onslaught connected Iran connected Saturday, had complete much than 30 years successful powerfulness demonized nan United States, called for nan demolition of Israel and maintained an iron-clad grip connected Iran’s authorities while advancing its power crossed nan Middle East.

President Trump announced Khamenei’s decease connected Saturday connected Truth Social.

As Iran’s belief leader and its highest authority, Khamenei, 85, was nan eventual arbiter successful authorities affairs, including nan economy, acquisition and defense. He was nan region’s longest-serving caput of authorities and nan 2nd holder of nan station of ultimate leader successful Iran.

He furthered nan overseas argumentation of his predecessor and laminitis of nan Islamic Republic, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, pitting Iran against nan mixed subject mightiness of nan U.S. and Israel. And he ruthlessly stamped retired soul challenges to his rule, including respective waves of countrywide unrest.

Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei speaks connected nan day of nan decease of Islamic Republic laminitis Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, shown successful nan portrait, astatine his mausoleum successful Tehran connected June 4, 2022.

(Office of nan Iranian Supreme Leader / Associated Press)

His norm placed Tehran astatine nan halfway of a sprawling web that included friends governments, violent groups and governmental proxies, specified arsenic nan Lebanese militant group Hezbollah and Yemen’s Houthi rebels, and unnerved his Arab neighbors. His quest for atomic power, contempt his insistence that it was for serene means, agitated nan West, and yet pitted him successful a little warfare successful 2025 pinch his nemesis, Israel.

A tall, bearded man who could person looked avuncular were it not for his terrible mien, Khamenei owed his emergence to his confederation pinch hard-liners, particularly nan Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, to which he became adjacent during nan Iran-Iraq warfare successful nan 1980s.

Yet he occasionally tolerated, if ne'er blessed, voices for compromise: In 2015, he reluctantly endorsed nan landmark atomic woody that unopen down Iran’s atomic weapons programme successful return for sanctions relief.

Facing an angry nationalist and a battered economy, Khamenei said he welcomed nan woody moreover arsenic he insisted “my patient proposal is not to spot nan enemy,” a stance toward Washington he would support passim his rule.

When President Trump pulled retired of nan woody successful 2018, it only strengthened nan manus of Khamenei and different hard-liners who harbored reservations astir nan pact.

“The assemblage of this man, Trump, will move to ashes and go nan nutrient of nan worms and ants,” Khamenei said a time aft Trump’s pullout, “while nan Islamic Republic continues to stand.”

That aforesaid twelvemonth Khamenei wrote connected societal media that Israel was “a malignant cancerous tumor” that had to beryllium eradicated, adding ominously that “it is imaginable and it will happen.”

Despite his fiery rhetoric, nan Iranian leader almost ever pulled backmost from unfastened war, moreover aft Trump ordered a drone onslaught that killed Khamenei’s apical enforcer, Maj. Gen. Qassem Suleimani, successful 2020.

In 2020, Khamenei visits nan family of Maj. Gen. Qassem Suleimani, shown successful portrait, who was killed successful a drone onslaught ordered by President Trump.

(Agence France-Presse)

Khamenei was wary of escalating hostilities pinch nan U.S., Israel and Iran’s Persian Gulf neighbors arsenic different location autocrats, including Iraqi strongman Saddam Hussein and Libya’s Moammar Kadafi, were toppled aft Washington-led offensives.

The strategy served him good during nan 2003 U.S.-led penetration of Iraq, which saw Iran maneuver its measurement into unprecedented power complete its erstwhile adversary. A 1,300-page U.S. Army history of nan 2003 penetration completed successful 2018 concluded “an emboldened and description ist Iran appears to beryllium nan only victor.”

After Oct. 7, 2023, erstwhile nan Palestinian militant group Hamas blitzed into Israel and killed astir 1,200 group and kidnapped astir 250 others, warfare betwixt Israel and Iran — which backed Hamas — appeared imminent. For 20 months, moreover arsenic Israel killed Hamas main Ismail Haniyeh successful Tehran and Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah successful Beirut, past helped topple Syrian President Bashar Assad, Iran responded pinch waves of ballistic missiles but different held back.

That changed successful June erstwhile Israel struck Iran, saying it was acting to extremity Tehran from processing atomic weapons. The Israeli onslaught came conscionable arsenic Tehran and nan 2nd Trump management returned to nan negotiating array complete Iran’s atomic program.

The talks were reportedly progressing earlier Israel wiped retired Iran’s apical subject bid concatenation and starring atomic scientists. Then nan U.S. joined nan fray, dropping “bunker buster” bombs to penetrate accommodation heavy underground. Iran responded pinch rocket launches connected Israel but did not escalate nan conflict.

Israeli firefighters activity to extinguish a blaze aft a rocket launched from Iran struck Tel Aviv connected June 16, 2025.

(Baz Ratner / Associated Press)

Khamenei’s decease marks a pivotal infinitesimal for his agelong isolated nation: Will his successor tilt much mean aliases proceed indirect confrontation pinch Washington, nan West and Israel?

Iran’s Constitution dictates a caller leader would beryllium selected by an Assembly of Experts, a assemblage of 88 clerics. Khamenei had a manus successful selecting astir of its members, giving him important power complete who would win him.

One of nan apical contenders is nan 2nd of Khamenei’s 4 sons, Mojtaba Khamenei. Like his father, nan 57-year-old is simply a cleric who studied successful nan ineffable metropolis of Qom.

Washington sanctioned him successful 2019 for moving pinch nan Quds Force, nan irregular warfare branch of nan Revolutionary Guard and nan Basij, a unpaid paramilitary-religious force, “to beforehand his father’s destabilizing location ambitions and oppressive home objectives,” according to nan U.S. Treasury.

Whoever comes guardant would person to contend pinch nan Revolutionary Guard, which has amassed powerfulness nether Khamenei and has small liking successful relinquishing it.

That uncertainty mirrors nan circumstances that erstwhile faced Khamenei, whose emergence to nan apical occupation was hardly preordained.

Born connected April 19, 1939, successful nan northeastern Iranian metropolis of Mashhad, Khamenei was nan 2nd of 8 children to Sayyed Javad Khamenei, a jurist, and Khadijeh Mirdamadi.

He began his belief instruction astatine 4 and continued his studies astatine nan revered hawza, a web of illustrious seminaries. As a cleric successful his 20s, he encountered Khomeini, a charismatic belief leader and avowed force of Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi.

There were different influences: He was reportedly a voracious scholar of Victor Hugo, John Steinbeck and Leo Tolstoy. He smoked a tube and was partial to poesy and gardening. He joined Mansoureh Khojasteh Bagherzadeh successful 1964, and, on pinch their sons, they had 2 daughters.

Khomeini would go his mentor, a fig to whom he remained ever loyal, moving concealed missions for him while Khomeini lived successful exile. Khameni paid for that loyalty pinch years of imprisonment and torture astatine nan hands of nan SAVAK, nan shah’s concealed police.

According to Karim Sadjadpour, Iranian American argumentation expert astatine nan Carnegie Endowment who has written extensively astir Khamenei, that curen whitethorn person been nan guidelines of his loathing of nan U.S. and Israel, some of which are said to person provided support and training to SAVAK.

The Islamic Revolution changed Khamenei’s fortunes. With nan shah out, Khomeini replaced nan monarchy successful 1979 pinch Wilayat al-Faqih — an Islamic Republic. Khomeini became ultimate leader and rewarded his devotees pinch authorities jobs.

Demonstrators clasp up a poster of exiled Muslim leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini during an anti-shah protestation successful Tehran connected Dec. 10, 1978.

(Michel Lipchitz / Associated Press)

Khamenei was appointed to respective posts: first arsenic lawman defense minister, past imam for Tehran’s Friday prayers and, crucially, a supervisor for nan Revolutionary Guard.

Two years later, successful June 1981, arsenic Khamenei was giving a belief speech astatine a mosque, a portion recorder containing a explosive was placed adjacent him by nan Mujahedin-e-Khalq (MEK), a guidance group.

The detonation near Khamenei pinch a permanently injured correct limb (he reportedly greeted group pinch his near manus only). A fewer months later, different MEK bombing killed then-President Mohammad Ali Rajai, on pinch different Iranian officials.

In its chaotic aftermath, revolutionary elites — pinch Khomeini’s backing — asked Khamenei to tally for president. He went connected to triumph 2 terms, nan first pinch 97% of nan vote, nan 2nd pinch 87%.

Disarray successful succession served Khamenei erstwhile again successful 1989. Khomeini had parted ways pinch his designated heir, Ayatollah Hossein-Ali Montazeri. No 1 other among nan elder clergy was seen arsenic qualified, and nan thought of a alleged activity assembly was rejected. That near Khamenei arsenic a apical candidate, moreover though he was not an ayatollah, arsenic nan constitution demanded.

The Assembly of Experts dropped nan requirement, astatine Khomeini’s urging, clearing nan measurement for Khamenei to win him. The time aft Khomeini died successful 1989, Khamenei was elected ultimate leader.

“My information should make america each outcry tears of blood,” Khamenei said. “I americium an individual pinch galore faults and shortcomings and genuinely a insignificant seminarian.”

Considered an unremarkable man, lacking nan charisma and nan belief bona fides of his predecessor — and pinch nan state emerging from a bruising eight-year warfare pinch Iraq — Khamenei did not travel pinch an eager scheme for alteration astatine first.

Any reluctance soon gave measurement to a determination to remake nan system and create a protector authorities — underpinned by his business pinch nan Revolutionary Guard and Basij.

By 2013, a Reuters investigation said, Khamenei stood astatine nan nexus of an statement called Headquarters for Executing nan Order of nan Imam, that was estimated to person holdings of astir $95 cardinal and was progressive successful a dizzying array of industries.

Meanwhile, he placed nan Revolutionary Guard astatine nan halfway of his appointments, winning complete corps members arsenic loyalists who saw successful Khamenei their shield against calls for reform.

Khamenei leveraged that unprecedented economical and subject power to snuff retired unrest, including nan 2019 substance protests and nan 2022 demonstrations condemning nan decease of nan young Iranian-Kurdish female Mahsa Amini erstwhile she was successful constabulary custody.

Even successful his later years, Khamenei did not soften his vitriol astatine nan U.S. and Israel. “We will not surrender to immoderate aggression,” he said aft their 2025 attacks. “This is nan logic down nan Iranian nation.”