Tehran, March 1, (dpa/GNA) – His trademark look was a black turban signifying his descent from the Prophet Muhammad, a white beard and glasses with slender frames.
His photo was displayed in all Iranian government offices alongside the image of the late revolutionary leader. Ruhollah Khomeini. Until his death, Ali Khamenei, Iran’s religious leader, was the most powerful man in the Islamic Republic.
US President Donald Trump, has announced Khamenei’s death after the United States and Israel launched wide-ranging strikes on Iran. There has been no confirmation from Iran of Khamenei’s death.
As supreme spiritual leader and head of state, Khamenei was considered untouchable. Under his leadership, Iran grew into an influential regional power with a strong security apparatus both internally and externally, although massively weakened in recent years.
Born in 1939 in Mashad in north-eastern Iran, Khamenei joined the political fight against Iran’s monarch, the Shah, after the end of his religious studies.
In 1979, after Iran’s successful Islamic revolution under Khomeini’s leadership, Khamenei became deputy interior minister and later a member of parliament for Tehran. He was the country’s president from 1981 to 1989.
An assassination attempt in 1981, when a bomb planted by the rebel opposition group People’s Mujaheddin (MKO) exploded during a press conference, paralysed his right arm.
Following Khomeini’s death in June 1989, Khamenei was appointed successor as supreme leader, becoming the de facto head of state.
While once regarded as a moderate, Khamenei took a more conservative course once in office. His critics saw in him an ultra-conservative hardliner, who opposed Iran’s opening to the West.
Under Khamenei’s leadership, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) developed into the country’s leading military force, and became far more influential than the regular army.
As loyal supporters of the religious leader, the IRGC – classified as a terrorist group by the US under Trump – also took on other tasks.
Over the past two decades, they have risen to become an important economic player, notably in sectors such as tourism and technology. The secret service also gradually fell under the influence of the IRGC.
Since the 1990s, the IRGC’s foreign unit has also expanded its influence in the region. With the so-called ‘axis of resistance,’ Tehran relied on allied militias in Iraq, Yemen, Syria, Lebanon and the Palestinian Territories, creating a form of military deterrent against arch-enemy Israel.
Since the outbreak of the Gaza War in October 2023, Iran has been significantly weakened. Israel’s military dealt severe blows to the Islamic Republic and its non-state allies such as Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Palestinian Islamist Hamas organization in the Gaza Strip.
The fall of Syrian ruler Bashar al-Assad further weakened Iran’s position. The twelve-day war last June revealed major weaknesses in the Iranian armed forces. During protests, crowds openly called for Khamenei’s overthrow.
Khamenei never showed weakness. But despite his constant presence on television and at military events, Iran’s most powerful man kept out of the public eye. Little was known about his private life. But no important decision in the country was made without Khamenei’s approval.
As head of state, the cleric had authoritarian traits. Criticism of him was not tolerated. Security forces responded uncompromisingly when demonstrators chanted ‘Death to the dictator’ during recent waves of protest.
Khamenei’s foreign policy doctrine was determined by the fight against the country’s arch-enemies. His distrust of powers such as the US and Israel, led to an expansion of the military and security forces.
As commander-in-chief of the IRGC, he hand-picked the organization’s top leadership and oversaw it rapidly rise to become Iran’s most powerful political and economic institution.
The fight against Israel was high on his political agenda, a doctrine he stuck to despite growing domestic criticism.
Khamenei’s influence on the economy grew with time. In recent years, however, he had to contend with major problems, as sanctions imposed over Iran’s nuclear programme plunged the oil-rich country into crisis.
Khamenei did not rule out diplomatic efforts to end the nuclear dispute, but preferred economic resistance and independence, not least because of tensions with the West.
To this end, Iran sought new partners in recent years, particularly in China and Russia – a move that has has also been met with criticism within the country.
Speculation has been rife about a possible successor to Khamenei. His son Mojtaba has been mentioned in this context, although he has made few public appearances. Former president Ebrahim Raisi, who died in a helicopter crash in 2024, had also been considered a promising successor.
GNA