HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Sayyid Ali Hosseini Khamenei ( fa, سید علی حسینی خامنه‌ای, ; born 19 April 1939) is a
Twelver Twelver Shīʿīsm ( ar, ٱثْنَا عَشَرِيَّة; '), also known as Imāmīyyah ( ar, إِمَامِيَّة), is the largest branch of Shīʿa Islam, comprising about 85 percent of all Shīʿa Muslims. The term ''Twelver'' refers t ...
Shia Shīʿa Islam or Shīʿīsm is the second-largest branch of Islam. It holds that the Islamic prophet Muhammad designated ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib as his successor (''khalīfa'') and the Imam (spiritual and political leader) after him, mos ...
'' marja''' and the second and current
Supreme Leader of Iran The Supreme Leader of Iran ( fa, رهبر ایران, rahbar-e irān) is the head of state of the Islamic Republic of Iran. The Supreme Leader directs the executive system and judicial system of the Islamic theocratic government and is the co ...
, in office since 1989. He was previously the third
president of Iran The president of Iran ( fa, رئیس‌جمهور ایران, Rayis Jomhur-e Irān) is the head of government of the Islamic Republic of Iran. The president is the second highest-ranking official of Iran after the Supreme Leader. The president ...
from 1981 to 1989. Khamenei is the longest serving
head of state A head of state (or chief of state) is the public persona who officially embodies a state Foakes, pp. 110–11 " he head of statebeing an embodiment of the State itself or representatitve of its international persona." in its unity and ...
in the Middle East, as well as the second-longest serving Iranian leader of the last century, after Shah
Mohammad Reza Pahlavi , title = Shahanshah Aryamehr Bozorg Arteshtaran , image = File:Shah_fullsize.jpg , caption = Shah in 1973 , succession = Shah of Iran , reign = 16 September 1941 – 11 February 1979 , coronation = 26 Octob ...
. According to his official website, Khamenei was arrested six times before being sent into exile for three years during Mohammad Reza Pahlavi's reign. After the
Iranian revolution The Iranian Revolution ( fa, انقلاب ایران, Enqelâb-e Irân, ), also known as the Islamic Revolution ( fa, انقلاب اسلامی, Enqelâb-e Eslâmī), was a series of events that culminated in the overthrow of the Pahlavi dyna ...
overthrowing the shah, he was the target of an attempted assassination in June 1981 that paralysed his right arm. Khamenei was one of Iran's leaders during the
Iran–Iraq War The Iran–Iraq War was an armed conflict between Iran and Iraq that lasted from September 1980 to August 1988. It began with the Iraqi invasion of Iran and lasted for almost eight years, until the acceptance of United Nations Security Counci ...
in the 1980s, and developed close ties with the now powerful
Revolutionary Guards The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC; fa, سپاه پاسداران انقلاب اسلامی, Sepāh-e Pāsdārān-e Enghelāb-e Eslāmi, lit=Army of Guardians of the Islamic Revolution also Sepāh or Pasdaran for short) is a branch o ...
which he controls, and whose commanders are elected and dismissed by him. The Revolutionary Guards have been deployed to suppress opposition to him. Khamenei served as the third President of Iran from 1981 to 1989, while becoming a close ally of the first Supreme Leader,
Ruhollah Khomeini Ruhollah Khomeini, Ayatollah Khomeini, Imam Khomeini ( , ; ; 17 May 1900 – 3 June 1989) was an Iranian political and religious leader who served as the first supreme leader of Iran from 1979 until his death in 1989. He was the founder of ...
. Shortly before his death, Khomeini had a disagreement with the heir he had chosen —
Hussein Ali Montazeri Grand Ayatollah Hussein-Ali Montazeri ( fa, حسینعلی منتظری‎ ; 24 September 1922 – 19 December 2009) was an Iranian Shia Islamic theologian, Islamic democracy advocate, writer and human rights activist. He was one of the lea ...
— so there was no agreed on successor when Khomeini died. The
Assembly of Experts The Assembly of Experts ( fa, مجلس خبرگان رهبری, majles-e khobregân-e rahbari), also translated as the Assembly of Experts of the Leadership or as the Council of Experts, is the deliberative body empowered to appoint the Supreme ...
elected Khamenei as the next Supreme Leader on 4 June 1989, at age 50. According to
Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani ( fa, اکبر هاشمی رفسنجانی, Akbar Hāshemī Rafsanjānī, born Akbar Hashemi Bahramani, 25 August 1934 – 8 January 2017) was an Iranian politician, writer, and one of the founding fathers of the Islami ...
, Khamenei was the man Khomeini had chosen as his successor before dying. Khamenei has been head of the servants of Astan Quds Razavi since 14 April 1979. As Supreme Leader, Khamenei is the most powerful political authority in the Islamic Republic.Ganji, Akbar, "The Latter-Day Sultan: Power and Politics in Iran", ''Foreign Affairs'', November December 2008 He is the head of state of Iran, the commander-in-chief of its armed forces, and can issue decrees and make the final decisions on the main policies of the government in many fields such as economy, the environment, foreign policy, and national planning in Iran. As Supreme Leader, Khamenei has either direct or indirect control over the executive, legislative and judicial branches of government, as well as the military and media, according to
Karim Sadjadpour Karim Sadjadpour is an Iranian-American policy analyst at the Carnegie Endowment. Prior to that he was "chief Iran analyst" at the International Crisis Group. He is a contributor to BBC TV and radio, CNN, National Public Radio, PBS NewsHour an ...
. All candidates for the Assembly of Experts, the Presidency and the Majlis (Parliament) are vetted by the
Guardian Council The Guardian Council, (also called Council of Guardians or Constitutional Council, fa, شورای نگهبان, Shourā-ye Negahbān) is an appointed and constitutionally mandated 12-member council that wields considerable power and influence i ...
, whose members are selected directly or indirectly by the Supreme Leader of Iran. There have also been instances when the Guardian Council reversed its ban on particular people after being ordered to do so by Khamenei. There have been major protests during Khamenei's reign, including the 1994 Qazvin protests, the 1999 student protests, the 2009 presidential election protests, the 2011–2012 protests, the 2017–18 protests, the 2018–19 general strikes and protests, the 2019–20 protests, the 2021–22 protests, and the ongoing
Mahsa Amini protests Civil unrest and protests against the government of Iran associated with the death in police custody of Mahsa Amini ( fa, مهسا امینی) began on 16 September 2022 and are ongoing as of December 2022. Amini had been arrested by the Guida ...
. Journalists, bloggers and other individuals have been put on trial in Iran for the charge of insulting Supreme Leader Khamenei, often in conjunction with
blasphemy Blasphemy is a speech crime and religious crime usually defined as an utterance that shows contempt, disrespects or insults a deity, an object considered sacred or something considered inviolable. Some religions regard blasphemy as a religio ...
charges. Their sentences have included lashing and jail time; some of them have died in custody. Regarding the
nuclear program of Iran The nuclear program of Iran is an ongoing scientific effort by Iran to research nuclear technology that can be used to make nuclear weapons. Iran has several research sites, two uranium mines, a research reactor, and uranium processing facili ...
, Khamenei issued a fatwa in 2003 forbidding the production, stockpiling and use of all kinds of weapons of mass destruction.


Early life and education

Born to Seyyed Javad Khamenei, an
Alim Alim (''ʿAlīm'' , also anglicized as ''Aleem'') is one of the Names of God in Islam, meaning "''All-knowing one''". It is also used as a personal name, as a short form of Abdul Alim, "''Servant of the All-Knowing''": Given name * Alim ad-Din ...
and
Mujtahid ''Ijtihad'' ( ; ar, اجتهاد ', ; lit. physical or mental ''effort'') is an Islamic legal term referring to independent reasoning by an expert in Islamic law, or the thorough exertion of a jurist's mental faculty in finding a solution to a l ...
born in
Najaf Najaf ( ar, ٱلنَّجَف) or An-Najaf al-Ashraf ( ar, ٱلنَّجَف ٱلْأَشْرَف), also known as Baniqia ( ar, بَانِيقِيَا), is a city in central Iraq about 160 km (100 mi) south of Baghdad. Its estimated popula ...
, and Khadijeh Mirdamadi (daughter of Hashem Mirdamadi) in
Mashhad Mashhad ( fa, مشهد, Mašhad ), also spelled Mashad, is the second-most-populous city in Iran, located in the relatively remote north-east of the country about from Tehran. It serves as the capital of Razavi Khorasan Province and has a po ...
, Khamenei is the second of eight children. Two of his brothers are also clerics; his younger brother, Hadi Khamenei, is a newspaper editor and cleric. His elder sister Fatemeh Hosseini Khamenei died in 2015, aged 89. His father was an ethnic
Azerbaijani Azerbaijani may refer to: * Something of, or related to Azerbaijan * Azerbaijanis * Azerbaijani language See also * Azerbaijan (disambiguation) * Azeri (disambiguation) * Azerbaijani cuisine * Culture of Azerbaijan The culture of Azerbaijan ...
from Khamaneh, while his mother was an ethnic Persian from
Yazd Yazd ( fa, یزد ), formerly also known as Yezd, is the capital of Yazd Province, Iran. The city is located southeast of Isfahan. At the 2016 census, the population was 1,138,533. Since 2017, the historical city of Yazd is recognized as a Wor ...
. Some of his ancestors are from Tafresh in today's Markazi Province and migrated from their original home in Tafresh to Khamaneh near the
Tabriz Tabriz ( fa, تبریز ; ) is a city in northwestern Iran, serving as the capital of East Azerbaijan Province. It is the sixth-most-populous city in Iran. In the Quru River valley in Iran's historic Azerbaijan region between long ridges of vo ...
. Khamenei's great ancestor was Sayyid Hossein Tafreshi, a descendant of the Aftasi Sayyids, whose lineage supposedly reached to Sultan ul-Ulama Ahmad, known as Sultan Sayyid, a grandchild of
Shia Shīʿa Islam or Shīʿīsm is the second-largest branch of Islam. It holds that the Islamic prophet Muhammad designated ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib as his successor (''khalīfa'') and the Imam (spiritual and political leader) after him, mos ...
fourth Imam,
Ali ibn Husayn ʿAlī ibn al-Ḥusayn Zayn al-ʿĀbidīn ( ar, علي بن الحسين زين العابدين), also known as al-Sajjād (, ) or simply as Zayn al-ʿĀbidīn (), , was an Imam in Shiʻi Islam after his father Husayn ibn Ali, his uncle Hasan ...
.


Education

Khamenei's education began at the age of four, by learning
Quran The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation from God. It is organized in 114 chapters (pl.: , ...
at Maktab; he spent his basic and advanced levels of
seminary A seminary, school of theology, theological seminary, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called ''seminarians'') in scripture, theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as clergy ...
studies at the
hawza A hawza ( ar, حوزة) or ḥawzah ʿilmīyah ( ar, حوزة علمیة) is a seminary where Shi'a Muslim scholars are educated. The word ''ḥawzah'' is found in Arabic as well as the Persian language. In Arabic, the word means "to hold s ...
of Mashhad, under mentors such as Sheikh Hashem Qazvini and Ayatollah Milani. Then, he went to
Najaf Najaf ( ar, ٱلنَّجَف) or An-Najaf al-Ashraf ( ar, ٱلنَّجَف ٱلْأَشْرَف), also known as Baniqia ( ar, بَانِيقِيَا), is a city in central Iraq about 160 km (100 mi) south of Baghdad. Its estimated popula ...
in 1957, but soon returned to Mashhad due to his father's unwillingness to let him stay there. In 1958, he settled in
Qom Qom (also spelled as "Ghom", "Ghum", or "Qum") ( fa, قم ) is the seventh largest metropolis and also the seventh largest city in Iran. Qom is the capital of Qom Province. It is located to the south of Tehran. At the 2016 census, its pop ...
where he attended the classes of Seyyed Hossein Borujerdi and
Ruhollah Khomeini Ruhollah Khomeini, Ayatollah Khomeini, Imam Khomeini ( , ; ; 17 May 1900 – 3 June 1989) was an Iranian political and religious leader who served as the first supreme leader of Iran from 1979 until his death in 1989. He was the founder of ...
. Like many other politically active clerics at the time, Khamenei was far more involved with politics than religious scholarship.


Political life and presidency

Khamenei was a key figure in the
Iranian Revolution The Iranian Revolution ( fa, انقلاب ایران, Enqelâb-e Irân, ), also known as the Islamic Revolution ( fa, انقلاب اسلامی, Enqelâb-e Eslâmī), was a series of events that culminated in the overthrow of the Pahlavi dyna ...
in Iran and a close confidant of
Ruhollah Khomeini Ruhollah Khomeini, Ayatollah Khomeini, Imam Khomeini ( , ; ; 17 May 1900 – 3 June 1989) was an Iranian political and religious leader who served as the first supreme leader of Iran from 1979 until his death in 1989. He was the founder of ...
. Since the founding of the
Islamic Republic The term Islamic republic has been used in different ways. Some Muslim religious leaders have used it as the name for a theoretical form of Islamic theocratic government enforcing sharia, or laws compatible with sharia. The term has also been u ...
, Khamenei has held many government posts. Muhammad Sahimi claims that his political career began after the Iranian Revolution, when the former President of Iran,
Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani ( fa, اکبر هاشمی رفسنجانی, Akbar Hāshemī Rafsanjānī, born Akbar Hashemi Bahramani, 25 August 1934 – 8 January 2017) was an Iranian politician, writer, and one of the founding fathers of the Islami ...
, then a confidant of Khomeini, brought Khamenei into Khomeini's inner circle. Later on, the current President of Iran,
Hassan Rouhani Hassan Rouhani ( fa, حسن روحانی, Standard Persian pronunciation: ; born Hassan Fereydoun ( fa, حسن فریدون, links=no); 12 November 1948) is an Iranian politician who served as the seventh president of Iran from 2013 to 2021. ...
, then a member of Parliament, arranged for Khamenei to get his first major post in the provisional revolutionary government as deputy defense minister. Khomeini appointed Khamenei to the post of Tehran's Friday prayers Imam in 1980, after resignation of
Hussein-Ali Montazeri Grand Ayatollah Hussein-Ali Montazeri ( fa, حسینعلی منتظری‎ ; 24 September 1922 – 19 December 2009) was an Iranian Shia Islamic theologian, Islamic democracy advocate, writer and human rights activist. He was one of the lea ...
from the post. He served briefly as the vice Minister of National Defence from late July to 6 November 1979 and as a supervisor of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards. He also went to the battlefield as a representative of the defense commission of the parliament.


Assassination attempt

Khamenei narrowly escaped an assassination attempt by the
Mujahedin-e Khalq The People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI), also known as Mojahedin-e-Khalq (MEK) or Mojahedin-e-Khalq Organization (MKO) ( fa, سازمان مجاهدين خلق ايران, sâzmân-e mojâhedīn-e khalq-e īrân), is an Iranian pol ...
when a bomb, concealed in a tape recorder, exploded beside him. On 27 June 1981, while Khamenei had returned from the
frontline Front line refers to the forward-most forces on a battlefield. Front line, front lines or variants may also refer to: Books and publications * ''Front Lines'' (novel), young adult historical novel by American author Michael Grant * ''Frontlines ...
, he went to the Aboozar Mosque according to his Saturdays schedule. After the first prayer, he began to give a lecture to worshipers who had written their questions on a piece of paper. Meanwhile, a tape recorder accompanied with papers was put on the desk in front of Khamenei by a young man who pressed a button. After a minute the recorder began making a whistling sound, then suddenly exploded. "A gift of Furqan Group to the Islamic Republic" was written on the inner wall of the tape recorder. Ayatollah Khamenei's treatment took several months and his arm,
vocal cords In humans, vocal cords, also known as vocal folds or voice reeds, are folds of throat tissues that are key in creating sounds through vocalization. The size of vocal cords affects the pitch of voice. Open when breathing and vibrating for speec ...
and lungs were seriously injured. He was permanently injured, losing the use of his right arm.


As president

In 1981, after the assassination of Mohammad-Ali Rajai, Khamenei was elected
President of Iran The president of Iran ( fa, رئیس‌جمهور ایران, Rayis Jomhur-e Irān) is the head of government of the Islamic Republic of Iran. The president is the second highest-ranking official of Iran after the Supreme Leader. The president ...
by a landslide vote (97%) in the
October 1981 Iranian presidential election Presidential elections were held in Iran on 2 October 1981, after the assassination of Mohammad-Ali Rajai, the previous President of Iran, during the interim premiership of Mohammad-Reza Mahdavi Kani. It led to the uncontested victory of Ali Kh ...
in which only four candidates were approved by the Council of Guardians. Khamenei became the first cleric to serve in the office. Ruhollah Khomeini had originally wanted to keep clerics out of the presidency but later changed his views. Khamenei was reelected in 1985 Iranian presidential election where only three candidates were approved by the Council of Guardians, receiving 87% of the votes. The only Iranian presidential election that had fewer candidates approved by the Council of Guardians was the
1989 Iranian presidential election Presidential elections were held in Iran on 28 July 1989, after the death of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini and the selection of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the previous President of Iran, as the new Supreme Leader of Iran. Out of the seventy-nine candi ...
, where only two candidates were approved by the Council of Guardians to run, and Rafsanjani easily won 96% of the votes. In his presidential inaugural address Khamenei vowed to eliminate "deviation, liberalism, and American-influenced leftists". According to the Iran Chamber, vigorous opposition to the government, including nonviolent and violent protest, assassinations, guerrilla activity and insurrections, was answered by state repression and terror in the early 1980s, both before and during Khamenei's presidency. Thousands of rank-and-file members of insurgent groups were killed, often by revolutionary courts. By 1982, the government announced that the courts would be reined in, although various political groups continued to be repressed by the government in the first half of the 1980s.


During Iran–Iraq war

Khamenei was one of Iran's leaders during the
Iran–Iraq War The Iran–Iraq War was an armed conflict between Iran and Iraq that lasted from September 1980 to August 1988. It began with the Iraqi invasion of Iran and lasted for almost eight years, until the acceptance of United Nations Security Counci ...
in the 1980s, and developed close ties with the now-powerful
Revolutionary Guards The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC; fa, سپاه پاسداران انقلاب اسلامی, Sepāh-e Pāsdārān-e Enghelāb-e Eslāmi, lit=Army of Guardians of the Islamic Revolution also Sepāh or Pasdaran for short) is a branch o ...
. As president, he had a reputation of being deeply interested in the military, budget and administrative details.


After the war

In its 10 April 1997 ruling regarding the
Mykonos restaurant assassinations In the Mykonos restaurant assassinations ( fa, ترور رستوران میکونوس; also the "Mykonos Incident"), Iranian-Kurdish opposition leaders Sadegh Sharafkandi, Fattah Abdoli, Homayoun Ardalan and their translator Nouri Dehkordi, w ...
, the German court issued an international arrest warrant for Iranian intelligence minister
Ali Fallahian Ali Fallahian ( fa, علی فلاحیان , born 23 October 1949) is an Iranian politician and cleric. He served as intelligence minister from 1989 to 1997 under the presidency of Ali Akbar Rafsanjani. Early life and education Fallahian was b ...
after declaring that the assassination had been ordered by him with knowledge of Khamenei and Rafsanjani. Iranian officials, however, have categorically denied their involvement. The then Iranian Parliament speaker
Ali Akbar Nategh-Nouri Ali Akbar Nateq-Nouri ( fa, علی‌اکبر ناطق‌نوری; sometimes spelt Nategh-Nouri, born 6 October 1944) is an Iranian politician, who served as the Chairman of the Parliament of Iran from 1992 to 2000. He was also the Minister of ...
dismissed the ruling as being political, untrue and unsubstantiated. The ruling led to a diplomatic crisis between the governments of Iran and several European countries, which lasted until November 1997. The accused assassins, Darabi and Rhayel, were finally released from prison on 10 December 2007 and deported back to their home countries.


Supreme Leader

Khamenei has fired and reinstated Presidential cabinet appointments. Iran's Chief Justice Sadeq Larijani, a Khamenei appointee, has warned the president of Iran against voicing opposition to Khamenei.


Election as Supreme Leader

In 1989
Ayatollah Khomeini Ruhollah Khomeini, Ayatollah Khomeini, Imam Khomeini ( , ; ; 17 May 1900 – 3 June 1989) was an Iranian political and religious leader who served as the first supreme leader of Iran from 1979 until his death in 1989. He was the founder of ...
dismissed
Ayatollah Montazeri Grand Ayatollah Hussein-Ali Montazeri ( fa, حسینعلی منتظری‎ ; 24 September 1922 – 19 December 2009) was an Iranian Shia Islamic theologian, Islamic democracy advocate, writer and human rights activist. He was one of the lead ...
as his political successor, giving the position to Khamenei instead. Because Khamenei was neither a marja or ayatollah, the Assembly of Experts had to modify the constitution in order to award him the position of Iran's new Supreme Leader (a decision opposed by several grand ayatollahs). Khamenei officially succeeded
Ruhollah Khomeini Ruhollah Khomeini, Ayatollah Khomeini, Imam Khomeini ( , ; ; 17 May 1900 – 3 June 1989) was an Iranian political and religious leader who served as the first supreme leader of Iran from 1979 until his death in 1989. He was the founder of ...
after Khomeini's death, being elected as the new Supreme Leader by the
Assembly of Experts The Assembly of Experts ( fa, مجلس خبرگان رهبری, majles-e khobregân-e rahbari), also translated as the Assembly of Experts of the Leadership or as the Council of Experts, is the deliberative body empowered to appoint the Supreme ...
on 4 June 1989.


Leadership council proposal

Initially, the idea of leadership council was proposed by some members of Assembly of Experts. Various lists were proposed and Khamenei was named in all of them. For instance, a council of three members, Ali Meshkini, Mousavi Ardebili and Khamenei, was proposed to lead Iran. According to Rafsanjani, he and Khamenei were against the proposal while Ayatollah
Haeri Shirazi Haeri may refer to the following people: * Abdolkarim Haeri Yazdi (1859–1937), Iranian cleric * Kazem al-Haeri (born 1938), Iraqi-born Iranian cleric and grand ayatollah * Mehdi Haeri Yazdi (1923–1999), Iranian philosopher and cleric * Mortez ...
and Ayatollah Ebrahim Amini were in favor of it. Supporters of the council proposal believed that having a council would produce a higher degree of unity in society and more positive characteristics would be found in a council, while the opposers believed that an individual leader was more efficient according to the past experiences in case of Judiciary council. Ebrahim Amini listed the summary of reasons presented by the two sides. According to him the opposers rejected the proposal because: i) Evidences for
Guardianship of the Islamic Jurist The Guardianship or Governance/''Wilāyat'' of/by an Islamic Jurist/''Faqīh'' ( fa, , Velâyat-e Faqih; ar, وِلاَيَةُ ٱلْفَقِيهِ, Wilāyat al-Faqīh), is a concept in Twelver Shia Islamic law which holds that until the r ...
were true only for the guardianship of an individual and it was not clear who held the guardianship when there was a council. Guardianship of a council was not rooted in Hadiths and Islamic jurisprudence. ii) Previous council type organizations such as broadcasting council and supreme judicial council were not successful in practice and leadership council would not do well for similar reasons. iii) People were accustomed to the leadership of an individual and a council of leaders was something unfamiliar to them. iv) An individual leader could act more decisive when dealing with critical and important decisions and solving problems and crisis. On the other hand, the supporters of the proposal believed that: i) At the time, there were no ''Faqih'' equal to Khomeini or even two or three levels lower than him so that he could fulfill the expectation of people. ii) In case of council of leaders, the members could compensate each other, if any of them had some shortage in a field. Finally, 45 members voted against the leadership council proposal while more than 20 people were in favor of it and the proposal was rejected. After the assembly rejected the idea of a Leadership Council, Khamenei was elected Leader by 60 of the 74 members present with Grand Ayatollah Mohammad-Reza Golpaygani receiving the remaining 14 votes. Khamenei made protestations of his unworthiness -- "my nomination should make us all cry tears of blood" and debated with the mujtahids of the Assembly—but eventually accepted the post.


Marjaʿiyyat criteria

Since Khamenei was not a marja' at the time—which the Iranian constitution required—he was named as the temporary Supreme Leader. Later, the constitution was amended to remove that requirement and the Assembly of Experts reconvened on 6 August 1989, to reconfirm Khamenei with 60 votes out of 64 present. On 29 April 1989, responding to the letter of Ayatollah Meshkini, the head of committee responsible for revising the Constitution, asking Khomeini's viewpoint regarding the 'marjaʿiyyat criteria, Khomeini said: "From the very beginning, I believed and insisted that there is no need for the requirements of ''marjaʿiyyat'' (authority in jurisprudence). A pious
mujtahid ''Ijtihad'' ( ; ar, اجتهاد ', ; lit. physical or mental ''effort'') is an Islamic legal term referring to independent reasoning by an expert in Islamic law, or the thorough exertion of a jurist's mental faculty in finding a solution to a l ...
(jurist-intellectual), who is approved by the esteemed Assembly of Experts (''Majlis-i Khobregan''), will suffice." In a video that surfaced during the 2017–18 Iranian protests, Khamenei is seen before the assembly saying he was not religiously qualified to be Supreme leader. Khamenei, who was ranked as a Hujjat al-Islam and not a Marja' as required by the Iranian constitution, said he would only be a "ceremonial leader", and was reassured by
Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani ( fa, اکبر هاشمی رفسنجانی, Akbar Hāshemī Rafsanjānī, born Akbar Hashemi Bahramani, 25 August 1934 – 8 January 2017) was an Iranian politician, writer, and one of the founding fathers of the Islami ...
the position would be "temporary" until a referendum, apparently planned for one year later.Iran's supreme leader blames US-Israeli plot for protests
Financial Times, 9 January 2018
On August 29, 2022, al-Haeri announced his resignation from the position of Marja, due to old age and illness. This was described as the first time in history a Marja has ever resigned from his position. He called on his followers to follow Ali Khamenei,
Supreme Leader of Iran The Supreme Leader of Iran ( fa, رهبر ایران, rahbar-e irān) is the head of state of the Islamic Republic of Iran. The Supreme Leader directs the executive system and judicial system of the Islamic theocratic government and is the co ...
as "''the best person for the leadership of our people and removing the aggressors''".


Political strategy and philosophy

Khamenei's era has differed from that of his predecessor. He has, however, continued Khomeini's policy of "balancing one group against another, making sure that no single side gains too much power." But lacking Khomeini's charisma and clerical standing, he has developed personal networks, first inside the armed forces, and then among the clerics, while administering the major
bonyad Bonyads ( fa, بنیاد "Foundation") are charitable trusts in Iran that play a major role in Iran's non-petroleum economy, controlling an estimated 20% of Iran's GDP, and channeling revenues to groups supporting the Islamic Republic. Exempt f ...
s and seminaries of Qom and Mashhad. Having been Supreme Leader for three decades, Khamenei has been able to place many loyalists throughout Iran's major institutions, "building a system that serves and protects him". Former cleric Mehdi Khalaji and Saeid Golkar, describe Khamenei's system as having creating a "parallel structure" for each of the country's institutions (army, intelligence agencies, etc.) to keep those institutions weak. According to Vali Nasr of the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, " hamenei ookmany of the powers of the presidency with him and urnedthe office of the supreme leader into the omnipotent overseer of Iran's political scene". In Nasr's view, Khamenei is an "unusual sort of dictator". Officials under Khamenei influence the country's various powerful, and sometimes bickering, institutions, including "the parliament, the presidency, the judiciary, the Revolutionary Guards, the military, the intelligence services, the police agencies, the clerical elite, the Friday prayer leaders and much of the media", as well as various "nongovernmental foundations, organizations, councils, seminaries and business groups". Khamenei issues decrees and makes the final decisions on economy, environment, foreign policy and everything else in Iran. Khamenei regularly meets with president, cabinet members, head and officials of the judiciary branch, parliamentarians, among others, and tells them what to do. Khamenei has also fired and reinstated Presidential cabinet appointments. Khamenei meets with foreign dignitaries, however he does not travel overseas; if anyone wishes to see him, that person must travel to Iran. Apart from his time in Najaf as a student, Khamenei travelled to
Libya Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Suda ...
during his time as president. In his speeches Khamenei regularly mentions many familiar themes of the 1979 revolution: justice, independence, self-sufficiency, Islamic government and resolute opposition to Israel and United States, while rarely mentioning other revolutionary ideals such as democracy and greater government transparency. According to
Karim Sadjadpour Karim Sadjadpour is an Iranian-American policy analyst at the Carnegie Endowment. Prior to that he was "chief Iran analyst" at the International Crisis Group. He is a contributor to BBC TV and radio, CNN, National Public Radio, PBS NewsHour an ...
of the
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (CEIP) is a nonpartisan international affairs think tank headquartered in Washington D.C. with operations in Europe, South and East Asia, and the Middle East as well as the United States. Founded i ...
, Khamenei has "resisted Rafsanjani's attempts to find a
modus vivendi ''Modus vivendi'' (plural ''modi vivendi'') is a Latin phrase that means "mode of living" or " way of life". It often is used to mean an arrangement or agreement that allows conflicting parties to coexist in peace. In science, it is used to descr ...
with the United States, Khatami's aspirations for a more democratic Islamic state, and Ahmadinejad's penchant for outright confrontation."


Privatization of state-owned businesses

In 2007, Khamenei called for the privatization of state-owned companies, including the telephone company, three banks and dozens of small oil and petrochemical enterprises. After a few months, at a televised meeting with then-President
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad Mahmoud Ahmadinejad ( fa, محمود احمدی‌نژاد, Mahmūd Ahmadīnežād ), born Mahmoud Sabbaghian ( fa, محمود صباغیان, Mahmoud Sabbāghyān, 28 October 1956),
and his Cabinet ministers, important clerics, the leader of parliament and provincial governors, the heads of state broadcasting and the Iranian chamber of commerce, Khamenei ordered "to pass some laws, sell off some businesses, and be quick about it." Khamenei warned that "those who are hostile to these policies are the ones who are going to lose their interests and influence."


Dispute regarding status as Grand Ayatollah

In 1994, after the death of Grand Ayatollah
Mohammad Ali Araki , location = , Title = Grand Ayatollah , Period = , Predecessor = , Successor = , ordination = , post = , birth_date = , birth_place = Arak, Iran , death_date = , death_place = Qom, Iran ...
, the
Society of Seminary Teachers of Qom The Society of Seminary Teachers of Qom ( fa, جامعهٔ مدرسین حوزهٔ علمیهٔ قم, jâme'e madrasin howze 'ilmiah Qom) is an Iranian group founded in 1961/3 by the leading Muslim clerics of Qom. Established by the students o ...
declared Khamenei a new marja. Several ayatollahs, however, declined to recognize him as such. Some of those dissidents clerics included Mohammad Shirazi, Hossein-Ali Montazeri, Hassan Tabatabai-Qomi, and
Yasubedin Rastegar Jooybari Grand Ayatollah Yasubeddin Rastegar Jooybari (Persian: يعسوب الدين رستگار جويباري) (born 1940) is an Iranian Twelver Shi'a Marja'. He has studied in seminaries of Qom, Iran under Grand Ayatollah Mohammad Kazem Shariatma ...
. In 1997, for example, Montazeri "questioned the powers of the Leader" and was subsequently punished for his comments with the closure of his religious school, an attack on his office in Qom, and a period of house arrest.


Appointments

The table below lists some of the incumbent senior officeholders in Iran directly appointed by the supreme leader (sorted by date of appointment):


Fatwas and messages


Fatwa regarding companions of Muhammad

In 2010, Khamenei issued a fatwa which bans any insult to the
Sahabah The Companions of the Prophet ( ar, اَلصَّحَابَةُ; ''aṣ-ṣaḥāba'' meaning "the companions", from the verb meaning "accompany", "keep company with", "associate with") were the disciples and followers of Muhammad who saw or m ...
(companions of Muhammad) as well as
Muhammad's wives Thirteen women were married to the Islamic prophet Muhammad. Muslims use the term ''Umm al-Mu'minin'' ( ar, أم ٱلْمُؤْمِنِين‎; meaning 'Mother of the Believers') prominently before or after referring to them as a sign of respect ...
. The fatwa was issued in an effort to reconcile legal, social, and political disagreements between Sunni and Shia.


Amman Message

Khamenei is one of the
Ulama In Islam, the ''ulama'' (; ar, علماء ', singular ', "scholar", literally "the learned ones", also spelled ''ulema''; feminine: ''alimah'' ingularand ''aalimath'' lural are the guardians, transmitters, and interpreters of religious ...
signatories of the
Amman Message The Amman Message ( ar, رسالة عمان) is a statement calling for tolerance and unity in the Muslim world that was issued on 9 November 2004 (27th of Ramadan 1425 AH) by King Abdullah II bin Al-Hussein of Jordan.


Fatwa against nuclear weapons

Khamenei has reportedly issued a
fatwa A fatwā ( ; ar, فتوى; plural ''fatāwā'' ) is a legal ruling on a point of Islamic law (''sharia'') given by a qualified '' Faqih'' (Islamic jurist) in response to a question posed by a private individual, judge or government. A jurist ...
saying the production, stockpiling, and use of
nuclear weapon A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission (fission bomb) or a combination of fission and fusion reactions ( thermonuclear bomb), producing a nuclear explosion. Both bomb ...
s was forbidden under Islam. The fatwa was cited in an official statement by the Iranian government at an August 2005 meeting of the
International Atomic Energy Agency The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is an intergovernmental organization that seeks to promote the peaceful use of nuclear energy and to inhibit its use for any military purpose, including nuclear weapons. It was established in 195 ...
(IAEA) in
Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...
. It's been widely discussed by international officials and specifically recognized by the US administration. The Iranian official website for information regarding its nuclear program has provided numerous instances of public statements by Khamenei wherein he voices his opposition to pursuit and development of nuclear weapons in moral, religious and Islamic juridical terms. Khamenei's official website specifically cites a 2010 version of these statements in the fatwa section of the website in
Farsi Persian (), also known by its endonym Farsi (, ', ), is a Western Iranian language belonging to the Iranian branch of the Indo-Iranian subdivision of the Indo-European languages. Persian is a pluricentric language predominantly spoken an ...
as a fatwa on "Prohibition of Weapons of Mass Destruction". Doubts have been cast by experts on the existence of the fatwa as it can be changed or modified as and when deemed necessary, as well as doubts on its authenticity, its impact, and its apparently religious nature. Gareth Porter believes that the fatwa is "sincere" and Gholam-Hossein Elham commented that it will not change.


Message(s) to Hajj pilgrims

Sayyid Ali Khamenei annually issues message(s) on the occasion of
Hajj The Hajj (; ar, حَجّ '; sometimes also spelled Hadj, Hadji or Haj in English) is an annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, the holiest city for Muslims. Hajj is a mandatory religious duty for Muslims that must be carried o ...
for all Muslims (pilgrims) in Hajj. He commenced to issue such messages since the start of his responsibility as the supreme leader of Iran (1989). He continually invites all Muslims to
Tawhid Tawhid ( ar, , ', meaning "unification of God in Islam (Allāh)"; also romanized as ''Tawheed'', ''Tawhid'', ''Tauheed'' or ''Tevhid'') is the indivisible oneness concept of monotheism in Islam. Tawhid is the religion's central and single m ...
, and afterwards expresses concerning the significance of Hajj in spiritual/social life. He also asks the Muslims to be aware of what he considers "the conspiracy of the enemies" by having a right comprehension, and advises them to "not be deceived by them". So far, Iran's supreme leader has issued 32 messages (since 1989). A part of his last message (6 August 2019) is as follows:


Women riding bicycles

He issued a fatwa declaring women riding bicycles
haram ''Haram'' (; ar, حَرَام, , ) is an Arabic term meaning 'Forbidden'. This may refer to either something sacred to which access is not allowed to the people who are not in a state of purity or who are not initiated into the sacred knowle ...
(forbidden).


Other interpretation of Islamic law

In 2000, Ali Khamenei sent a letter to the Iranian parliament forbidding the legislature from debating a revision of the Iranian press law to allow more freedom of the press. He wrote: "The present press law has succeeded to a point in preventing this big plague. The draft bill is not legitimate and in the interests of the system and the revolution." In 1996, he issued a fatwa stating "The promotion of music oth traditional and Westernin schools is contrary to the goals and teachings of Islam, regardless of age and level of study." (Many music schools were closed and public (but not private) music instruction to children under the age of 16 was banned thereafter.) Khamenei stated, In 1999, Khamenei issued a
fatwa A fatwā ( ; ar, فتوى; plural ''fatāwā'' ) is a legal ruling on a point of Islamic law (''sharia'') given by a qualified '' Faqih'' (Islamic jurist) in response to a question posed by a private individual, judge or government. A jurist ...
stating that it was permitted to use a third-party (donor sperm, ova or surrogacy) in fertility treatments. This was different in "both style and substance" to the fatwa on
Assisted Reproductive Technology Assisted reproductive technology (ART) includes medical procedures used primarily to address infertility. This subject involves procedures such as in vitro fertilization (IVF), intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI), cryopreservation of gamet ...
(ART) by Gad El-Hak Ali Gad El-Hak of Egypt's Al-Azhar University in the late 1980s which permitted ART (IVF and similar technologies) as long there is no third-party donation (of sperm, eggs, embryos, or uteruses). In 2002, he ruled that human
stem cell research In multicellular organisms, stem cells are undifferentiated or partially differentiated cells that can differentiate into various types of cells and proliferate indefinitely to produce more of the same stem cell. They are the earliest type of ...
was permissible under Islam, with the condition that it be used to create only parts as opposed to a whole human. In 2002, after protests erupted in the capital, Khamenei intervened against the
death sentence Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the state-sanctioned practice of deliberately killing a person as a punishment for an actual or supposed crime, usually following an authorized, rule-governed process to conclude that ...
given to Hashem Aghajari for arguing that Muslims should re-interpret Islam rather than blindly follow leaders. Khamenei ordered a review of the sentence against Aghajari and it was later commuted to a prison sentence.


Political power following reform era

Khamenei developed a
cult of personality A cult of personality, or a cult of the leader, Mudde, Cas and Kaltwasser, Cristóbal Rovira (2017) ''Populism: A Very Short Introduction''. New York: Oxford University Press. p. 63. is the result of an effort which is made to create an id ...
; with supporters describing him as a "divine gift to mankind" and in which Khamenei critics are persecuted. According to
Karim Sadjadpour Karim Sadjadpour is an Iranian-American policy analyst at the Carnegie Endowment. Prior to that he was "chief Iran analyst" at the International Crisis Group. He is a contributor to BBC TV and radio, CNN, National Public Radio, PBS NewsHour an ...
of the American
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (CEIP) is a nonpartisan international affairs think tank headquartered in Washington D.C. with operations in Europe, South and East Asia, and the Middle East as well as the United States. Founded i ...
, several factors have strengthened Khamenei in recent years: According to Christopher Dickey, in order to consolidate his power base, Khamenei has developed close relations with the security and military establishment, while also expanding the bureaucracy inside the government and around his Beit Rahbari compound.


Financial assets

Writing in ''The Daily Telegraph'', Damien McElroy and Ahmad Vahdat observed: "The ayatollah likes to cultivate an image of austerity but receives major commissions from the Iranian oil and arms industries and there have been regular claims that he and his son have amassed a fortune running into billions of dollars." A six-month investigation by
Reuters Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters Corporation. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency was est ...
has said that Khamenei controls a "financial empire" worth approximately US$95 billion that is not overseen by the Iranian Parliament, a figure much larger than the estimated wealth of the late Shah of Iran. According to the Reuters investigation, Khamenei uses the assets of a company called ''Headquarters for Executing the Order of the Imam'' or "Setad" in Farsi, in order to increase his grip on power. Reuters "found no evidence that Khamenei is tapping Setad to enrich himself," but did find that he used Setad's funds, which "rival the holdings of the shah", for political expedience – "Setad gives him the financial means to operate independently of
parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...
and the national budget, insulating him from Iran's messy factional infighting."Khamenei controls massive financial empire built on property seizures
, reuters.com. Retrieved 2 September 2015
According to ''The Daily Telegraph'', money from Setad is used to fund Khamenei's Beit Rahbari compound, which employs over 500 stewards, as was reported in 2013. Hamid Vaezi, Setad's head of public relations, said the information "was far from realities and is not correct". The six-month investigation by Reuters into found that, regarding the source of Setad's funds, "Setad built its empire on the systematic seizure of thousands of properties belonging to ordinary Iranians: members of religious minorities like Vahdat-e-Hagh, who is Baha'i, as well as Shi'ite Muslims, business people and Iranians living abroad." Despite the negative accounts of Western sources, Iranian official sources depict Setad as a vast charity foundation. In an interview in October 2014 with
Islamic Republic News Agency The Islamic Republic News Agency ( fa, خبرگزاری جمهوری اسلامی, ''Xebergâzari-ye Jimhuri-ye Eslâmi-ye''), or IRNA, is the official news agency of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Founded on 13 November 1934 as Pars News Agency ...
,
Muhammad Mukhber Muhammad ( ar, مُحَمَّد;  570 – 8 June 632 Common Era, CE) was an Arab religious, social, and political leader and the founder of Islam. According to Muhammad in Islam, Islamic doctrine, he was a prophet Divine inspiration, di ...
, the head of Setad, stated that over 90% of profits from Setad business activities are spent on improving infrastructure in the poor regions of the country, creating jobs and improving the well-being of people in these regions reflecting the top concerns of Iran's Supreme Leader, Khamenei for the Iranian society. He state that 85 percent of Setad's charitable works take place in poor regions of Iran. He cited construction of several hundred schools, mosques and
hussainiya A ḥosayniya or hussainiya (Arabic: حسينية ''husayniyya''), also known as an ashurkhana, imambargah, or imambara, is a congregation hall for Twelver Shia Muslim commemoration ceremonies, especially those associated with the Mourning of ...
s, as well as direct and indirect contribution to formation of over 350 thousands jobs expecting a total of 700 thousands for the upcoming three years. Mukhber also cited a sum total grant of 2.21 trillion rials of ''
Qard al-Hasan All loans in Islam are interest free. Qardh al-hasan ( ar, قرض الحسن, transl. ''benevolent lending'') is the one which is without a collateral. However some Ulama deem it a form of interest-free loan (fungible, marketable wealth) that is ex ...
'', interest-free loans, to 41 thousands families in poor regions of the country. He also revealed plans of gradual sell-off of Setad profitable businesses in the stock market with the aim of transferring their ownership into the hands of Iranian people. He also envisioned construction and delivery of 17 thousands housing units to families in poor regions of Iran by 2018.


Challenges following 2009 election protest

In mid-August 2009, a group of unnamed former reformist lawmakers appealed to the
Assembly of Experts The Assembly of Experts ( fa, مجلس خبرگان رهبری, majles-e khobregân-e rahbari), also translated as the Assembly of Experts of the Leadership or as the Council of Experts, is the deliberative body empowered to appoint the Supreme ...
– the constitutional body charged with electing and (in theory) supervising and removing the Leader – to investigate Leader Ali Khamenei's qualification to rule.'Investigate if Khamenei fit to rule'
Associated Press, 15 August 2009. Retrieved 24 September 2009.
A week later another anonymous letter was issued "calling Iran's leader a dictator and demanding his removal", this one by a group of Iranian clerics.Robert F. Worth and Nazila Fathi

, ''The New York Times'', 16 August 2009
The letters were called a blow to Khamenei's "status as a neutral arbiter and Islamic figurehead" and an "unprecedented challenge to the country's most powerful man" though not a blow to his actual power as leader. ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' reports "the phrase 'death to Khamenei' has begun appearing in graffiti on Tehran walls, a phrase that would have been almost unimaginable not long ago." The letter was addressed to the head of the
Assembly of Experts The Assembly of Experts ( fa, مجلس خبرگان رهبری, majles-e khobregân-e rahbari), also translated as the Assembly of Experts of the Leadership or as the Council of Experts, is the deliberative body empowered to appoint the Supreme ...
, Ayatollah Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, a "powerful former president" who also questions the election results. According to the Associate Press it is unlikely the letter's demands would be met as "two-thirds of the 86-member assembly are considered strong loyalists of Khamenei and would oppose" any investigation of him. According to ''The New York Times'' reporting in mid-August 2009, a "prominent Iranian cleric and a former lawmaker said on Sunday that they had spoken to some of the authors and had no doubt the letter was genuine". According to this cleric, the letter's signatories number "several dozen, and are mostly midranking figures from Qum, Isfahan and Mashhad", and that "the pressure on clerics in Qum is much worse than the pressure on activists because the establishment is afraid that if they say anything they can turn the more traditional sectors of society against the regime".


Relations with former President Ahmadinejad

Early in his presidency, Ahmadinejad was sometimes described as "enjoy ngthe full backing" of the Supreme Leader , and even as being his "protege." In Ahmadinejad's 2005 inauguration the supreme leader allowed Ahmadinejad to kiss his hand and cheeks in what was called "a sign of closeness and loyalty," and after the 2009 election fully endorsed Ahmadinejad against protesters. However, as early as January 2008 signs of disagreement between the two men developed over domestic policies, and by the period of 2010–11 several sources detected a "growing rift" between them. The disagreement was described as centered on
Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei ( fa, اسفندیار رحیم‌مشایی; born 16 November 1960) is an Iranian conservative politician and former intelligence officer. As a senior Cabinet member in the administration of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad ...
, a top adviser and close confidant of Ahmadinejad and opponent of "greater involvement of clerics in politics", who was first vice president of Iran until being ordered to resign from the cabinet by the supreme leader. In 2009, Ahmadinejad dismissed Intelligence Minister
Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Eje'i Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Eje'i ( fa, غلامحسین محسنی اژه‌ای, Ğolām-Hoseyn Mohseni Eže'i, ; born 29 September 1956) is an Iranian conservative politician, Islamic jurist and prosecutor who currently serves as Chief Justice of I ...
, an opponent of Mashaei. In April 2011, another Intelligence minister,
Heydar Moslehi Heydar Moslehi (born 1957 in Isfahan) is an Iranian cleric and politician who served as the minister of intelligence from 2009 to 2013. Early life and education Moslehi was born in Shahreza in the Isfahan province, Iran, in 1957. He was a stud ...
, resigned after being asked to by Ahmadinejad, but was reinstated by the supreme leader within hours. Ahmadinejad declined to officially back Moslehi's reinstatement for two weeks and in protest engaged in an "11-day walkout" of cabinet meetings, religious ceremonies, and other official functions. Ahmadinejad's actions led to angry public attacks by clerics, parliamentarians and military commanders, who accused him of ignoring orders from the supreme leader. Conservative opponents in parliament launched an "impeachment drive" against him, four websites with ties to Ahmadinejad reportedly were "filtered and blocked", and several people "said to be close" to the president and Mashaei (such as
Abbas Amirifar Hojjatoleslam Abbas Amirifar (born 1957) is the prayer leader of Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and head of the presidential cultural committee. He was arrested in May 2011 on charges of "sorcery", after he produced a controversial film pred ...
and
Mohammed Sharif Malekzadeh Mohammad Sharif Malekzadeh (born in Zabul city, Sistan and Baluchistan province) is a former Vice President of Iran who served as the head of the Ministry of Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Ministry of Cultural Heritage, Tourism and H ...
) were arrested on charges of being "magicians" and invoking
djinn Jinn ( ar, , ') – also romanized as djinn or anglicized as genies (with the broader meaning of spirit or demon, depending on sources) – are invisible creatures in early pre-Islamic Arabian religious systems and later in Islamic myth ...
s. On 6 May 2011, it was reported that Ahmadinejad had been given an ultimatum to accept the leader's intervention or resign, and on 8 May he "apparently bowed" to the reinstatement, welcoming back Moslehi to a cabinet meeting. The events have been said to have "humiliated and weakened" Ahmadinejad, though the president denied that there had been any rift between the two, and according to the semiofficial
Fars News Agency The Fars News Agency is a news agency in Iran managed by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), an armed wing loyal to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. While it describes itself as "Iran's leading independent news agency", it is widely descr ...
, he stated that his relationship with the supreme leader "is that of a father and a son." In 2012, Khamenei ordered a halt to a parliamentary inquiry into Ahmadinejad's mishandling of the Iranian economy. In 2016, Khamenei advised Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, his former ally with whom his relationship was strained after Ahmadinejad accused his son
Mojtaba Khamenei Sayyid Mojtaba Hosseini Khamenei ( fa, سید مجتبی حسینی خامنه‌ای; born 8 September 1969) is a son of Ali Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of Iran. He served in the Iran–Iraq War from 1987 to 1988. He is considered by Eur ...
of embezzling from the state treasury, to not run for president again.


Domestic policy

Khamenei is regarded by some as the figurehead of the country's conservative establishment. Khamenei supported
Mesbah Yazdi Ayatollah Taqi Mesbah ( fa, تقی مصباح‌; born Taqi Givechi, fa, تقی گیوه‌چی), commonly known as Mohammad-Taqi Mesbah-Yazdi ( fa, محمدتقی مصباح‌ یزدی, 31 January 1935 – 1 January 2021) was an Iranian Shi' ...
describing him as one of Iran's most credible ideologues prior to the 2005 election, but has reportedly "recently been concerned about Mesbah's political ambitions." In 2007, Khamenei requested that government officials speed up Iran's move towards economic privatization. Its last move towards such a goal was in 2004, when Article 44 of the constitution was overturned. Article 44 had decreed that Iran's core infrastructure should remain state-run. Khamenei also suggested that ownership rights should be protected in courts set up by the Justice Ministry; the hope was that this new protection would give a measure of security to and encourage private investment. In 2007, Iranian police under the direction of Khamenei launched a "Public Security Plan", arresting dozens of "thugs" to increase public security. Additionally, Khamenei has stated that he believes in the importance of nuclear technology for civilian purposes because "oil and gas reserves cannot last forever." On 30 April 2008, Ali Khamenei backed President Ahmadinejad's economic policy and said the West was struggling with more economic difficulties than Iran, with a "crisis" spreading from the United States to Europe, and inflation was a widespread problem. The Iranian leader said that the ongoing economic crisis which has debilitated the world has been unprecedented in the past 60 years. "This crisis has forced the UN to declare
state of emergency A state of emergency is a situation in which a government is empowered to be able to put through policies that it would normally not be permitted to do, for the safety and protection of its citizens. A government can declare such a state du ...
for food shortages around the globe but foreign radios have focused on Iran to imply that the current price hikes and inflation in the country are the results of carelessness on the part of Iranian officials which of course is not true", he said. Khamenei emphasized that no one has the right to blame the
Iranian government The Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran ( fa, نظام جمهوری اسلامی ایران, Neẓām-e jomhūrī-e eslāmi-e Irān, known simply as ''Neẓām'' ( fa, نظام, lit=the system) among its supporters) is the ruling state a ...
for Iran's economic problems. He also advised people and the government to be content and avoid waste in order to solve economic problems. "I advise you to keep in your mind that this great nation is never afraid of economic sanctions", he added.


Presidential, parliamentary, and Assembly of Experts elections

As Supreme Leader, Khamenei has influence over elections in Iran since the
Constitution of Iran The Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran ( fa, قانون اساسی جمهوری اسلامی ایران, ''Qanun-e Asasi-ye Jomhuri-ye Eslâmi-ye Iran'') was adopted by referendum on 2 and 3 December 1979, and went into force replac ...
allows him to appoint half of the members of the
Guardian Council The Guardian Council, (also called Council of Guardians or Constitutional Council, fa, شورای نگهبان, Shourā-ye Negahbān) is an appointed and constitutionally mandated 12-member council that wields considerable power and influence i ...
and the
Chief Justice of Iran The Chief Justice of Iran is the head of the Judicial system of the Islamic Republic of Iran (Head of Judiciary) and is responsible for its administration and supervision. The head of the judiciary of Iran is required to be an "honorable man" a ...
.Article 91 of the
Constitution of Iran The Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran ( fa, قانون اساسی جمهوری اسلامی ایران, ''Qanun-e Asasi-ye Jomhuri-ye Eslâmi-ye Iran'') was adopted by referendum on 2 and 3 December 1979, and went into force replac ...
The Constitution also establishes that the Council approves or disqualifies candidates for office while the Chief Justice presents the other half of the members of the council to be selected by
Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...
. These constitutional provisions give Khamenei direct and indirect influence over the council; an entity that, in turn, has direct influence over who can run for government. This influence was evident in the 2004 parliamentary elections, in which the Guardian Council disqualified thousands of candidates from running—including 80 incumbents, many of the reformist members of Parliament, and all the candidates of the
Islamic Iran Participation Front The Islamic Iran Participation Front ( fa, جبهه مشارکت ایران اسلامی; ''Jebheye Mosharekate Iran-e Eslaami'') was a reformist political party in Iran. It was sometimes described as the most dominant member within the 2nd of Kho ...
party. Subsequently, the conservatives won about 70 percent of parliamentary seats. The election became a key turning point in the country's political evolution as it marked the end of the campaign for political and social reform initiated by former President
Mohammad Khatami Sayyid Mohammad Khatami ( fa, سید محمد خاتمی, ; born 14 October 1943) is an Iranian politician who served as the fifth president of Iran from 3 August 1997 to 3 August 2005. He also served as Iran's Minister of Culture from 1982 ...
. During the 2005 presidential election, Khamenei's comments about importance of fighting corruption, being faithful to the ideals of the Islamic revolution, as well as on the superior intelligence and dynamism of those who studied engineering, were interpreted by some as a subtle endorsement of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (who had a PhD in traffic engineering). After the election, and until recently, Khamenei was outspoken in his support for Ahmadinejad, and "defended him publicly in ways which he never" had reformist president Khatami. Khamenei would later certify the results of the 2009 Iranian Presidential election. Khamenei took a firm stand against the
2009–10 Iranian election protests After incumbent president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad declared victory in the 2009 Iranian presidential election, protests broke out in major cities across Iran in support of opposition candidates Mir-Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi. The protests con ...
, and stated that he will neither reconsider vote results nor bow to public pressure over the disputed reelection of President
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad Mahmoud Ahmadinejad ( fa, محمود احمدی‌نژاد, Mahmūd Ahmadīnežād ), born Mahmoud Sabbaghian ( fa, محمود صباغیان, Mahmoud Sabbāghyān, 28 October 1956),
. "By Allah's favor, the presidential election was accurately held, and the current matters should be pursued legally." In a public appearance on 19 June he expresses his support for the declared winner Ahmadinejad and accused foreign powers—including Britain, Israel and the United States—of helping foment protest against the election results. In particular, he singled out Britain, perceiving the country as the "most evil" of its enemies. He said that the Iranian people will respond with an "iron fist" if Western powers meddle in Iran's internal affairs. In response to reformist gains in the 2015–2016 election cycle, Khamenei lamented the loss of conservative clerics from the Assembly of Experts and suggested changes to the law by which the Guardian Council vets candidates may be needed because it is currently too difficult for the Guardian Council to vet so large a number of candidates.


Science and technology

Ali Khamenei has been supportive of scientific progress in Iran. He was among the first Islamic clerics to allow
stem cell research In multicellular organisms, stem cells are undifferentiated or partially differentiated cells that can differentiate into various types of cells and proliferate indefinitely to produce more of the same stem cell. They are the earliest type of ...
and
therapeutic cloning In genetics and developmental biology, somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) is a laboratory strategy for creating a viable embryo from a body cell and an egg cell. The technique consists of taking an enucleated oocyte (egg cell) and implantin ...
. In 2004, Khamenei said that the country's progress is dependent on investment in the field of science and technology. He also said that attaching a high status to scholars and scientists in society would help talents to flourish and science and technology to become domesticated, thus ensuring the country's progress and development.


Foreign policy

Khamenei has "direct responsibility" for foreign policy, which "cannot be conducted without his direct involvement and approval". He has a foreign policy team independent of the president's "which includes two former foreign ministers" and "can at any time of his choosing inject himself into the process and 'correct' a flawed policy or decision." His foreign policy is said to steer a course that avoids either confrontation or accommodation with the West. Khamenei condemned the
Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen Saudi may refer to: * Saudi Arabia * Saudis, people from Saudi Arabia * Saudi culture, the culture of Saudi Arabia * House of Saud The House of Saud ( ar, آل سُعُود, ʾĀl Suʿūd ) is the ruling royal family of Saudi Arabia. It i ...
and compared Saudi Arabia to Israel. Khamenei condemned the persecution of Rohingya Muslims in
Myanmar Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...
and called Myanmar's de facto leader and
Nobel Peace Prize The Nobel Peace Prize is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Swedish industrialist, inventor and armaments (military weapons and equipment) manufacturer Alfred Nobel, along with the prizes in Chemistry, Physics, Physiolo ...
laureate
Aung Sang Suu Kyi Aung San Suu Kyi (; ; born 19 June 1945) is a Burmese politician, diplomat, author, and a 1991 Nobel Peace Prize laureate who served as State Counsellor of Myanmar (equivalent to a prime minister) and Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2 ...
a "brutal woman". U.S. Secretary of State
Mike Pompeo Michael Richard Pompeo (; born December 30, 1963) is an American politician, diplomat, and businessman who served under President Donald Trump as director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) from 2017 to 2018 and as the 70th United State ...
criticized Khamenei for his refusal to condemn the Xinjiang re-education camps and human rights abuses against the Uyghur
Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...
minority in
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...
.


Beliefs about the United States and its foreign policy

The United States and Iran have had no formal diplomatic relations since the
Iran hostage crisis On November 4, 1979, 52 United States diplomats and citizens were held hostage after a group of militarized Iranian college students belonging to the Muslim Student Followers of the Imam's Line, who supported the Iranian Revolution, took over ...
of 1980 when US embassy was taken over and US diplomats were taken prisoner. According to study by Karim Sadjadpour, speeches by Khamenei regularly mention the principle of resolute opposition to the United States; and according to
Karim Sadjadpour Karim Sadjadpour is an Iranian-American policy analyst at the Carnegie Endowment. Prior to that he was "chief Iran analyst" at the International Crisis Group. He is a contributor to BBC TV and radio, CNN, National Public Radio, PBS NewsHour an ...
he has "resisted Rafsanjani's attempts to find a
modus vivendi ''Modus vivendi'' (plural ''modi vivendi'') is a Latin phrase that means "mode of living" or " way of life". It often is used to mean an arrangement or agreement that allows conflicting parties to coexist in peace. In science, it is used to descr ...
with the United States", and once told reformist president
Mohammad Khatami Sayyid Mohammad Khatami ( fa, سید محمد خاتمی, ; born 14 October 1943) is an Iranian politician who served as the fifth president of Iran from 3 August 1997 to 3 August 2005. He also served as Iran's Minister of Culture from 1982 ...
that "we need the United States as an enemy". On 4 June 2006, Khamenei said that Iran would disrupt energy shipments from the
Persian Gulf The Persian Gulf ( fa, خلیج فارس, translit=xalij-e fârs, lit=Gulf of Fars, ), sometimes called the ( ar, اَلْخَلِيْجُ ٱلْعَرَبِيُّ, Al-Khalīj al-ˁArabī), is a mediterranean sea in Western Asia. The bo ...
region (about 20% of the world's daily supply of oil passes from the Persian Gulf through the Strait of Hormuz very close to Iran's coast) should the country come under attack from the US, insisting that Tehran will not give up its right to produce nuclear fuel. On 14 September 2007, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei (on the 1st Friday prayer of
Ramadan , type = islam , longtype = Religious , image = Ramadan montage.jpg , caption=From top, left to right: A crescent moon over Sarıçam, Turkey, marking the beginning of the Islamic month of Ramadan. Ramadan Quran reading in Bandar Torkaman, Iran. ...
) predicted that George W. Bush and American officials will one day be tried in an international criminal court to be held "accountable" for the U.S. led
invasion of Iraq The 2003 invasion of Iraq was a United States-led invasion of the Republic of Iraq and the first stage of the Iraq War. The invasion phase began on 19 March 2003 (air) and 20 March 2003 (ground) and lasted just over one month, including 26 ...
. He asserts that the United States is the main cause of insecurity in Iraq. On 21 March 2009, a day after US President
Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, Obama was the first Af ...
advocated a "new beginning" in diplomatic relations between the two countries, Khamenei said a change of US "words" was not enough and added: "We will watch and we will judge (the new US administration) ... You change, our behavior will change." He rejected US foreign policy since the Islamic revolution, insisted the United States is "hated in the world" and should end its interference in other countries. Khamenei criticized the NATO-led military intervention in Libya. On 21 March 2011, Khamenei accused the West of having "come after Libyan oil". He also stressed that "Iran utterly condemns the behaviour of the Libyan government against its people, the killings and pressure on people, and the bombing of its cities... but it (also) condemns the military action in Libya". Khamenei stated that he support sending mediators rather than bombing the country. In June 2011, Khamenei accused the United States government of terrorism and rejected the American definition of terrorism; he was quoted as saying, "The U.S. and the European governments that follow it describe Palestinian combatant groups who fight for the liberation of their land as terrorists." In June 2012, Khamenei warned Western governments that the mounting sanctions on the country will only deepen the Iranians' hatred of the West. In October 2014, Khamenei said the U.S. and the U.K. created ISIS as a tool to fight Iran and "create insecurity" in the region. On 19 July 2015, while speaking at a mosque in Tehran, Khamenei said to his supporters that the policies of the United States in the region were "180 degrees" opposed to Iran's political and religious movement. The speech was punctuated by chants of "Death to America" and "Death to Israel". Khamenei said in regards to the 2015 nuclear deal that "Even after this deal, our policy towards the arrogant U.S. will not change."
U.S. Secretary of State The United States secretary of state is a member of the executive branch of the federal government of the United States and the head of the U.S. Department of State. The office holder is one of the highest ranking members of the president's Ca ...
John Kerry John Forbes Kerry (born December 11, 1943) is an American attorney, politician and diplomat who currently serves as the first United States special presidential envoy for climate. A member of the Forbes family and the Democratic Party, he ...
said that if the comments reflected policy, it was "very disturbing", and "very troubling". In March 2020, Khamenei warned against a United States offer of aid to fight
COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quick ...
on the grounds that it could be a way to hurt Iran by further spreading the disease. He also suggested the US had developed a special variety of the virus "based on Iranian genetic information they have gathered", although he provided no evidence for the theory. Khamenei explained, "There are enemies who are demons, and there are enemies who are humans, and they help one another." In March 2022, Khamenei accused the U.S. of creating the conflict surrounding the
Russo-Ukrainian War The Russo-Ukrainian War; uk, російсько-українська війна, rosiisko-ukrainska viina. has been ongoing between Russia (alongside Russian separatists in Ukraine) and Ukraine since February 2014. Following Ukraine's Rev ...
.


Condemnation of 11 September attacks

After the 11 September attacks, Khamenei condemned the act and the attackers and called for a condemnation of terrorist activities all over the world, but warned strongly against a military intervention in Afghanistan.BBC News, Middle East, Iran condemns attacks on US
, 17 September 2001
He is quoted as saying, "Mass killings of human beings are catastrophic acts which are condemned wherever they may happen and whoever the perpetrators and the victims may be."


Zionism and Israel

Khamenei is an opponent of the
State of Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
and
Zionism Zionism ( he, צִיּוֹנוּת ''Tsiyyonut'' after '' Zion'') is a nationalist movement that espouses the establishment of, and support for a homeland for the Jewish people centered in the area roughly corresponding to what is known in Je ...
, and has been criticized for making threats against Israel and for
anti-Semitic Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism. Antis ...
rhetoric. On 15 December 2000, Khamenei called Israel a "cancerous tumor of a state" that "should be removed from the region" and in 2013 called Israel a "rabid dog", as well as in 2014 during the Gaza war, for what he called attacking innocent people. In 2014, a tweet from an account attributed to Khamenei, claimed that there was no cure for Israel but its annihilation. In a September 2008 sermon for
Friday prayers In Islam, Friday prayer or Congregational prayer ( ar, صَلَاة ٱلْجُمُعَة, ') is a prayer ('' ṣalāt'') that Muslims hold every Friday, after noon instead of the Zuhr prayer. Muslims ordinarily pray five times each day according ...
in
Tehran Tehran (; fa, تهران ) is the largest city in Tehran Province and the capital of Iran. With a population of around 9 million in the city and around 16 million in the larger metropolitan area of Greater Tehran, Tehran is the most popul ...
, Khamenei stated that "it is incorrect, irrational, pointless and nonsense to say that we are friends of Israeli people", because he believed that the occupation is done by the means of them. " urpation of houses, lands, and business f Palestinian peopleare carried out using these people. They are the background actors of Zionist elements," said Khamenei in his speech. " have no problem with Jews and Christians ... we have problem with the usurpers of Palestine land," he added. Also, he said that he had raised the issue "to spell an end to any debates". In 2013, Khamenei accused France of "kneeling" before Israel, while saying that Israel was led by people unworthy of the "title human". Nevertheless, according to anti-regime change activist
Abbas Edalat Abbas Edalat ( fa, عباس عدالت) is a British-Iranian academic who is a professor of computer science and mathematics at the Department of Computing, Imperial College London and a political activist. In a 2018 letter to The Guardian, 1 ...
, in 2005 Khamenei responded to a remark by then-
President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...
Ahmadinejad which had been widely translated as saying that the "regime occupying Jerusalem should be wiped off the map" by saying that "the
Islamic Republic The term Islamic republic has been used in different ways. Some Muslim religious leaders have used it as the name for a theoretical form of Islamic theocratic government enforcing sharia, or laws compatible with sharia. The term has also been u ...
has never threatened and will never threaten any country." In a September 2009 sermon, Khamenei was quoted as saying, that "the Zionist cancer is gnawing into the lives of Islamic nations." In another report of the same speech, he added that "we will support and help any nations, any groups fighting against the Zionist regime across the world, and we are not afraid of declaring this." Khamenei instead proposed that "Palestinian refugees should return and Muslims, Christians and Jews could choose a government for themselves, excluding immigrant Jews," adding "No one will allow a bunch of thugs, lechers and outcasts from London, America and Moscow to rule over the Palestinians." On 10 September 2015, in a speech about
Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
after
agreement Agreement may refer to: Agreements between people and organizations * Gentlemen's agreement, not enforceable by law * Trade agreement, between countries * Consensus, a decision-making process * Contract, enforceable in a court of law ** Meeting ...
on the
nuclear program of Iran The nuclear program of Iran is an ongoing scientific effort by Iran to research nuclear technology that can be used to make nuclear weapons. Iran has several research sites, two uranium mines, a research reactor, and uranium processing facili ...
, Khamenei made a remark "Israel will not exist in 25 years". For the first time, the remark was published in Khamenei's official website and his
Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...
. This statement was reported as voted as the best and most important among Khamenei's statements in 2015 by an online poll conducted by his official website. On 21 February, at the 6th International Conference in Support of the Palestinian Intifada, Khamenei regarded withdrawal of Israel from south Lebanon in 2000 and from Gaza in 2005 as two major achievements so far. Also, he advised the Islamic countries to refrain from "useless" crises and differences and instead concentrate on the issue of Palestine which he regarded as the core issue of Islam. "Otherwise, the potentials and capabilities of the nations will go to waste in the face of vain struggles, which would provide opportunities for the Zionist regime to become even stronger," he added. Khamenei condemned peace agreement between Israel and the
United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia (Middle East, The Middle East). It is ...
and charged UAE with betraying the Islamic world, the Arab countries and Palestine. He stated that the normalization will be only temporary, but the UAE will forever have to bear the shame regarding the deal.


Holocaust denial

On 21 March 2014, during a morning speech marking the Persian New Year,
Nowruz Nowruz ( fa, نوروز, ; ), zh, 诺鲁孜节, ug, نەۋروز, ka, ნოვრუზ, ku, Newroz, he, נורוז, kk, Наурыз, ky, Нооруз, mn, Наурыз, ur, نوروز, tg, Наврӯз, tr, Nevruz, tk, Nowruz, ...
, Khamenei called into question the
Holocaust The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; ...
. He said that "the Holocaust is an event whose reality is uncertain and if it has happened, it's uncertain how it has happened". Additionally he commented that "No one in European countries dares to speak about heHolocaust" (because of the potential legal consequences in some countries), and said that in the West, "speaking about heHolocaust and expressing doubts about it is considered to be a great sin." The
Anti-Defamation League The Anti-Defamation League (ADL), formerly known as the Anti-Defamation League of B'nai B'rith, is an international Jewish non-governmental organization based in the United States specializing in civil rights law. It was founded in late Septe ...
accused Khamenei in March 2014 of making statements of explicit
Holocaust denial Holocaust denial is an antisemitic conspiracy theory that falsely asserts that the Nazi genocide of Jews, known as the Holocaust, is a myth, fabrication, or exaggeration. Holocaust deniers make one or more of the following false statements: ...
. On Holocaust Memorial Day, 27 January 2016, Khamenei posted a Holocaust denying video on his official website. In the video (drawing on the March 2014 speech), lasting about three minutes, the video features images of Holocaust deniers Roger Garaudy,
Robert Faurisson Robert Faurisson (; born Robert Faurisson Aitken; 25 January 1929 – 21 October 2018) was a British-born French academic who became best known for Holocaust denial. Faurisson generated much controversy with a number of articles published in th ...
, and
David Irving David John Cawdell Irving (born 24 March 1938) is an English author and Holocaust denier who has written on the military and political history of World War II, with a focus on Nazi Germany. His works include '' The Destruction of Dresden'' (1 ...
. In a series of tweets in mid-December 2019, he praised Garaudy: "The fight he engaged in against the Zionists is a #DivineDuty for all those who respect the #Truth." France's conviction of Garaudy, he said, was against the concept of freedom of speech.


Anti-Semitism

At least one source (
Yair Rosenberg Yair Rosenberg is an American journalist and a staff writer at The Atlantic, where he launched his ''Deep Shtetl'' newsletter. He was formerly a senior writer at '' Tablet'' magazine, and is a regular speaker and commentator on antisemitism in th ...
), argues that statements by Khamenei purporting to attack "Zionism", are following an anti-Semitic tradition of avoiding censorship by using "Zionism" as a
dog whistle A dog whistle (also known as silent whistle or Galton's whistle) is a type of whistle that emits sound in the ultrasonic range, which humans cannot hear but some other animals can, including dogs and domestic cats, and is used in their trainin ...
for "Jews". For example, an 8 June 2022 statement
tweeted Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...
by Khamenei: :"The Zionists have always been a plague, even before establishing the fraudulent Zionist regime. Even then, Zionist capitalists were a plague for the whole world." makes more sense (though is just as slanderous), if "Zionists" is replaced by "Jews". (The Zionist movement not have being founded until the late 19th century, Zionists are not likely to "have always been a plague".) Other accusations of Anti-Semitism have come from Victoria Coates and Ellie Cohanim, who note his holocaust denial, and find his "nine-point plan" to "wipe" Israel "off the face of the earth" uncomfortably reminiscent of Hitler's
Final Solution The Final Solution (german: die Endlösung, ) or the Final Solution to the Jewish Question (german: Endlösung der Judenfrage, ) was a Nazi plan for the genocide of individuals they defined as Jews during World War II. The "Final Solution to th ...
; and the
Jerusalem Post ''The Jerusalem Post'' is a broadsheet newspaper based in Jerusalem, founded in 1932 during the British Mandate of Palestine by Gershon Agron as ''The Palestine Post''. In 1950, it changed its name to ''The Jerusalem Post''. In 2004, the paper ...
, who quote Khamenei's attack on the 2020 Israel–United Arab Emirates normalization agreement: and argue "filthy Zionist agents," "the Jewish member of Trump's family" (i.e.
Jared Kushner Jared Corey Kushner (born January 10, 1981) is an American businessman and investor. He served as a senior advisor to 45th U.S. president Donald Trump, his father-in-law. Since leaving the White House, Kushner founded Affinity Partners, a priv ...
), and "cruel", are all words channeling "antisemitic tropes and dog whistles".


Human rights, freedoms, protests, Islamic law

Critics have accused Khamenei of overseeing the assassination of as many as 160 exiled defectors worldwide, the heavy handed repression of protesters, the killings of tens of thousands of members of the M.E.K. (
People's Mujahedin of Iran The People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI), also known as Mojahedin-e-Khalq (MEK) or Mojahedin-e-Khalq Organization (MKO) ( fa, سازمان مجاهدين خلق ايران, sâzmân-e mojâhedīn-e khalq-e īrân), is an Iranian pol ...
) paramilitary group, and of making dissident writers and intellectuals in Iran "a special target" of repression, among other infractions of human rights. However, Khamenei himself has insisted human rights are a fundamental principle underlying Islamic teachings, that precedes western concern for human rights by many centuries. He has attacked Western powers who have criticized the rights record of the Islamic Republic for hypocrisy saying that these countries economically oppress people in
Third World The term "Third World" arose during the Cold War to define countries that remained non-aligned with either NATO or the Warsaw Pact. The United States, Canada, Japan, South Korea, Western European nations and their allies represented the " First ...
countries and support despots and dictators. In response to Western complaints of human rights abuses in Iran he has stated that the American administration has committed many crimes and is therefore not fit to judge the Islamic Republic.


Protests during leadership

There have been several major protests during Khamenei's reign, including the 1994 Qazvin Protests—where, according to
Al-Arabiya Arabiya ( ar, العربية, transliterated: '; meaning "The Arabic One" or "The Arab One") is an international Arabic news television channel, currently based in Dubai, that is operated by the media conglomerate MBC. The channel is a fl ...
, around 40 people were killed and over 400 were injured— the 1999 Iranian student protests, the
2009 Iranian presidential election protests After incumbent president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad declared victory in the 2009 Iranian presidential election, protests broke out in major cities across Iran in support of opposition candidates Mir-Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi. The protests con ...
, when protesters chanted "death to the dictator", and ripped down pictures of Khamenei, as well as the 2011–12 Iranian protests and 2017–18 Iranian protests, among others. In 2016, Khamenei, who outlines the elections guidelines "in line with Article 110 of Iran's Constitution", asked to maximize the amount of transparency in elections in Iran, using modern technologies. During the
Mahshahr massacre The Mahshahr massacre ( fa, قتل‌عام ماهشهر) refers to the mass killing of protesters in the city of Mahshahr, Iran, which occurred between 16 November and 20 November 2019, during the 2019–2020 Iranian protests. Estimates of fatali ...
, protests expanded against "government corruption, failing institutions, lack of freedoms and the repressive rule of Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei." During the
2018–2019 Iranian general strikes and protests The 2018–2019 Iranian general strikes and protests were a series of strikes and protests that took place across Iran from early 2018 until mid-2019 against the country's economic situation, as well as the Iranian government, as part of the wid ...
, Khameini demanded punishment for those "who disrupt economic security". According to
Reuters Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters Corporation. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency was est ...
, the remarks were "clearly intended to send a message to Iranians who may plan more demonstrations". During the 2019–2020 Iranian protests, Khamenei met with various officials and cabinet members, saying "he would hold the assembled officials responsible for the consequences of the protests if they didn't immediately stop them." According to an official, Khamenei "made clear the demonstrations required a forceful response" and that "rioters should be crushed." During the
Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752 protests The Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752 protests were anti-government protests, forming part of the spillover clashes that took place in January 2020 resulting from the crackdown of the 2019 Iranian protests, which swept Iran in January 2 ...
, thousands of protesters demanded Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's resignation.


Minorities

The
Baháʼí Faith The Baháʼí Faith is a religion founded in the 19th century that teaches the essential worth of all religions and the unity of all people. Established by Baháʼu'lláh in the 19th century, it initially developed in Iran and parts of the ...
is the largest religious minority in Iran, with around 300,000 members (8,000,000 members worldwide) and is officially considered a dangerous cult by Iranian government. It is banned in Iran and several other countries. Khamenei has approved new legislation against Baháʼís in Iran and lessen their influence abroad. According to a letter from the Chairman of the Command Headquarters of the Armed Forces in Iran addressed to the Ministry of Information, the Revolutionary Guard, and the Police Force, Khamenei has also ordered the Command Headquarters to identify people who adhere to the Baháʼí Faith and to monitor their activities and gather any and all information about the members of the Baháʼí Faith.


Relationship with the press

In 2000, he was listed by the
Committee to Protect Journalists The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is an American independent non-profit, non-governmental organization, based in New York City, New York, with correspondents around the world. CPJ promotes press freedom and defends the rights of jou ...
as "one of the top ten enemies of the press and freedom of expression", and was named to the ''Time'' 100 in 2007. Opposition journalists
Ahmad Zeidabadi Ahmad Zeidabadi fa, احمد زیدابادی (born 21 July 1965 in Zeidabad, Sirjan) is an Iranian journalist, academic, writer and political analyst and the secretary general of Office for Strengthening Unity. He is one of the notable figures ...
,
Mohsen Sazegara Mohsen Sazegara ( fa, محسن سازگارا; born 5 January 1955) calls himself as Iranian journalist and pro-democracy political activist. He was the founder of IRGC (Iran Revolutionary Guard Corps) after the revolution in 1979. He held severa ...
,
Mohammad Nourizad Mohammad Nourizad ( fa, محمد نوری زاد), born 10 December 1952) is an Iranian filmmaker, activist, and former journalist for the conservative daily '' Kayhan''.
and Akbar Ganji were arrested and investigated for spreading critical articles containing unproven charges against Khamenei's policies as the leader and some organizations. According to the Iran's Press Law "spreading rumors and lies and distorts the words of others" is not allowed. Also, according to the law, "spreading libel against officials, institutions, organizations and individuals in the country or insulting legal or real persons who are lawfully respected, even by means of pictures or caricatures" is not allowed. In 2000, Ali Khamenei sent a letter to the Iranian parliament forbidding the legislature from debating a revision of the Iranian press law to allow more freedom. (The law had been used "to close more than 20 independent newspapers" from 1997 to 2000.) He wrote: "The present press law has succeeded to a point in preventing this big plague. The draft bill is not legitimate and in the interests of the system and the revolution." His was called a use of "extra-legislative power" by reformists and opposition groups. but Speaker of Parliament Mehdi Karroubi reminded "deputies that the constitution contained 'elements of the absolute rule of the supreme clerical leader'". ''
Kayhan ''Kayhan'' ( fa, کيهان, '' en, The Cosmos'') is a newspaper published in Tehran, Iran. It is considered "the most conservative Iranian newspaper." Hossein Shariatmadari is the editor-in-chief of ''Kayhan''. According to the report of the ' ...
'' and '' Jomhuri-ye Eslami'' are two newspapers published under the management of Khamenei. Among his controversial actions were his rejection of a bill presented by the Iranian parliament in 2000 that aimed to reform the country's press law, and the disqualification of thousands of parliamentary candidates for the
2004 Iranian legislative election The Iranian parliamentary elections of February 20 and May 7, 2004 were a victory for Islamic conservatives over the reformist parties. Assisting the conservative victory was the disqualification of about 2500 reformist candidates earlier in Januar ...
by the
Guardian Council The Guardian Council, (also called Council of Guardians or Constitutional Council, fa, شورای نگهبان, Shourā-ye Negahbān) is an appointed and constitutionally mandated 12-member council that wields considerable power and influence i ...
he appointed. In 2012, 2013, and 2014, ''
Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also r ...
'' selected Khamenei as the 21st, 23rd, and 19th most powerful person in the world, respectively, in the list of ''The World's Most Powerful People''.


Trials of people for insulting Khamenei

Several journalists, bloggers, and other individuals were put on trial in Iran for the charge of insulting the Supreme Leader, often in conjunction with
blasphemy Blasphemy is a speech crime and religious crime usually defined as an utterance that shows contempt, disrespects or insults a deity, an object considered sacred or something considered inviolable. Some religions regard blasphemy as a religio ...
charges. In 1996, Abbas Maroufi was sentenced to 35 lashes and 6 months imprisonment for spreading lies and insulting Khamenei. Maroufi was also banned from working as a journalist and his literary monthly Gardoon was closed. Maroufi had compared Khamenei to former Shah of Iran Mohammed Reza Pahlavi. In 2005, an Iranian was jailed for two years for insulting Khamenei and Imam Khomeini while being cleared of insulting the prophet. In 2009, Iranian blogger Omid Reza Mir Sayafi who was arrested for insulting Khamenei in an internet post, died while in custody in Evin Prison. In 2010, opposition activist Ahmad Gabel was sentenced to 20 months in jail for insulting Khamenei, as well as 3 additional years for possessing a satellite receiver, a 3-year exile and a fine. In 2014, eight men including a Briton were sentenced for 19 to 20 years for insulting Khamenei and other charges relating to Facebook comments. In 2017, Sina Dehghan was sentenced to death for insulting the prophet, with an additional 16-month sentence for insulting Khamenei in a messaging application.


Women's rights

In July 2007, Khamenei criticized
Iranian women's rights activists Iranian may refer to: * Iran, a sovereign state * Iranian peoples, the speakers of the Iranian languages. The term Iranic peoples is also used for this term to distinguish the pan ethnic term from Iranian, used for the people of Iran * Iranian ...
and the ''Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women'' (CEDAW): "In our country ... some activist women, and some men, have been trying to play with Islamic rules in order to match international conventions related to women", Khamenei said. "This is wrong." Khamenei made these comments two days after Iranian women's rights activist Delaram Ali was sentenced to 34 months of jail and 10 lashes by Iran's judiciary. Khamenei is an advocate of Islamic practice of
Hijab In modern usage, hijab ( ar, حجاب, translit=ḥijāb, ) generally refers to headcoverings worn by Muslim women. Many Muslims believe it is obligatory for every female Muslim who has reached the age of puberty to wear a head covering. While s ...
. He believes that hijab is aimed at honoring women. To the Western objection to the compulsory hijab in Iran, he responds by pointing out the compulsory unveiling in certain western countries and obstacles created for veiled Muslim women who want to enter universities. He further argues that women in the West have lost their honor by pointing out perceived high rate of sexual violence in the West as well as the widespread exploitation of female sexual appeal for commercial purposes. Ali Khamenei believes in
gender segregation Sex segregation, sex separation, gender segregation or gender separation is the physical, legal, or cultural separation of people according to their biological sex. Sex segregation can refer simply to the physical and spatial separation by sex wi ...
. Khamenei also believes that
gender equality Gender equality, also known as sexual equality or equality of the sexes, is the state of equal ease of access to resources and opportunities regardless of gender, including economic participation and decision-making; and the state of valuing d ...
is a
Zionist Zionism ( he, צִיּוֹנוּת ''Tsiyyonut'' after '' Zion'') is a nationalist movement that espouses the establishment of, and support for a homeland for the Jewish people centered in the area roughly corresponding to what is known in Je ...
plot with the purpose to "corrupt the role of women in society".


Homosexuality

Khamenei argues that "Today, homosexuality is a major problem in the western world. They estern nationshowever ignore it. But the reality is that homosexuality has become a serious challenge, pain and unsolvable problem for the intellectuals in the west."


Personal life


Sanctions

On 24 June 2019, the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...
imposed sanctions on Khamenei with the signing of Executive Order 13876.


Family

Khamenei is married to Mansoureh Khojasteh Bagherzadeh, with whom he has six children; four sons ( Mostafa, Mojtaba, Masoud, and Meysam) and two daughters (Boshra and Hoda). One of his sons, Mojtaba, married a daughter of
Gholam-Ali Haddad-Adel Gholam Ali Haddad-Adel ( fa, غلامعلی حداد عادل, born 9 May 1945) is an Iranian philosopher, conservative and principlist politician and former chairman of the Parliament. He is currently member of the Expediency Discernment Coun ...
. His eldest son, Mostafa, is married to a daughter of
Azizollah Khoshvaght Azizollah Khoshvaqt ( fa, عزیزالله خوشوقت), also known as Ayatollah Khoshvaqt (1926 – 19 February 2013), was a contemporary philosopher, mystic, theologian and faqih. He was a student of Muhammad Husayn Tabatabai, Seyyed Hoss ...
. Another son, Masoud, is married to the daughter of
Mohsen Kharazi Seyyed Mohsen Kharazi ( fa, سید محسن خرازی) (born in 1937 in Tehran) is a member of the Assembly of Experts of the Islamic Republic of Iran. He was a candidate for the 4th Assembly of Experts. See also * List of Ayatollahs This is ...
. He has three brothers, including
Mohammad Khamenei Sayyid Mohammad Khamenei ( fa, سید محمد خامنه‌ای, born 25 December 1935) is an Iranian cleric and politician. He is the older brother of Ali Khamenei, the current Supreme Leader of Iran, and Hadi Khamenei. Currently, he is the pre ...
and Hadi Khamenei. One of his four sisters, Badri Hosseini Khamenei (wife of dissident Ali Tehrani), fled into exile in the 1980s.


Home

As Supreme Leader, Khamenei moved to a house in Central Tehran on Palestine Street. A compound grew around it that now contains around fifty buildings. Around 500 people are employed at this "Beit Rahbari compound" according to ''The Telegraph'', "many recruited from the military and security services".


Lifestyle

According to
Mehdi Khalaji Mehdi Khalaji ( fa, مهدی خلجی, born 21 September 1973) is an Iranian-American writer, scholar of Islamic studies, political analyst and a former Shia cleric. He has been researching at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy since 2 ...
, an Iran expert at the
Washington Institute for Near East Policy The Washington Institute for Near East Policy (WINEP or TWI, also known simply as The Washington Institute) is a pro-Israel American think tank based in Washington, D.C., focused on the foreign policy of the United States in the Near East. WIN ...
, Khamenei has a decent life "without it being luxurious". Robert Tait of ''
The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was f ...
'' commented that Khamenei is "renowned for a spartan lifestyle." Dexter Filkins describes Khamenei as presenting himself "as an ascetic, dressing and eating simply". In an interview with a women's magazine, his wife declared that "we do not have decorations, in the usual sense. Years ago, we freed ourselves from these things." On the other hand, ''
Mother Nature Network Mother Nature Network (mnn.com) was a website with news and information related to sustainability, health, lifestyle, technology, money, food, home, and family. Founded in 2009 by former marketing executive Joel Babbit and Rolling Stones keyboar ...
'' claims Khamenei has been seen riding around in a BMW car and published a picture of him exiting one. In a 2011 report in ''
The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was f ...
'', defectors from Iran claimed Khamenei has a considerable appetite of caviar and trout, a stable of 100 horses, collects items such as pipes and (reputedly) 170 antique walking sticks, and has a private court stretching over six palaces. Intelligence sources have also said his family has extensive international business interests.


Health

Khamenei's health has been called into question. In January 2007, after he had not been seen in public for some weeks, and had not appeared as he traditionally does at celebrations for
Eid al-Adha Eid al-Adha () is the second and the larger of the two main holidays celebrated in Islam (the other being Eid al-Fitr). It honours the willingness of Ibrahim (Abraham) to sacrifice his son Ismail (Ishmael) as an act of obedience to Allah's com ...
, rumours spread of his illness or death. Khamenei issued a statement declaring that "enemies of the Islamic system fabricated various rumors about death and health to demoralize the Iranian nation", but according to author
Hooman Majd Hooman Majd (born 1957) is an Iranian-born American journalist, author, and political commentator who writes on Iranian affairs. He is based in New York City, and regularly travels to Iran. Early life Hooman Majd was born in 1957 in Tehran, Ira ...
, he appeared to be "visibly weak" in photos released with the statement. On 9 September 2014, Khamenei underwent
prostate The prostate is both an accessory gland of the male reproductive system and a muscle-driven mechanical switch between urination and ejaculation. It is found only in some mammals. It differs between species anatomically, chemically, and phys ...
surgery in what his doctors described in state news media as a "routine operation". According to a report by ''
Le Figaro ''Le Figaro'' () is a French daily morning newspaper founded in 1826. It is headquartered on Boulevard Haussmann in the 9th arrondissement of Paris. The oldest national newspaper in France, ''Le Figaro'' is one of three French newspapers of r ...
'', Western intelligence sources said Khamenei has
prostate cancer Prostate cancer is cancer of the prostate. Prostate cancer is the second most common cancerous tumor worldwide and is the fifth leading cause of cancer-related mortality among men. The prostate is a gland in the male reproductive system that su ...
. In September 2022, it was reported that Khamenei had undergone surgery for
bowel obstruction Bowel obstruction, also known as intestinal obstruction, is a mechanical or functional obstruction of the intestines which prevents the normal movement of the products of digestion. Either the small bowel or large bowel may be affected. Signs ...
and had to cancel a number of meetings.


Literature and art

In late 1996, following a fatwa by Khamenei stating that music education corrupts the minds of young children and is against Islam, many music schools were closed and music instruction to children under the age of 16 was banned by public establishments (although private instruction continued). Khamenei has stated that "poetry must be the vanguard of the caravan of the slamicrevolution... rough the arts and literature, the revolution can be exported in an easier and more honest way." It has been suggested (by Dexter Filkins) that this might explain his interest in banning books, prohibiting newspapers and imprisoning artists. He has expressed interest in the study of the novels and stories since childhood and studied various world's credible novels. He was "fascinated by
Jean-Paul Sartre Jean-Paul Charles Aymard Sartre (, ; ; 21 June 1905 – 15 April 1980) was one of the key figures in the philosophy of existentialism (and phenomenology), a French playwright, novelist, screenwriter, political activist, biographer, and lite ...
and
Bertrand Russell Bertrand Arthur William Russell, 3rd Earl Russell, (18 May 1872 – 2 February 1970) was a British mathematician, philosopher, logician, and public intellectual. He had a considerable influence on mathematics, logic, set theory, linguistics, a ...
" in his youth. He praised the works of Mikhail Sholokhov, Aleksey Nikolayevich Tolstoy, Alexei Tolstoy, Honoré de Balzac, and Michel Zévaco. However, Victor Hugo's ''Les Misérables'' "is the best novel that has been written in history." He explained: He suggested reading ''The Grapes of Wrath'' to "an audience of writers and artists" and ''Uncle Tom's Cabin'' to the high-level state managers as he thought it shed light on the history of United States. Khamenei is fluent in Arabic language, Arabic in addition to his native languages, Persian language, Persian and Azerbaijani language, Azerbaijani. He has translated several books into Persian from Arabic, including the works of the Egyptian Islamic theoretician Sayyid Qutb. When it comes to poetry, in
Mashhad Mashhad ( fa, مشهد, Mašhad ), also spelled Mashad, is the second-most-populous city in Iran, located in the relatively remote north-east of the country about from Tehran. It serves as the capital of Razavi Khorasan Province and has a po ...
he used to participate in the literary associations along with known poets and used to critique poems. Writing some poems himself, he chose pseudonym 'Amin' for himself. In the field of music, he is known to have a good singing voice and plays the Tar (string instrument), tar, a traditional Iranian stringed instrument.


Public diplomacy

In February 2011, Ali Khamenei supported the Egyptian uprising against their government, describing it as Islamic awakening instead of Arab Spring. Trying to communicate with Arab people, he addressed Egyptian Revolution of 2011, Egypt's protesters in Arabic. (Even though his native language is Persian language, Persian.) He introduced himself as "your brother in religion", while praising the "explosion of sacred anger". Later, in "Islamic Awakening conferences" which were held in Tehran, Khamenei praised the Muslim youths of Tunisia,
Libya Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Suda ...
, Egypt, Yemen and Bahrain for what he described as Islamic awakening. He also paralleled these events with Islamic revolution in Iran during his Nowruz oration in 2011. However, major protests against the Iranian regime also broke out throughout Iran in 2011, and they became known as the 2011–12 Iranian protests.


Works

* Four main books of Rijal * ''An Outline of Islamic Thought in the Quran'' * Honest leader * ''Discourse on Patience'' (translation by Sayyid Hussein Alamdar available online) * ''Muhammad Iqbal, Iqbal: Manifestation of the Islamic Spirit, Two Contemporary Muslim Views'' **
Iqbal, the Poet-Philosopher of Islamic Resurgence
' is one of the "Two Contemporary Muslim Views", the other one is Ali Shariati's. * ''Replies to Inquiries about the Practical Laws of Islam''
PDF version
* ''Lessons from the Nahjul-Balaghah'' * ''Human Rights in Islam'' * ''The Charter of Freedom'' * ''Essence of Tawhid: Denial of Servitude but to God'' Translations from Arabic: * Future in the realm of Islam Collections: * ''A 250 Years Old Person'' * ''Palestine (2011 book), Palestine''


See also

* Khamenei family * Motto of years in Islamic Republic of Iran * Islamic Government (book by Khomeini) *Muhammad Kazim Khurasani *Mirza Husayn Tehrani *Abdallah Mazandarani *Mirza Ali Aqa Tabrizi *Mirza Sayyed Mohammad Tabatabai *Seyyed Abdollah Behbahani *Fazlullah Nouri *Hibatullah Akhundzada


Footnotes


References

*


External links

;Official *
The Office of the Supreme Leader of Iran

Official English-language Twitter account
;Photo

tarikhirani.ir
Ali Khamenei gallery in Khamenei's website
;Media * * * * * * * * ;Videos
Video Archive of Ayatollah Khamenei

Ayatollah Khamenei in the city of Ardabil reading different poems in Azerbaijani language about Imam Hussein and events in Karbala.
, - , - , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Khamenei, Ali Ali Khamenei, 1939 births Living people 20th-century translators Al-Husayni family Anti-Americanism Central Council of the Islamic Republican Party members Combatant Clergy Association politicians Commanders-in-Chief of Iran Council of the Islamic Revolution members Deputies of Tehran, Rey, Shemiranat and Eslamshahr Iranian Azerbaijanis Iranian grand ayatollahs Iranian Holocaust deniers Iranian individuals subject to the U.S. Department of the Treasury sanctions Iranian Islamists Iranian people of the Iran–Iraq War Iranian politicians with disabilities Iranian revolutionaries Iranian translators Islamic Republican Party secretaries-general Members of the 1st Islamic Consultative Assembly Members of the Assembly of Experts People from Mashhad People of the Iranian Revolution Presidents of Iran Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List Supreme Leaders of Iran Theocrats Qom Seminary alumni