Ayatollah Ali Hosseini Khamenei is Iran’s most influential man. As its supreme leader since 1989, he runs the whole shooting match — the military, judiciary, media, and foreign policy. Following Israel’s biggest strike against Iran since the 1980s, reports now indicate Israel aimed to kill him.
But US President Donald Trump vetoed the operation, declaring it “not a good idea,” US officials said. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has since moved into a secure underground bunker in Lavizan, Tehran, with his family. As the Iran-Israel conflict enters Day 4, the man at the centre of it all remains defiant.
Khamenei’s Early Life and Rise
Born in the holy city of Mashhad, Khamenei was the son of Sayyed Javad Khamenei, a humble Islamic scholar. He studied at seminaries in Mashhad and Qom. In 1962, he became involved in the anti-Shah movement under Ayatollah Khomeini. Ayatollah Khamenei was arrested numerous times and tortured by the Shah’s secret police.
In 1981, in a Tehran mosque where he was giving an address, a bomb placed inside a tape recorder detonated beside him. It paralyzed his right arm permanently. The same year, after a political crisis, he became the president of Iran and guided the country through the Iran-Iraq war until 1989.
From Disciple to Supreme Leader
Following the death of Ayatollah Khomeini in 1989, Khamenei was the surprise selection to be the supreme leader. He was criticized by elder clerics who doubted his qualifications. But the Assembly of Experts amended the constitution to qualify him. They elevated him from “Hojjat al-Islam” to “Ayatollah” overnight.
He then tightened his grip. The office of PM was abolished, and the presidency became more powerful — but in his shadow.
Powers and Governance Style
As supreme leader, Ayatollah Khamenei dominates Iran’s judiciary, military, and the powerful Revolutionary Guards. He also chairs the Guardian Council, which can bar electoral candidates and invalidate laws. He makes decisions on war, peace, and national economic policy.
Ayatollah Khamenei supports what he terms an “economy of resistance.” It is designed to cut Iran’s reliance on the West and find new partnerships with China, Russia, Afghanistan, and Iraq.
Political Conflicts at Home
Even though he has the power, Ayatollah Khamenei has been challenged from within. President Akbar Rafsanjani, who earlier assisted in advancing him, later advocated for talks with the West later in his life. Some feel that Khamenei never forgave him. One scholar even alleged that he “ordered the death” of Rafsanjani.
Mohammad Khatami, another reformist, advocated for social liberty between 1997 and 2005. Khamenei thwarted most of his initiatives.
Deep Hatred Toward the US and Israel
Ayatollah Khamenei is still a vociferous critic of the West. He distrusts America intensely. During his presidency in the 1980s, he swore to destroy “liberalism and American leftists.” In 2018, when Donald Trump pulled out of the nuclear agreement, Khamenei averred, “Don’t trust America.”
He dreads not military invasion but a “soft” Western cultural revolution. He believes it to be a conspiracy to unravel Iran’s theocracy.
For him, Israel and the US are synonymous enemies. He has time and again demanded Israel’s destruction, even addressing the country as a “cancerous tumour” once. In 2014, he even questioned the Holocaust, terming its occurrence as “uncertain.”
Support for Militancy Against Israel
Ayatollah Khamenei approves of armed resistance against Israel. Following the attack on Israel by Hamas in October, his aides complimented the group. He declared the raid a “destructive earthquake.” Following Israel’s April attack on Iran’s consulate in Syria, he swore revenge.
In October, he made a rare public outing following the death of Hezbollah commander Hassan Nasrallah. There, he threatened Israel “won’t last long.”
Now in Hiding, Still in Command
When Israel attacked Operation Rising Lion and assassinated three senior Iranian commanders, Khamenei retreated to an underground shelter. It is said that he is accompanied by his son Mojtaba and other close relatives. Addressing the nation in a public address, he vowed to unleash tough retaliation, stating, “The Zionist regime has set itself up for a bitter and painful fate.”
Even from behind the scenes, Khamenei continues to guide Iran’s war effort. He is not only a symbolic head of state, but the unchallenged face of Iran’s defiance.