Who is Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader?
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For decades, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has been at the heart of Iran’s hard-line foreign policy.
PHOTO: AFP
Euan Ward
BEIRUT – As the conflict between Israel and Iran has intensified, one central character has remained out of the public eye: Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s reclusive supreme leader.
President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel have raised a possibility of targeting Mr Khamenei, who has led Iran for more than three decades.
In an interview with ABC News on June 16, Mr Netanyahu said of a potential strike on Iran’s supreme leader: “It’s not going to escalate the conflict; it’s going to end the conflict.”
A day later, Mr Trump on June 17 wrote on social media that “we know exactly where” the ayatollah is. But he added that “we are not going to take him out (kill!), at least for now”.
He added: “Our patience is growing thin.”
Here is a closer look at Mr Khamenei, his rise to power and his role in the deepening confrontation with Israel.
From revolutionary aide to supreme leader
Born in 1939 into a religious family of modest means in Mashhad, a pilgrimage city in eastern Iran, Mr Khamenei came of age in the years leading up to the 1979 revolution that overthrew the shah.
He was imprisoned repeatedly by the security services of US-backed autocrat Mohammed Reza Pahlavi, and rose through the ranks of the religious opposition as a close ally of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. The latter led the revolution and founded the Islamic Republic of Iran.
Mr Khamenei quickly emerged as one of the most trusted lieutenants in the new Iranian regime, and was president for much of the 1980s.
When Mr Khomeini died in 1989, Mr Khamenei, by that time an ayatollah himself, was elevated to Iran’s supreme leader.
He set about consolidating control of the political, military and security apparatus and cracking down on dissent to shore up his position as the ultimate decision-maker.
Absolute power under Iran’s theocratic system
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei listening to the national anthem as Air Force officers salute during their meeting in Tehran on Feb 7.
PHOTO: REUTERS
As Iran’s supreme leader, Mr Khamenei sits above all other branches of government. He appoints the heads of the judiciary, state media and key security agencies, and holds final authority over who can run for president.
He controls foreign and military policy, overseeing the Revolutionary Guard, which defends Iran’s Islamic system and sits apart from the rest of the military, and the powerful Quds Force. The latter directs the nation’s foreign operations across the Middle East.
His authority extends to the nuclear programme, placing him at the centre of Iran’s escalating confrontation with Israel.
An architect of Iran’s regional strategy
For decades, Mr Khamenei has been at the heart of Iran’s hard-line foreign policy, positioning the country as a counterweight to American, Israeli and Saudi influence across the Middle East.
Iran has trained, armed and funded a network of proxy forces stretching from Lebanon to Yemen, allowing Tehran to project power and confront its rivals without provoking a war on Iranian soil.
A demonstrator holding a picture of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in Tehran on June 14.
PHOTO: AFP
But that strategy unravelled on June 13 when Israel launched its largest-ever attack against Iran, targeting military and nuclear sites and killing senior officials.
Tel Aviv said the military campaign was an effort to prevent Tehran from acquiring nuclear weapons.
Iranian officials have publicly said that their country’s nuclear programme is intended only for civilian uses and have denied that it is building a bomb. Mr Khamenei issued a religious ruling, or fatwa, in 2003 declaring nuclear weapons forbidden under Islam.
But Israel and Western governments have long accused Tehran of seeking the capability to build a bomb if it so chooses.
Under guard and under threat
Mr Khamenei’s movements are tightly controlled, and his whereabouts rarely disclosed. His personal security is overseen by an elite Revolutionary Guard unit that reports directly to his office, according to analysts.
He was reportedly moved last week to a secret location where he could remain in contact with the military. That follows similar reports in 2024, when he was also moved to a safe location a day after the assassination of Lebanese militant group Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah who was a long-time ally.
In recent days, Israel has killed a number of senior officials in Iran, including the top military commanders and nuclear scientists.
But a direct attack on Mr Khamenei would represent an extraordinary escalation of the conflict. Such a move could have unpredictable and far-reaching consequences across the Middle East. NYTIMES
