Supreme Leader of Iran, Khamenei, who had served for over three decades, died on February 28, 2026, in a joint military strike by the United States and Israel. President Trump announced his death. The Iranian side later confirmed his death.

The large-scale strike by the US and Israel aimed to destroy the Iranian regime and its nuclear capabilities. Khamenei's death marked the end of an era characterized by tenacious resistance against Western powers, particularly the United States and Israel. From a humble religious figure, he rose to become the supreme leader of Iran's theocratic system, profoundly shaping the policies of the Islamic Republic through a combination of religious orthodoxy, anti-imperialist rhetoric, and strategic pragmatism. His leadership style reflected extreme hostility toward the United States (calling it "the Great Satan") and complete rejection of Israel (viewing it as a "cancerous tumor" in the Middle East).

Early Life and Education

Ali Khamenei was born on April 19, 1939, in Mashhad, a holy city in northeastern Iran. He was the second of eight children, with his father, Sayyid Jawad Khamenei, a poor Shi'a minor cleric, and his mother, Hadijeh Mirdamadi, from a Persian family in Yazd. His childhood was simple, and he recalled that his family often subsisted on bread and raisins. At the age of four, he entered a traditional religious school (maktab) to study the Quran, immersing himself in Islamic classics.

Khamenei's formal religious education began at the Mashhad Seminary, where he studied under名师 such as Sheikh Hashem Ghazvini and Ayatollah Mirani. Influenced by the intellectual currents of the time, he encountered secular intellectuals and the "Islamic Socialism Movement," combining Islamic socialism with the ideas of Karl Marx, Che Guevara, and Iranian thinker Ali Shariati. In 1957, he briefly went to Najaf, Iraq, for studies but returned due to his father's opposition. Starting in 1958, he settled in Qom, the center of Iranian theology, where he listened to lectures by Grand Ayatollah Sayyid Hussein Borujerdi and most importantly, the future Iranian revolutionary leader Ruhollah Khomeini. Unlike pure academic research, Khamenei focused more on politics. He was proficient in Persian, Azerbaijani, and Arabic, translated works by Egyptian Islamist Sayyid Qutb, and loved poetry and literature, including the works of Victor Hugo and Jean-Paul Sartre.

This period shaped his worldview: Shi'a jurisprudence, anti-monarchist sentiments, and resistance to Western cultural imperialism were intertwined. He could play the traditional string instrument tar, wrote poetry, and was regarded as an "enlightened mullah," with a pleasant voice. However, his political activities soon attracted the attention of the Pahlavi royal regime.

Revolution Participation and Political Rise

In the 1960s, Khamenei began following Khomeini, opposing King Mohammad Reza Pahlavi's secularization reforms and pro-Western policies. He was arrested six times by the Savak secret police, subjected to torture, and internally exiled for three years. These experiences hardened his will, making him a key figure in the underground network of the massive uprising during 1978-1979.

After the victory of the February 1979 revolution, Khamenei became one of Khomeini's most trusted allies. From January 1980, he served as the Friday Prayer Imam of Tehran, a position he held until his death, using sermons to mobilize the masses. He briefly led the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and was one of the founders of the Islamic Republican Party. In 1980, he was elected as a member of parliament and appointed as Deputy Minister of Defense.

In 1981, after the assassination of President Mohammad-Ali Rajai, the 42-year-old Khamenei became Iran's third president—the first cleric to hold this position—winning 97% of the vote in a wartime election. In 1985, he was re-elected with 87% support, leading Iran through the brutal Iran-Iraq War (1980-1988, with over a million deaths). As president, he strengthened relations with the Revolutionary Guards, implemented Khomeini's "Velayat-e Faqih" (Guardianship of the Jurist) ideology, centralizing power in religious authorities.

After Khomeini's death in June 1989, Khamenei was elevated to the position of Supreme Leader. Although he was not a "Marja" (source of emulation)—a requirement stipulated in the constitution—experts amended the law to appoint him with 60 votes against 74. He was promoted to Ayatollah, gaining final authority over the military, judiciary, media, and foreign affairs, surpassing the elected president.

Attitudes and Policies Toward the US and Israel

Khamenei's hostility toward the United States was deeply rooted and consistent. He referred to the US as "the Great Satan" and "the arrogant power," accusing it of imperialism, terrorism, and interference in Iranian affairs. In 2007, he predicted that American leaders like George W. Bush would be prosecuted for the Iraq War. He rejected diplomatic gestures, stating in 2009 that words alone were insufficient to improve relations, as U.S. policies were "180 degrees opposed" to Iran's.

Under his leadership, Iran supported anti-American forces in Iraq and Afghanistan, repeatedly threatened to block straits of Hormuz, and was accused of supporting cyberattacks. He blamed the US for creating ISIS (2014), called the pandemic a bioweapon (2020), and incited protests within Iran. Even after the 2015 nuclear deal (JCPOA), he maintained his stance toward "the arrogant US." In 2024, he praised anti-Israel protests on American campuses, calling them part of the "resistance axis." After the US withdrew from the deal in 2018, Iran, under his tacit approval, increased uranium enrichment to near-weapons-grade levels, ultimately leading to the military strike in 2026.

Khamenei's attitude toward Israel was equally uncompromising. He denied the legitimacy of Israel's existence, referring to it as a "cancerous tumor" (2000), "mad dog" (2013-2014), and "a doomed Zionist regime." He predicted Israel would disappear within 25 years (2015) and supported armed struggle to liberate Palestine, supplying weapons to groups like Hamas and Hezbollah.

Under his leadership, Iran established a "resistance axis" — including proxy forces in Lebanon, Syria, Yemen, and Gaza — engaging in a shadow war with Israel. He praised the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack (denying direct Iranian involvement), condemned Israel's actions in Gaza as "genocide." He viewed initiatives like the 2020 Abraham Accords as betrayals of Islam. He repeatedly questioned the scale of the Holocaust, released denial videos, and praised deniers. During the 2025 Iran-Israel war, he claimed victory after Israeli strikes on nuclear facilities. But threats persisted. In 2026, a joint US-Israel operation directly targeted his residence, achieving Israel's long-term goal of eliminating what it deemed a "survival threat."

Domestic Policies and Governance Style

As Supreme Leader, Khamenei sought a balance between ideological purity and practical reform. He supported Iran's nuclear program, claiming it was for "civilian purposes," and issued a fatwa banning nuclear weapons in 2003 (despite doubts about its authenticity). He pushed for economic privatization, selling state-owned oil, banks, and telecom assets, aiming to create an "energy superpower." In the scientific field, he supported stem cell research and therapeutic cloning, making Iran a regional technological hub.

Socially, he enforced strict Islamic norms: women must wear veils (he called it "respect for women"), gender segregation, and prohibition of public music education or female cycling. He viewed gender equality as a "Zionist conspiracy," condemning homosexuality as Western decadence. His regime harshly suppressed dissent, imprisoning journalists, activists, and Baha'is, among minority groups, accusing them of "anti-system propaganda." During the 2009 Green Movement and the 2022 Mahsa Amini protests, he ordered bloody crackdowns, resulting in thousands of deaths and arrests.

He advocated the principle of "resistance economy," emphasizing self-reliance under U.S. sanctions, supporting Basij militias as "martyr culture," and exporting ideology through institutions like Al-Mustafa University, which has an annual budget exceeding $280 million.

Legacy and Death

Khamenei's 37-year rule transformed Iran into a regional power, maintaining resilience despite sanctions, but also causing international isolation, economic difficulties, youth alienation, and deteriorating human rights, sparking multiple waves of "Death to the dictator" protests.

On February 28, 2026, after nuclear talks collapsed completely, US and Israeli forces launched attacks on Tehran and other cities, killing Khamenei and dozens of other leaders. Trump called it "justice served" and urged Iranians to reclaim their government. Khamenei's death left a power vacuum, potentially ending the theocratic regime or triggering internal chaos.

Reuters reported that before the US-Israel air strikes on Iran, the CIA assessed that if Supreme Leader Khamenei were killed, he would likely be replaced by hardliners within the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps rather than triggering a regime change. These reports did not reach a definitive conclusion, but they implied that the military action was unlikely to lead to a more moderate leadership transition.

Khamenei married Mansoureh Khojasteh Bagherzadeh and had six children, living simply in a compound in Tehran. His poetry and environmental advocacy added a softer dimension to his image, but his core legacy remained stubborn resistance—a symbol of Iran's long-standing struggle against so-called Western hegemony.

Khamenei had also suffered from cancer. His cancer treatment began in September 2014 when he successfully underwent prostate surgery in Tehran for prostate cancer. The operation lasted only half an hour, and he recovered well, resuming outdoor hiking shortly afterward. However, concerns about his health did not cease. In March 2015, foreign media reported that his cancer had spread and his condition was critical. Thereafter, rumors of worsening health continued for years.

Original source: toutiao.com/article/7612101035947016731/

Statement: This article represents the views of the author.