Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who ruled Iran for 36 years, transformed the country into a formidable anti-U.S. presence in the Middle East while suppressing domestic unrest with an authoritarian approach. He was reported dead at age 86 after air strikes by Israel and the U.S. targeted his Tehran compound, following unsuccessful diplomatic efforts to address Iran’s nuclear program.
Initially perceived as weak and indecisive, Khamenei became an influential figure after succeeding Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the founder of the Islamic Republic of Iran. His trajectory from a lesser president to one of Iran’s most powerful leaders, according to experts like Karim Sadjadpour from the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, exemplified an “accident of history.”
Throughout his tenure, Khamenei maintained a hostile stance toward Washington, especially evident during Donald Trump’s presidency beginning in 2025. As protests erupted in Iran accompanied by chants like “Death to the dictator,” Khamenei remained defiant, proclaiming the nation would not “yield to the enemy.” His hardline approach, akin to that of Khomeini, thwarted moderate presidential efforts advocating greater openness, contributing to Iran’s isolation.
(Production: Paul Warren, Mussab Al-Khairalla, Reim Nahaboo, Bernat Parera, Anita Kobylinska, Liliana Ciobanu)
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