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In Tehran’s Ebrat Museum, erstwhile a notorious situation for governmental detainees nether the Shah, a constrictive corridor is lined with photographs of erstwhile inmates. Among them, successful a brownish woody frame, is the representation of a middle-aged antheral with a bearded look and heavy rectangular glasses. The sanction beneath, written successful Farsi, reads: Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei.
Preserved by the revolutionary authorities arsenic a grim reminder of the brutality of the Shah’s concealed police, SAVAK, Ebrat displays torture chambers and documents torture methods. One tiny, dimly lit cell, with a azygous barred window, has been near intact – it is wherever Khamenei was held. Inside stands a life-size wax fig of the Ayatollah, older than helium appears successful the photograph. Dressed successful a achromatic turban, which suggests lineage to the Prophet Mohammed, circular spectacles, and a brownish robe, the statue evokes some suffering and resolve. “Khamenei was imprisoned six times by the Shah’s police. He was brought present successful 1974,” a depository authoritative told this writer during a sojourn successful February 2022. “In autumn 1974, helium endured the astir brutal and savage torture for 8 months successful there,” reads a abbreviated biography posted extracurricular the cell. “The Shah wanted to interruption him. But God wanted him arsenic the country’s rahbar (leader),” said the depository official.
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Khamenei, who had been the rahbar of the Islamic Republic since 1989, was assassinated successful a associated Israeli-American onslaught connected February 28. U.S. President Donald Trump, who called Khamenei “one of the astir evil radical successful history”, said helium gave the Iranians their “greatest chance” to “take back” their country. In a rapidly escalating war, Iran has retaliated with strikes against U.S. bases successful the portion arsenic good arsenic Israel.
Khamenei, 1 of the astir consequential figures successful Iran implicit the past fractional a century, built a theocratic strategy that stayed loyal to him. He was the Supreme Leader, the jurist of the guardians. A blimpish cleric, helium led Iran done governmental and economical upheavals, and survived some reformist and hardliner Presidents. But successful caller years, connected Khamenei’s watch, unrest dispersed crossed the country. In caller months, Iran’s power overseas has dramatically waned, peculiarly aft Israel started attacking the alleged ‘axis of resistance’, the Iran-backed militia web successful West Asia.
Child of revolution
Born successful 1939 successful royalist Iran, Ali Khamenei grew up successful the beatified metropolis of Mashhad, which hosts the shrine of Imam Reza, the eighth Imam of Twelver Shiism. Like galore clerics of his generation, his governmental views were influenced by the 1953 coup, a covert cognition orchestrated by the CIA and the MI6, against the elected Prime Minister Mohammad Mosaddegh.
The coup reinstated Mohammed Reza Pahlavi, the Shah of Iran. This occurrence turned a procreation of Iranians against the Shah. The clerical establishment, nether the enactment of the exiled cleric, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, played a captious relation successful the anti-Shah agitation that was gathering up crossed the country.
From the aboriginal 1960s, Khamenei was actively progressive successful the protests. When the Shah authorities collapsed and Khomeini returned to Tehran from Paris successful February 1979 to found a caller Islamic Republic, Khamenei roseate rapidly done the clerical ranks. Khomeini named him arsenic Deputy Defence Minister. He became the Imam of Friday prayers successful Tehran, a presumption which helium held till his death. If Imam Khomeini was the Supreme Leader of the caller regime, Imam Khamenei emerged arsenic its main commissar.
In June 1981, helium was earnestly wounded by a portion recorder weaponry that went disconnected successful Tehran’s Abouzar Mosque. His close limb got paralysed and helium mislaid proceeding successful 1 ear. “I won’t request the hand; it would suffice if my encephalon and lingua work,” Khamenei erstwhile said astir the attack. The blast, however, solidified his representation arsenic a subsister – a surviving martyr of the revolution.
Within a fewer months, helium got elected arsenic Iran’s President. When Khomeini died successful 1989, the gyration became an orphan. Khomeini had established a unsocial strategy successful Iran — vilayat-e-faqih, ‘guardianship of the jurist’ oregon the regularisation of the clergy. With nary wide successor successful line, elder clerics turned to Khamenei. Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, different revolutionary fig with sizeable power successful the system, played a cardinal relation successful the enactment of Khamenei. “I americium genuinely not worthy of this title,” Khamenei told the assembly that picked him. “My information should marque america each outcry tears of blood.” But helium took the chalice. And Rafsanjani became President.
Soon aft his ascent to the apical office, Khamenei promised Iranians that the gyration would “lead the state connected the way of worldly maturation and progress”. But helium faced daunting governmental and economical challenges. He became the Supreme Leader astatine a clip erstwhile the revolutionary fervour was receding.
The Iran-Iraq warfare was over. The caller regime’s interior enemies and critics, from the violent Mujahideen-e-Khalq to the leftist Tudeh party, had been suppressed. But determination were inactive beardown wide currents successful Iranian polity and society. Despite Khamenei’s imaginativeness for a centralised clerical rule, voters elected Mohammed Khatami, a mean reformist, arsenic President successful 1997.
Mr. Khatami had promised reforms from within. But erstwhile protests broke retired seeking much idiosyncratic freedoms, Khamenei stood by the hardliners. The protests were brutally suppressed, and Mr. Khatami was turned into a lame-duck President. The predetermination of Khatami was an accidental for Iran to unfastened up the strategy and instrumentality incremental reforms. But the mode the authorities handled the protests lone reinforced the rigidity of the system, which led to further cracks.
In 2009, erstwhile President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, a hardline favourite of the establishment, was “re-elected”, protests broke out. Mir-Hossein Mousavi, who served arsenic Prime Minister of Iran nether Khamenei’s presidency successful the 1980s (Iran aboriginal abolished the station of Prime Minister), was the absorption candidate. Mr. Mousavi’s followers accused predetermination fraud. Protests spread, with galore calling for the downfall of the rahbar. That was a infinitesimal of situation for the Supreme Leader. But helium endorsed Mr. Ahmadinejad’s victory, portion information forces cracked down connected Mr. Mousavi’s “Green Movement”.
Perilous cycle
While governmental tensions persisted, what made them worse was the economical messiness Iran was in. A state affluent with earthy resources, Iran was grappling with hyperinflation, stymied maturation and a tanking currency, chiefly owed to the Western sanctions. Khamenei knew that the aboriginal of the gyration was linked to the state’s quality to make economical opportunities. So adjacent erstwhile helium called America the ‘Great Satan’, helium sanctioned atomic talks with the U.S. aft Hassan Rouhani, a mean cleric, became President successful 2013.
The 2015 statement betwixt Iran and satellite powers was the champion accidental for Tehran to participate the planetary economical mainstream and rebuild itself. But past Donald Trump entered the scene. In 2018, Mr. Trump, successful his archetypal term, destroyed the statement and reimposed sanctions connected Iran. Ever since, the economical situation astatine location has worsened, on with tightening repression, which triggered predominant uprisings. It became a perilous rhythm for Iranians.
And past Israel, aft the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack, turned against the Iran-backed web successful West Asia, which acted arsenic Tehran’s guardant defence and its deterrence. Khamenei watched helplessly erstwhile Israel destroyed Gaza, degraded Hezbollah and bombed the authorities of Bashar al Assad successful Syria, which yet collapsed. It was lone a substance of clip earlier the Israelis came for Iran. And they did truthful connected June 13, 2025.
Iran’s retaliatory onslaught against Israel connected the nighttime of June 13 was a bold show of unit – a connection that the Islamic Republic inactive had the firepower to deed the ‘Little Satan’. But the struggle was acold from over. It besides exposed Iran’s susceptible defence. And it had nary allies who could travel to its defence: Russia was preoccupied with Ukraine; and China was reluctant to get progressive successful others’ conflicts. The axis remained weak. Iran survived the 12-day war, but 8 months later, the U.S. and Israel launched different war—this clip authorities alteration being their cardinal objectives. The assassination of the leader, who stayed astatine the centre of Iran’s authorities and authorities for astir 4 decades, would make a immense vacuum. Khamenei was erstwhile described by a reformist person arsenic the ‘Sun of the Iranian star system’. The U.S.-Israel harvester has taken retired the Sun. Messrs. Trump and Netanyahu anticipation that the strategy would collapse. Iran signals that it won’t spell down without a fight. West Asia faces possibly 1 of its astir unsafe moments successful modern history.
