Iran\u2019s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, the pillar of the Islamic\nRepublic\u2019s theocratic system since the Islamic Revolution, has navigated\na series of crises throughout his tenure using repression and strategic\nmanoeuvre, but may now face his greatest challenge.<\/p>\n
The United States and Israel launched attacks against targets in\nIranian cities on Saturday, 28 February. This prompted a swift response\nfrom the Islamic Republic, with the Revolutionary Guards announcing the\nlaunch of waves of missile and drone attacks against Israel.<\/p>\n
Whilst the scope of attacks against Iran remains unclear, they could\nrange from limited strikes to targeting the apex of leadership.<\/p>\n
Khamenei, now 86 years old, has dominated Iran for the past three and\na half decades since assuming the position of supreme leader for life in\n1989 following the death of revolutionary founder Ayatollah Ruhollah\nKhomeini.<\/p>\n
He has retained power after weathering student demonstrations in\n1999, mass protests in 2009 triggered by a disputed presidential\nelection, and demonstrations in 2019. He also survived the \u201cWoman, Life,\nFreedom\u201d movement of 2022-2023 triggered by the death of Mahsa Amini, a\nKurdish Iranian woman, in custody, who was arrested for allegedly\nviolating strict dress codes for women.<\/p>\n
Khamenei was forced into hiding during a twelve-day war against\nIsrael in June. This exposed deep Israeli intelligence penetration of\nthe Islamic Republic, resulting in the killing of several important\nsecurity officials in air strikes. However, he survived that conflict.\nFollowing renewed nationwide protests that shook the Islamic Republic\nearlier this year, he emerged with his usual defiant demeanor.<\/p>\n
Khamenei lives under extremely tight security. His relatively\ninfrequent public appearances are never announced in advance or\nbroadcast live.<\/p>\n
As supreme leader, he has never set foot outside his country, a\nprecedent established by Khomeini following his triumphant return to\nTehran from France in 1979. Khamenei\u2019s last known foreign visit was an\nofficial trip to North Korea in 1989 as president, when he met Kim Il\nSung.<\/p>\n
There has long been speculation about his health given his age,\nthough nothing in his latest appearance has triggered new rumours.<\/p>\n
Khamenei\u2019s right arm has remained immobilised since an assassination\nattempt in 1981, which authorities have consistently attributed to the\nMujahidin-e Khalq (MEK), a group that was once allied with the\nrevolution and is now banned in the country. This attempt left his\ngovernment partially paralysed.<\/p>\n
Repeatedly detained under the Shah for anti-imperialist activism,\nKhamenei soon after the Islamic Revolution became the leader of Friday\nprayers in Tehran and served on the front lines during the Iran-Iraq\nWar. He was elected president in 1981 following the assassination of\nMohammad Ali Rajai, another attack blamed on the MEK.<\/p>\n
During the 1980s, Khomeini\u2019s most likely successor was senior cleric\nAyatollah Hossein Montazeri, but the revolutionary leader changed his\nmind shortly before his death after Montazeri objected to the mass\nexecution of MEK members and other dissenters.<\/p>\n
When Khomeini died and the Islamic Republic\u2019s highest clerical body,\nthe Assembly of Experts, convened, they selected Khamenei as leader.\nKhamenei initially became famous for refusing the nomination, bowing his\nhead in despair and declaring, \u201cI oppose it\u201d. However, the clergy united\nto ratify his nomination, and his grip on power has never weakened\nsince.<\/p>\n
Khamenei has now worked with six elected presidents\u2014a position far\nless powerful than the supreme leader\u2014including more moderate figures\nsuch as Mohammad Khatami, who was permitted to undertake careful reform\nefforts and engagement with the West. However, Khamenei has ultimately\nalways sided with hardline factions.<\/p>\n
He is believed to have six children, though only one, Mojtaba, has\nachieved public prominence. He was sanctioned by the United States in\n2019 and is one of the most influential behind-the-scenes figures in\nIran.<\/p>\n
Family discord has also drawn attention. His sister Badri fell out\nwith the family in the 1980s and fled to Iraq during the war to join her\nhusband, a dissident cleric. Some of their children, including a nephew\nnow living in France, have become harsh critics.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/ali-khamenei-irans-supreme-leader-amid-us-israeli-assault-1772276680", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }