Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei had long spoken about martyrdom and the possibility of assassination. When the Israel-US airstrikes came on Saturday morning, killing the 86-year-old cleric at his compound near Pasteur Street in Tehran, Khamenei had chosen to stay overground. Donald Trump claimed he ordered Khamenei’s assassination as the Iran Supreme Leader refused to … Read more
Mansoureh Khojasteh Bagherzadeh, the wife of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has died after reportedly sustaining serious injuries during the US–Israeli strikes. On Monday, Iran’s state media outlet, Press TV, reported that she had “attained martyrdom” following attacks on Iran. However, an official confirmation from the Iranian authorities is still awaited. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s … Read more
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Hosseini Khamenei is dead, weeks after ‘Death to Khamenei’ chants filled Iran’s streets. On this week’s Point Blank, HT’s Executive Editor, Shishir Gupta decodes the U.S.-Israeli joint strikes that effectively toppled the Middle East’s most controversial regime, Tehran’s retaliation with Gulf nations as collateral damage and the explosion of a … Read more
Thousands of grieving Iranians gathered in Tehran’s Enghelab square on March 1 to pay their respects after the killing of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who lost his life in air strikes conducted by Israel and the US. Following the US and Israel airstrikes that killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, thousands of Iranians gathered … Read more
The Islamic Republic of Iran’s constitution has a clause for extreme moments — such as when the Supreme Leader dies, or is assassinated as has happened in the case of Ali Khamenei. Born in 1959 in the historic town of Meybod in the central Iranian province of Yazd, Arafi comes from a clerical family, according … Read more
As several people throughout Iran and various parts of the world grieve the passing of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, a video of his final public address has gained significant attention. He was killed in a collaborative military operation conducted by Israel and the United States. As the world grieves Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, a … Read more
Until this week, Ayatollah Alireza Arafi was a name familiar mainly within the insular world of Iran’s clerical establishment. That changed overnight. On Sunday, Arafi was appointed as the jurist member of Iran’s interim Leadership Council, the body tasked with fulfilling the Supreme Leader’s role until the Assembly of Experts elects a permanent successor. Born … Read more
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the cleric who consolidated theocratic power for more than three decades and steered the Islamic Republic into confrontation with Israel and the United States, has died at 86, Iranian state media reported early Sunday. File photo of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei speaking in Tehran. (REUTERS) Follow Khamenei … Read more
All eyes are on Iran and the possible Supreme Leader amid reports of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei being killed. Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed there was evidence to suggest the 86-year-old was no longer alive, following strikes on his compound in Tehran. Mojtaba Khamenei is Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s son. (X/@G8GIST) This comes amid the Israel … Read more
The US and Israel launched strikes on Iran on Saturday. Iranian media, quoted by the AP, said that one of the first explosions was heard near the office of Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. US-Israel strikes target near Khamenei’s office; Who could succeed him? (AFP) Witnesses said the first blast occurred near Khamenei’s office … Read more