From the Islamic revolution to absolute power, the portrait of the man who shaped the Iranian regime and the balance of power in the Middle East.
The death of Ali Hosseini Khameneikilled today in a joint raid attributed to Israel and the United States, closes one of the longest and most controversial chapters in the contemporary history of the Middle East. Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic since 1989, Khamenei was for over three decades the absolute center of Iranian political, military and religious power: the man who shaped post-revolutionary Iran, consolidated the theocratic system and redefined the geopolitical balance of the region.
His figure embodied the very identity of the Islamic Republic, between internal repression, permanent confrontation with the West and ambition for regional power.
From the Islamic revolution to absolute power
Born in 1939 in Mashhad, Iran’s second city and an important Shiite religious centre, Khamenei grew up in a clerical family of modest means. He studied theology in the main Shiite religious schools, coming into contact with the revolutionary thought of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.
In the 1960s and 1970s he was among the religious opponents of Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. Arrested several times by the royalist regime’s secret police, he became an active figure in the movement that would lead to the Islamic revolution of 1979.
After the fall of the Shah, Khamenei quickly entered the top ranks of the new political system. He was among the founders of the institutional structure of the Islamic Republic and contributed to the construction of the theocratic model based on the principle of velayat-e faqihthe government of the Islamic jurist.
In 1981 he survived an attack that left him partially paralyzed in one arm. In the same year he was elected president of the Islamic Republic, a position he held for two terms until 1989.
The rise to Supreme Leader
The turning point came in 1989, with the death of Khomeini. The Assembly of Experts chose him as the new Supreme Leader, despite the fact that he was not among the most authoritative clerics of the Shiite clergy. The appointment marked the beginning of a profound transformation of the Iranian state.
From that moment Khamenei became the true top of the system: commander of the armed forces, supervisor of the judiciary, controller of intelligence and final arbiter of national politics. No strategic decision was made without his consent.
Under his leadership, Iran strengthened its security apparatus and consolidated the role of the Pasdaranthe Guardians of the Revolution, transforming them into the military, economic and political pillar of the country.
Internal repression and control of society
During his long rule, Khamenei led a rigidly authoritarian system. Popular protests — from the student mobilizations of the 1990s to the Green Movement demonstrations of 2009 to the more recent social uprisings — were forcefully repressed.
International human rights organizations have documented mass arrests, executions, torture and persecution of political opponents, journalists, activists, women and religious and ethnic minorities.
His political project aimed to preserve the ideological identity of the Islamic Republic, maintaining widespread control over society and limiting any opening perceived as a threat to the stability of the system.
The clash with the West and regional strategy
Internationally, Khamenei transformed Iran into an assertive regional power. His line was marked by a permanent confrontation with the United States and Israel, considered strategic enemies.
Under his leadership Tehran supported movements and militias in the Middle East, strengthening its influence in Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Yemen. This strategy contributed to redefining regional balances, while fueling tensions and conflicts.
At the same time, the Iranian nuclear program became one of the main fronts of conflict with the West, a symbol of the Islamic Republic’s desire for strategic autonomy.
The system built around him
Over the years, Khamenei built a highly personalized system of power, in which religious authority, security and politics intertwined under his supervision. His role surpassed that of the president and parliament, making him the true center of gravity of the state.
His long tenure at the top has made him one of the most influential and controversial figures of the 21st century: for supporters, defender of Iranian independence; for critics, a symbol of repression and authoritarianism.
The end of an era for Iran
With his death an uncertain transition phase now opens. The Iranian system was built around the figure of the Supreme Leader and his disappearance leaves a power vacuum involving religious institutions, the military apparatus and the political class.
The future of the Islamic Republic will depend on the balance of power between these components and on the decisive role of the Pasdaran, guardians of the security and continuity of the regime.
Ali Khamenei’s political parable – from the revolution against the Shah to the absolute leadership of Iran – thus ends at the most critical moment for the balance of the Middle East, leaving behind a legacy destined to mark the history of the region for a long time to come.
