Просмотр кода страницы Английская Википедия:Ali Khamenei

{{Английская Википедия/Панель перехода}}
{{short description|Supreme Leader of Iran since 1989}}
{{Distinguish|text=his predecessor, [[Ruhollah Khomeini]]}}
{{pp-30-500|small=yes}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2020}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| honorific-prefix = {{plainlist|
* The [[Grand Ayatollah]]
* [[Sayyid]]
}}
| name             = Ali Khamenei
| native_name      = {{nobold|علی خامنه‌ای}}
| native_name_lang = fa
| image            = Ali Khamenei - Seyyed Ali Hosseini Khamenei - 2023-11-19 - (1).jpg
| caption          = Khamenei in 2023
| order            = 2nd
| office           = Supreme Leader of Iran
| predecessor      = [[Ruhollah Khomeini]]
| president        = {{plainlist|
* Himself
* [[Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani]]
* [[Mohammad Khatami]]
* [[Mahmoud Ahmadinejad]]
* [[Hassan Rouhani]]
* [[Ebrahim Raisi]]
}}
| successor        = 
| term_start       = 6 August 1989{{ref label|note|nb}}
| term_end         = 
| order1           = 3rd
| office1          = President of Iran
| 1blankname1      = {{nowrap|Supreme Leader}}
| 1namedata1       = {{plainlist|
* Ruhollah Khomeini
* Himself
}}
| predecessor1     = [[Mohammad-Ali Rajai]]
| primeminister1   = [[Mir-Hossein Mousavi]]
| successor1       = Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani
| term_start1      = 9 October 1981
| term_end1        = 16 August 1989<ref name="resignation">{{cite web|title=letter to Hashemi Rafsanjani and resignation from presidency|url=http://farsi.khamenei.ir/message-content?id=2165|publisher=Khamenei.ir|access-date=17 July 2018|language=fa|date=16 August 1989}}</ref>
| office2          = 1st [[Expediency Discernment Council#Chairmen|Chairman of the Expediency Discernment Council]]
| appointed2       = Ruhollah Khomeini
| predecessor2     = ''Office established''
| successor2       = Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani
| term_start2      = 7 February 1988
| term_end2        = 4 June 1989
| office3          = Member of the [[Assembly of Experts]]
| term_start3      = 15 August 1983
| term_end3        = 4 June 1989
| constituency3    = [[Tehran Province]]<ref>{{Citation|title=1982 Assembly of Experts Election|work=The Iran Social Science Data Portal|publisher=Princeton University|url=https://www.princeton.edu/irandataportal/elections/experts/1982/|access-date=10 August 2015|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151019162414/http://www.princeton.edu/irandataportal/elections/experts/1982/|archive-date=19 October 2015}}</ref>
| majority3        = 2,800,353 (87.8%)<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.mashreghnews.ir/news/520344|title=چه کسی در نخستین انتخابات خبرگان اول شد؟ +جدول|date=7 January 2014|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171010024415/https://www.mashreghnews.ir/news/520344/%da%86%d9%87-%da%a9%d8%b3%db%8c-%d8%af%d8%b1-%d9%86%d8%ae%d8%b3%d8%aa%db%8c%d9%86-%d8%a7%d9%86%d8%aa%d8%ae%d8%a7%d8%a8%d8%a7%d8%aa-%d8%ae%d8%a8%d8%b1%da%af%d8%a7%d9%86-%d8%a7%d9%88%d9%84-%d8%b4%d8%af-%d8%ac%d8%af%d9%88%d9%84|archive-date=10 October 2017}}</ref>
| office4          = Member of the [[Islamic Consultative Assembly]]
| term_start4      = 28 May 1980
| term_end4        = 13 October 1981
| constituency4    = [[Tehran, Rey, Shemiranat and Eslamshahr (electoral district)|Tehran, Rey and Shemiranat]]
| majority4        = 1,405,976 (65.8%)<ref>{{cite web|title=Parliament members|url=http://rc.majlis.ir/fa/parliament_member/show/762450|publisher=Iranian Majlis|access-date=28 October 2014|language=fa|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140707095033/http://rc.majlis.ir/fa/parliament_member/show/762450|archive-date=7 July 2014}}</ref>
| office5          = [[Tehran's Friday Prayer Imam]]
| term_start5      = 14 January 1980
| term_end5        = 
| appointer5       = Ruhollah Khomeini
| predecessor5     = [[Hussein-Ali Montazeri]]
| successor5       = 
| 1blankname5      = {{nowrap|Interim Imams}}
| 1namedata5       = {{List collapsed|title={{nobold|''See list''}}|[[Ahmad Jannati]]|[[Ahmad Khatami]]|[[Kazem Seddiqi]]|[[Ali Movahedi-Kermani]]|[[Mohammad-Hassan Aboutorabi Fard]]|[[Mohammad Javad Haj Ali Akbari]]}}
| birth_name       = Sayyid Ali Hosseini Khameneh<ref name="cc">{{cite web|title=A photo of Identity document of Ayatollah Khamenei|url=http://farsi.khamenei.ir/photo-album?id=8799|publisher=Khamenei.ir|access-date=14 January 2018|language=fa|date=1 February 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170814175343/http://farsi.khamenei.ir/photo-album?id=8799|archive-date=14 August 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref>
| birth_date       = {{br entries|{{Birth date and age|df=yes |1939|4|19}} (actual date)<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.mashreghnews.ir/news/558617/روایتی-از-تاریخ-دقیق-تولد-رهبر-انقلاب-از-زبان-معظم-له-عکس|title=روایتی از تاریخ دقیق تولد رهبر انقلاب از زبان معظم‌له+عکس|date=16 April 2016|website=مشرق نیوز}}</ref>|{{Birth date and age|df=yes |1939|7|16}}<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://farsi.khamenei.ir/photo-album?id=8799|title = تصویری از شناسنامه حضرت آیت‌الله خامنه‌ای}}</ref> (certificate date)<ref name="cc" />}}
| birth_place      = [[Mashhad]], [[Khorasan province|Khorasan]], Imperial State of Iran
| death_date       = 
| death_place      = 
| party            = [[Independent politician|Independent]] (since 1989)
| otherparty       = {{plainlist|
* [[Islamic Republican Party]] (1979–1987)
* [[Combatant Clergy Association]] (1977–1989)<ref>{{cite web|url = http://fararu.com/fa/news/118101/%D8%AC%D8%A7%D9%85%D8%B9%D9%87-%D8%B1%D9%88%D8%AD%D8%A7%D9%86%D9%8A%D8%AA-%D9%85%D8%A8%D8%A7%D8%B1%D8%B2-%D8%AC%D9%88%D8%A7%D9%86-%D9%85%D9%8A%E2%80%8C%D8%B4%D9%88%D8%AF|title=جامعه روحانيت مبارز جوان مي‌شود|language=fa|trans-title=Combatant Clergy Association gets younger|id=118101|date=8 July 2012|access-date=25 June 2016|publisher=Fararu|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160902124141/http://fararu.com/fa/news/118101/%D8%AC%D8%A7%D9%85%D8%B9%D9%87-%D8%B1%D9%88%D8%AD%D8%A7%D9%86%D9%8A%D8%AA-%D9%85%D8%A8%D8%A7%D8%B1%D8%B2-%D8%AC%D9%88%D8%A7%D9%86-%D9%85%D9%8A%E2%80%8C%D8%B4%D9%88%D8%AF|archive-date=2 September 2016}}</ref>
}}
| spouse           = {{marriage|[[Mansoureh Khojasteh Bagherzadeh]]|1964}}
| children         = 6, including [[Mostafa Khamenei|Mostafa]], [[Mojtaba Khamenei|Mojtaba]] and [[Masoud Khamenei|Masoud]] ({{aka}} Mohsen)<ref>{{cite journal|first1=Masoud|last1=Kazemzadeh|s2cid=153558136|title=Ayatollah Khamenei's Foreign Policy Orientation|journal=Comparative Strategy|date= n.d. |issn=0149-5933|eissn=1521-0448|pages=443–458|volume=32|issue=5|doi=10.1080/01495933.2013.840208}}</ref>
| parents          = {{plainlist|
* [[Javad Khamenei]]
* {{ill|v=ib|Khadijeh Mirdamadi|fa|خدیجه میردامادی}}
}}
| relatives        = {{plainlist|
* [[Mohammad Khamenei]] (brother)
* [[Hadi Khamenei]] (brother)
}}
| residence        = [[House of Leadership]]
| alma_mater       = [[Qom Seminary]]
| website          = {{url|http://english.khamenei.ir/}}
| signature        = Ali Khamenei signature.svg
| module           = {{Infobox religious biography
| title            = [[Grand Ayatollah]]
| embed            = yes
| religion         = [[Islam]]
| denomination     = [[Twelver Shīʿa]]
| jurisprudence    = [[Ja'fari]]
| creed            = [[Usuli]]
| main_interests   = [[Principles of Islamic jurisprudence|Uṣūl al-Fiqh]], [[Tafsir|Tafsīr]]<ref name="cgie" />
| notable_ideas    = [[Ali Khamenei's fatwa against nuclear weapons|Fatwa against nuclear weapons]]
| alma_mater       = {{plainlist|
* Khorasan Seminary<ref name = "cgie" />
* [[Najaf Seminary]]<ref name = "cgie" />
* Qom Seminary<ref name = "cgie" />
}}
| teachers         = 
| students         = 
| influences       = 
| influenced       = 
}}
| module2          = {{Infobox military person|embed=yes
| allegiance       = Islamic Republic of Iran
| branch           = {{Indented plainlist|
* [[Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps]]
* [[Irregular Warfare Headquarters]]<ref name="raee">{{cite journal|last1=Raee|first1=Sajjad|editor1-last=Ardestani|editor1-first=Hussein|script-title=fa:نقش آیت‌الله خامنه‌ای در دفاع مقدس: سال اول جنگ|journal=Negin-e Iran: Quarterly for Studies of Iran–Iraq War|date=Winter 2008|volume=7|issue=26|pages=9–24|url=http://www.negineiran.ir/article_3502_e6259811d85ef09a0248f5e7f51ee64b.pdf|access-date=15 January 2018|trans-title=Ayatollah Khamanei's Role in the Sacred Defense: During the First Year|language=fa|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160428015402/http://negineiran.ir/article_3502_e6259811d85ef09a0248f5e7f51ee64b.pdf|archive-date=28 April 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref>
}}
| serviceyears     = 1979–1980, 1980–1981
| commands         = Head of Revolutionary Guards<ref>{{Citation |title=Detailed biography of Ayatollah Khamenei, Leader of Islamic Revolution |date=23 September 2013 |publisher=Khamenei.ir |url=http://english.khamenei.ir/news/2157/Detailed-biography-of-Ayatollah-Khamenei-Leader-of-Islamic-Revolution |access-date=17 March 2016 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160410112848/http://english.khamenei.ir/news/2157/Detailed-biography-of-Ayatollah-Khamenei-Leader-of-Islamic-Revolution |archive-date=10 April 2016  }}</ref>
| battles          = {{flatlist|*[[Iran–Iraq War]]
**[[Operation Samen-ol-A'emeh]]<ref name = "raee" />}}
}}
| module3          = {{Listen|pos=center|embed=yes|filename=Ali Khamenei speech at the Hussainiya of Lovers of Karbala, Sari - 14 October 1995 (13740722 2546).wav|title=Ali Khamenei's voice|type=speech|description=Khamenei speaking at the Hussainiya of Lovers of Karbala in [[Sari, Iran|Sari]]<br />Recorded 14 October 1995}}
| footnotes        = n.b. {{note|note||Acting: 4 June <!-- 1989 --> – 6 August 1989<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.entekhab.ir/fa/news/387806|title=توضیحات مجلس خبرگان درباره جلسه انتخاب آیت‌الله خامنه‌ای به عنوان رهبر در سال 1368/ آیت‌الله گلپایگانی فقط 14 رأی داشت|first=پایگاه خبری تحلیلی انتخاب |last=Entekhab.ir|website=پایگاه خبری تحلیلی انتخاب – Entekhab.ir}}</ref>}}
}}
'''Seyyed Ali Hosseini Khamenei'''<ref name="cc" /> ({{lang-fa|سید علی حسینی خامنه‌ای|translit=Ali Hoseyni Xāmene’i}}, {{IPA-fa|ʔæˈliː hosejˈniː xɒːmeneˈʔiː|pron|Fa-علی خامنه ای.ogg}}; born 19 April 1939)<ref>{{cite web |title=Ali Khamenei |url=https://www.cgie.org.ir/fa/publication/entryview/16337 |website=CGIE (fa)}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=taking look at the biography of Ali Khamenei |url=http://farsi.khamenei.ir/memory-content?id=26142 |website=khamenei (fa) |date = 21 March 2014|access-date=21 March 2014}}</ref> is an Iranian [[Twelver Shia]] ''[[marja']]'' and politician who has been the second [[supreme leader of Iran]] since [[1989 Iranian Supreme Leader election|1989]].<ref name=loi>{{cite web|url=https://2009-2017.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/5314.htm|title=Iran|publisher=State|date=23 July 2010|access-date=21 August 2010|quote=The government monitored meetings, movements, and communications of its citizens and often charged persons with crimes against national security and insulting the regime based on letters, e-mails, and other public and private communications.}}</ref><ref name="BBCNewsProfile">{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/3018932.stm|title=Profile: Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei|date=17 June 2009|work=BBC News|access-date=28 July 2009|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090326014456/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/3018932.stm|archive-date=26 March 2009}}</ref> He previously served as third [[president of Iran]] from 1981 to 1989. Khamenei is the longest-serving [[head of state]] in the Middle East, as well as the second-longest-serving Iranian leader of the last century, after Shah [[Mohammad Reza Pahlavi]].<ref name="Primer">{{cite web|url=http://iranprimer.usip.org/resource/supreme-leader|title=The Supreme Leader – The Iran Primer|date=2 October 2010 |access-date=1 July 2016|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160630220905/http://iranprimer.usip.org/resource/supreme-leader|archive-date=30 June 2016}}</ref>

According to his official website, Khamenei was arrested six times before being sent into exile for three years during Mohammad Reza Pahlavi's reign.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://english.khamenei.ir//index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=57&Itemid=20 |title=Khamenei.ir |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131112211620/http://english.khamenei.ir//index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=781&Itemid=4 |archive-date=12 November 2013  }}</ref> After the [[Iranian revolution]] overthrowing the shah, he was the target of an [[Attempted assassination of Ali Khamenei|attempted assassination]] in June 1981 that paralyzed his right arm.<ref>[https://nationalpost.com/m/story.html?id=1715112 Khamenei has kept a low profile]{{dead link|date=November 2016 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} Agence France Presse, 20 June 2009. Retrieved 24 September 2009.{{dead link|date=February 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.newsweek.com/2007/04/05/reign-of-the-melted-ones.html |title=How Khamenei Keeps Control|work=Newsweek|author=Maziar Bahari|date=6 April 2007|access-date=29 September 2010|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20101025013022/http://www.newsweek.com/2007/04/05/reign-of-the-melted-ones.html|archive-date=25 October 2010|url-status=live}}</ref> Khamenei was one of Iran's leaders during the [[Iran–Iraq War]] in the 1980s, and developed close ties with the now powerful [[Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps|Revolutionary Guards]] which he controls, and whose commanders are elected and dismissed by him. The Revolutionary Guards have been [[Military deployment|deployed]] to suppress opposition to him.<ref name="Newsweekmag">{{cite news|title=Khamenei Will Be Iran's Last Supreme Leader|url=http://www.newsweek.com/khamenei-will-be-irans-last-supreme-leader-76961|work=Newsweek|date=17 November 2009|quote=referring to the enormous power Khamenei has given Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, which, under Khamenei's direct control, has brutally repressed demonstrators, human rights activists, and opposition journalists.|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170916184019/http://www.newsweek.com/khamenei-will-be-irans-last-supreme-leader-76961|archive-date=16 September 2017}}</ref><ref name="World Affairs Journal">{{cite news|author1=Jamsheed K. Choksy|title=Tehran Politics: Are the Mullahs Losing Their Grip?|url=http://www.worldaffairsjournal.org/article/tehran-politics-are-mullahs-losing-their-grip|work=World Affairs Journal|quote=Khamenei has strengthened alliances with militant commanders, especially within the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), in the hope that all opposition to his authority will continue to be suppressed—as it was during the protests of 2009.|url-status=usurped|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170722064446/http://www.worldaffairsjournal.org/article/tehran-politics-are-mullahs-losing-their-grip|archive-date=22 July 2017}}</ref> Khamenei served as the third president of Iran from 1981 to 1989, while becoming a close ally of the first supreme leader, [[Ruhollah Khomeini]]. Shortly before his death, Khomeini had a disagreement with the heir he had chosen – [[Hussein Ali Montazeri]] – so there was no agreed-on successor when Khomeini died. The [[Assembly of Experts]] elected Khamenei as the next supreme leader on 4 June 1989, at age 50. According to [[Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani]], Khamenei was the man Khomeini had chosen as his successor before dying. Khamenei has been head of the servants of [[Astan Quds Razavi]] since 14 April 1979.<ref name="رئیس خدمه‌ی آستان قدس رضوی">{{cite web|title=انتصاب آیت‌الله خامنه‌ای به عنوان رئیس خدمه‌ی آستان قدس رضوی|url=http://farsi.khamenei.ir/photo-album?id=37411|website=farsi.khamenei.ir|date = 14 April 1979|publisher=khamenei.ir|access-date=19 August 2017|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170819145038/http://farsi.khamenei.ir/photo-album?id=37411|archive-date=19 August 2017}}</ref>

As supreme leader, Khamenei is the most powerful political authority in the Islamic Republic.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-14362281|work=BBC News|title=Profile: Iran's 'unremarkable' supreme leader Khamenei|date=4 August 2011|url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120218062301/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-14362281|archive-date=18 February 2012}}</ref><ref name=GanjiForAff>Ganji, Akbar, "The Latter-Day Sultan: Power and Politics in Iran", ''Foreign Affairs'', November December 2008</ref>  He is the [[List of heads of state of Iran|head of state of Iran]], the [[Commander-in-Chief of the Iranian Armed Forces|commander-in-chief]] of [[Islamic Republic of Iran Armed Forces|its armed forces]], and can issue decrees and make the final decisions on the main policies of the government in many fields such as economy, the environment, foreign policy, and national planning in Iran.<ref name="Middle East Eye">{{cite web|url=http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/khamenei-lashes-out-rafsanjani-and-rouhani-rare-iran-public-spat-1261460510|title=Iran's Khamenei hits out at Rafsanjani in rare public rebuke|work=Middle East Eye|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160404031405/http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/khamenei-lashes-out-rafsanjani-and-rouhani-rare-iran-public-spat-1261460510|archive-date=4 April 2016}}</ref><ref name="al-monitor.com">{{cite web|url=http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2015/11/iran-green-climate-change-khamenei.html|title=Khamenei says Iran must go green – Al-Monitor: the Pulse of the Middle East|publisher=Al-Monitor|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151222135539/http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2015/11/iran-green-climate-change-khamenei.html|archive-date=22 December 2015|access-date=31 March 2016}}</ref><ref name="Louis Charbonneau and Parisa Hafezi">{{cite web|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-iran-nuclear-missiles-idUSBREA4E11V20140516|title=Exclusive: Iran pursues ballistic missile work, complicating nuclear talks|author=Louis Charbonneau and Parisa Hafezi|date=16 May 2014|work=Reuters|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170731230530/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-iran-nuclear-missiles-idUSBREA4E11V20140516|archive-date=31 July 2017}}</ref><ref name="en.iranwire.com">{{cite web|url=https://en.iranwire.com/features/5272/|title=IranWire – Asking for a Miracle: Khamenei's Economic Plan|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160307035444/https://en.iranwire.com/features/5272/|archive-date=7 March 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2014/05/khamenei-plans-increase-iran-population.html|title=Khamenei outlines 14-point plan to increase population|date=22 May 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170801000839/http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2014/05/khamenei-plans-increase-iran-population.html|archive-date=1 August 2017|access-date=21 May 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.payvand.com/news/06/jul/1055.html|title=Iran: Executive, legislative branch officials endorse privatization plan|url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170105175931/http://www.payvand.com/news/06/jul/1055.html|archive-date=5 January 2017}}</ref> As supreme leader, Khamenei has either direct or indirect control over the executive, legislative and judicial branches of government, as well as the military and media.<ref name="Primer" /> All candidates for the Assembly of Experts, the presidency and the Majlis (Parliament) are vetted by the [[Guardian Council]], whose members are selected directly or indirectly by the Supreme Leader of Iran.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/dec/14/rafsanjani-breaks-taboo-over-selection-of-irans-next-supreme-leader|title=Rafsanjani breaks taboo over selection of Iran's next supreme leader|work=The Guardian|date=14 December 2015|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161218132154/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/dec/14/rafsanjani-breaks-taboo-over-selection-of-irans-next-supreme-leader|archive-date=18 December 2016}}</ref> There have also been instances when the Guardian Council reversed its ban on particular people after being ordered to do so by Khamenei.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2005/may/24/iran|title=Iran reverses ban on reformist candidates|work=The Guardian|date=24 May 2005|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161221144045/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2005/may/24/iran|archive-date=21 December 2016}}</ref>

There have been major protests during Khamenei's reign, including the 1994 Qazvin protests,<ref name="english.alarabiya.net">{{cite web|url=http://english.alarabiya.net/en/perspective/features/2016/12/06/The-Basij-Mostazafan-A-culture-of-martyrdom-and-death.html|title=The Basij Mostazafan – A culture of martyrdom and death|date=6 December 2016|publisher=Al Arabiya|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161207015759/http://english.alarabiya.net/en/perspective/features/2016/12/06/The-Basij-Mostazafan-A-culture-of-martyrdom-and-death.html|archive-date=7 December 2016}}</ref> the [[Iran student protests, July 1999|1999 student protests]], the [[2009 Iranian presidential election protests|2009 presidential election protests]],<ref name="linkday.ir">{{cite web|title=Khamenei was the victim of an attempted assassination|url=http://www.linkday.ir/گزارشی-از-ماجرای-ترور-6-تیر-1360.html|website=LinkDay|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161011225034/http://www.linkday.ir/%DA%AF%D8%B2%D8%A7%D8%B1%D8%B4%DB%8C-%D8%A7%D8%B2-%D9%85%D8%A7%D8%AC%D8%B1%D8%A7%DB%8C-%D8%AA%D8%B1%D9%88%D8%B1-6-%D8%AA%DB%8C%D8%B1-1360.html|archive-date=11 October 2016}}</ref><ref name="The New York Times">{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/28/world/middleeast/28iran.html|title=Police Are Said to Have Killed 10 in Iran Protests|date=28 December 2009|work=The New York Times|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100205184518/http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/28/world/middleeast/28iran.html|archive-date=5 February 2010}}</ref><ref name="cnn.com">{{cite web|url=http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/meast/12/27/iran.protests/index.html|title=Several killed, 300 arrested in Tehran protests|website=[[CNN]]|url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091231034802/http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/meast/12/27/iran.protests/index.html|archive-date=31 December 2009}}</ref> the [[2011–2012 Iranian protests|2011–12 protests]], the [[2017–2018 Iranian protests|2017–18 protests]], the [[2018–2019 Iranian general strikes and protests|2018–19 general strikes and protests]], the [[2019–2020 Iranian protests|2019–20 protests]], the [[2021–2022 Iranian protests|2021–22 protests]], and the [[Mahsa Amini protests]]. Journalists, bloggers and others have been imprisoned in Iran for insulting Supreme Leader Khamenei, often in conjunction with [[Blasphemy law in Iran|blasphemy]] charges. Their sentences have included lashing and jail time; some have died in custody.<ref name="State Department2015">{{cite web|title=IRAN 2015 HUMAN RIGHTS REPORT|url=https://2009-2017.state.gov/documents/organization/253135.pdf|publisher=[[United States State Department]]|quote=During the year the government arrested students, journalists, lawyers, political activists, women's activists, artists, and members of religious minorities; charged many with crimes such as "propaganda against the system" and "insulting the supreme leader;" and treated such cases as national security trials (see sections 1.a. through 1.e.; section 6, Women; and section 7.a.).}}</ref><ref name="State Department">{{cite web|title=IRAN 2016 HUMAN RIGHTS REPORT|url=https://2009-2017.state.gov/documents/organization/265708.pdf|publisher=[[United States State Department]]}}</ref> Regarding the [[nuclear program of Iran]], [[Ali Khamenei's fatwa against nuclear weapons|Khamenei issued a fatwa]] in 2003 forbidding the production, stockpiling and use of all kinds of weapons of mass destruction.

== Early life and education ==
[[File:Childhood photo of Seyed Ali Khamenei.jpg|thumbnail|A teenage Khamenei|left]]
Born to [[Seyed Javad Khamenei|Seyyed Javad Khamenei]], an [[Ulama|Alim]] and [[Mujtahid]] born in [[Najaf]],<ref name="cgie">{{cite encyclopedia|last1=Velayati|first1=Ali Akbar|encyclopedia=The Great Islamic Encyclopedia|title=Ayatollah Ali Khamenei|url=http://www.cgie.org.ir/fa/publication/entryview/16337|access-date=3 April 2017|language=fa|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170211080923/http://www.cgie.org.ir/fa/publication/entryview/16337|archive-date=11 February 2017}}</ref> and {{ill|v=ib|Khadijeh Mirdamadi|fa|خدیجه میردامادی}} (daughter of {{ill|v=ib|Hashem Mirdamadi|fa|سید هاشم میردامادی}}) in [[Mashhad]], Khamenei is the second of eight children.<ref name=leader>{{cite web|url=http://www.leader.ir/langs/en/index.php?p=bio|title=The Office of the Leader, Seyyed Ali Khamenei |publisher=Leader|access-date=19 June 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090618152141/http://www.leader.ir/langs/EN/index.php?p=bio|archive-date=18 June 2009|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.hashemirafsanjani.ir/content/%D9%BE%DB%8C%D8%A7%D9%85-%D8%AA%D8%B3%D9%84%DB%8C%D8%AA-%D9%87%D8%A7%D8%B4%D9%85%DB%8C-%D8%A8%D9%87-%D8%A2%DB%8C%D8%AA%E2%80%8C%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%84%D9%87-%D8%AE%D8%A7%D9%85%D9%86%D9%87%E2%80%8C%D8%A7%DB%8C-%D8%A7%D8%B9%D9%84%D8%A7%D9%85-%D8%A8%D8%B1%D9%86%D8%A7%D9%85%D9%87-%D9%88%D8%B2%D8%B1%D8%A7%DB%8C-%DA%A9%D8%B4%D8%A7%D9%88%D8%B1%D8%B2%DB%8C-%D9%88-%D9%86%DB%8C%D8%B1%D9%88-%D8%A8%D9%87-%D9%87%D8%A7%D8%B4%D9%85%DB%8C |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130620012223/http://www.hashemirafsanjani.ir/content/%D9%BE%DB%8C%D8%A7%D9%85-%D8%AA%D8%B3%D9%84%DB%8C%D8%AA-%D9%87%D8%A7%D8%B4%D9%85%DB%8C-%D8%A8%D9%87-%D8%A2%DB%8C%D8%AA%E2%80%8C%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%84%D9%87-%D8%AE%D8%A7%D9%85%D9%86%D9%87%E2%80%8C%D8%A7%DB%8C-%D8%A7%D8%B9%D9%84%D8%A7%D9%85-%D8%A8%D8%B1%D9%86%D8%A7%D9%85%D9%87-%D9%88%D8%B2%D8%B1%D8%A7%DB%8C-%DA%A9%D8%B4%D8%A7%D9%88%D8%B1%D8%B2%DB%8C-%D9%88-%D9%86%DB%8C%D8%B1%D9%88-%D8%A8%D9%87-%D9%87%D8%A7%D8%B4%D9%85%DB%8C |url-status=dead |archive-date=20 June 2013 |script-title=fa:پیام تسلیت هاشمی به آیت‌الله خامنه‌ای/ اعلام برنامه وزرای کشاورزی و نیرو به هاشمی |author=Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani |language=fa }}</ref><ref>''Eternal Iran'', in 1721. Patrick Clawson, 2005, {{ISBN|1-4039-6276-6}}, p.5.</ref> Two of his brothers are also clerics; his younger brother, [[Hadi Khamenei]], is a newspaper editor and cleric.<ref>Robin Wright, ''The Last Great Revolution: Turmoil and Transformation in Iran'', Alfred A. Knopf, 2000</ref> His elder sister Fatemeh Hosseini Khamenei died in 2015, aged 89.<ref>{{cite web |title=بیوگرافی خواهر متوفی رهبر انقلاب |url=http://www.baharnews.ir/news/72857/بيوگرافي-خواهر-متوفي-رهبر-انقلاب |website=baharnews.ir |date=23 March 2015 |publisher=Bahar News |access-date=19 November 2020 |language=fa}}</ref> His father was an ethnic [[Iranian Azerbaijanis|Azerbaijani]] from [[Khamaneh]], while his mother was an ethnic [[Persian people|Persian]] from [[Yazd]].<ref>Encyclopedia of the Peoples of Africa and the Middle East – Facts on File, Incorporated, 2009, p.79</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.worlddialogue.org/content.php?id=150 |title=Iran and the Caucasus: The Triumph of Pragmatism over Ideology – Centre for World Dialogue |publisher=Worlddialogue.org |access-date=1 January 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130927184152/http://www.worlddialogue.org/content.php?id=150 |archive-date=27 September 2013  }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?reportid=26910 |title=Azeris unhappy at being the butt of national jokes|publisher=UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs|agency=IRIN |date=25 May 2006|access-date=19 June 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070814165654/http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?reportid=26910|archive-date=14 August 2007}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/FI28Ak01.html |title=Iran at sea over Azerbaijan |work=Asia Times|date=28 September 2004|access-date=19 June 2009|archive-url=http://webarchive.loc.gov/all/20050423084348/http://atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/FI28Ak01.html|archive-date=23 April 2005 |url-status=unfit}} Another ethnic Azeri is Rahim Safavi, the overall commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) and the most important military-security official in the country.</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Majd|first=Hooman|title=Change Comes to Iran|url=http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2009-02-19/change-comes-to-iran/|work=The Daily Beast|date=19 February 2009|quote=Ali Khamenei, ..., while ethnically Turkic is also half Yazdi, but he seems not to have inherited the timidity gene from his mother.|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100116225338/http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2009-02-19/change-comes-to-iran|archive-date=16 January 2010|access-date=20 February 2009}}</ref> Some of his ancestors are from [[Tafresh]] in today's [[Markazi Province]] and migrated from their original home in Tafresh to [[Khamaneh]] near [[Tabriz]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://anaj.ir/News/15322/6-%D9%85%D8%B1%D8%AF%D8%A7%D8%AF%D8%8C-%D8%B3%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B1%D9%88%D8%B2%D8%B3%D9%81%D8%B1-%D8%AA%D8%A7%D8%B1%DB%8C%D8%AE%DB%8C-%D8%B1%D9%87%D8%A8%D8%B1-%D9%85%D8%B9%D8%B8%D9%85-%D8%A7%D9%86%D9%82%D9%84%D8%A7%D8%A8-%D8%A8%D9%87-%D8%B4%D9%87%D8%B1%D8%AE%D8%A7%D9%85%D9%86%D9%87/|script-title=fa:6 مرداد، سالروزسفر تاریخی رهبر معظم انقلاب به رشت|author=Anaj News|language=fa|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150729031158/http://www.anaj.ir/News/15322/6-%D9%85%D8%B1%D8%AF%D8%A7%D8%AF%D8%8C-%D8%B3%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B1%D9%88%D8%B2%D8%B3%D9%81%D8%B1-%D8%AA%D8%A7%D8%B1%DB%8C%D8%AE%DB%8C-%D8%B1%D9%87%D8%A8%D8%B1-%D9%85%D8%B9%D8%B8%D9%85-%D8%A7%D9%86%D9%82%D9%84%D8%A7%D8%A8-%D8%A8%D9%87-%D8%B4%D9%87%D8%B1%D8%AE%D8%A7%D9%85%D9%86%D9%87/|archive-date=29 July 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.irdc.ir/fa/content/1024+4734/default.aspx|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120803073513/http://www.irdc.ir/fa/content/1024+4734/default.aspx|url-status=dead|archive-date=3 August 2012|title=(broken)}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.shia-online.ir/article.asp?id=17262&cat=1 |title=ShiaOnline.ir – شیعه آنلاین – نگاهی اجمالی به شجره نامه آیت الله خامنه ای |work=shia-online.ir |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140102191131/http://www.shia-online.ir/article.asp?id=17262&cat=1 |archive-date=2 January 2014  }}</ref> Khamenei's great ancestor was Sayyid Hossein Tafreshi, a descendant of the Aftasi Sayyids, whose lineage supposedly reached to Sultan ul-Ulama Ahmad, known as Sultan Sayyid, a grandchild of [[Twelver|Shia]] fourth Imam, [[Ali ibn Husayn]].<ref name="cgie" />

=== Education ===
Khamenei's education began at the age of four, by learning [[Quran]] at [[Maktab (education)|Maktab]];<ref name="cgie" /> he spent his basic and advanced levels of [[seminary]] studies at the [[hawza]] of Mashhad, under mentors such as Sheikh Hashem Qazvini and [[Mohammad Hadi Milani|Ayatollah Milani]]. Then, he went to [[Najaf]] in 1957,<ref name=chamber>{{cite web|url=http://www.iranchamber.com/history/akhamenei/ali_khamenei.php|title=Historic Personalities of Iran: Seyed Ali Khamenei|publisher=Iran Chamber|access-date=19 June 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090611073402/http://www.iranchamber.com//history//akhamenei//ali_khamenei.php|archive-date=11 June 2009 |url-status=live}}</ref> but soon returned to Mashhad due to his father's unwillingness to let him stay there. In 1958, he settled in [[Qom]] where he attended the classes of [[Seyyed Hossein Borujerdi]] and [[Ruhollah Khomeini]].<ref name="cgie" /> Like many other politically active clerics at the time, Khamenei was far more involved with politics than religious scholarship.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yoQQ2YzmMyMC&q=shariati+savak&pg=PA368 |title=Ali Rahnemaré, ''An Islamic Utopian: A Political Biography of Ali Shariati,'' I.B. Tauris Publishers, London & New York, 1998, P.231. ISBN 1-86064-552-6 |access-date=19 June 2009|isbn=978-1-86064-552-5 |year=2000|last1=Rahnema |first1=Ali |publisher=I. B. Tauris }}</ref>

== Political life and presidency ==
[[File:Ali Khamenei in Iranian Revolution protests.jpg|thumb|Khamenei in a protest during [[Iranian Revolution]] in [[Mashhad]]|left]]
Khamenei was a key figure in the [[Iranian Revolution]] in Iran and a close confidant of [[Ruhollah Khomeini]].

Since the founding of the [[Islamic Republic]], Khamenei has held many government posts.<ref name=leader />

Muhammad Sahimi claims that his political career began after the Iranian Revolution, when the former President of Iran, [[Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani]], then a confidant of Khomeini, brought Khamenei into Khomeini's inner circle. Later on, [[Hassan Rouhani]], then a member of Parliament, arranged for Khamenei to get his first major post in the provisional revolutionary government as deputy defense minister.<ref name="sahimi-ni-2016">{{cite web |url=http://nationalinterest.org/feature/irans-incredible-shrinking-ayatollah-16089 |title=Iran's Incredible Shrinking Ayatollah |first=Muhammad |last=Sahimi |work=National Interest |access-date=1 July 2016 |date=8 May 2016 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160623055606/http://nationalinterest.org/feature/irans-incredible-shrinking-ayatollah-16089 |archive-date=23 June 2016  }}</ref>

[[File:Ali Khamenei in military uniform during Iran-Iraq war.jpg|thumb|Ali Khamenei in military uniform during [[Iran–Iraq War]]|left]]
Khomeini appointed Khamenei to the [[List of Tehran's Friday Prayer Imams|post of Tehran's Friday prayers Imam]] in 1980, after the resignation of [[Hussein-Ali Montazeri]] from the post. He was briefly the vice [[Ministry of Defence and Armed Forces Logistics (Iran)|Minister of National Defence]] from late July to 6 November 1979<ref>{{citation|author=Nikola B. Schahgaldian, Gina Barkhordarian|title=The Iranian Military Under the Islamic Republic|url=https://www.rand.org/content/dam/rand/pubs/reports/2007/R3473.pdf|publisher=RAND|isbn=978-0-8330-0777-3|date=March 1987|access-date=15 January 2017|url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170203123820/https://www.rand.org/content/dam/rand/pubs/reports/2007/R3473.pdf|archive-date=3 February 2017}}</ref> and as a supervisor of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards. He also went to the battlefield as a representative of the parliament's defense commission.<ref name="cgie" />

=== Assassination attempt ===
{{Main|Attempted assassination of Ali Khamenei}}
[[File:Ayatolla Ali Khamenei in Hospital after Assassination Attempt by khamenei.ir03.jpg|thumb|left|Khamenei in the hospital after the assassination attempt]]

Khamenei narrowly escaped an assassination attempt by the [[Mujahedin-e Khalq]] when a bomb, concealed in a tape recorder, exploded beside him.<ref name=vn>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/12/07/AR2007120701614.html |title=Meet 'The Decider' of Tehran. It's Not the Hothead You Expect. |last=Nasr |first=Vali |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |date=9 December 2007 |access-date=9 December 2007 |url-status=bot: unknown |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081007234457/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/12/07/AR2007120701614.html |archive-date=7 October 2008 }}</ref>

On 27 June 1981,<ref name="Maloney">{{cite book|last1=Maloney|first1=Suzanne|title=Iran's Political Economy since the Revolution|date=2015|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-521-73814-9|page=152|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6aIyCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA152|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171114172349/https://books.google.com/books?id=6aIyCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA152|archive-date=14 November 2017}}</ref> while Khamenei had returned from the [[Theater (warfare)|frontline]], he went to the Aboozar Mosque according to his Saturday's schedule. After the first prayer, he lectured to worshippers who had written their questions on paper. Meanwhile, a young man who pressed a button put a tape recorder accompanied by papers on the desk in front of Khamenei. After a minute the recorder began whistling, then suddenly exploded.<ref name="Kahlili">{{cite book|last1=Kahlili|first1=Reza|title=A Time to Betray: A Gripping True Spy Story of Betrayal, Fear, and Courage|date=2013|publisher=Threshold Editions; Reprint edition|isbn=978-1-4391-8968-9|page=155|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YfL9zcW1-qAC&q=Assassination++Ali+Khamenei+Mojahedin+1981&pg=PA155}}</ref> "A gift of Furqan Group to the Islamic Republic" was written on the inner wall of the tape recorder.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Qaffari|first1=Mostafa|title=Report about assassination attempt on adventure of 27 June 1981|url=http://farsi.khamenei.ir/file/terror-6-tir/4_1.htm|website=Khamenei.ir|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161208145456/http://farsi.khamenei.ir/file/terror-6-tir/4_1.htm|archive-date=8 December 2016}}</ref><ref name="PCHI">{{cite web|last1=Staff|title=Terror of Tehran's popular Friday prayer by Munafiqs|url=http://revolution.pchi.ir/show.php?page=contents&id=12550|website=Political Studies and Research Institute|access-date=19 April 2017|url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170420051508/http://revolution.pchi.ir/show.php?page=contents&id=12550|archive-date=20 April 2017}}</ref> Ayatollah Khamenei's treatment took several months and his arm, [[vocal cords]] and lungs were seriously injured.<ref name="Murphy">{{cite book|last1=Murphy|first1=John|title=Ali Khamenei|date=2007|publisher=Chelsea House Publications|isbn=978-0-7910-9517-1|page=91|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ybThRB7rT-wC&q=Assassination+attempt+on+Ali+Khamenei%E2%80%8F&pg=PA93}}</ref> He was permanently injured, losing the use of his right arm.<ref name=vn />

=== As president ===
[[File:Ali Khamenei is shaking hand with his left hand.jpg|thumb|Ali Khamenei has shaken hands with his left hand since the unsuccessful assassination.<ref>{{cite news|title=Castro to Ayatollah Khamenei: "Why did you shake with your left hand instead of right?"|url=http://www.khabaronline.ir/detail/606225/Politics/leader|access-date=15 April 2017|work=Khabaronline|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170416045050/http://www.khabaronline.ir/detail/606225/Politics/leader|archive-date=16 April 2017}}</ref>|left]]
In 1981, after the assassination of Mohammad-Ali Rajai, Khamenei was elected [[President of Iran]] by a landslide vote (97%) in the [[October 1981 Iranian presidential election]] in which only four candidates were approved by the Council of Guardians. Khamenei became the first cleric to be in the office. Ruhollah Khomeini had originally wanted to keep clerics out of the presidency but later changed his views. Khamenei was reelected in [[1985 Iranian presidential election]] where only three candidates were approved by the Council of Guardians, receiving 87% of the votes. The only Iranian presidential election with fewer candidates approved by the Council of Guardians was the [[1989 Iranian presidential election]], where only two candidates were approved by the Council of Guardians to run, and Rafsanjani easily won 96% of the votes.{{citation needed|date=June 2022}}

In his presidential inaugural address, Khamenei vowed to eliminate "deviation, liberalism, and American-influenced leftists".<ref name="Sadjad">{{cite book |url=http://www.carnegieendowment.org/files/sadjadpour_iran_final2.pdf |title=Reading Khamenei: The World View of Iran's Most Powerful Leader |publisher=[[Carnegie Endowment for International Peace]] |first=Karim |last=Sadjadpour |date=2009 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110506210735/http://www.carnegieendowment.org/files/sadjadpour_iran_final2.pdf |archive-date=6 May 2011  }}</ref> According to the Iran Chamber, vigorous opposition to the government, including nonviolent and violent protest, assassinations, guerrilla activity and insurrections, was answered by state repression and terror in the early 1980s, both before and during Khamenei's presidency. Thousands of rank-and-file members of insurgent groups were killed, often by revolutionary courts. By 1982, the government announced that the courts would be reined in, although various political groups continued to be repressed by the government in the first half of the 1980s.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.iranchamber.com/history/islamic_revolution/revolution_and_iran_after1979_4.php|title=History of Iran: Iran after the victory of 1979's Revolution|publisher=Iran Chamber|access-date=19 June 2009|url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090409213945/http://www.iranchamber.com/history/islamic_revolution/revolution_and_iran_after1979_4.php|archive-date=9 April 2009}}</ref>

=== During Iran–Iraq war ===
[[File:Jumu'ah pray Ali Kamenei as Jumu'ah Imam.jpg|thumb|Khamenei as [[List of Tehran's Friday Prayer Imams|Tehran's Friday Prayer Imam]] in 1979|left]]
Khamenei was one of Iran's leaders during the [[Iran–Iraq War]] in the 1980s and developed close ties with the now-powerful [[Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps|Revolutionary Guards]]. As president, he had a reputation for being deeply interested in the military, budget and administrative details.<ref name=vn /> <!--After the [[Iraqi Army]] was expelled from Iran in 1982, Khamenei became one of the main opponents of Khomeini's decision to counter-invade into Iraq, an opinion Khamenei shared with Prime Minister [[Mir-Hossein Mousavi]], with whom he would later conflict during the [[2009–10 Iranian election protests]].<ref name=OPIraqIran>{{Cite book|last=Karsh|first=Efraim|author-link=Efraim Karsh|title=The Iran-Iraq War 1980–1988|publisher=[[Osprey Publishing]]|year=2002|location=Oxford|page=41|isbn=1-84176-371-3}}</ref>-->

=== After the war ===
In its 10 April 1997 ruling regarding the [[Mykonos restaurant assassinations]], the German court issued an international arrest warrant for Iranian intelligence minister [[Ali Fallahian]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/911622.html|title=Israel fails to prevent Germany freeing Iranian|author=Yossi Melman|work=Haaretz|date=11 October 2007|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090401091011/http://haaretz.com/hasen/spages/911622.html|archive-date=1 April 2009}}</ref> after declaring that the assassination had been ordered by him with knowledge of Khamenei and Rafsanjani.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.spiegel.de/international/0,1518,476369,00.html|title=The End of the Dispensable Iranian|author=Roya Hakakian|work=[[Der Spiegel]]|date=4 October 2007|access-date=31 January 2009|url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080827062244/http://www.spiegel.de/international/0,1518,476369,00.html|archive-date=27 August 2008}}</ref> Iranian officials, however, have categorically denied their involvement. The then-Iranian Parliament speaker [[Ali Akbar Nategh-Nouri]] dismissed the ruling as political, untrue and unsubstantiated. The ruling led to a diplomatic crisis between the governments of Iran and several European countries, which lasted until November 1997.<ref name=cnn97>{{cite news|title=German court implicates Iran leaders in '92 killings|url=http://edition.cnn.com/WORLD/9704/10/germany.iran/|access-date=26 January 2013|publisher=CNN|date=10 April 1997|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131126101651/http://edition.cnn.com/WORLD/9704/10/germany.iran/|archive-date=26 November 2013}}</ref> The accused assassins, Darabi and Rhayel, were finally released from prison on 10 December 2007 and deported back to their home countries.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5h9W4be39jKC2qUnAvPByF2rZZmkA |title=Germany Deports Iranian jailed for 1992 murders |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120306054342/http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5h9W4be39jKC2qUnAvPByF2rZZmkA |archive-date=6 March 2012 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Iran: Terrorist Freed in Germany Is Welcomed By Tehran|url=http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insight/articles/pp121507a.shtml|access-date=21 June 2013|newspaper=Eurasia Net|date=14 December 2007|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140404194641/http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insight/articles/pp121507a.shtml|archive-date=4 April 2014}}</ref>

== Supreme Leader ==
{{Main|Supreme Leader of Iran|1989 Iranian Supreme Leader election}}
Khamenei has fired and reinstated presidential cabinet appointments.<ref name="stalbertgazette.com">{{Cite web|url=http://www.stalbertgazette.com/article/GB/20110420/CP01/304209937/-1/sag0806/iranian-lawmakers-warn-ahmadinejad-to-back-intelligence-chief-as&template=cpArt|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20131217073724/http://www.stalbertgazette.com/article/GB/20110420/CP01/304209937/-1/sag0806/iranian-lawmakers-warn-ahmadinejad-to-back-intelligence-chief-as%26template%3DcpArt|url-status=dead|title=Iranian lawmakers warn Ahmadinejad to accept intelligence chief as political feud deepens|archivedate=17 December 2013}}</ref><ref name="news.bbc.co.uk">{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/8168202.stm|title=Middle East – Iranian vice-president 'sacked'|date=25 July 2009|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090725100558/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/8168202.stm|archive-date=25 July 2009}}</ref> Iran's Chief Justice [[Sadeq Larijani]], a Khamenei appointee, has warned the president of Iran against voicing opposition to Khamenei.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.worldbulletin.net/news/172530/irans-rouhani-warned-against-opposing-supreme-leader|title=Iran's Rouhani warned against opposing supreme leader – World Bulletin |access-date=1 July 2016|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160624153935/http://www.worldbulletin.net/news/172530/irans-rouhani-warned-against-opposing-supreme-leader|archive-date=24 June 2016}}</ref>

=== Election as Supreme Leader ===

In 1989 [[Ayatollah Khomeini]] dismissed [[Ayatollah Montazeri]] as his political successor, giving the position to Khamenei instead. Because Khamenei was neither a marja or ayatollah, the Assembly of Experts had to modify the constitution to award him the position of Iran's new Supreme Leader (a decision opposed by several grand ayatollahs).<ref>{{cite book|last1=Mattair
|first1=Thomas R.|title=Global Security Watch--Iran: A Reference Handbook
|date=2015|publisher=Praeger |isbn=978-0275994839|language=en|page=156}}</ref>

Khamenei officially succeeded [[Ruhollah Khomeini]] after Khomeini's death, being elected as the new Supreme Leader by the [[Assembly of Experts]] on [[1989 Iranian Supreme Leader election|4 June 1989]].<ref name="Raja">{{cite news|first=Mahboubi|last=Mohammad|title=Witnesses narrate the attempt of Rafsanjani to pass the suggestion of 'leadership council'|url=http://www.rajanews.com/news/214008|access-date=1 May 2017|work=Raja News|date=7 June 2015|language=fa|url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161228190334/http://www.rajanews.com/news/214008|archive-date=28 December 2016}}</ref>

==== Leadership Council proposal ====
[[File:Ali Khamenei reading Will of Ruhollah Khomeini in Majlis.jpg|thumb|Khamenei reading the will of [[Ruhollah Khomeini]] in [[Assembly of Experts]]]]
Initially, some members of the Assembly of Experts proposed the idea of a leadership council. Various lists were proposed and Khamenei was named in all of them.<ref name="Fars-1">{{cite news|last1=Khani|first1=Elahe|title=Why are the attacks are towards the leadership?|url=http://www.farsnews.com/printable.php?nn=13901004001427|access-date=8 May 2017|work=Borhan |publisher=Fars News|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170917170647/http://www.farsnews.com/printable.php?nn=13901004001427|archive-date=17 September 2017}}</ref> For instance, a council of three members, [[Ali Meshkini]], [[Abdul-Karim Mousavi Ardebili|Mousavi Ardebili]] and Khamenei, was proposed to lead Iran. According to Rafsanjani, he and Khamenei were against the proposal, while Ayatollah {{ill|Haeri Shirazi|fa|محی‌الدین حائری شیرازی}} and Ayatollah [[Ebrahim Amini]] were in favor of it. Supporters of the council proposal believed that having a council would produce a higher degree of unity in society and more positive characteristics would be found in a council. In contrast, the opposers believed that an individual leader was more efficient according to past experiences in the case of the Judiciary Council.<ref name="Raja" />

Ebrahim Amini listed the summary of the reasons presented by the two sides. According to him, the opposers rejected the proposal because i) Evidence for [[Guardianship of the Islamic Jurist]] was true only for the guardianship of an individual and it was not clear who held the guardianship when there was a council. The guardianship of a council was not rooted in Hadiths and Islamic jurisprudence. ii) Previous council-type organizations, such as the broadcasting council and supreme judicial council, were not successful in practice and the leadership council would not do well for similar reasons. iii) People were accustomed to the leadership of an individual and a council of leaders was something unfamiliar to them. iv) An individual leader could act more decisively when dealing with critical and essential decisions and solving problems and crisis. On the other hand, the supporters of the proposal believed that: i) At the time, there were no [[Faqīh|''Faqih'']] equal to Khomeini or even two or three levels lower than him so that he could fulfill the expectation of people. ii) In the case of a council of leaders, the members could compensate each other, if any of them had some shortage in a field.<ref name="Raja" />

Finally, 45 members voted against the leadership council proposal while more than 20 people were in favor of it and the proposal was rejected.<ref name="Fars-1" /> After the assembly rejected the idea of a Leadership Council, Khamenei was elected Leader by 60 of the 74 members present with Grand Ayatollah [[Mohammad-Reza Golpaygani]] receiving the remaining 14 votes.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.hashemirafsanjani.ir/content/%DA%86%D8%B1%D8%A7-%D8%A2%DB%8C%D8%AA-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%84%D9%87-%D8%AE%D8%A7%D9%85%D9%86%D9%87-%D8%A7%DB%8C-%D9%88%D8%B5%DB%8C%D8%AA-%D8%A7%D9%85%D8%A7%D9%85-%D8%B1%D8%A7-%D8%AE%D9%88%D8%A7%D9%86%D8%AF%D8%9F-%D9%BE%DB%8C%D8%B4%D9%86%D9%87%D8%A7%D8%AF-%D8%B1%D9%87%D8%A8%D8%B1%DB%8C-%D8%A2%DB%8C%D8%AA-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%84%D9%87-%DA%AF%D9%84%D9%BE%D8%A7%DB%8C%DA%AF%D8%A7%D9%86%DB%8C-%D8%A7%D8%B2-%D8%B3%D9%88%DB%8C-%D8%AC%D8%A7%D9%85%D8%B9%D9%87-%D9%85%D8%AF%D8%B1%D8%B3 |script-title=fa:چرا آیت الله خامنه ای وصیت امام را خواند؟/ پیشنهاد رهبری آیت الله گلپایگانی از سوی جامعه مدرسین |author=Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani |date=4 June 1989 |work=بازسازی و سازندگی |language=fa |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130620012317/http://www.hashemirafsanjani.ir/content/%DA%86%D8%B1%D8%A7-%D8%A2%DB%8C%D8%AA-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%84%D9%87-%D8%AE%D8%A7%D9%85%D9%86%D9%87-%D8%A7%DB%8C-%D9%88%D8%B5%DB%8C%D8%AA-%D8%A7%D9%85%D8%A7%D9%85-%D8%B1%D8%A7-%D8%AE%D9%88%D8%A7%D9%86%D8%AF%D8%9F-%D9%BE%DB%8C%D8%B4%D9%86%D9%87%D8%A7%D8%AF-%D8%B1%D9%87%D8%A8%D8%B1%DB%8C-%D8%A2%DB%8C%D8%AA-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%84%D9%87-%DA%AF%D9%84%D9%BE%D8%A7%DB%8C%DA%AF%D8%A7%D9%86%DB%8C-%D8%A7%D8%B2-%D8%B3%D9%88%DB%8C-%D8%AC%D8%A7%D9%85%D8%B9%D9%87-%D9%85%D8%AF%D8%B1%D8%B3 |archive-date=20 June 2013 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.khobreganrahbari.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=76 |title=خبرگان رهبری – رييس مجمع تشخيص مصلحت نظام: از مهمترين پيشرفت‌هاي واقعي انقلاب اسلامي، تأسيس سازماني براي ولايت فقيه بود[ايلنا&#93; |publisher=Khobreganrahbari.com |access-date=19 June 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120206014905/http://www.khobreganrahbari.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=76 |archive-date=6 February 2012 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=هاشمي رفسنجاني: در سال 68 مهمترين مخالفت با رهبري يك فرد را، خود مقام معظم رهبري داشتند |url=http://www.iran57.com/Rafsanjani%20T%20dar%20sal%2068%20mokhalef%20rahbarie%20fardi%27%20Ilna%2016%20Azar%201385.doc |access-date=19 June 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090326084140/http://www.iran57.com/Rafsanjani%20T%20dar%20sal%2068%20mokhalef%20rahbarie%20fardi%27%20Ilna%2016%20Azar%201385.doc |archive-date=26 March 2009 }}</ref> Khamenei made protestations of his unworthiness -- "my nomination should make us all cry tears of blood"<ref name="Filkins-iran-5-18-2020">{{cite journal |last1=Filkins |first1=Dexter |title=TheTwilight of the Iranian Revolution |journal=New Yorker |date=18 May 2020 |url=https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2020/05/25/the-twilight-of-the-iranian-revolution |access-date=7 June 2020}}</ref> and debated with the mujtahids of the Assembly<ref name="www.leader.ir/langs/en/index.php?p=bio">{{cite web|url=http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticle/2004/09/ac80cd24-24db-438d-b007-27f04db8ae7e.html
|title=Analysis: Iran's Theological Community Contends With Changing World |publisher=Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty |date=16 September 2004
|access-date=19 June 2009|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20080617150218/http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticle/2004/09/ac80cd24-24db-438d-b007-27f04db8ae7e.html|archive-date=17 June 2008|url-status=live}}</ref>—but eventually accepted the post.

==== Marjaʿiyyat criteria ====

[[File:Ali Khamenei crop.jpg |thumb|Khamenei in 2018]]

[[File:Khamenei meets with members of parliament 2022 D.jpeg|thumb|Khamenei in 2022]]

Since Khamenei was not a [[marja']] at the time—which the Iranian constitution required—he was named as the temporary Supreme Leader. Later, the constitution was amended to remove that requirement and the Assembly of Experts reconvened on 6 August 1989, to reconfirm Khamenei with 60 votes out of 64 present.<ref name="pchi">{{cite web|title=Assembly of experts; From Montazeri to re-election of Khamenei|url=http://revolution.pchi.ir/show.php?page=contents&id=13054|language=Fa|website=Political Studies and Research Institute|access-date=6 June 2017|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170821004931/http://revolution.pchi.ir/show.php?page=contents&id=13054|archive-date=21 August 2017}}</ref> On 29 April 1989, responding to the letter of [[Ali Meshkini|Ayatollah Meshkini]], the head of committee responsible for revising the Constitution, asking Khomeini's viewpoint regarding the [['marjaʿiyyat]] criteria, Khomeini said: "From the very beginning, I believed and insisted that there is no need for the requirements of ''marjaʿiyyat'' (authority in jurisprudence). A pious [[mujtahid]] (jurist-intellectual), who is approved by the esteemed Assembly of Experts (''Majlis-i Khobregan''), will suffice."<ref name="Ideology">{{cite book|last1=Hovsepian-Bearce|first1=Yvette|title=The Political Ideology of Ayatollah Khamenei: Out of the Mouth of the Supreme Leader of Iran|date=2015|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-317-60582-9|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WwkXCgAAQBAJ|access-date=6 June 2017|language=en|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171011062948/https://books.google.com/books?id=WwkXCgAAQBAJ|archive-date=11 October 2017}}</ref> In a video that surfaced during the [[2017–18 Iranian protests]], Khamenei is seen before the assembly said he was not religiously qualified to be a Supreme leader. Khamenei, who was ranked as a [[Hujjat al-Islam]] and not a [[Marja']] as required by the Iranian constitution, said he would only be a "ceremonial leader", and was reassured by [[Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani]] the position would be "temporary" until a referendum, apparently planned for one year later.<ref name="FTJan09">[https://www.ft.com/content/30594832-f536-11e7-8715-e94187b3017e Iran's supreme leader blames US-Israeli plot for protests], Financial Times, 9 January 2018</ref><ref>[https://aawsat.com/english/home/article/1138976/leaked-video-embarrasses-iran%E2%80%99s-khamenei-implicates-rafsanjani Leaked Video Embarrasses Iran's Khamenei, Implicates Rafsanjani], Asharq Al Aswat, 10 January 2018</ref><ref>[https://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2018/01/iran-video-khamenei-supreme-leader-rafsanjani-assembly.html Leaked video reveals new details about election of Iran's supreme leader] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180119134042/https://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2018/01/iran-video-khamenei-supreme-leader-rafsanjani-assembly.html |date=19 January 2018 }}, Al-Monitor, 11 January 2018</ref><ref>[https://en.radiofarda.com/a/video-showing-khamenei-election-supreme-leader/28963611.html Shocking Video Clip From 1989 Shows Khamenei Elected Only For One Year As A Caretaker], Radio Farda, 9 January 2018</ref>

On August 29, 2022, al-Haeri announced his resignation from the position of Marja, due to old age and illness.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://almehwartoday.com/?p=133224|title=العراق: المرجع كاظم الحائري يعلن عدم استمراره في المرجعية بسبب المرض|date=29 August 2022}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=بيان لسماحة السيد كاظم الحائري يعلن فيه عدم الاستمرار في التصدي للمرجعية بسبب المرض والتقدم في |date=29 August 2022 |url=http://burathanews.com/arabic/news/418150}}</ref> This was described as the first time in history a Marja has ever resigned from his position.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://baghdad-times.net/%d8%a7%d9%84%d8%a7%d8%b3%d8%aa%d9%82%d8%a7%d9%84%d8%a9-%d8%a7%d9%84%d8%a3%d9%88%d9%84%d9%89-%d9%81%d9%8a-%d8%aa%d8%a7%d8%b1%d9%8a%d8%ae-%d8%a7%d9%84%d9%85%d8%b1%d8%ac%d8%b9%d9%8a%d8%a9-%d9%85%d8%b1/|title=الاستقالة الأولى في تاريخ المرجعية.. مرجع ديني يقدم استقالته من التصدي لمنصب المرجع|date=29 August 2022|website=baghdad-times.net}}</ref> He called on his followers to follow Ali Khamenei, [[Supreme Leader of Iran]] as "''the best person for the leadership of our people and removing the aggressors''".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.kurdistan24.net/en/story/29358-Sadr-quits-politics,-closes-movement%E2%80%99s-institutions-and-media-platforms|title=تننن}}</ref>

=== Political strategy and philosophy ===
[[File:Ayatollah Ali Khamenei at the Great Conference of Basij members at Azadi stadium October 2018 033.jpg|thumb|Khamenei at the Great Conference of [[Basij]] members at [[Azadi Stadium]], October 2018]]

Khamenei's era has differed from that of his predecessor. He has, however, continued Khomeini's policy of "balancing one group against another, making sure that no single side gains too much power."<ref name=vn /> But lacking Khomeini's charisma and clerical standing, he has developed personal networks, first inside the armed forces and then among the clerics, while administering the major [[bonyad]]s and seminaries of Qom and Mashhad. Having been Supreme Leader for three decades, Khamenei has been able to place many loyalists throughout Iran's major institutions, "building a system that serves and protects him".<ref name="Filkins-iran-5-18-2020"/>  Former cleric Mehdi Khalaji<ref name="Filkins-iran-5-18-2020"/> and Saeid Golkar,<ref name="will-2013">{{cite web |last1=Golkar |first1=Saeid |last2=Khalaji |first2=Mehdi |title=The Islamic Republic's Will to Survive: Likely Nuclear Resistance, Unlikely Social Revolt |url=https://www.washingtoninstitute.org/policy-analysis/view/the-islamic-republics-will-to-survive-likely-nuclear-resistance-unlikely-so |website=Washington Institute |access-date=8 June 2020 |date=12 June 2013}}</ref> describe Khamenei's system as having creating a "parallel structure" for each of the country's institutions (army, intelligence agencies, etc.) to keep those institutions weak.<ref name="will-2013"/>

According to [[Vali Nasr]] of the [[Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies]], "[Khamenei] [took] many of the powers of the presidency with him and [turned] the office of the supreme leader into the omnipotent overseer of Iran's political scene". In Nasr's view, Khamenei is an "unusual sort of dictator".<ref name=vn /> Officials under Khamenei influence the country's various powers, and sometimes bickering, institutions, including "the parliament, the presidency, the judiciary, the Revolutionary Guards, the military, the intelligence services, the police agencies, the clerical elite, the Friday prayer leaders and much of the media", as well as various "nongovernmental foundations, organizations, councils, seminaries and business groups".<ref name=vn />

Khamenei issues decrees and makes the final decisions on the economy, environment, foreign policy and everything else in Iran.<ref name="Middle East Eye" /><ref name="al-monitor.com" /><ref name="Louis Charbonneau and Parisa Hafezi" /><ref name="en.iranwire.com" /> Khamenei regularly meets with the president, cabinet members, head and officials of the judiciary branch, parliamentarians, among others, and tells them what to do.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://english.khamenei.ir/news/609/Leader-Meets-President-Cabinet-Members|title=Leader Meets President, Cabinet Members|date=9 November 2004|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160811194954/http://english.khamenei.ir/news/609/Leader-Meets-President-Cabinet-Members|archive-date=11 August 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.leader.ir/en/content/12197/Supreme-Leader-Meets-with-President-Rouhani-and-Cabinet-Members|title=Supreme Leader Meets with President Rouhani and Cabinet Members|url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160806170220/http://www.leader.ir/en/content/12197/Supreme-Leader-Meets-with-President-Rouhani-and-Cabinet-Members|archive-date=6 August 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://english.khamenei.ir/news/2101/Leader-meets-with-President-and-Cabinet-members|title=Leader meets with President and Cabinet members|date=14 July 2015|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161011232708/http://english.khamenei.ir/news/2101/Leader-meets-with-President-and-Cabinet-members|archive-date=11 October 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://english.khamenei.ir/news/3976/Ayatollah-Khamenei-Judiciary-Should-Pursue-Violated-Rights-of|title=Ayatollah Khamenei: Judiciary Should Pursue Violated Rights of Iranian Nation at the International Level|date=2 July 2016|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160811132355/http://english.khamenei.ir/news/3976/Ayatollah-Khamenei-Judiciary-Should-Pursue-Violated-Rights-of|archive-date=11 August 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://indianexpress.com/article/world/world-news/iran-leader-ayatollah-ali-khamenei-warns-of-western-schemes-as-new-mps-meet-2823307/|title=Iran's leader Khamenei warns of Western 'schemes' as new MPs meet|date=28 May 2016|url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160701173441/http://indianexpress.com/article/world/world-news/iran-leader-ayatollah-ali-khamenei-warns-of-western-schemes-as-new-mps-meet-2823307/|archive-date=1 July 2016}}</ref> Khamenei has also fired and reinstated presidential cabinet appointments.<ref name="stalbertgazette.com" /><ref name="news.bbc.co.uk" /> Khamenei meets with foreign dignitaries, however, he does not travel overseas; if anyone wishes to see him, that person must travel to Iran. Apart from his time in Najaf as a student, Khamenei traveled to [[Libya]] during his time as president.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.alarabiya.net/articles/2011/10/22/173060.html |title=Tehran switches gear in its relationship with Tripoli after Qaddafi's death |date=22 October 2011 |access-date=5 March 2012 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130722220026/http://www.alarabiya.net/articles/2011/10/22/173060.html |archive-date=22 July 2013 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.imamreza.net/eng/imamreza.php?id=4105 |title=Glimpses from the Life of Ayatullah al-Uzma Sayyid Ali Khamenei |access-date=5 March 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100612192558/http://imamreza.net/eng/imamreza.php?id=4105 |archive-date=12 June 2010 }}</ref>

In his speeches, Khamenei regularly mentions many familiar themes of the 1979 revolution: justice, independence, self-sufficiency, Islamic government and resolute opposition to Israel and the United States, while rarely mentioning other revolutionary ideals such as democracy and greater government transparency.<ref name="Sadjad" /> According to [[Karim Sadjadpour]] of the [[Carnegie Endowment for International Peace]], Khamenei has "resisted Rafsanjani's attempts to find a [[modus vivendi]] with the United States, Khatami's aspirations for a more democratic Islamic state, and Ahmadinejad's penchant for outright confrontation."<ref name="Sadjad" />

==== Privatization of state-owned businesses ====
In 2007, Khamenei called for privatizing state-owned companies, including the telephone company, three banks and dozens of small oil and petrochemical enterprises. After a few months, at a televised meeting with then-President [[Mahmoud Ahmadinejad]] and his Cabinet ministers, important clerics, the leader of parliament and provincial governors, the heads of state broadcasting and the Iranian chamber of commerce, Khamenei ordered: "to pass some laws, sell off some businesses, and be quick about it." Khamenei warned that "those who are hostile to these policies are the ones who are going to lose their interests and influence."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/world/la-fg-circle31dec31-story.html |title=Iran's inner and outer circles of influence and power|date=31 December 2007|work=Los Angeles Times|url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170913135123/http://www.latimes.com/world/la-fg-circle31dec31-story.html|archive-date=13 September 2017}}</ref>

=== Dispute regarding status as Grand Ayatollah ===
[[File:Hossein Fardi and Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei.jpg|thumb|Khamenei during a meeting with [[Qāriʾ|Qaris]]]]
In 1994, after the death of Grand Ayatollah [[Mohammad Ali Araki]], the [[Society of Seminary Teachers of Qom]] declared Khamenei a new marja. Several ayatollahs, however, declined to recognize him as such. Some of those dissidents clerics included [[Mohammad Shirazi]], [[Hossein-Ali Montazeri]], [[Hassan Tabatabai-Qomi]], and [[Yasubedin Rastegar Jooybari]]. In 1997, for example, Montazeri "questioned the powers of the Leader" and was subsequently punished for his comments with the closure of his religious school, an attack on his office in Qom, and a period of house arrest.<ref name="BBCNewsProfile" />

=== Appointments ===
{{Update-section|date=September 2021}}
The table below lists some of the incumbent senior officeholders in Iran directly appointed by the supreme leader (sorted by date of appointment):
{|class="wikitable" style="text-align:left; font-size:100%; line-height:16px;"
|-
!Office
!Incumbent
!Date Appointed
!Limit
!Ref
|-
||Commander of [[Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps]]
||MG [[Mohammad Ali Jafari]]
||2 September 2007
|{{n/a}}
||<ref>{{citation|url=http://www.leader.ir/en/content/3631/IR-Leader-appoints-new-IRGC-commander|title=IR Leader appoints new IRGC commander|date=2 September 2007|access-date=11 June 2017|publisher=The Office of the Supreme Leader|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171010024629/http://www.leader.ir/en/content/3631/IR-Leader-appoints-new-IRGC-commander|archive-date=10 October 2017}}</ref>
|-
||[[Chief Justice of Iran]]
||[[Ebrahim Raisi]]
||7 March 2019
||5+5 years
||<ref>{{citation|url=http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2019-03/08/c_137876668.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200725191036/http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2019-03/08/c_137876668.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=25 July 2020|title=Senior principlist cleric appointed as Iran's judiciary chief|date=8 March 2019|access-date=21 November 2019|publisher=Xinhua}}</ref>
|-
||Head of ''[[Bonyad Mostazafan]]''
||[[Mohammad Saeedikia]]
||22 July 2014
||5 years
||
|-
||Chief of [[Iranian Police|Police]]
||BG [[Hossein Ashtari]]
||21 March 2015
||3 years
||<ref>{{citation|url=http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13931218000727|title=Gen. Ashtari Appointed as Iran's New Police Chief|date=9 March 2015|access-date=11 June 2017|agency=Fars News Agency|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171010024411/http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13931218000727|archive-date=10 October 2017}}</ref>
|-
||Head of [[Imam Khomeini Relief Foundation|Imam Khomeini Relief Committee]]
||[[Parviz Fattah]]
||5 April 2015
|{{n/a}}
||<ref>{{citation|url=https://financialtribune.com/articles/national/13843/en|title=Leader Appoints New IKRF Head|date=6 April 2015|access-date=11 June 2017|work=Financial Tribune}}</ref>
|-
||Custodian of ''[[Astan Quds Razavi]]''
||[[Ahmad Marvi]]
||30 March 2019
|{{n/a}}
||<ref>{{cite web | url=http://english.khamenei.ir/news/6590/Ayatollah-Khamenei-appointed-Sheikh-Ahmad-Marvi-as-the-custodian | title=Ayatollah Khamenei appointed Sheikh Ahmad Marvi as the custodian of Astan Quds Razavi | date=4 April 2019 | publisher=khamenei.ir | access-date=13 May 2019}}</ref>
|-
||Head of [[Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting]]
||[[Abdulali Ali-Asgari]]
||11 May 2016
|{{n/a}}
||<ref>{{citation|url=http://www.leader.ir/en/content/14995/Ayatollah-Khamenei-appoints-new-IRIB-chief|title=Leader of the Islamic Revolution Appoints New IRIB Chief|date=11 May 2016|access-date=11 June 2017|publisher=The Office of the Supreme Leader|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170326043921/http://www.leader.ir/en/content/14995/Ayatollah-Khamenei-appoints-new-IRIB-chief|archive-date=26 March 2017}}</ref>
|-
||[[General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran|Chief-of-Staff of Iranian Armed Forces]]
||MG [[Mohammad Bagheri (Iranian commander)|Mohammad Bagheri]]
||28 June 2016
|{{n/a}}
||<ref>Erdbrink, Thomas, [https://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/29/world/middleeast/irans-supreme-leader-shakes-up-military-command.html Iran's Supreme Leader Shakes Up Military Command] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170927053128/https://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/29/world/middleeast/irans-supreme-leader-shakes-up-military-command.html |date=27 September 2017 }} ''[[The New York Times]]'', 28 June 2016. Retrieved 29 June 2016.</ref>
|-
||Head of [[Islamic Azad University]]'s Board of Trustees
||[[Ali Akbar Velayati]]
||19 January 2017
|{{n/a}}
||<ref>{{citation|url=http://english.khamenei.ir/news/4583/Ayatollah-Khamenei-s-Edict-Appointing-Dr-Velayati-as-the-Head|title=Ayatollah Khamenei's Edict Appointing Dr. Velayati as the Head of the Islamic Azad University|date=7 March 2016|access-date=11 June 2017|work=The Office of the Supreme Leader|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171010032725/http://english.khamenei.ir/news/4583/Ayatollah-Khamenei-s-Edict-Appointing-Dr-Velayati-as-the-Head|archive-date=10 October 2017}}</ref>
|-
||Commander of [[Islamic Republic of Iran Army]]
||MG [[Abdolrahim Mousavi]]
||21 August 2017
|{{n/a}}
||<ref>{{citation|url=http://english.khamenei.ir/news/250/Leader-Appoints-New-Chief-Commander-of-the-Islamic-Republic-of|title=Leader Appoints New Chief Commander of the Islamic Republic of Iran's Army|date=11 September 2005|access-date=11 June 2017|publisher=The Office of the Supreme Leader|url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171010031947/http://english.khamenei.ir/news/250/Leader-Appoints-New-Chief-Commander-of-the-Islamic-Republic-of|archive-date=10 October 2017}}</ref>
|}

=== Political power following reform era ===
Khamenei developed a [[cult of personality]]; with supporters describing him as a "divine gift to mankind" and in which Khamenei critics are persecuted.<ref>{{cite book|author1=Amir Taheri|title=The Persian Night: Iran Under the Khomeinist Revolution|date=2010|publisher=Encounter Books|isbn=9781594034794|page=235|edition=reprint}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.theguardian.com/world/iran-blog/2012/apr/05/iran-khamenei-poetry-festival|title=To Iran's supreme leader Khamenei, with love and squalor|date=5 April 2012|website=the Guardian}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.washingtoninstitute.org/policy-analysis/khamenei-will-see-sanctions-him-direct-challenge-revolution|title=Khamenei Will See Sanctions on Him as a Direct Challenge to the Revolution|website=The Washington Institute}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2vgADAAAQBAJ&q=khamenei+cult&pg=PA156|title=Power and Change in Iran: Politics of Contention and Conciliation|first1=Daniel|last1=Brumberg|first2=Farideh|last2=Farhi|date=4 April 2016|publisher=Indiana University Press|isbn=9780253020796 |via=Google Books}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/iran-ali-khamanei-supreme-leader-grand-ayatollah-islamic-republic-80-birthday-a9011186.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190721154319/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/iran-ali-khamanei-supreme-leader-grand-ayatollah-islamic-republic-80-birthday-a9011186.html |archive-date=2019-07-21 |url-access=limited |url-status=live|title=How Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei turned his position into one 'Persian monarchs would have envied'|work=The Independent|first=Borzou|last=Daragahi|date=22 July 2019|access-date=11 April 2022}}</ref>

According to [[Karim Sadjadpour]] of the American [[Carnegie Endowment for International Peace]], several factors have strengthened Khamenei in recent years:

{{blockquote|(1) A vast network of [[commissar]]s stationed in strategic posts throughout government bureaucracies, dedicated to enforcing his authority; (2) the weak, conservative-dominated parliament, headed by Khamenei loyalist [[Gholam-Ali Haddad-Adel]] (whose daughter is [[Marriage in Islam|married]] to the Leader's son); (3) the rapidly rising political and economic influence of the [[Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps|Islamic Revolutionary Guards]], whose top leaders are directly appointed by Khamenei and have always been publicly obedient to him; (4) the political disengagement of Iran's young population ...; and (5) most significant[ly], the 2005 presidential election, which saw hardliner Mahmoud Ahmadinejad trounce Khamenei's chief rival ... [[Hashemi Rafsanjani]] ...<ref name="Sadjad" />}}

According to [[Christopher Dickey]], to consolidate his power base, Khamenei has developed close relations with the security and military establishment while also expanding the bureaucracy inside the government and around his [[Beit Rahbari]] compound.<ref name="newsweek.com">{{cite web|url=http://www.newsweek.com/ayatollah-khameneis-journey-80355|title=Ayatollah Khamenei's Journey|website=[[Newsweek]]|date=19 June 2009|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160307220139/http://www.newsweek.com/ayatollah-khameneis-journey-80355|archive-date=7 March 2016}}</ref>

=== Financial assets ===
{{See also|Setad}}
Writing in ''The Daily Telegraph'', Damien McElroy and Ahmad Vahdat observed: "The ayatollah likes to cultivate an image of austerity but receives major commissions from the Iranian oil and arms industries and there have been regular claims that he and his son have amassed a fortune running into billions of dollars."<ref>{{cite news|last1=McElroy|first1=Damien|last2=Vahdat|first2=Ahmad|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/iran/10034051/Irans-Ayatollah-Khamenei-embroiled-in-German-car-dealer-row.html|title=Iran's Ayatollah Khamenei embroiled in German car dealer row|date=<!-- Thursday -->2 May 2013|work=The Daily Telegraph|url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160109174452/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/iran/10034051/Irans-Ayatollah-Khamenei-embroiled-in-German-car-dealer-row.html|archive-date=9 January 2016}}</ref> A six-month investigation by [[Reuters]] has said that Khamenei controls a "financial empire" worth approximately US$95 billion that the Iranian Parliament does not oversee, a figure much larger than the estimated wealth of the late [[Mohammad Reza Pahlavi|Shah of Iran]]. According to the Reuters investigation, Khamenei uses the assets of a company called ''Headquarters for Executing the Order of the Imam'' or "Setad" in Farsi, to increase his grip on power.<ref name="TelegraphTait" /> Reuters "found no evidence that Khamenei is tapping Setad to enrich himself," but did find that he used Setad's funds, which "rival the holdings of the shah", for political expedience – "Setad gives him the financial means to operate independently of [[Islamic Consultative Assembly|parliament]] and the national budget, insulating him from Iran's messy factional infighting."<ref name="Reuters">[https://www.reuters.com/investigates/iran/#article/part1 Khamenei controls massive financial empire built on property seizures] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131112231535/http://www.reuters.com/investigates/iran/ |date=12 November 2013}}, reuters.com. Retrieved 2 September 2015</ref> According to ''The Daily Telegraph'', money from Setad is used to fund Khamenei's Beit Rahbari compound, which employs over 500 stewards, as was reported in 2013.<ref name="TelegraphTait" /> Hamid Vaezi, Setad's head of public relations, said the information "was far from realities and is not correct".<ref name="TelegraphTait" /> The six-month investigation by Reuters found that, regarding the source of Setad's funds, "Setad built its empire on the systematic seizure of thousands of properties belonging to ordinary Iranians: members of religious minorities like Vahdat-e-Hagh, who is Baha'i, as well as Shi'ite Muslims, business people and Iranians living abroad."<ref name=ReutersInvestigates>{{cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/investigates/iran/|title=Assets of the Ayatollah: The economic empire behind Iran's supreme leader – Khamenei controls massive financial empire built on property seizures|author=Steve Stecklow, Babak Dehghanpisheh and Yeganeh Torbati|work=Reuters|date=11 November 2013|access-date=12 January 2018}}</ref>

Despite the negative accounts of Western sources, Iranian official authorities depict Setad as a vast charity foundation. In an interview in October 2014 with [[Islamic Republic News Agency]], [[Muhammad Mukhber]], the head of Setad, stated that over 90% of profits from Setad business activities are spent on improving infrastructure in the poor regions of the country, creating jobs and improving the well-being of people in these regions reflecting the top concerns of Iran's Supreme Leader, Khamenei for the Iranian society. He states that 85 percent of Setad's charitable works occur in poor Iran regions. He cited the construction of several hundred schools, mosques and [[hussainiya]]s, as well as direct and indirect contributions to the formation of over 350 thousand jobs expecting a total of 700 thousands for the upcoming three years. Mukhber also cited a sum total grant of 2.21 trillion [[Iranian rial|rials]] of ''[[Qard al-Hasan]]'', interest-free loans, to 41 thousands families in poor regions of the country. He also revealed plans of gradual sell-off of Setad profitable businesses in the stock market with the aim of transferring their ownership into the hands of Iranian people. He also envisioned the construction and delivery of 17 thousand housing units to families in poor regions of Iran by 2018.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.irna.ir/fa/News/82334638|title=بیش از 90 درصدسود فعالیت های اقتصادی ستاد اجرایی فرمان امام در مناطق محروم هزینه می شود|work=خبرگزاری جمهوری اسلامی|access-date=11 June 2018|language=fa-IR}}</ref>

=== Challenges following 2009 election protest ===
{{See also|2009 Iranian presidential election|Timeline of the 2009 Iranian election protests}}
[[File:Khamenei meeting Assembly of Experts members 06.jpg|thumb|Khamenei and former president [[Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani]]]]
In mid-August 2009, a group of unnamed former reformist lawmakers appealed to the [[Assembly of Experts]] – the constitutional body charged with electing and (in theory) supervising and removing the Leader – to investigate Leader Ali Khamenei's qualification to rule.<ref name="AP15082009">[http://fr.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1249418608677 'Investigate if Khamenei fit to rule'] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120205131012/http://fr.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull&cid=1249418608677 |date=5 February 2012 }} Associated Press, 15 August 2009. Retrieved 24 September 2009.</ref> A week later another anonymous letter was issued "calling Iran's leader a dictator and demanding his removal", this one by a group of Iranian clerics.<ref name="NYT17082009">Robert F. Worth and Nazila Fathi, [https://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/17/world/middleeast/17iran.html "Clerics' Call for Removal Challenges Iran Leader"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160724080158/http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/17/world/middleeast/17iran.html |date=24 July 2016}}, ''The New York Times'', 16 August 2009</ref> The letters were called a blow to Khamenei's "status as a neutral arbiter and Islamic figurehead"<ref name="NYT17082009" /> and an "unprecedented challenge to the country's most powerful man"<ref name="AP15082009" /> though not a blow to his actual power as a leader. ''[[The New York Times]]'' reports "the phrase 'death to Khamenei' has begun appearing in graffiti on Tehran walls, a phrase that would have been almost unimaginable not long ago."<ref name="NYT17082009" />

The letter was addressed to the head of the [[Assembly of Experts]], Ayatollah Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, a "powerful former president" who also questions the election results. According to the Associated Press, it is unlikely the letter's demands would be met as "two-thirds of the 86-member assembly are considered strong loyalists of Khamenei and would oppose" any investigation of him.<ref name="AP15082009" />

According to ''The New York Times'' reporting in mid-August 2009,<!-- "Sunday"=16 August --> a "prominent Iranian cleric and a former lawmaker said on Sunday that they had spoken to some of the authors and had no doubt the letter was genuine". According to this cleric, the letter's signatories number "several dozen, and are mostly midranking figures from Qum, Isfahan and Mashhad", and that "the pressure on clerics in Qum is much worse than the pressure on activists because the establishment is afraid that if they say anything they can turn the more traditional sectors of society against the regime".<ref name="NYT17082009" />

=== Relations with former President Ahmadinejad ===
[[File:5th International Conference in Support of the Palestinian Intifada, Tehran (1).jpg|thumb|right|250px|Khamenei with [[Mahmoud Ahmadinejad]], [[Ali Larijani]], and [[Sadeq Larijani]] in 2011]]
<!-- This section is transcluded on Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. -->
Early in his presidency, Ahmadinejad was sometimes described as "enjoy[ing] the full backing" of the [[Supreme Leader of Iran|Supreme Leader]] {{no selflink|Ali Khamenei}},<ref name="nyt-favor">{{cite news|last=Fathi |first=Nazila |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/07/world/africa/07iht-tehran.4.9063096.html |title=Ahmadinejad loses favor with Khamenei, Iran's top leader |work=The New York Times |date=7 January 2008 |access-date=18 June 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110629111911/http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/07/world/africa/07iht-tehran.4.9063096.html|archive-date=29 June 2011 |url-status=live}}</ref> and even as being his "protege."<ref name=Abdo /> In Ahmadinejad's 2005 inauguration the supreme leader allowed Ahmadinejad to kiss his hand and cheeks in what was called "a sign of closeness and loyalty,"<ref>[http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/world/2009-08/04/content_8513716.htm Ahmadinejad gets key endorsement as Iran president], ''China Daily'', 4 August 2009</ref> and after the 2009 election fully endorsed Ahmadinejad against protesters.<ref>[https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/iran/5576925/Ayatollah-Ali-Khamenei-backs-Mahmoud-Ahmadinejad-in-address-at-Friday-prayers.html Ayatollah Ali Khamenei backs Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in address at Friday prayers], ''The Telegraph'', Damien McElroy, 19 June 2009</ref> However, as early as January 2008 signs of disagreement between the two men developed over domestic policies,<ref name="nyt-favor" /> and by the period of 2010–11 several sources detected a "growing rift" between them.<ref name=rift>{{cite news|first=Saeed Kamali |last=Dehghan |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/may/05/ahmadinejad-allies-charged-with-sorcery |title=Ahmadinejad allies charged with sorcery |work=The Guardian |date=5 May 2011|access-date=18 June 2011 |location=London|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110510144655/http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/may/05/ahmadinejad-allies-charged-with-sorcery|archive-date=10 May 2011|url-status=live}}</ref> The disagreement was described as centered on [[Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei]], a top adviser and close confidant of Ahmadinejad<ref name=accept>{{cite news|first=Ali Akbar|last=Dareini|url=http://www.stalbertgazette.com/article/GB/20110420/CP01/304209937/-1/sag0806/iranian-lawmakers-warn-ahmadinejad-to-back-intelligence-chief-as&template=cpArt|title=Iranian lawmakers warn Ahmadinejad to accept intelligence chief as political feud deepens|agency=Associated Press|work=StAlbertGazette.com|date=20 April 2011|access-date=11 January 2017|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131217073724/http://www.stalbertgazette.com/article/GB/20110420/CP01/304209937/-1/sag0806/iranian-lawmakers-warn-ahmadinejad-to-back-intelligence-chief-as%26template%3DcpArt|archive-date=17 December 2013}}</ref> and opponent of "greater involvement of clerics in politics",<ref name=weakens /> who was first vice president of Iran until being ordered to resign from the cabinet by the supreme leader.

In 2009, Ahmadinejad dismissed Intelligence Minister [[Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Eje'i]], an opponent of Mashaei. In April 2011, another Intelligence minister, [[Heydar Moslehi]], resigned after being asked to by Ahmadinejad but was reinstated by the supreme leader within hours.<ref name=Abdo>{{cite news|first=Geneive |last=Abdo |url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/geneive-abdo/clash-over-mashaei-reveal_b_853329.html|title=Clash Over Mashaei Reveals Fissures Within the Iranian Regime|work=The Huffington Post|date=26 April 2011|access-date=11 January 2017}}</ref><ref name=csm090511 /> Ahmadinejad declined to officially back Moslehi's reinstatement for two weeks and in protest engaged in an "11-day walkout" of cabinet meetings, religious ceremonies, and other official functions.<ref name=rift /><ref name=csm090511>{{cite news|url=http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Middle-East/2011/0509/Iran-s-Ahmadinejad-survives-worst-storm-of-his-presidency|title=Iran's Ahmadinejad survives the worst storm of his presidency|work=The Christian Science Monitor|first=Scott|last=Peterson|date=9 May 2011|access-date=11 January 2017}}</ref> Ahmadinejad's actions led to angry public attacks by clerics, parliamentarians and military commanders, who accused him of ignoring orders from the supreme leader.<ref name=accept /> Conservative opponents in parliament launched an "impeachment drive" against him,<ref name=weakens /> four websites with ties to Ahmadinejad reportedly were "filtered and blocked",<ref name=Abdo /> and several people "said to be close" to the president and Mashaei (such as [[Abbas Amirifar]] and [[Mohammed Sharif Malekzadeh]]) were arrested on charges of being "magicians" and invoking [[djinn]]s.<ref name=rift /> On 6 May 2011, it was reported that Ahmadinejad had been given an ultimatum to accept the leader's intervention or resign,<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/may/06/iran-supreme-leader-ahmadinejad-minister |title=Iran's supreme leader tells Ahmadinejad: accept minister or quit |first=Saeed Kamali |last=Dehghan |work=The Guardian |date=6 May 2011}}</ref> and on 8 May he "apparently bowed" to the reinstatement, welcoming back Moslehi to a cabinet meeting.<ref name=affirms>{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle-east/irans-ahmadinejad-affirms-khamenei-decision-tensions-remain/2011/05/08/AFpK82QG_print.html |title=Iran's Ahmadinejad affirms Khamenei decision, tensions remain |first=Thomas |last=Erdbrink |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=8 May 2011}}</ref> The events have been said to have "humiliated and weakened" Ahmadinejad. However, the president denied that there had been any rift between the two,<ref name=accept /> and according to the semiofficial [[Fars News Agency]], he stated that his relationship with the supreme leader "is that of a father and a son."<ref name=weakens>{{cite news |url=https://articles.latimes.com/2011/may/02/world/la-fg-iran-intelligence-20110502 |title=Spy flap weakens Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad |work=Los Angeles Times |date=2 May 2011 |location=Beirut |first=Borzou |last=Daragahi |access-date=11 January 2017}}</ref>

In 2012, Khamenei ordered a halt to a parliamentary inquiry into Ahmadinejad's mishandling of the Iranian economy.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2012/11/2012112119588529396.html |title=Iran calls off Ahmadinejad parliament probe |publisher=Al Jazeera |date=21 November 2012 |access-date=11 January 2017}}</ref> In 2016, Khamenei advised Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, his former ally with whom his relationship was strained after Ahmadinejad accused his son [[Mojtaba Khamenei]] of embezzling from the state treasury,<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://english.alarabiya.net/articles/2012/01/15/188461.html |title=Archived copy |access-date=28 September 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161001192301/https://english.alarabiya.net/articles/2012/01/15/188461.html |archive-date=1 October 2016 |url-status=dead  }}</ref> to not run for president again.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2016/09/mahmoud-ahmadinejad-khamenei-candidacy-letter.html|title=Khamenei puts stop to Ahmadinejad's return|date=27 September 2016|access-date=28 September 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160928171400/http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2016/09/mahmoud-ahmadinejad-khamenei-candidacy-letter.html|archive-date=28 September 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.irishtimes.com/news/world/middle-east/iran-s-ayatollah-khamenei-blocks-ahmadinejad-s-comeback-1.2807835|title=Iran's Ayatollah Khamenei blocks Ahmadinejad's comeback|first=Najmeh|last=Bozorgmehr|newspaper=The Irish Times}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/iran-blog/2016/sep/28/ahmadinejad-blocked-running-iran-presidential-elections-ali-khamenei|title=Ahmadinejad blocked from running in Iran presidential elections|first=Saeed Kamali|last=Dehghan|date=28 September 2016|newspaper=The Guardian}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://english.aawsat.com/2016/09/article55359128/ahmadinejad-prohibited-run-presidential-elections-based-khameneis-orders|title=Ahmadinejad Prohibited to Run for President ... based on Khamenei's Orders|work=Asharq Al-awsat|date=27 September 2016|access-date=28 September 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160928154055/http://english.aawsat.com/2016/09/article55359128/ahmadinejad-prohibited-run-presidential-elections-based-khameneis-orders|archive-date=28 September 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Ahmadinejad vows to follow Khamenei's order not to run |url=http://english.alarabiya.net/en/2016/09/26/Ahmadinejad-told-stay-out-of-election.html |website=english.alarabiya.net |date=26 September 2016 |access-date=23 September 2018}}</ref>

===2023 riots===
Khamenei rejected talks for referendums on the state's future, questioning people's judgment and causing public outrage.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.voanews.com/a/iran-s-leading-sunni-cleric-calls-out-supreme-leader-/7071404.html | title=Iran's Leading Sunni Cleric Calls Out Supreme Leader | date=28 April 2023 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.voanews.com/a/iranians-react-after-supreme-leader-rejects-referendums/7059207.html | title=Iranians React After Supreme Leader Rejects Referendums | date=20 April 2023 }}</ref>

=== Fatwas and messages ===
[[File:Ahmad Mohammad Amer in International Quran Competition's participants Meeting With Ali Khamenei 2013 09.jpg|thumb|[[Islamic Republic of Iran's International Holy Quran Competition|International Holy Quran Competition]]'s participants meeting with Khamenei, June 2013]]
[[File:Heads of State & Participants of 31th International Islamic Unity Conference Meeting with Ayatollah Sayyed Ali Khamenei 33.jpg|thumb|Participants of 31st [[International Islamic Unity Conference (Iran)|International Islamic Unity Conference]] meeting with Khamenei, December 2017]]

==== Fatwa against nuclear weapons ====
{{Main|Ali Khamenei's fatwa against nuclear weapons}}
Khamenei has reportedly issued a [[fatwa]] saying the production, stockpiling, and use of [[nuclear weapon]]s was forbidden under Islam.<ref name="AT">{{cite web |url=http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/HC17Ak02.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060316201913/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/HC17Ak02.html |url-status=unfit |archive-date=16 March 2006 |title=An Iran option the US prefers to ignore |date=17 March 2006|work=[[Asia Times]]}}</ref>

The fatwa was cited in an official statement by the Iranian government at an August 2005 meeting of the [[International Atomic Energy Agency]] (IAEA) in [[Vienna]].<ref name="IAEA">{{cite web |url=http://www.mathaba.net/news/?x=302258 |title=Iran, holder of peaceful nuclear fuel cycle technology |date=25 August 2005 |publisher=Mathaba.net, IRNA |access-date=13 August 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130810154009/http://www.mathaba.net/news/?x=302258 |archive-date=10 August 2013 }}</ref> It's been widely discussed by international officials and specifically recognized by the US administration.<ref name="WH">{{cite web|url=https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/2013/09/24/remarks-president-obama-address-united-nations-general-assembly|title=Remarks by President Obama in Address to the United Nations General Assembly|date=24 September 2013|access-date=21 August 2015|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170127140254/https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/2013/09/24/remarks-president-obama-address-united-nations-general-assembly|via=[[NARA|National Archives]]|work=[[whitehouse.gov]]|archive-date=27 January 2017}}</ref>

The Iranian official website for information regarding its nuclear program has provided numerous instances of public statements by Khamenei wherein he voices his opposition to the pursuit and development of nuclear weapons in moral, religious and Islamic juridical terms.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://nuclearenergy.ir/legal-aspects/#Fatwa_against_Nuclear_Weapons|title=Legal Aspects–Fatwa against Nuclear Weapons|publisher=nuclearenergy.ir|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150711211807/http://nuclearenergy.ir/legal-aspects/#Fatwa_against_Nuclear_Weapons|archive-date=11 July 2015}}</ref> Khamenei's official website specifically cites a 2010 version<ref>{{cite web|url=http://english.khamenei.ir//index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1287&Itemid=16 |title=Supreme Leader's Message to International Conference on Nuclear Disarmament |date=17 April 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131112211620/http://english.khamenei.ir//index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=781&Itemid=4 |archive-date=12 November 2013 }}</ref> of these statements in the fatwa section of the website in [[Farsi]] as a fatwa on "Prohibition of Weapons of Mass Destruction".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://farsi.khamenei.ir/treatise-content?id=228#2790|title=حرمت سلاح کشتار جمعی|publisher=Official Website of Ayatollah Khamenei–Fatwas Section|url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150708040618/http://farsi.khamenei.ir/treatise-content?id=228#2790|archive-date=8 July 2015}}</ref>

Doubts have been cast by experts on the existence of the fatwa as it can be changed or modified as and when deemed necessary,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.washingtoninstitute.org/policy-analysis/view/nuclear-fatwa-religion-and-politics-in-irans-proliferation-strategy|title=Nuclear Fatwa: Religion and Politics in Iran's Proliferation Strategy|publisher=washingtoninstitute.org|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171010024932/http://www.washingtoninstitute.org/policy-analysis/view/nuclear-fatwa-religion-and-politics-in-irans-proliferation-strategy|archive-date=10 October 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/tehranbureau/2012/06/jameeye-baaz-the-flexibility-of-ayatollah-khameneis-so-called-nuclear-fatwa.html|title=Jame'eye Baaz – The Flexibility of Khamenei's So-Called 'Nuclear Fatwa'|website=[[PBS]]|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151222132448/http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/tehranbureau/2012/06/jameeye-baaz-the-flexibility-of-ayatollah-khameneis-so-called-nuclear-fatwa.html|archive-date=22 December 2015}}</ref> as well as doubts on its authenticity, its impact,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2013/10/04/iran-fatwa-nuclear-weapons/2922517|title=Iran says nuclear fatwa exists; others don't buy it|date=4 October 2013|work=USA Today|access-date=31 January 2015|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140905042246/http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2013/10/04/iran-fatwa-nuclear-weapons/2922517/|archive-date=5 September 2014}}</ref> and its apparently religious nature.<ref name="Kessler-7-4-15">{{cite news|last1=Kessler|first1=Glenn|title=Fact Checker Did Iran's supreme leader issue a fatwa against the development of nuclear weapons?|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/fact-checker/wp/2013/11/27/did-irans-supreme-leader-issue-a-fatwa-against-the-development-of-nuclear-weapons/|access-date=7 April 2015|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=27 November 2013|url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150403161326/http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/fact-checker/wp/2013/11/27/did-irans-supreme-leader-issue-a-fatwa-against-the-development-of-nuclear-weapons/|archive-date=3 April 2015}}</ref> [[Gareth Porter]] believes that the fatwa is "sincere"<ref name="forein policy">{{cite news|last=Porter|first=Gareth|author-link=Gareth Porter|title=When the Ayatollah Said No to Nukes|url=https://foreignpolicy.com/2014/10/16/when-the-ayatollah-said-no-to-nukes/|access-date=21 August 2015|work=[[Foreign Policy]]|date=16 October 2014|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150822103111/http://foreignpolicy.com/2014/10/16/when-the-ayatollah-said-no-to-nukes/|archive-date=22 August 2015}}</ref> and Gholam-Hossein Elham commented that it will not change.<ref name=Borhan>{{cite web|last1=Elham|first1=Gholam-Hossein|title=Is the fatwa banning production of nuclear weapons a 'political taqiya'?|url=http://www.borhan.ir/NSite/FullStory/News/?Id=3462|website=Borhan|access-date=29 August 2015|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150923193754/http://www.borhan.ir/NSite/FullStory/News/?Id=3462|archive-date=23 September 2015}}</ref>

====Fatwa on Islamic legal interpretation====
[[File:Ali Khamenei met with Hajj authorities 2018 09.jpg|thumb|Khamenei meeting with [[Hajj]] authorities, 2018]]
In 2000, Ali Khamenei sent a letter to the Iranian parliament forbidding the legislature from debating a revision of the Iranian press law to allow more press freedom. He wrote: "The present press law has prevented this big plague. The draft bill is not legitimate and in the interests of the system and the revolution."<ref name="bbc-punch-up-6-8-2000"/>

In 1996, he issued a fatwa stating, "The promotion of music [both traditional and Western] in schools is contrary to the goals and teachings of Islam, regardless of age and level of study."<ref name="صدا و سیمای جمهوری اسلامی ایران">{{cite web|url=http://www.irib.ir/occasions/Rahbar/further_fatwas.htm|title=صدا و سیمای جمهوری اسلامی ایران|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070701213118/http://www.irib.ir/occasions/Rahbar/further_fatwas.htm|archive-date=1 July 2007}}</ref>
(Many music schools were closed and public (but not private) music instruction to children under 16 was banned thereafter.)<ref name="Yadegari">{{cite web |url=http://www.internews.org/visavis/BTVPagesInews/Persian_trad_music.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080114011146/http://www.internews.org/visavis/BTVPagesInews/Persian_trad_music.html |archive-date=14 January 2008|title=Introduction to Persian Traditional Music |first=Shahrokh |last=Yadegari |publisher=Beyond the Veil |access-date=19 June 2009}}</ref> Khamenei stated,
In 1999, Khamenei issued a [[fatwa]] stating that it was permitted to use a third party (donor sperm, ova or surrogacy) in fertility treatments. This was different in "both style and substance" to the fatwa on [[Assisted Reproductive Technology]] (ART) by Gad El-Hak Ali Gad El-Hak of Egypt's Al-Azhar University in the late 1980s which permitted ART (IVF and similar technologies) as long there is no third-party donation (of sperm, eggs, embryos, or uteruses).<ref>{{cite web |last=Inhorn |first=Marcia C. |author-link=Marcia Inhorn |title=Fatwas and ARTs: IVF and Gamete Donation in Sunni v. Shia Islam (Id. vLex: VLEX-418643) |publisher=The Journal of Gender, Race & Justice – Nbr. 9-2, January 2006 (c/o Vlex.com) |date=January 2006 |url=http://vlex.com/vid/fatwas-ivf-gamete-sunni-shia-islam-418643 |access-date =19 June 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090624121701/http://vlex.com/vid/fatwas-ivf-gamete-sunni-shia-islam-418643 |archive-date=24 June 2009 |url-status=live}}</ref>

In 2002, he ruled that human [[stem cell research]] was permissible under Islam, with the condition that it be used to create only parts instead of a whole human.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://muslimvoices.org/stem-cell-research-consistant-shiite-islam/ |title=Stem Cell Research Is Consistent With Shiite Islam |publisher=Muslimvoices.org |date=9 December 2009 |access-date=21 August 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100727162512/http://muslimvoices.org/stem-cell-research-consistant-shiite-islam/|archive-date=27 July 2010 |url-status=live}}</ref>

In 2002, after protests erupted in the capital, Khamenei intervened against the [[Capital punishment in Iran|death sentence]] given to [[Hashem Aghajari]] for arguing that Muslims should re-interpret Islam rather than blindly follow leaders. Khamenei ordered a review of the sentence against Aghajari, which was later commuted to a prison sentence.<ref name="BBCNewsProfile" />

====Other messages====
Sayyid Ali Khamenei annually issues message(s) on the occasion of [[Hajj]] for all Muslims (pilgrims) in Hajj.<ref>[http://fa.alkawthartv.com/news/209077 The message of Iran's supreme leader] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190916222127/http://fa.alkawthartv.com/news/209077 |date=16 September 2019 }} alkawthartv.com</ref><ref>[https://en.abna24.com/news//imam-khameneis-message-to-pilgrims-of-hajj-2018-in-35-languages_967995.html Imam Khamenei's message to pilgrims of Hajj 2019 in 40 languages] abna24.com</ref> He commenced to issue such messages since the start of his responsibility as the supreme leader of Iran (1989). He continually invites all Muslims to [[Tawhid]], and afterward expresses the significance of Hajj in spiritual/social life. He also asks the Muslims to be aware of what he considers "the conspiracy of the enemies" by having a right comprehension and advises them to "not be deceived by them". So far, Iran's supreme leader has issued 32 messages (since 1989).<ref>[https://www.yjc.ir/fa/news/7032613/%D8%AA%D8%B9%D8%AF%D8%A7%D8%AF-%D9%BE%DB%8C%D8%A7%D9%85%E2%80%8C%D9%87%D8%A7%DB%8C-%D8%AD%D8%AC-%D8%B1%D9%87%D8%A8%D8%B1%D8%A7%D9%86%D9%82%D9%84%D8%A7%D8%A8-%D8%A7%D8%B2-%D8%A7%D8%A8%D8%AA%D8%AF%D8%A7-%D8%AA%D8%A7%DA%A9%D9%86%D9%88%D9%86-%D8%AA%D8%B5%D9%88%DB%8C%D8%B1%D9%86%D9%88%D8%B4%D8%AA%D9%87 Hajj messages of Iran's supreme leader since before till now] yjc.ir</ref> A part of his last message (6 August 2019) is as follows:
{{blockquote|The ritual of Bara'ah which means refusing every instance of mercilessness, cruelty, wrongdoing and corruption of the tyrants of any time, and rising against intimidation and extortion by the arrogant throughout history, is one of the great blessings of Hajj, and an opportunity for oppressed Muslim nations.<ref>[http://english.khamenei.ir/news/6938/Hajj-is-a-great-opportunity-to-combat-the-Deal-of-the-Century Hajj is a great opportunity to combat the Deal of the Century: Imam Khamenei] khamenei.ir Retrieved 7 September 2019</ref>}}

Khamenei was one of the [[Ulama]] signatories of the [[Amman Message]], which gives a broad foundation for defining Muslim orthodoxy.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://ammanmessage.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=70&Itemid=42|title=The Official Website of The Amman Message – Grand Ayatollah Al-Sayyid Ali Khamenei|author=Administrator |publisher=ammanmessage.com|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120208072500/http://ammanmessage.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=70&Itemid=42|archive-date=8 February 2012}}</ref> as well as elaborating on the factors needed to create Islamic unity, he argues: "neither the Shia Muslims allied with the British MI6 are Shias, nor the Sunni mercenaries of the American CIA are Sunnis, as they are both anti-Islamic."<ref name="MehrNews">{{cite web|url=http://old.mehrnews.com/ar/newsdetail.aspx?NewsID=1847834 |title=Mehr News Unity top priority of world of Islam: Leader |publisher=Mehr News |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150112111646/http://old.mehrnews.com/ar/newsdetail.aspx?NewsID=1847834 |archive-date=12 January 2015}}</ref>

====Other fatwas====
{{Main|Companions of the Prophet}}
In 2010, Khamenei issued a fatwa that bans any insult to the [[Sahabah]] (companions of Muhammad) as well as [[Muhammad's wives]]. The fatwa was issued to reconcile legal, social, and political disagreements between Sunni and Shia.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.aimislam.com/al-azhar-chancellor-religious-leaders-hail-ayatollah-khameneis-fatwa/ |archive-url=https://archive.today/20140101080029/http://www.aimislam.com/al-azhar-chancellor-religious-leaders-hail-ayatollah-khameneis-fatwa/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=1 January 2014 |title=Al-Azhar Chancellor, Religious Leaders Hail Ayatollah Khamenei's Fatwa &#124; AhlulBayt Islamic Mission (AIM) |publisher=Aimislam.com |date=4 October 2010 |access-date=1 January 2014 }}</ref> In 2017, he issued a fatwa against women riding bicycles in public.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Khamenei Says Use Of Bicycles For Women Should Be Limited|url=https://en.radiofarda.com/a/iran-women-bicycles-rstricted-khamenei-fatwa/28882216.html|access-date=2021-06-21|website=RFE/RL|date=27 November 2017 |language=en}}</ref>

== Domestic policy ==
{{See also|Economy of Iran}}
[[File:Ayatollah Ali Khamenei at the Great Conference of Basij members at Azadi stadium October 2018 012.jpg|thumb|Khamenei at a public speech, 2018]]
Some regard Khamenei as the figurehead of the country's conservative establishment.<ref name="BBCNewsProfile" />

Khamenei supported [[Mesbah Yazdi]], describing him as one of Iran's most credible ideologues before the 2005 election, but has reportedly "recently been concerned about Mesbah's political ambitions."<ref>[https://docs.google.com/gview?a=v&q=cache:aXzA2W7e-IUJ:www.washingtoninstitute.org/pdf.php%3Ftemplate%3DC05%26CID%3D2542+khamenei+mesbah The Significance of Iran's December Elections]{{dead link|date=November 2017 |bot=Emir of Wikipedia |fix-attempted=yes }} Mehdi Khalaji 11 December 2006</ref>

In 2007, Khamenei requested that government officials speed up Iran's move towards [[privatization in Iran|economic privatization]]. Its last move towards such a goal was in 2004 when Article 44 of the constitution was overturned. Article 44 had decreed that Iran's core infrastructure should remain state-run. Khamenei also suggested that ownership rights should be protected in courts set up by the Justice Ministry; the hope was that this new protection would give a measure of security to and encourage private investment.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.payvand.com/news/07/feb/1254.html |title=Iran: Leader calls for acceleration of privatization program |publisher=Payvand.com |access-date=19 June 2009| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090618113704/http://www.payvand.com/news/07/feb/1254.html| archive-date=18 June 2009 | url-status=live}}</ref><ref>[http://www.tehrantimes.com/Description.asp?Da=2/20/2007&Cat=2&Num=019] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070308200734/http://www.tehrantimes.com/Description.asp?Da=2%2F20%2F2007&Cat=2&Num=019|date=8 March 2007}}</ref> In 2007, Iranian police under the direction of Khamenei launched a "Public Security Plan", arresting dozens of "thugs" to increase public security.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.roozonline.com/english/news3/newsitem/article/thug-crackdown-operation-under-way-in-iran.html |title=Thug" Crackdown Operation under Way in Iran (ROOZ :: English) |publisher=Roozonline.com |access-date=20 November 2009 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120310094243/http://www.roozonline.com/english/news3/newsitem/article/thug-crackdown-operation-under-way-in-iran.html |archive-date=10 March 2012 }}</ref>

Additionally, Khamenei has stated that he believes in the importance of nuclear technology for civilian purposes because "oil and gas reserves cannot last forever."<ref>{{cite web
 |url=http://www.voanews.com/english/2007-02-18-voa3.cfm |title=Khamenei: Iran's Nuclear Program Important to Nation's Future |publisher=Voice of America |access-date=19 June 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081119095350/http://voanews.com/english/2007-02-18-voa3.cfm|archive-date=19 November 2008 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSBLA82817120070218 |title=Iran says will not halt uranium enrichment &#124; International |work=Reuters |date=18 February 2007
|access-date=19 June 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090619054408/https://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSBLA82817120070218|archive-date=19 June 2009 |url-status=live}}</ref>

On 30 April 2008, Ali Khamenei backed President [[Ahmadinejad]]'s economic policy and said the West was struggling with more economic difficulties than Iran, with a "crisis" spreading from the United States to Europe, and inflation was a widespread problem. The Iranian leader said that the ongoing economic crisis which has debilitated the world has been unprecedented in the past 60 years. "This crisis has forced the UN to declare [[state of emergency]] for food shortages around the globe but foreign radios have focused on Iran to imply that the current price hikes and inflation in the country are the results of carelessness on the part of Iranian officials which of course is not true", he said. Khamenei emphasized that no one has the right to blame the [[Iranian government]] for Iran's economic problems. He also advised people and the government to be content and avoid waste in order to solve economic problems. "I advise you to keep in your mind that this great nation is never afraid of economic sanctions", he added.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://in.reuters.com/article/asiaCompanyAndMarkets/idINDAH03115420080430?pageNumber=1&virtualBrandChannel=0 |title=Iran leader defends government handling of economy |work=Reuters |date=30 April 2008|access-date=19 June 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090621032901/http://in.reuters.com/article/asiaCompanyAndMarkets/idINDAH03115420080430?pageNumber=1&virtualBrandChannel=0|archive-date=21 June 2009 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.middle-east-online.com/english/business/?id=25619 |title=Middle East Online |publisher=Middle East Online |date=30 April 2008 |access-date=19 June 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090618105603/http://www.middle-east-online.com/english/business/?id=25619 |archive-date=18 June 2009 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.tehrantimes.com/index_View.asp?code=167549 |title=Iranians turn threats into opportunities: Leader |work=Tehran Times |date=1 May 2008|access-date=19 June 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090618111847/http://www.tehrantimes.com/index_View.asp?code=167549|archive-date=18 June 2009 |url-status= live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www2.irna.ir/en/news/view/menu-236/0804304889163444.htm |title=Irna |access-date=19 June 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090618131203/http://www2.irna.ir/en/news/view/menu-236/0804304889163444.htm |archive-date=18 June 2009 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

=== Presidential, parliamentary, and Assembly of Experts elections ===
{{See also|Politics of Iran|Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran}}
[[File:Ayatollah khamenei. by YPA.ir 01.jpg|thumb|Khamenei casting his vote in [[2013 Iranian presidential election|2013 presidential election]]]]
As Supreme Leader, Khamenei has influence over [[elections in Iran]] since the [[Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran|Constitution of Iran]] allows him to appoint half of the members of the [[Guardian Council]] and the [[Chief Justice of Iran]].<ref name="constitution-article-91">Article 91 of the [[Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran|Constitution of Iran]]</ref><ref>Article 157 of the [[Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran|Constitution of Iran]]</ref> The Constitution also establishes that the Council approves or disqualifies candidates for office. At the same time, the Chief Justice presents the other half of the members of the council to be selected by [[Islamic Consultative Assembly|Parliament]].<ref name="constitution-article-91" /> These constitutional provisions give Khamenei direct and indirect influence over the council; an entity that, in turn, has direct influence over who can run for government. This influence was evident in [[2004 Iran Majlis election|the 2004 parliamentary elections]], in which the Guardian Council disqualified thousands of candidates from running—including 80 incumbents, many of the reformist members of Parliament, and all the candidates of the [[Islamic Iran Participation Front]] party. Subsequently, the Conservatives won about 70 percent of parliamentary seats. The election became a key turning point in the country's political evolution as it marked the end of the campaign for political and social reform initiated by former President [[Mohammad Khatami]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ccc.nps.navy.mil/si/2004/jun/gasiorowskiJun04.asp
|title=Strategic Insights – Iranian Politics After the 2004 Parliamentary Election |publisher=United States Navy |date=20 February 2004 |access-date=19 June 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090618085955/http://www.ccc.nps.navy.mil/si/2004/jun/gasiorowskiJun04.asp |archive-date=18 June 2009 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

During the 2005 presidential election, Khamenei's comments about the importance of fighting corruption, being faithful to the ideals of the Islamic revolution, as well as on the superior intelligence and dynamism of those who studied engineering were interpreted by some as a subtle endorsement of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (who had a PhD in traffic engineering).<ref name="Sadjad" /> After the election, and until recently, Khamenei was outspoken in his support for Ahmadinejad, and "defended him publicly in ways which he never" had reformist president Khatami. Khamenei would later certify the results of the 2009 Iranian presidential election.<ref name="Sadjad" />

Khamenei took a firm stand against the [[2009–10 Iranian election protests]], and stated that he would neither reconsider vote results nor bow to public pressure over the disputed reelection of President [[Mahmoud Ahmadinejad]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://mobile.latimes.com/inf/infomo?view=page8&feed:a=latimes_1min&feed:c=topstories&feed:i=47678542|title=Iran's top digs in heels on election|author=<!-- Kim Christensen??? --> Ramin Mostaghim|work=Los Angeles Times|url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090628090010/http://mobile.latimes.com/inf/infomo?view=page8&feed:a=latimes_1min&feed:c=topstories&feed:i=47678542|archive-date=28 June 2009}}</ref> "By Allah's favor, the presidential election was accurately held, and the current matters should be pursued legally."<ref>[http://english.khamenei.ir//index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1135 Supreme Leader Urges Mousavi to Proceed Through Legal Channels] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151104221013/http://english.khamenei.ir/ |date=4 November 2015}} (Khamenei web site), 14 June 2009. Retrieved 2 July 2009.</ref> In a public appearance on 19 June, he expressed his support for the declared winner Ahmadinejad. He accused foreign powers—including Britain, Israel and the United States—of helping foment protest against the election results.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/meast/06/16/iran.elections.timeline/|title=Timeline: 2009 Iran presidential elections|publisher=CNN|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160428202952/http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/meast/06/16/iran.elections.timeline/|archive-date=28 April 2016}}</ref> In particular, he singled out Britain, perceiving the country as the "most evil" of its enemies.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/8134134.stm|title=Middle East – UK investigates Iran charge claim|date=4 July 2009|publisher=BBC}}</ref> He said that the Iranian people would respond with an "iron fist" if Western powers meddle in Iran's internal affairs.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.voanews.com/english/2009-07-06-voa33.cfm |title=Iran's Supreme Leader Blasts Alleged 'Western Meddling' in Iran |publisher=Voice of America |date=6 July 2009 |access-date=21 August 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090709093007/http://www.voanews.com/english/2009-07-06-voa33.cfm |archive-date=9 July 2009 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

In response to reformist gains in the 2015–2016 election cycle, Khamenei lamented the loss of conservative clerics from the Assembly of Experts and suggested changes to the law by which the Guardian Council vets candidates may be needed because it is currently too difficult for the Guardian Council to vet so large a number of candidates.<ref>{{cite news |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=رهبر انقلاب در دیدار اعضای مجلس خبرگان:مجلس خبرگان باید انقلابی بماند/ مقایسه رفتار نجیبانه رای‌نیاورندگان انتخابات اخیر با رفتار نانجیبانه فتنه‌گران ۸۸/ نبودن آقایان مصباح و یزدی برای مجلس خبرگان خسارت است |trans-title=Supreme Leader meets members of the Assembly of Experts: Assembly of Experts should be revolutionary / compare gentlemanly behavior of those losing in recent elections with indecent behavior troublemakers in '09/ absence of Mr. Mesbah Yazdi is a loss for the Assembly of Experts |url=http://www.farsnews.com/newstext.php?nn=13941220000541 |date=10 March 2016 |language=fa |agency=Fars News Agency |location=Tehran |access-date=19 May 2016 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160516183526/http://www.farsnews.com/newstext.php?nn=13941220000541 |archive-date=16 May 2016 }}</ref>

=== Science and technology ===
{{See also|Science and technology in Iran}}
Ali Khamenei has been supportive of scientific progress in Iran. He was among the first Islamic clerics to allow [[stem cell research]] and [[therapeutic cloning]].<ref>{{cite news
|url=https://www.boston.com/news/world/middleeast/articles/2006/08/22/iran_looks_to_science_as_source_of_pride |title=Iran looks to science as source of pride |work=[[The Boston Globe]] |date=22 August 2006|access-date=19 June 2009|first=Anne|last=Barnard |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090526091641/http://www.boston.com/news/world/middleeast/articles/2006/08/22/iran_looks_to_science_as_source_of_pride |archive-date=26 May 2009 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.channel4.com/news/special-reports/special-reports-storypage.jsp?id=1907 |title=Science over ethics? – Channel 4 News |publisher=Channel 4 |date=8 March 2006 |access-date=19 June 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070419194851/http://www.channel4.com/news/special-reports/special-reports-storypage.jsp?id=1907 |archive-date=19 April 2007 |url-status=dead }}</ref> In 2004, Khamenei said that the country's progress is dependent on investment in the field of science and technology. He also said that attaching a high status to scholars and scientists in society would help talents to flourish and science and technology to become domesticated, thus ensuring the country's progress and development.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.khamenei.ir/EN/News/detail.jsp?id=20041031A |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927225641/http://www.khamenei.ir/EN/News/detail.jsp?id=20041031A |archive-date=27 September 2007|title=Students, Scientific Olympiad Winners Meet the Leader |publisher=The Islamic Revolution Cultural-Research Institute for Preserving and Publishing Works by Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei |date=31 October 2004
|access-date=19 June 2009}}</ref>

== Foreign policy ==
{{Main|Foreign relations of Iran}}
[[File:Ali Khamenei and Vladimir Putin.jpg|thumb|Khamenei in meeting with Russian President [[Vladimir Putin]], 23 November 2015]]

Khamenei has "direct responsibility" for foreign policy, which "cannot be conducted without his direct involvement and approval". He has a foreign policy team independent of the president's "which includes two former foreign ministers" and "can at any time of his choosing inject himself into the process and 'correct' a flawed policy or decision."<ref>Majd, ''The Ayatollah Begs to Differ'', (2008), p.59</ref> His foreign policy is said to steer a course that avoids either confrontation or accommodation with the West.<ref name="Sadjad" />

Khamenei condemned the [[Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen]] and compared Saudi Arabia to Israel.<ref>{{cite news |title=Iran's supreme leader accuses Saudis of 'genocide' in Yemen |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/apr/09/iranian-president-rouhani-yemen-ceasefire |work=The Guardian |date=9 April 2015}}</ref>

Khamenei condemned the [[Rohingya persecution in Myanmar (2016–present)|persecution of Rohingya Muslims]] in [[Myanmar]] and called Myanmar's de facto leader and [[Nobel Peace Prize]] laureate [[Aung Sang Suu Kyi]] a "brutal woman".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nydailynews.com/newswires/news/world/latest-indonesia-sends-34-tons-aid-rohingya-article-1.3488890|title=The Latest: Indonesia sends 34 tons of aid for Rohingya|website=NY Daily News|access-date=14 September 2017|archive-date=16 September 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170916023438/http://www.nydailynews.com/newswires/news/world/latest-indonesia-sends-34-tons-aid-rohingya-article-1.3488890|url-status=dead}}</ref>

U.S. Secretary of State [[Mike Pompeo]] criticized Khamenei for his refusal to condemn the [[Xinjiang re-education camps]] and human rights abuses against the [[Uyghurs|Uyghur]] [[Islam in China|Muslim]] minority in [[China]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Iran's Careful Approach to China's Uyghur Crackdown |url=https://thediplomat.com/2018/09/irans-careful-approach-to-chinas-uyghur-crackdown/ |work=The Diplomat |date=18 September 2018}}</ref>

He condemned UAE as useless on several occasions.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.khabaronline.ir/news/756773/%D9%81%DB%8C%D9%84%D9%85-%D8%B1%D9%87%D8%A8%D8%B1%D8%A7%D9%86%D9%82%D9%84%D8%A7%D8%A8-%D8%A7%D9%85%D8%B1%D9%88%D8%B2-%D8%A8%D9%84%D9%86%D8%AF%D8%AA%D8%B1%DB%8C%D9%86-%D8%A8%D8%B1%D8%AC-%D9%85%D9%86%D8%B7%D9%82%D9%87-%D8%AF%D8%B1-%D8%A8%DB%8C-%D8%B9%D8%B1%D8%B6%D9%87-%D8%AA%D8%B1%DB%8C%D9%86 | title=فیلم &#124; رهبرانقلاب: امروز بلندترین برج منطقه در بی‌عُرضه‌ترین کشور است! | date=21 February 2018 }}</ref>

=== Beliefs about the United States and its foreign policy ===
The United States and Iran have had no formal diplomatic relations since the [[Iran hostage crisis]] of 1980 when US embassy was taken over and US diplomats were taken prisoner.<ref name="Ekmanis-3-1-20">{{cite journal |last1=Ekmanis |first1=Indra |title=The history of US-Iran relations: A timeline |journal=The World |date=3 January 2020 |url=https://www.pri.org/stories/2020-01-03/history-us-iran-relations-timeline |access-date=9 June 2020}}</ref>  According to study by Karim Sadjadpour, speeches by Khamenei regularly mention the principle of resolute opposition to the United States;<ref name="Sadjad" /> and according to [[Karim Sadjadpour]] he has "resisted Rafsanjani's attempts to find a [[modus vivendi]] with the United States",<ref name="Sadjad" /> and once told reformist president [[Mohammad Khatami]] that "we need the United States as an enemy".<ref name="Filkins-iran-5-18-2020"/>

On 4 June 2006, Khamenei said that Iran would disrupt energy shipments from the [[Persian Gulf]] region (about 20% of the world's daily supply of oil passes from the Persian Gulf through the Strait of Hormuz very close to Iran's coast)<ref name="USEIA">{{cite web |title=TODAY IN ENERGY |url=https://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php?id=39932 |website=US Energy Information Administration |access-date=9 June 2020}}</ref> should the country come under attack from the US, insisting that Tehran will not give up its right to produce nuclear fuel.

On 14 September 2007, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei (on the 1st Friday prayer of [[Ramadan]]) predicted that [[George W. Bush]] and American officials would one day be tried in an international [[Criminal law|criminal court]] to be held "accountable" for the U.S. led [[Iraq War|invasion of Iraq]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/09/14/AR2007091400636.html |title=Iran leader: Bush will be tried |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=14 September 2007 |access-date=19 June 2009 |first=Nasser
|last=Karimi |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121112123930/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/09/14/AR2007091400636.html |archive-date=12 November 2012 }}</ref> He asserts that the United States is the main cause of insecurity in Iraq.

[[File:Ali Khamenei met with Xi Jinping in Tehran 2016 (3).jpg|thumb|left|Khamenei meeting with his counterpart, China's [[paramount leader]] [[Xi Jinping]], 23 January 2016]]
On 21 March 2009, a day after US President [[Barack Obama]] advocated a "new beginning" in diplomatic relations between the two countries, Khamenei said a change of US "words" was not enough and added: "We will watch and we will judge (the new US administration) ... You change, our behavior will change." He rejected US foreign policy since the Islamic revolution, insisted the United States is "hated in the world" and should end its interference in other countries.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSTRE52K0KP20090321 |title=Iran sees no change in U.S. policy: Khamenei &#124; International |work=Reuters |date=21 March 2009
|access-date=19 June 2009 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090324170926/http://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSTRE52K0KP20090321 |archive-date=24 March 2009 }}</ref>

Khamenei criticized the [[2011 military intervention in Libya|NATO-led military intervention in Libya]]. On 21 March 2011, Khamenei accused the West of " coming after Libyan oil". He also stressed that "Iran utterly condemns the behavior of the Libyan government against its people, the killings and pressure on people, and the bombing of its cities... but it (also) condemns the military action in Libya".<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20110321/wl_afp/iranpolitics_20110321171318|title=Khamenei backs revolts, accuses Obama of lying|publisher=AFP|date=21 March 2011|access-date=21 March 2011}}</ref> Khamenei stated that he support sending mediators rather than bombing the country.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.jpost.com/MiddleEast/Article.aspx?id=213168&R=R3|title = Iran's Khamenei: West should arm rebels, not bomb Libya| newspaper=The Jerusalem Post &#124; Jpost.com }}</ref>

In June 2011, Khamenei accused the United States government of terrorism and rejected the American [[definition of terrorism]]; he was quoted as saying, "The U.S. and the European governments that follow it describe Palestinian combatant groups who fight for the liberation of their land as terrorists."<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.ctvnews.ca/iran-s-supreme-leader-accuses-u-s-of-terrorism-1.662056 |title=Iran's supreme leader accuses U.S. of terrorism &#124; CTV News |date=25 June 2011 |publisher=Winnipeg.ctv.ca |access-date=1 January 2014 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120323233028/http://winnipeg.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20110625/iran-leader-khamenei-accuses-us-terrorism-110626/20110625/?hub=WinnipegHome |archive-date=23 March 2012 }}</ref>

In June 2012, Khamenei warned Western governments that the mounting sanctions on the country would only deepen the Iranians' hatred of the West.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://mg.co.za/article/2012-06-04-iran-warns-israel|title=Khamenei threatens Israel with 'lightning' revenge|work=The Guardian|date=4 June 2012|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140905100400/http://mg.co.za/article/2012-06-04-iran-warns-israel|archive-date=5 September 2014}}</ref>

In October 2014, Khamenei said the U.S. and the U.K. created ISIS as a tool to fight Iran and "create insecurity" in the region.<ref>{{cite news |title=Ali Khamenei |url=http://www.counterextremism.com/extremists/ali-khamenei |agency=[[Counter Extremism Project]] |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161009173939/http://www.counterextremism.com/extremists/ali-khamenei |archive-date=9 October 2016  }}</ref>

[[File:Swedish PM Stefan Löfven meeting Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei 04.jpg|thumb|Khamenei with former Swedish Prime Minister [[Stefan Löfven]], 11 February 2017]]
On 19 July 2015, while speaking at a mosque in Tehran, Khamenei said to his supporters that the policies of the United States in the region were "180 degrees" opposed to Iran's political and religious movement.<ref name="msn.com">{{cite web|url=https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/kerry-says-iran-vow-to-defy-us-is-very-disturbing/ar-AAdgNd9|title=U.S. 'disturbed' by Iranian leader's criticism after deal|publisher=MSN|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150723182505/http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/kerry-says-iran-vow-to-defy-us-is-very-disturbing/ar-AAdgNd9|archive-date=23 July 2015}}</ref> The speech was punctuated by chants of "Death to America" and "Death to Israel". Khamenei said in regards to the [[Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action|2015 nuclear deal]] that "Even after this deal, our policy towards the arrogant U.S. will not change."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.aol.com/article/2015/07/21/kerry-says-iran-vow-to-defy-u-s-is-very-disturbing/21211758/|title=Kerry says Iran vow to defy U.S. is 'very disturbing'|work=AOL Article|date=15 July 2016 |url-status=live|archive-url=https://wayback.archive-it.org/all/20171010024412/https://www.aol.com/article/2015/07/21/kerry-says-iran-vow-to-defy-u-s-is-very-disturbing/21211758/ |archive-date=10 October 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/iran-nuclear-talks/irans-ayatollah-ali-khamenei-vows-opposition-u-s-despite-nuke-n394326|title=Iran's Ayatollah Vows Opposition to 'Arrogant' U.S. Despite Nuke Deal|author=Ali Arouzi|work=NBC News|date=18 July 2015 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150720201444/http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/iran-nuclear-talks/irans-ayatollah-ali-khamenei-vows-opposition-u-s-despite-nuke-n394326|archive-date=20 July 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-iran-nuclear-khamenei-idUSKCN0PS05320150718|title=Nuclear deal will not change Iran's relations with U.S.: supreme leader|work=Reuters|date=18 July 2015|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151114223149/http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/07/18/us-iran-nuclear-khamenei-idUSKCN0PS05320150718|archive-date=14 November 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/ayatollah-says-nuclear-deal-will-not-change-irans-relations-with-us/2015/07/18/7470b531-ff12-4913-81e1-21101130fbdd_story.html|title=Ayatollah says nuclear deal will not change Iran's relations with U.S.|author=Carol Morello|newspaper=The Washington Post}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-33578942|title=Iran nuclear: Ayatollah Khamenei chastises 'arrogant' US|work=BBC News|date=18 July 2015|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150905120808/http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-33578942|archive-date=5 September 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/iran-nuclear-deal-ayatollah-khamenei-says-hostile-policies-towards-arrogant-america-will-not-change-10398733.html|title=Iran nuclear deal: Ayatollah Khamenei says hostile policies towards 'arrogant' America will not change|author=Tom Brooks-Pollock|work=The Independent|date=18 July 2015|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171010025420/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/iran-nuclear-deal-ayatollah-khamenei-says-hostile-policies-towards-arrogant-america-will-not-change-10398733.html|archive-date=10 October 2017}}</ref> [[U.S. Secretary of State]] [[John Kerry]] said that if the comments reflected policy, it was "very disturbing", and "very troubling".<ref name="msn.com" /><ref>{{cite web|url=https://news.yahoo.com/kerry-says-iran-vow-defy-u-very-disturbing-070223527.html|title=Kerry says Iran vow to defy U.S. is 'very disturbing'|date=21 July 2015|publisher=Yahoo News|url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160331002520/http://news.yahoo.com/kerry-says-iran-vow-defy-u-very-disturbing-070223527.html|archive-date=31 March 2016}}</ref>

In March 2020, Khamenei warned against a United States offer of aid to fight [[COVID-19]] because it could be a way to hurt Iran by further spreading the disease. He also suggested the US had developed a special variety of the virus "based on Iranian genetic information they have gathered", although he provided no evidence for the theory.<ref>{{cite news |title=Coronavirus: Iran's leader suggests US cooked up 'special version' of virus to target country |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/iran-coronavirus-us-target-country-special-version-covid19-a9417206.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200323004121/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/iran-coronavirus-us-target-country-special-version-covid19-a9417206.html |archive-date=2020-03-23 |url-access=limited |url-status=live |work=The Independent |date=March 22, 2020}}</ref> Khamenei explained, "There are enemies who are demons, and there are enemies who are humans, and they help one another."<ref name="Filkins-iran-5-18-2020"/>

In March 2022, Khamenei accused the U.S. of creating the conflict surrounding the [[Russo-Ukrainian War]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Iran's supreme leader criticizes U.S. over Ukraine crisis|url=https://www.reuters.com/world/iran-supreme-leader-says-ukraine-is-victim-crises-caused-by-us-2022-03-01/ |work=Reuters }}</ref>

=== Condemnation of September 11 attacks ===
After the [[September 11 attacks]], Khamenei condemned the act and the attackers and called for a condemnation of terrorist activities all over the world, but warned strongly against a military intervention in Afghanistan.<ref name=autogenerated1>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/1549573.stm BBC News, Middle East, Iran condemns attacks on US] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120127060134/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/1549573.stm |date=27 January 2012 }}, 17 September 2001</ref> He is quoted as saying, "Mass killings of human beings are catastrophic acts which are condemned wherever they may happen and whoever the perpetrators and the victims may be."<ref name=autogenerated1 />

=== Zionism and Israel ===
[[File:Sixth International Conference in Support of the Palestinian Intifada, Tehran (12).jpg|thumb|Sixth International Conference in Support of the [[Second Intifada|Palestinian Intifada]], Tehran, 2017]]
Khamenei is an opponent of the [[State of Israel]] and [[Zionism]], and has been criticized for making threats against Israel and for [[Antisemitism|anti-Semitic]] rhetoric.<ref>{{cite web|author-link=Jeffrey Goldberg|last=Goldberg|first=Jeffrey|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2015/08/iran-israel-obama-kerry-jews/400895/|title=Why Iran's Anti-Semitism Matters|work=[[The Atlantic]]|date=11 August 2015|access-date=25 June 2017|url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170523000204/https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2015/08/iran-israel-obama-kerry-jews/400895/|archive-date=23 May 2017}}</ref>

On 15 December 2000, Khamenei called Israel a "cancerous tumor of a state" that "should be removed from the region"<ref>{{cite journal|last=Richter|first=Elihu D.|author2=Alex Barnea|title=Tehran's Genocidal Incitement against Israel|journal=The Middle East Quarterly|date=Summer 2009|volume=XVI|issue=3|pages=49–51|url=http://www.meforum.org/2167/iran-genocidal-incitement-israel|access-date=14 August 2013|url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130806050511/http://www.meforum.org/2167/iran-genocidal-incitement-israel|archive-date=6 August 2013}}</ref><ref>[http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4270418,00.html Khamenei: 'Tumor' of Israel is world's biggest problem] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150923060635/http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4270418,00.html |date=23 September 2015}} ''Ynet News''. 19 August 2012</ref><ref>[https://www.cbsnews.com/news/iranian-leader-israel-a-cancerous-tumor/ Iranian Leader: Israel A "Cancerous Tumor"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150923085410/http://www.cbsnews.com/news/iranian-leader-israel-a-cancerous-tumor/ |date=23 September 2015}} CBS News. 4 March 2009</ref><ref>[http://www.timesofisrael.com/khamenei-israeli-a-malignant-zionist-tumor/ Israel a 'cancerous tumor' and Middle East's biggest problem, Iranian supreme leader says] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120823081534/http://www.timesofisrael.com/khamenei-israeli-a-malignant-zionist-tumor/ |date=23 August 2012}} ''The Times of Israel''. 19 August 2012</ref> and in 2013 called Israel a "rabid dog",<ref>{{cite news|url=https://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2013/11/kerry-calls-khameneis-rabid-dog-comment-inflammatory/|title=Kerry Calls Khamenei's 'Rabid Dog' Comment 'Inflammatory'|date=21 November 2013|access-date=6 September 2015|work=ABC News|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150921145427/http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2013/11/kerry-calls-khameneis-rabid-dog-comment-inflammatory/|archive-date=21 September 2015 }}</ref> as well as in 2014 during the [[2014 Israel–Gaza conflict|Gaza war]],<ref>{{cite news|url=http://in.reuters.com/article/uk-mideast-gaza-iran-khamenei-idINKBN0FY0CH20140729|title=Iran leader calls Israel 'rabid dog', urges arms for Palestinians|date=29 July 2014|access-date=6 September 2015|work=Reuters|url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150923085657/http://in.reuters.com/article/2014/07/29/uk-mideast-gaza-iran-khamenei-idINKBN0FY0CH20140729 |archive-date=23 September 2015}}</ref> for what he called attacking innocent people.<ref>{{cite news|title=The secret behind Leader's interpretations about the Zionist regime/ A rabid dog holding the reins of his supporters|url=http://www.farsnews.com/newstext.php?nn=13930511000035|access-date=12 June 2017|agency=Fars News|url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171010024638/http://www.farsnews.com/newstext.php?nn=13930511000035|archive-date=10 October 2017}}</ref> In 2014, a [[tweet (Twitter)|tweet]] from an account attributed to Khamenei, claimed that there was no cure for Israel but its destruction.<ref>[http://www.jpost.com/Middle-East/Khamenei-on-Twitter-No-cure-for-barbaric-Israeli-regime-but-to-be-annihilated-381215 "Khamenei on Twitter: No cure for barbaric Israeli regime but to be annihilated."] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150310160315/http://www.jpost.com/Middle-East/Khamenei-on-Twitter-No-cure-for-barbaric-Israeli-regime-but-to-be-annihilated-381215 |date=10 March 2015}} ''The Jerusalem Post''. 9 November 2014. 9 March 2015.</ref><ref>[http://edition.cnn.com/2014/11/10/world/meast/iran-annihilate-israel/ Iran leader's call to 'annihilate' Israel sparks fury as nuclear deadline looms] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150923061607/http://edition.cnn.com/2014/11/10/world/meast/iran-annihilate-israel/ |date=23 September 2015}} CNN. 10 November 2014.</ref><ref>[http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2014/11/09/iran_s_khamenei_israel_must_be_annihilated.html Iran's Khamenei: No Cure for Barbaric Israel but Annihilation] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150905093059/http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2014/11/09/iran_s_khamenei_israel_must_be_annihilated.html |date=5 September 2015 }} ''The Slatest''. 9 November 2014</ref><ref>[http://globalnews.ca/news/1664491/irans-supreme-leader-khamenei-tweets-his-reasons-to-eliminate-israel/ Iran's supreme leader Khamenei tweets reasons to 'eliminate' Israel] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150923060731/http://globalnews.ca/news/1664491/irans-supreme-leader-khamenei-tweets-his-reasons-to-eliminate-israel/ |date=23 September 2015 }} ''Global News''. 10 November 2014</ref>

In a September 2008 sermon for [[Friday prayers]] in [[Tehran]], Khamenei stated that "it is incorrect, irrational, pointless and nonsense to say that we are friends of Israeli people",<ref name="LaTimes">{{cite news|last=Mostaghim|first=Ramin|author-link=Mostaghim Ramin|author2=Borzou Daragahi|title=Iran leader talks tough on Israel|work=Los Angeles Times|date=20 September 2008|url=https://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-iran20-2008sep20,0,554272.story|access-date=2 January 2010|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081105084134/http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-iran20-2008sep20,0,554272.story|archive-date=5 November 2008}}</ref> because he believed that the [[Occupation of Palestine|occupation]] is done by means of them. "[U]surpation of houses, lands, and business [of Palestinian people] are carried out using these people. They are the background actors of Zionist elements," said Khamenei in his speech. "[W]e have no problem with Jews and Christians ... we have problem with the usurpers of Palestine land," he added.<ref>{{cite news|title=Expressing friendship with the people of Israel [is] false, irrational and absurd|url=http://www.tabnak.ir/fa/pages/?cid=18726|access-date=12 June 2017|work=Tabnak|language=fa-IR|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171010024614/http://www.tabnak.ir/fa/pages/?cid=18726|archive-date=10 October 2017}}</ref> Also, he said that he had raised the issue "to spell an end to any debates".<ref name="LaTimes" /> In 2013, Khamenei accused France of "kneeling" before Israel, while saying that Israel was led by people unworthy of the "title human".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/iran/10462154/Irans-Supreme-Leader-vows-no-retreat-as-nuclear-talks-begin.html|title=Iran's Supreme Leader vows 'no retreat' as nuclear talks begin|date=20 November 2013|work=The Daily Telegraph|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131122010351/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/iran/10462154/Irans-Supreme-Leader-vows-no-retreat-as-nuclear-talks-begin.html|archive-date=22 November 2013}}</ref>

Nevertheless, according to anti-regime change activist [[Abbas Edalat]], in 2005, Khamenei responded to a remark by then-[[President of Iran|President]] Ahmadinejad which had been [[Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Israel#Translation|widely translated]] as saying that the "regime occupying Jerusalem should be wiped off the map" by saying that "the [[Iran|Islamic Republic]] has never threatened and will never threaten any country."<ref>{{cite news|last=Edalat |first=Abbas |title=The US can learn from this example of mutual respect |work=The Guardian |date=5 April 2007 |url=https://www.theguardian.com/comment/story/0,,2050168,00.html |access-date=30 April 2007 |location=London |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070430141608/http://www.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0%2C%2C2050168%2C00.html |archive-date=30 April 2007 |url-status=live }}</ref>

In a September 2009 sermon, Khamenei was quoted as saying that "the Zionist cancer is gnawing into the lives of Islamic nations."<ref>[http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/middle_east/article6841604.ece Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei blasts Israel in sermon.] ''The Times''.</ref> In another report of the same speech, he added that "we will support and help any nations, any groups fighting against the Zionist regime across the world, and we are not afraid of declaring this."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/iran-says-it-launched-satellite/2012/02/03/gIQARNuDmQ_story.html|title=Ayatollah Khamenei says Iran will back 'any nations, any groups' fighting Israel|newspaper=The Washington Post}}</ref>

Khamenei instead proposed that "Palestinian refugees should return and Muslims, Christians and Jews could choose a government for themselves, excluding immigrant Jews," adding, "No one will allow a bunch of thugs, lechers and outcasts from London, America and Moscow to rule over the Palestinians."<ref name="archives.cnn.com">{{cite news|title=Iran leader urges destruction of 'cancerous' Israel |publisher=CNN |date=15 December 2000 |url=http://archives.cnn.com/2000/WORLD/meast/12/15/mideast.iran.reut/ |access-date=30 April 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070405205037/http://archives.cnn.com/2000/WORLD/meast/12/15/mideast.iran.reut/ |archive-date=5 April 2007 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
[[File:Pro-government Syrians demonstration in Damascus after US missile strike 06.jpg|thumb|Pro-government [[Syria]]ns with portraits of Assad, Ayatollah Khomeini and Khamenei, April 2018]]

On 10 September 2015, in a speech about [[Israel]] after [[Iran nuclear deal framework|agreement]] on the [[nuclear program of Iran]], Khamenei made a remark "Israel will not exist in 25 years".<ref name="al-monitor">{{cite news |url=http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2015/09/khamenei-negotiation-us.html |title=Khamenei: Israel will no longer exist in 25 years |work=Al Monitor |date=9 September 2015 |access-date=2 April 2016 |author=Karami, Arash |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160403070907/http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2015/09/khamenei-negotiation-us.html |archive-date=3 April 2016  }}</ref> For the first time, the remark was published in Khamenei's official website and his [[Twitter]].<ref>{{cite news |url=http://adhdwire.com/world/irans-supreme-leader-says-israel-wont-exist-in-25-years/ |title=Iran's Supreme Leader Says Israel Won't Exist in 25 Years |work=ADHD |date=10 September 2015 |access-date=2 April 2016 |author=Rawling, Noah |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20160611114627/http://adhdwire.com/world/irans-supreme-leader-says-israel-wont-exist-in-25-years/ |archive-date=11 June 2016  }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.westernjournalism.com/israels-netanyahu-returns-fire-after-iran-supreme-leaders-death-threat/ |title=Israel's Netanyahu Returns Fire After Iran Supreme Leader's Death Threat |work=Western Journalism |date=10 September 2015 |access-date=2 April 2016 |author=Koski, Justin |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160105015356/http://www.westernjournalism.com/israels-netanyahu-returns-fire-after-iran-supreme-leaders-death-threat/ |archive-date=5 January 2016  }}</ref> This statement was reported as voted as the best and most important among Khamenei's statements in 2015 by an online poll conducted by his official website.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.jahannews.com/fa/doc/news/480412/%D9%85%D9%87%D9%85%D8%AA%D8%B1%DB%8C%D9%86-%D8%AC%D9%85%D9%84%D9%87-%D8%B1%D9%87%D8%A8%D8%B1-%D8%A7%D9%86%D9%82%D9%84%D8%A7%D8%A8-%D8%B3%D8%A7%D9%84-%DB%B9%DB%B4-%D9%86%DA%AF%D8%A7%D9%87-%D9%85%D8%B1%D8%AF%D9%85 |title=The best 2015 year sentence of Iranian leader in view of Iranian people was selected. |agency=Jahan News Agency |date=17 March 2016 |access-date=2 April 2016 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160330102358/http://www.jahannews.com/fa/doc/news/480412/%D9%85%D9%87%D9%85%D8%AA%D8%B1%DB%8C%D9%86-%D8%AC%D9%85%D9%84%D9%87-%D8%B1%D9%87%D8%A8%D8%B1-%D8%A7%D9%86%D9%82%D9%84%D8%A7%D8%A8-%D8%B3%D8%A7%D9%84-%DB%B9%DB%B4-%D9%86%DA%AF%D8%A7%D9%87-%D9%85%D8%B1%D8%AF%D9%85 |archive-date=30 March 2016  }}</ref>

On 21 February, at the 6th International Conference in Support of the Palestinian Intifada, Khamenei regarded the withdrawal of Israel from south Lebanon in 2000. From Gaza in 2005 as two major achievements so far.<ref>{{cite news|title=Iranian leader backs Palestinian liberation from Israel 'tumor'|url=https://www.i24news.tv/en/news/international/middle-east/138232-170221-iranian-leader-backs-palestinian-liberation-from-israel-tumor|access-date=22 April 2017|work=i24NEWS|agency=Agence France-Presse|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170423063615/https://www.i24news.tv/en/news/international/middle-east/138232-170221-iranian-leader-backs-palestinian-liberation-from-israel-tumor|archive-date=23 April 2017}}</ref> Also, he advised the Islamic countries to refrain from "useless" crises and differences and instead concentrate on the issue of [[State of Palestine|Palestine]] which he regarded as the core issue of Islam. "Otherwise, the potentials and capabilities of the nations will go to waste in the face of vain struggles, which would provide opportunities for the Zionist regime to become even stronger," he added.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Osman|first1=Marwa|title=6th International Conference in Support of the Palestinian Intifada|url=http://ahtribune.com/world/north-africa-south-west-asia/third-intifada/1519-palestinian-intifada.html|access-date=22 April 2017 |work=[[American Herald Tribune]] |language=en-gb|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170423064252/http://ahtribune.com/world/north-africa-south-west-asia/third-intifada/1519-palestinian-intifada.html|archive-date=23 April 2017}}</ref>{{unreliable source?|date=June 2019}}

Khamenei condemned the [[Israel–United Arab Emirates peace agreement|peace agreement]] between Israel and the [[United Arab Emirates]] and charged UAE with betraying the Islamic world, the Arab countries and Palestine. He stated that the normalization will be only temporary, but the UAE will forever have to bear the shame regarding the deal.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-israel-emirates-iran/irans-khamenei-says-israel-deal-betrayal-of-islamic-world-by-uae-idUSKBN25S4CA |title=Iran's Khamenei: UAE 'disgraced forever' by Israel deal |date=September 1, 2020 |work=Reuters}}</ref>
[[File:Ali Khamenei & Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in Tehran, 7 September 2018.jpg|thumb|Khamenei with Turkish President [[Recep Tayyip Erdoğan]] in Tehran, 7 September 2018]]
In October 2023, Khamenei praised the [[2023 Hamas attack on Israel|Hamas attack on Israel]], but denied Iran's involvement.<ref>{{cite news |title=Iran's Khamenei lauds Hamas attack on Israel, again denies involvement |url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/irans-khamenei-lauds-hamas-attack-on-israel-again-denies-involvement/ |work=The Times of Israel |date=10 October 2023}}</ref> He condemned Israel's [[2023 Israel–Hamas war|bombing of the Gaza Strip]] in retaliation for the Hamas attack and accused Israel of committing [[Genocides in history (21st century)#Israel/Palestine|genocide]] against the Palestinian people in Gaza.<ref>{{cite news |title=Iran's Khamenei demands Israel stop bombardment of Gaza |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/10/17/irans-khamenei-warns-israel-that-bombardment-of-gaza-could-bring-response |work=Al Jazeera |date=17 October 2023}}</ref>

==== Holocaust denial ====
On 21 March 2014, during a morning speech marking the Persian New Year, [[Nowruz]], Khamenei called into question the [[The Holocaust|Holocaust]]. He said that "the Holocaust is an event whose reality is uncertain and if it has happened, it's uncertain how it has happened". Additionally he commented that "No one in European countries dares to speak about [the] Holocaust" (because of the potential legal consequences in some countries), and said that in the West, "speaking about [the] Holocaust and expressing doubts about it is considered to be a great sin."<ref>{{cite news|last=Keinon|first=Herb|url=http://www.jpost.com/Iranian-Threat/News/Irans-Khamenei-questions-certainty-of-Holocaust-346116|title=Iran's Khamenei questions 'certainty' of Holocaust|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140401161103/http://www.jpost.com/Iranian-Threat/News/Irans-Khamenei-questions-certainty-of-Holocaust-346116|work=The Jerusalem Post|date=21 March 2014|archive-date=1 April 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Levitt|first=Joshua|url=https://www.algemeiner.com/2014/03/21/irans-ayatollah-khamenei-says-reality-of-holocaust-is-uncertain/|title=Iran's Ayatollah Khamenei Says Reality of Holocaust is 'Uncertain'|work=The Algemeiner|date=21 March 2014|access-date=10 January 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Maloney|first=Suzanne|url=http://www.brookings.edu/blogs/markaz/posts/2014/03/22-khamenei-holocaust-denial-new-year-speech|title=Oops, He Did It Again: Iran's Supreme Leader Questions the Holocaust|date=21 March 2014|work=The Brookings Institution|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150923222601/http://www.brookings.edu/blogs/markaz/posts/2014/03/22-khamenei-holocaust-denial-new-year-speech|archive-date=23 September 2015}}</ref> The [[Anti-Defamation League]] accused Khamenei in March 2014 of making statements of explicit [[Holocaust denial]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.adl.org/news/press-releases/adl-condemns-clear-holocaust-denial-by-ayatollah-khamenei-during-his-national|title=Ayatollah Khamenei During His National Address|work=Anti-Defamation League|date=21 March 2014|access-date=18 December 2019}}</ref>

On [[International Holocaust Remembrance Day|Holocaust Memorial Day]], 27 January 2016, Khamenei posted a Holocaust-denying video on his official website. In the video (drawing on the March 2014 speech),<ref>{{cite news|last=Moore|first=Jack|url=https://www.newsweek.com/irans-ayatollah-khamenei-posts-holocaust-denial-video-remembrance-day-420511|title=Iran's Ayatollah Khamenei Posts Holocaust Denial Video on Remembrance Day|work=Newsweek|date=28 January 2016|access-date=10 January 2020}}</ref> lasting about three minutes, the video features images of Holocaust deniers [[Roger Garaudy]], [[Robert Faurisson]], and [[David Irving]].<ref>{{cite news|last=Turner|first=Camilla|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/iran/12126576/Supreme-leader-of-Iran-marks-Holocaust-Memorial-Day-by-publishing-Holocaust-denying-video.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220111/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/iran/12126576/Supreme-leader-of-Iran-marks-Holocaust-Memorial-Day-by-publishing-Holocaust-denying-video.html |archive-date=11 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|title=Supreme leader of Iran marks Holocaust Memorial Day by publishing Holocaust denying video|work=The Daily Telegraph|date=<!-- Thursday -->28 January 2016|access-date=10 January 2020}}{{cbignore}}</ref> In a series of tweets in mid-December 2019, he praised Garaudy: "The fight he engaged in against the Zionists is a #DivineDuty for all those who respect the #Truth." France's conviction of Garaudy, he said, was against the concept of freedom of speech.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.algemeiner.com/2019/12/18/iranian-leader-khamenei-praises-french-holocaust-denier-on-twitter/|title=Iranian Leader Khamenei Praises French Holocaust Denier on Twitter|work=The Algemeiner|agency=JNS|date=18 December 2019|access-date=10 January 2020}}</ref>

====Anti-semitism====
At least one source ([[Yair Rosenberg]]), argues that statements by Khamenei purporting to attack "Zionism", are following an anti-Semitic tradition of avoiding censorship by using "Zionism" as a [[Dog whistle (politics)|dog whistle]] for "Jews". For example, an 8 June 2022 statement [[Twitter#Tweets|tweeted]] by Khamenei:
:"The Zionists have always been a plague, even before establishing the fraudulent Zionist regime. Even then, Zionist capitalists were a plague for the whole world." 
makes more sense (though is just as  slanderous), if "Zionists" is replaced by "Jews".<ref name="Rosenberg-twitter-2022">{{cite web |last1=Rosenberg |first1=Yair |title=Why Twitter Won't Ban Its Most Powerful Anti-Semite |url=https://newsletters.theatlantic.com/deep-shtetl/62a11ef0582ffb002082bd49/iran-ayatollah-ali-khamenei-twitter-anti-semitism/ |website=The Atlantic |access-date=11 June 2022 |date=9 June 2022}}</ref> (The Zionist movement not have been founded until the late 19th century, Zionists are not likely to "have always been a plague".) Other accusations of Anti-Semitism have come from Victoria Coates and Ellie Cohanim, who notes his holocaust denial and find his "nine-point plan" to "wipe" Israel "off the face of the earth" uncomfortably reminiscent of Hitler's [[Final Solution]];<ref name="COATES-2021">{{cite magazine|last1=COATES |first1=VICTORIA |last2=COHANIM |first2=ELLIE |title=Iran Sponsors and Foments Anti-Semitism, but Its People Embrace Israel {{!}} Opinion |url=https://www.newsweek.com/iran-sponsors-foments-anti-semitism-its-people-embrace-israel-opinion-1610827 |magazine=Newsweek |access-date=12 June 2022 |date=20 July 2021}}</ref> and the  [[Jerusalem Post]], who quote Khamenei's attack on the 2020 [[Israel–United Arab Emirates normalization agreement]]: {{blockquote|The nation of Palestine is under various, severe pressures. Then, the [[United Arab Emirates|UAE]] acts in agreement with the Israelis & filthy Zionist agents of the U.S. -- such as the Jewish member of Trump's family -- with utmost cruelty against the interests of the World of Islam."<ref name="FRANTZMAN-JP-2020">{{cite news |last1=FRANTZMAN |first1=SETH J. |title=Iran's Ali Khamenei slammed for antisemitic tweets against Jared Kushner |url=https://www.jpost.com/middle-east/irans-khamenei-slammed-for-antisemitic-tweets-640805 |access-date=12 June 2022 |agency=Jerusalem Post |date=2 September 2020}}</ref>}}
and argue "filthy Zionist agents", "the Jewish member of Trump's family" (i.e. [[Jared Kushner]]), and "cruel", are all words channeling "antisemitic tropes and dog whistles".<ref name="FRANTZMAN-JP-2020"/>

== Human rights, freedoms, protests, Islamic law ==

{{See also|Human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran}}
Critics have accused Khamenei of overseeing the assassination of as many as 160 exiled defectors worldwide, the heavy-handed repression of protesters, the killings of tens of thousands of members of the M.E.K. ([[People's Mujahedin of Iran]]) paramilitary group, and of making dissident writers and intellectuals in Iran "a special target" of repression, among other infractions of human rights.<ref name="Filkins-iran-5-18-2020"/> However, Khamenei himself has insisted human rights are a fundamental principle underlying Islamic teachings that precedes Western concern for human rights by many centuries. He has attacked Western powers who have criticized the rights record of the Islamic Republic for hypocrisy, saying that these countries economically oppress people in [[Third World]] countries and support despots and dictators. In response to Western complaints of human rights abuses in Iran he has stated that the American administration has committed many crimes and is therefore not fit to judge the Islamic Republic.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/spanish/international/newsid_5045000/5045704.stm |title=BBC Mundo &#124; Irán: advertencia con petróleo |work=BBC News |access-date=19 June 2009 |date=4 June 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090509012241/http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/spanish/international/newsid_5045000/5045704.stm| archive-date=9 May 2009 |url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Protests during leadership ===
{{See also|2019–2020 Iranian protests|Mahshahr massacre|Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752 protests|2011–2012 Iranian protests|2017–2018 Iranian protests|2018–2019 Iranian general strikes and protests|2009 Iranian presidential election protests|Iran student protests, July 1999|Mahsa Amini protests}}
[[File:Amir Kabir University uprising September 2022 (3).jpg|thumb|[[Mahsa Amini protests]] in Tehran, 20 September 2022]]
There have been several major protests during Khamenei's reign, including the 1994 Qazvin Protests—where, according to [[Al-Arabiya]], around 40 people were killed and over 400 were injured—<ref name="english.alarabiya.net" /> the [[Iran student protests, July 1999|1999 Iranian student protests]], the [[2009 Iranian presidential election protests]], when protesters chanted "death to the dictator",<ref name="linkday.ir" /><ref name="The New York Times" /> and ripped down pictures of Khamenei,<ref name="cnn.com" /> as well as the [[2011–12 Iranian protests]] and [[2017–18 Iranian protests]], among others. In 2016, Khamenei, who outlined the elections guidelines "in line with Article 110 of [[Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran|Iran's Constitution]]", asked to maximize the amount of transparency in elections in Iran, using modern technologies.<ref name="tehrantimes.com">{{cite web|url=http://www.tehrantimes.com/news/407304/Leader-outlines-elections-guidelines-calls-for-transparency|title=Leader outlines elections guidelines, calls for transparency|date=15 October 2016|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170801002925/http://www.tehrantimes.com/news/407304/Leader-outlines-elections-guidelines-calls-for-transparency|archive-date=1 August 2017}}</ref>

During the [[Mahshahr massacre]], protests expanded against "government corruption, failing institutions, lack of freedoms and the repressive rule of Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2019/12/03/iran-finally-admits-it-shot-killed-rioters-it-still-wont-say-how-many-people-died-last-months-protests/ |title=Iran finally admits it shot and killed 'rioters.' But it still won't say how many people died in last month's protests.|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]}}</ref>

During the [[2018–2019 Iranian general strikes and protests]], Khameini demanded punishment for those "who disrupt economic security". According to [[Reuters]], the remarks were "clearly intended to send a message to Iranians who may plan more demonstrations".<ref>{{cite news|url=https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-iran-protests/after-protests-irans-khamenei-demands-punishment-for-those-who-harm-economy-idUKKBN1JN1HJ |title=After protests, Iran's Khamenei demands punishment for those who harm the economy
|website=Uk.reuters.com|date=27 June 2018
|last1=Dehghanpisheh
|first1=Babak
}}</ref>

During the [[2019–2020 Iranian protests]], Khamenei met with various officials and cabinet members, saying "he would hold the assembled officials responsible for the consequences of the protests if they didn't immediately stop them." According to an official, Khamenei "made clear the demonstrations required a forceful response" and that "rioters should be crushed."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-iran-protests-specialreport/special-report-irans-leader-ordered-crackdown-on-unrest-do-whatever-it-takes-to-end-it-idUSKBN1YR0QR|title=Special Report: Iran's leader ordered a crackdown on unrest - 'Do whatever it takes to end it'|newspaper=Reuters|date=23 December 2019}}</ref>

During the [[Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752 protests]], thousands of protesters demanded Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's resignation.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.businessinsider.com/iranians-protested-demanding-khameneis-resignation-over-plane-strike-2020-1?IR=T|title=Iranians marched in fiery protests to demand Ayatollah Khamenei's resignation after officials shot down a commercial plane|website=[[Business Insider]]}}</ref>

=== Minorities ===
{{See also|Religion in Iran| Persecution of Baháʼís}}
The [[Baháʼí Faith]] is the largest religious minority in Iran, with around 300,000 members (8,000,000 members worldwide) and is officially considered a dangerous cult by the Iranian government. It is banned in Iran and several other countries.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.cnn.com/2011/11/10/world/meast/iran-bans-bahai-university/index.html |title=Iran bans 'underground university,' brands it 'extremist cult' |author=Tim Hume |publisher=CNN |date=10 November 2011 |access-date=1 October 2013 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131005021432/http://www.cnn.com/2011/11/10/world/meast/iran-bans-bahai-university/index.html |archive-date=5 October 2013  }}</ref> Khamenei has approved new legislation against Baháʼís in Iran and lessen their influence abroad.<ref>UN Doc. E/CN.4/1993/41, Commission on Human Rights, 49th session, 28 January 1993, Final report on human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran by the Special Representative of the Commission on Human Rights, Mr. Reynaldo Galindo Pohl, paragraph 310.</ref> According to a letter from the Chairman of the Command Headquarters of the Armed Forces in Iran addressed to the [[Ministry of Information (Iran)|Ministry of Information]], the [[Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps|Revolutionary Guard]], and the Police Force, Khamenei has also ordered the Command Headquarters to identify people who adhere to the Baháʼí Faith and to monitor their activities and gather any and all information about the members of the Baháʼí Faith.

=== Relationship with the press ===
{{See also|Mass media in Iran}}
[[File:Supreme leader Ali Khamenei meeting with the air force commanders and personnel (4).jpg|thumb|Khamenei speaking to Iranian Air Force personnel, 6 February 2016]]
In 2000, he was listed by the [[Committee to Protect Journalists]] as "one of the top ten enemies of the press and freedom of expression",<ref>[http://cpj.org/reports/2000/05/enemies-00.php Spotlight on Press Tyrants: CPJ Names Ten Worst Enemies of the Press.] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111129052317/http://www.cpj.org/reports/2000/05/enemies-00.php |date=29 November 2011 }} CPJ, 3 May 2000. Retrieved 24 September 2009.</ref> and was named to the [[Time 100|''Time'' 100]] in 2007.<ref>[http://www.time.com/time/specials/2007/time100/article/0,28804,1595326_1615513_1616020,00.html Ayatullah Seyed Ali Khamenei By Azadeh Moaveni] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090416050803/http://www.time.com/time/specials/2007/time100/article/0,28804,1595326_1615513_1616020,00.html |date=16 April 2009 }} 2007. Retrieved 24 September 2009.</ref> Opposition journalists [[Ahmad Zeidabadi]], [[Mohsen Sazegara]], [[Mohammad Nourizad]] and [[Akbar Ganji]] were arrested and investigated<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.advarnews.biz/organization/11035.aspx |title=ادوار نيوز&#124;شکنجه دکتر زیدآبادی غیرقابل انکار است/ توضیحات ادوارنیوز در مورد گزارش کذب صداوسیما |publisher=Advarnews.biz |access-date=21 August 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20100531233049/http://www.advarnews.biz/organization/11035.aspx |archive-date=31 May 2010  }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/persian/iran/2010/07/100716_l38_iran89_amnestyinternational_reporter.shtml |title=BBC فارسی – ايران – 'محروم کردن زندانی از درمان پزشکی، شکنجه است' |date=16 July 2010 |publisher=BBC |access-date=21 August 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100725023621/http://www.bbc.co.uk/persian/iran/2010/07/100716_l38_iran89_amnestyinternational_reporter.shtml|archive-date=25 July 2010 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.iranhrdc.org/httpdocs/Persian/pdfs/Reports/covertterror/statements/Farsi/Statement%20of%20Mohsen%20Sazegara%20-%20FA.pdf |title=Iran Human Rights Documentation Center |publisher=Iranhrdc.org |date=26 December 2013 |access-date=1 January 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100902195256/http://www.iranhrdc.org/httpdocs/Persian/pdfs/Reports/covertterror/statements/Farsi/Statement%20of%20Mohsen%20Sazegara%20-%20FA.pdf |archive-date=2 September 2010  }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |author=Copyright: gooya.com 2010 |url=http://news.gooya.com/politics/archives/038152.php |title=gooya news :: politics : شکنجه اکبر گنجی در بیمارستان، گزارش سازمان عفو بین الملل |publisher=News.gooya.com |access-date=21 August 2010 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110927115708/http://news.gooya.com/politics/archives/038152.php |archive-date=27 September 2011 }}</ref> for spreading critical articles containing unproven charges against Khamenei's policies as the leader and some organizations.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/1958144.stm|title=MIDDLE EAST – Iran journalist jailed for 23 months|date=29 April 2002|publisher=BBC|url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120124222942/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/1958144.stm|archive-date=24 January 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mowjcamp.com/article/id/50953 |title=0009.ws &#124; Free Website Hosting with PHP |publisher=Mowjcamp.com |access-date=21 August 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100407130015/http://www.mowjcamp.com/article/id/50953 |archive-date=7 April 2010  }}</ref> According to Iran's Press Law "spreading rumors and lies and distorts the words of others" is not allowed.<ref name="Iran's Press Law">{{cite web|url=http://info.irna.ir/data/html/matbooat.htm |title=Iran's Press Law |access-date=1 July 2016 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140209233037/http://info.irna.ir/data/html/matbooat.htm |archive-date=9 February 2014 }}</ref> Also, according to the law, "spreading libel against officials, institutions, organizations and individuals in the country or insulting legal or real persons who are lawfully respected, even by means of pictures or caricatures" is not allowed.<ref name="Iran's Press Law" />

In 2000, Ali Khamenei sent a letter to the Iranian parliament forbidding the legislature from debating a revision of the Iranian press law to allow more freedom. (The law had been used "to close more than 20 independent newspapers" from 1997 to 2000.) He wrote: "The present press law has prevented this big plague. The draft bill is not legitimate and in the interests of the system and the revolution."<ref name=bbc-punch-up-6-8-2000>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/868244.stm |title=Middle East &#124; Punch-up over press law |work=BBC News |date=6 August 2000 |access-date=19 June 2009 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040624111629/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/868244.stm |archive-date=24 June 2004 }}</ref> His was called a use of "extra-legislative power" by reformists and opposition groups.<ref>{{cite web |last=Abdo |first=Geneive |url=http://www.iht.com/articles/2000/08/07/iran.2.t_1.php |title=Supreme Leader Backs Conservatives, Angering Parliament Reformers : Ayatollah Kills Effort To Remove Press Curbs |work=International Herald Tribune |date=7 August 2000|access-date=19 June 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080220073221/http://www.iht.com/articles/2000/08/07/iran.2.t_1.php|archive-date=20 February 2008|url-status=live}}</ref> but Speaker of Parliament Mehdi  Karroubi reminded "deputies that the constitution contained 'elements of the absolute rule of the supreme clerical leader'".<ref name=bbc-punch-up-6-8-2000/>

''[[Kayhan]]'' and ''[[Islamic Republican (newspaper)|Jomhuri-ye Eslami]]'' are two newspapers published under the management of Khamenei.

Among his controversial actions were his rejection of a bill presented by the Iranian parliament in 2000 that aimed to reform the country's press law, and the disqualification of thousands of parliamentary candidates for the [[2004 Iranian legislative election]] by the [[Guardian Council]] he appointed.<ref name="BBCNewsProfile" />

In 2012, 2013, and 2014, ''[[Forbes]]'' selected Khamenei as the 21st, 23rd, and 19th most powerful person in the world, respectively, in the list of ''The World's Most Powerful People''.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.forbes.com/powerful-people/ |title=The 72 Who Rule The World |work=Forbes |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171010024410/https://www.forbes.com/powerful-people/ |archive-date=10 October 2017  }}</ref>

=== Trials of people for insulting Khamenei ===
Several journalists, bloggers, and other individuals were put on trial in Iran for insulting the Supreme Leader, often in conjunction with [[Blasphemy law in Iran|blasphemy]] charges.<ref name="State Department2015" /><ref name="State Department" /><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.pri.org/stories/2012-01-15/aide-ahmadinejad-sentenced-year-jail-insulting-khamenei|title=Aide to Ahmadinejad sentenced to a year in jail for insulting Khamenei|url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160921042637/http://www.pri.org/stories/2012-01-15/aide-ahmadinejad-sentenced-year-jail-insulting-khamenei|archive-date=21 September 2016}}</ref>

In 1996, [[Abbas Maroufi]] was sentenced to 35 lashes and six months imprisonment for spreading lies and insulting Khamenei. Maroufi was also banned from working as a journalist and his literary monthly Gardoon was closed. Maroufi had compared Khamenei to former Shah of Iran [[Mohammed Reza Pahlavi]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1996-01-28/news/9601280216_1_iranian-islamic-revolution-lashes|title=Journalist Gets 35 Lashes, Jail For Insulting Ayatollah|date=28 January 1996 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161012041826/http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1996-01-28/news/9601280216_1_iranian-islamic-revolution-lashes|archive-date=12 October 2016}}</ref>

In 2005, an Iranian was jailed for two years for insulting Khamenei and Imam Khomeini while being cleared of insulting the prophet.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=ociVMJ_xotwC&q=insulting+supreme+leader+Khamenei&pg=PA56 False Freedom: Online Censorship in the Middle East and North Africa] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171011063332/https://books.google.com/books?id=ociVMJ_xotwC&pg=PA56 |date=11 October 2017}}, Human Rights Watch, 2005, page 56</ref>

In 2009, Iranian blogger [[Omid Reza Mir Sayafi]], who was arrested for insulting Khamenei in an internet post, died while in custody in [[Evin Prison]].<ref>[http://edition.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/meast/03/19/iran.blogger.dead/ Blogger jailed in Iran is dead, lawyer says] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171010204225/http://edition.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/meast/03/19/iran.blogger.dead/ |date=10 October 2017 }}, CNN, 19 March 2009</ref>

In 2010, opposition activist Ahmad Gabel was sentenced to 20 months in jail for insulting Khamenei, as well as 3 additional years for possessing a satellite receiver, a 3-year exile and a fine.<ref>[http://gulfnews.com/news/mena/iran/activist-sentenced-to-jail-exile-and-fine-in-iran-1.731582 Activist sentenced to jail, exile and fine in Iran] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171019142207/http://gulfnews.com/news/mena/iran/activist-sentenced-to-jail-exile-and-fine-in-iran-1.731582 |date=19 October 2017 }}, Gulf News (AP reprint), 16 December 2010</ref>

In 2014, eight men, including a Briton, were sentenced to 19 to 20 years for insulting Khamenei and other charges relating to Facebook comments.<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/may/27/briton-eight-jailed-iran-web-insults-facebook Briton among eight jailed in Iran for web insults] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171019185855/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/may/27/briton-eight-jailed-iran-web-insults-facebook |date=19 October 2017 }}, ''The Guardian'', Saeed Kamali Dehghan, 27 May 2014</ref>

In 2017, Sina Dehghan was sentenced to death for insulting the prophet, with an additional 16-month sentence for insulting Khamenei in a messaging application.<ref>[https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/iranian-man-sina-dehgham-death-sentence-insult-islam-muslim-line-messaging-app-arak-prison-amnesty-a7658466.html Iranian man sentenced to death for 'insulting Islam' through messaging app] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170919235904/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/iranian-man-sina-dehgham-death-sentence-insult-islam-muslim-line-messaging-app-arak-prison-amnesty-a7658466.html |date=19 September 2017 }}, Independent, 30 March 2017</ref>

===Gender issues===
[[File:Ali Khamenei in Rahian-e Noor023.jpg|thumb|Iranian women with portraits of Khamenei, 2014]]
In July 2007, Khamenei criticized [[Women's rights movement in Iran|Iranian women's rights activists]] and the ''Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women'' (CEDAW): "In our country ... some activist women, and some men, have been trying to play with Islamic rules to match international conventions related to women", Khamenei said. "This is wrong." Khamenei made these comments two days after Iranian women's rights activist [[Delaram Ali]] was sentenced to 34 months of jail and ten lashes by Iran's judiciary.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.radiofarda.com/Article/2007/07/04/o1_khamenei-critisiz.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071113051113/http://www.radiofarda.com/Article/2007/07/04/o1_khamenei-critisiz.html |archive-date=13 November 2007|title=انتقاد رهبر ایران از تلاش برای تغییر قوانین زنان |access-date=19 June 2009}}</ref>

Khamenei advocates the Islamic practice of [[Hijab]]. He believes that hijab is aimed at honoring women. To the Western objection to the compulsory hijab in Iran, he responds by pointing out the compulsory unveiling in certain Western countries and obstacles created for veiled Muslim women who want to enter universities. He further argues that women in the West have lost their honor by pointing out a perceived high rate of sexual violence in the West as well as the widespread exploitation of female sexual appeal for commercial purposes.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://farsi.khamenei.ir/speech-content?id=3416 |title=بیانات در دیدار دانشجویان دانشگاه‌های استان یزد (Address to the Students of Universities in Yazd Province) |publisher=Official Website for Khamenei Speeches and Works |date=3 January 2008 |access-date=4 September 2015 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150908010137/http://farsi.khamenei.ir/speech-content?id=3416 |archive-date=8 September 2015 }}</ref>

Ali Khamenei believes in [[Sex segregation in Iran|gender segregation]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://isa-global-dialogue.net/backlash-gender-segregation-in-iranian-universities/ |title=Backlash: Gender Segregation in Iranian Universities |publisher=Isa-global-dialogue.net |access-date=21 May 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140301173310/http://isa-global-dialogue.net/backlash-gender-segregation-in-iranian-universities/ |archive-date=1 March 2014  }}</ref> Khamenei also believes that [[gender equality]] is a [[Zionist]] plot with the purpose to "corrupt the role of women in society".<ref name="The Independent">{{cite news|author1=Lizzie Dearden|title=Iran's Supreme Leader claims gender equality is 'Zionist plot' aiming to corrupt role of women in society|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/iran-supreme-leader-ayatollah-khamenei-gender-equality-women-zionist-plot-society-role-islamic-a7641041.html|work=The Independent|date=21 March 2017|url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170831074026/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/iran-supreme-leader-ayatollah-khamenei-gender-equality-women-zionist-plot-society-role-islamic-a7641041.html|archive-date=31 August 2017}}</ref>

On LGBT issues, Khamenei has said: "Today, homosexuality is a major problem in the Western world. They [western nations], however ignore it. But the reality is that homosexuality has become a serious challenge, pain and unsolvable problem for the intellectuals in the west."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.khamenei.ir/FA/Speech/detail.jsp?id=860413A |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071118164001/http://www.khamenei.ir/FA/Speech/detail.jsp?id=860413A |archive-date=18 November 2007|title=بيانات رهبر معظم انقلاب اسلامى در ديدار گروه كثيرى از زنان نخبه در آستانهى سالروز ميلاد حضرت زهراى اطهر (سلاماللَّهعليها) |access-date=19 June 2009}}</ref>

== Personal life ==

===Family===
Khamenei is married to Mansoureh Khojasteh Bagherzadeh, with whom he has six children; four sons ([[Mostafa Khamenei|Mostafa]], [[Mojtaba Khamenei|Mojtaba]], [[Masoud Khamenei|Masoud]], and Meysam) and two daughters (Boshra and Hoda).<ref>{{cite web|title=آشنایی با فرزندان مقام معظم رهبری|url=http://www.seratnews.ir/fa/news/35284/%D8%A2%D8%B4%D9%86%D8%A7%DB%8C%DB%8C-%D8%A8%D8%A7-%D9%81%D8%B1%D8%B2%D9%86%D8%AF%D8%A7%D9%86-%D9%85%D9%82%D8%A7%D9%85-%D9%85%D8%B9%D8%B8%D9%85-%D8%B1%D9%87%D8%A8%D8%B1%DB%8C|website=Seratnews|access-date=27 January 2015|url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150128205002/http://www.seratnews.ir/fa/news/35284/%D8%A2%D8%B4%D9%86%D8%A7%DB%8C%DB%8C-%D8%A8%D8%A7-%D9%81%D8%B1%D8%B2%D9%86%D8%AF%D8%A7%D9%86-%D9%85%D9%82%D8%A7%D9%85-%D9%85%D8%B9%D8%B8%D9%85-%D8%B1%D9%87%D8%A8%D8%B1%DB%8C|archive-date=28 January 2015}}</ref> One of his sons, Mojtaba, married a daughter of [[Gholam-Ali Haddad-Adel]].<ref name=usip>{{cite web|title=Iran's Political Elite|url=http://iranprimer.usip.org/resource/irans-political-elite|publisher=United States Institute of Peace|access-date=30 July 2013|author=Mehrzad Boroujerdi|author2=Kourosh Rahimkhani|date=11 October 2010 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130823181417/http://iranprimer.usip.org/resource/irans-political-elite|archive-date=23 August 2013}}</ref> His eldest son, Mostafa, is married to a daughter of [[Azizollah Khoshvaght]].<ref>[https://www.mashreghnews.ir/news/69401/%D8%A2%D8%B4%D9%86%D8%A7%DB%8C%DB%8C-%D8%A8%D8%A7-%D9%81%D8%B1%D8%B2%D9%86%D8%AF%D8%A7%D9%86-%D9%85%D9%82%D8%A7%D9%85-%D9%85%D8%B9%D8%B8%D9%85-%D8%B1%D9%87%D8%A8%D8%B1%DB%8C Knowing the sons of Iran's supreme leader] mashreghnews.ir Retrieved 18 November 2019</ref> Another son, Masoud, is married to the daughter of [[Mohsen Kharazi]].<ref>[https://aghigh.ir/fa/news/30858/%D9%81%D8%B1%D8%B2%D9%86%D8%AF-%D8%B1%D9%87%D8%A8%D8%B1-%D8%A7%D9%86%D9%82%D9%84%D8%A7%D8%A8-%D8%A8%D9%87-%D9%87%D9%85%D8%B1%D8%A7%D9%87-%D9%BE%D8%AF%D8%B1-%D9%87%D9%85%D8%B3%D8%B1%D8%B4 Seyyed Masoud Khamenei, beside his father-in-law (Seyyed Mohsen Kharazi) – Portrait] aghigh.ir Retrieved 23 November 2019</ref><ref>[https://www.tebyan.net/newindex.aspx?pid=934&articleid=692876 Seyyed Masoud Khamenei, with his father-in-law --Seyyed Mohasen Kharazi]{{Dead link|date=February 2022 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} tebyan.net Retrieved 9 December 2019</ref> He has three brothers, including [[Mohammad Khamenei]] and [[Hadi Khamenei]]. One of his four sisters, [[Badri Khamenei|Badri Hosseini Khamenei]] (wife of dissident [[Ali Tehrani]]), fled into exile in the 1980s.<ref>{{cite news |title=Niece of Iran's supreme leader calls on other countries to cut ties with regime |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/nov/27/niece-iran-supreme-leader-protests-farideh-moradkhani |access-date=30 November 2022 |work=the Guardian |date=27 November 2022 |language=en}}</ref>

===Home===
As Supreme Leader, Khamenei moved to a house in Central Tehran on Palestine Street. A compound grew around it that now contains around fifty buildings. Around 500 people are employed at this "Beit Rahbari compound" according to ''The Telegraph'', "many recruited from the military and security services".<ref name="TelegraphTait" /><ref>{{cite news|last=Borger|first=Julian|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2009/jun/22/mojtaba-khamenei-iran-protest|title=Mojtaba Khamenei: gatekeeper to Iran's supreme leader|work=The Guardian|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130906195533/http://www.theguardian.com/world/2009/jun/22/mojtaba-khamenei-iran-protest|archive-date=6 September 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last1=Yazdi|first1=Ebrahim|last2=Mousavi|first2=Mir Hossein|last3=Rahnavard|first3=Dr. Zahra|last4=Karroubi|first4=Fatemeh|last5=Karroubi|first5=Mehdi|url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/tehranbureau/2011/03/yazdi-released-mousavi-karroubi-children-write-letter-to-nation.html|title=Yazdi Released; Mousavi, Karroubi Children Write Letter to Nation|work=PBS Frontline – Tehran Bureau|url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170913044021/https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/tehranbureau/2011/03/yazdi-released-mousavi-karroubi-children-write-letter-to-nation.html |archive-date=13 September 2017}}</ref>

===Lifestyle===
According to [[Mehdi Khalaji]], an Iran expert at the [[Washington Institute for Near East Policy]], Khamenei has a decent life "without it being luxurious".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.payvand.com/news/12/nov/1174.html |title=The Frugality of Iran's Supreme Leader |publisher=Payvand.com |access-date=21 May 2014 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140220032135/http://www.payvand.com/news/12/nov/1174.html |archive-date=20 February 2014  }}</ref> Robert Tait of ''[[The Daily Telegraph]]'' commented that Khamenei is "renowned for a spartan lifestyle."<ref name="TelegraphTait">{{cite news|last=Tait|first=Robert|title=Ayatollah Ali Khamenei controls £60 billion financial empire, report says|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/iran/10442884/Ayatollah-Ali-Khamenei-controls-60-billion-financial-empire-report-says.html|work=The Daily Telegraph|date=<!-- Tuesday -->12 November 2013|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170912011916/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/iran/10442884/Ayatollah-Ali-Khamenei-controls-60-billion-financial-empire-report-says.html|archive-date=12 September 2017}}</ref>  Dexter Filkins describes Khamenei as presenting himself "as an ascetic, dressing and eating simply".<ref name="Filkins-iran-5-18-2020"/> In an interview with a women's magazine, his wife declared that "we do not have decorations, in the usual sense. Years ago, we freed ourselves from these things."<ref name="Filkins-iran-5-18-2020"/>
On the other hand, ''[[Mother Nature Network]]'' claims Khamenei has been seen riding around in a [[BMW]] car and published a picture of him exiting one.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mnn.com/green-tech/transportation/blogs/irans-bmw-dealer-has-friends-high-places|title=Iran's car market is opening up|work=MNN – Mother Nature Network|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304001952/http://www.mnn.com/green-tech/transportation/blogs/irans-bmw-dealer-has-friends-high-places|archive-date=4 March 2016}}</ref> In a 2011 report in ''[[The Daily Telegraph]]'', defectors from Iran claimed Khamenei has a considerable appetite of caviar and trout, a stable of 100 horses, collects items such as pipes and (reputedly) 170 antique walking sticks, and has a private court stretching over six palaces. Intelligence sources have also said his family has extensive international business interests.<ref>{{cite news|last1=McElroy|first1=Damien|last2=Vahdat|first2=Ahmad|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/iran/6913069/Irans-Ayatollah-Khamenei-loves-caviar-and-vulgar-jokes-defector-claims.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220111/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/iran/6913069/Irans-Ayatollah-Khamenei-loves-caviar-and-vulgar-jokes-defector-claims.html |archive-date=11 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|title=Iran's Ayatollah Khamenei loves caviar and vulgar jokes, defector claims |work=The Telegraph|date=<!-- Thursday -->31 December 2009|access-date=10 January 2020}}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Reynolds|first=James|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-14362281|title=Profile: Iran's 'unremarkable' supreme leader Ayatollah Khamenei|work=BBC News|date=4 August 2011|access-date=10 January 2020}}</ref>

=== Health ===
Khamenei's health has been called into question. In January 2007, rumors spread of his illness or death after he had not been seen in public for some weeks and had not appeared as he traditionally does at celebrations for [[Eid al-Adha]]. Khamenei issued a statement declaring that "enemies of the Islamic system fabricated various rumors about death and health to demoralize the Iranian nation", but according to the author [[Hooman Majd]], he appeared to be "visibly weak" in photos released with the statement.<ref>Majd, Hooman, ''The Ayatollah Begs to Differ: The Paradox of Modern Iran'', by Hooman Majd, Doubleday, 2008, p. 61</ref>

On 9 September 2014, Khamenei underwent [[prostate]] surgery in what his doctors described in state news media as a "routine operation".<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/09/world/middleeast/irans-ayatollah-khamenei-has-prostate-surgery.html Iran's Top Leader Undergoes Prostate Surgery] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160724080213/http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/09/world/middleeast/irans-ayatollah-khamenei-has-prostate-surgery.html |date=24 July 2016 }}. ''The New York Times''. 8 September 2014.</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/sep/08/iran-supreme-leader-ayatollah-ali-khamenei-prostate-surgery|title=Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has prostate surgery|work=The Guardian|date=8 September 2014|url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170227063255/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/sep/08/iran-supreme-leader-ayatollah-ali-khamenei-prostate-surgery|archive-date=27 February 2017}}</ref> According to a report by ''[[Le Figaro]]'', Western intelligence sources said Khamenei has [[prostate cancer]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.lefigaro.fr/international/2015/02/27/01003-20150227ARTFIG00350-iran-vers-une-revolution-au-sommet.php |title=Iran : Guerre de succession en vue au sommet de l'État |date=27 February 2015 |access-date=27 July 2015 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150804191136/http://www.lefigaro.fr/international/2015/02/27/01003-20150227ARTFIG00350-iran-vers-une-revolution-au-sommet.php |archive-date=4 August 2015 }}. ''Le Figaro'' quoted Western intelligence officials saying that the cancer was discovered about ten years ago. "The cancer is in stage four, in other words, has spread." Doctors estimate "he has two years left to live."</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|title=Iran's Coming Leadership Crisis|journal=[[The Wall Street Journal]]|date=23 March 2015|first=Sohrab|last=Ahmari|pages=A13|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/sohrab-ahmari-irans-coming-leadership-crisis-1427064072|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170427192149/https://www.wsj.com/articles/sohrab-ahmari-irans-coming-leadership-crisis-1427064072|archive-date=27 April 2017}}</ref>

In September 2022, it was reported that Khamenei had undergone surgery for [[bowel obstruction]] and had to cancel a number of meetings.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/16/world/middleeast/irans-supreme-leader-ayatollah-ali-khamenei-ill.html|title=Iran's Supreme Leader Cancels Public Appearances After Falling Ill|work=The New York Times|first=Farnaz|last=Fassihi|date=16 September 2022|accessdate=28 September 2022}}</ref>

===Sanctions===

On 24 June 2019, the [[United States]] imposed sanctions on Khamenei with the signing of [[Executive Order 13876]].<ref>{{Cite web|date=2019-06-26|title=Imposing Sanctions With Respect to Iran|url=https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2019/06/26/2019-13793/imposing-sanctions-with-respect-to-iran|access-date=2020-12-16|website=Federal Register}}</ref>

== Literature and art ==
In late 1996, following a fatwa by Khamenei stating that music education corrupts the minds of young children and is against Islam, many music schools were closed and music instruction to children under the age of 16 was banned by public establishments (although private instruction continued).<ref name="Yadegari"/><ref name="صدا و سیمای جمهوری اسلامی ایران"/>

Khamenei has stated that "poetry must be the vanguard of the caravan of the [Islamic] revolution... [T]hrough the arts and literature, the revolution can be exported more easily and honestly."<ref name="FDD">{{cite web |last1=GERECHT |first1=REUEL MARC |title=Iran's Supreme Censor |url=https://www.fdd.org/analysis/2014/12/12/irans-supreme-censor/ |website=Foundation for the Defense of Democracies |date=12 December 2014 |access-date=8 June 2020}}</ref> It has been suggested (by Dexter Filkins) that this might explain his interest in banning books, prohibiting newspapers and imprisoning artists.<ref name="Filkins-iran-5-18-2020"/>
He has expressed interest in studying novels and stories since childhood and studied various world's credible novels. He was "fascinated by [[Jean-Paul Sartre]] and [[Bertrand Russell]]" in his youth.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://bostonreview.net/world/ganji-khamenei-israel|title=Ayatollah Khamenei and the Destruction of Israel|author=Akbar Ganji|date=1 November 2013|work=[[Boston Review]]|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161229101147/http://bostonreview.net/world/ganji-khamenei-israel|archive-date=29 December 2016|author-link=Akbar Ganji}}</ref> He praised the works of [[Mikhail Sholokhov]], [[Aleksey Nikolayevich Tolstoy|Alexei Tolstoy]],<ref>{{cite news|last1=Flood|first1=Alison|title=Ayatollah Khamenei reveals himself as an '#AvidReader' of fiction|url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/feb/27/ayatollah-khameini-avidreader-fiction-sholokhov|access-date=19 April 2017|work=The Guardian|date=27 February 2015|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170623204058/https://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/feb/27/ayatollah-khameini-avidreader-fiction-sholokhov|archive-date=23 June 2017}}</ref> [[Honoré de Balzac]], and [[Michel Zévaco]]. However, [[Victor Hugo]]'s ''[[Les Misérables]]'' "is the best novel that has been written in history." He explained:

{{blockquote|I've read ''The Divine Comedy''. I have read Amir Arsalan. I have also read ''A Thousand and One Nights'' ... [But] ''Les Misérables'' is a miracle in the novel writing world... I have repeatedly said, go read ''Les Misérables'' once. This ''Les Misérables'' is a book of sociology, a book of history, a book of criticism, divine book, a book of love and feeling.<ref name="FA">{{cite journal|last1=Ganji|first1=Akbar|title=Who Is Ali Khamenei? The Worldview of Iran's Supreme Leader|journal=Foreign Affairs|year=2013|volume=92|issue=5|pages=24–48|jstor=23527515}}</ref>}}

He suggested reading ''[[The Grapes of Wrath]]'' to "an audience of writers and artists" and ''[[Uncle Tom's Cabin]]'' to the high-level state managers as he thought it shed light on the history of the United States.

{{blockquote|Isn't this the government that massacred the original native inhabitants of the land of America? That wiped out the [[Native Americans in the United States|American Indians]]? ... Today, one of the most tragic works of art is Uncle Tom's Cabin ... This book still lives after almost 200 years,<ref name="FA" />}}

Khamenei is fluent in [[Arabic language|Arabic]] in addition to his native languages, [[Persian language|Persian]] and [[Azerbaijani language|Azerbaijani]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://irannegah.com/Video.aspx?id=434|title=Khamenei sermon in Arabic|publisher=Irannegah.com|access-date=19 June 2009|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20090618155048/http://irannegah.com/Video.aspx?id=434|archive-date=18 June 2009| url-status=live}}</ref> He has translated several books into Persian from Arabic, including the works of the Egyptian Islamic theoretician [[Sayyid Qutb]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://irannegah.com/Video.aspx?id=423|title=Khamenei speaking Azeri about poetry|publisher=Irannegah|access-date=19 June 2009|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090721161328/http://www.irannegah.com/Video.aspx?id=423|archive-date=21 July 2009}}</ref><ref>Khamenei, Ali. "The History of Palestine and Its Occupation", Tehran Friday prayer sermons, 18 December 1999. Published 4 March 2008, ''Khamenei.ir'' – the Supreme Leader Seyed Ali Khamenei's official website. Retrieved 6 April 2009</ref>

When it comes to [[poetry]], in [[Mashhad]] he used to participate in literary associations along with known poets and used to critique poems.<ref name="cgie" /> Writing some poems himself, he chose the pseudonym 'Amin' for himself.<ref name="cgie" />

In the field of [[music]], he is known to have a good [[singing voice]] and plays the [[Tar (string instrument)|tar]], a traditional Iranian stringed instrument.<ref>{{cite news|last1=MacFarquhar|first1=Neil|title=In Iran, an Iron Cleric, Now Blinking|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/16/world/middleeast/16cleric.html|access-date=10 February 2018|work=The New York Times|date=15 June 2009}}</ref>

== Public diplomacy ==

In February 2011, Ali Khamenei supported the Egyptian uprising against their government, describing it as [[Islamic awakening]] instead of [[Arab Spring]]. Trying to communicate with [[Arab people]], he addressed [[Egyptian Revolution of 2011|Egypt's protesters]] in [[Arabic]]. (Even though his native language is [[Persian language|Persian]].) He introduced himself as "your brother in religion", while praising the "explosion of sacred anger".<ref>{{cite journal|url=http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Middle-East/2011/0204/Iran-s-Khamenei-praises-Egyptian-protesters-declares-Islamic-awakening|title=Iran's Khamenei praises Egyptian protesters, declares 'Islamic awakening'|journal=Christian Science Monitor|date=4 February 2011|access-date=13 February 2015|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150213145256/http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Middle-East/2011/0204/Iran-s-Khamenei-praises-Egyptian-protesters-declares-Islamic-awakening|archive-date=13 February 2015}}</ref> Later, in "Islamic Awakening conferences" which were held in Tehran, Khamenei praised the Muslim youths of [[Tunisia]], [[Libya]], [[Egypt]], [[Yemen]] and [[Bahrain]] for what he described as Islamic awakening. He also paralleled these events with [[Islamic revolution]] in Iran during his Nowruz oration in 2011.<ref>{{Harvnb|Sadiki|2014|p=534}}</ref> However, major protests against the Iranian regime also broke out throughout Iran in 2011, and they became known as the [[2011–12 Iranian protests]].

== Works ==
{{main|Ali Khamenei bibliography}}
* Four main books of [[Rijal]]<ref name="cgie" />
* ''[[An Outline of Islamic Thought in the Quran]]''<ref name="cgie" />
* Honest leader<ref name="cgie" />
* ''Discourse on Patience''<ref>{{cite book
 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=aRsDHQAACAAJ
 |title = Discourse on Patience: Lectures of ...
 |year = 1994|access-date =19 June 2009|last1 = Khamenei
 |first1 = Ali
 }}</ref> (translation by Sayyid Hussein Alamdar available online<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.islam-pure.de/imam/books/patiance.htm |title=Discourse on Patience |access-date=8 February 2016 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305000221/http://www.islam-pure.de/imam/books/patiance.htm |archive-date=5 March 2016 }}</ref>)
* ''[[Muhammad Iqbal|Iqbal]]: Manifestation of the Islamic Spirit, Two Contemporary Muslim Views''<ref>{{cite book
 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=ivogAAAACAAJ
 |title = Iqbal: Manifestation of the Islamic ...
|isbn = 978-1-871031-20-1
 |year = 1991|last1 = Khamenei
 |first1 = Ali
 |last2 = Shariati
 |first2 = Ali
 |last3 = Sharīʻatī
 |first3 = ʻalī|publisher = ABC International
}}</ref> {{ISBN|1-871031-20-6}}
** ''[https://web.archive.org/web/20090618081641/http://www.khamenei.de/books/iqbal.htm Iqbal, the Poet-Philosopher of Islamic Resurgence]'' is one of the "Two Contemporary Muslim Views", the other one is [[Ali Shariati]]'s.
* ''Replies to Inquiries about the Practical Laws of Islam''<ref>{{cite book
 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=1vAMAQAACAAJ
 |title = Replies to Inquiries about the ...
 |isbn = 978-964-472-000-0
 |year = 1997
 }}{{Dead link|date=July 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> {{ISBN|964-472-000-8}} ([https://web.archive.org/web/20160305000901/http://www.islam-pure.de/imam/books/ajvab.pdf PDF version])
* ''Lessons from the Nahjul-Balaghah''<ref>{{cite book
 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=GOHKHAAACAAJ
 |title = Lessons from the Nahjul-Balaghah
|year = 1984|last1 = Khamenei
 |first1 = Seyyed Ali
}}</ref><ref>{{usurped|[https://web.archive.org/web/20080511213647/http://www.al-shia.com/html/eng/books/lesson-from-nahjul-balaqeh/index.htm Lessons from the Nahjul Balagah]}}</ref>
* ''Human Rights in Islam''
* ''The Charter of Freedom''<ref>{{cite web
 |url = http://www.imamreza.net/eng/imamreza.php?id=4458
 |title = The Charter of Freedom &#124;&#124; Imam Reza (A.S.) Network
 |publisher = Imam Reza
 |access-date = 19 June 2009
 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090618191107/http://www.imamreza.net/eng/imamreza.php?id=4458
 |archive-date = 18 June 2009
 |url-status = dead
}}</ref><ref>{{cite web
 | url = http://www.khamenei.de/books/charterfree.htm
 | title = The Charter of Freedom
 | publisher = Khamenei.de
 | access-date = 19 June 2009
 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090618091735/http://www.khamenei.de/books/charterfree.htm
 | archive-date = 18 June 2009
 | url-status = dead
 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web
 |url=http://www2.irib.ir/occasions/Rahbar/charter%20of%20freedom.htm
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070104051353/http://www.irib.ir/occasions/Rahbar/charter%20of%20freedom.htm
 |url-status=dead
 |archive-date=4 January 2007
 |title=Great Ayatollah Sayyed Ali Khamenei
 |access-date=19 June 2009
}}</ref>
* ''Essence of Tawhid: Denial of Servitude but to God''<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.khamenei.de/books/tawhid.htm |title=Tawhid |date=3 March 2016 |url-status=bot: unknown |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303235439/http://www.khamenei.de/books/tawhid.htm |archive-date=3 March 2016 }}</ref>
Translations from Arabic:
* Future in the realm of Islam<ref name="cgie" />

Collections:
* ''[[A 250 Years Old Person]]''
* ''[[Palestine (2011 book)|Palestine]]''

== See also ==
{{Portal|Iran|Shia Islam|Biography}}
* [[Khamenei family]]
* [[Motto of years in Islamic Republic of Iran]]
* [[Islamic Government]] (book by Khomeini)
*[[Muhammad Kazim Khurasani]]
*[[Mirza Husayn Tehrani]]
*[[Abdallah Mazandarani]]
*[[Mirza Ali Aqa Tabrizi]]
*[[Mirza Sayyed Mohammad Tabatabai]]
*[[Seyyed Abdollah Behbahani]]
*[[Fazlullah Nouri]]
*[[Hibatullah Akhundzada]]
{{clear}}

== Footnotes ==
{{reflist}}

== References ==
{{refbegin}}
* {{cite book|last1=Sadiki|first1=Larbi|title=Routledge Handbook of the Arab Spring: Rethinking Democratization|date=2014|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-317-65004-1}}
{{refend}}

== External links ==
{{sisterlinks|c=Category:Ali Khamenei|d=yes|q=yes|n=yes|s=yes|b=no|v=no|voy=no|m=no|mw=no|wikt=no|species=no}}
;Official
* {{Official website|URL=http://english.khamenei.ir/}}
* [https://www.leader.ir/ The Office of the Supreme Leader of Iran]
* [https://twitter.com/khamenei_ir Official English-language Twitter account]
;Photo
* [http://tarikhirani.ir/fa/news/3/bodyView/5184/0/%D8%B1%D9%87%D8%A8%D8%B1.%D8%A7%D9%86%D9%82%D9%84%D8%A7%D8%A8.%D8%AF%D8%B1.%D8%AC%D8%A8%D9%87%D9%87%E2%80%8C%D9%87%D8%A7%DB%8C.%D8%AC%D9%86%DA%AF.html Pictures in Iran-Iraq War], tarikhirani.ir
* [http://english.khamenei.ir//index.php?option%3Dcom_content%26task%3Dview%26id%3D781%26Itemid%3D4/index.php%3Foption%3Dcom_mhasgallery%26Itemid%3D33 Ali Khamenei gallery in Khamenei's website]{{dead link|date=May 2023|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}
;Media
* {{C-SPAN|2079}}
* {{IMDb name|1527919}}
* {{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/3018932.stm|title=Profile: Ayatollah Ali Khamenei|work=BBC News | date=17 June 2009 | access-date=1 January 2010}}
* {{Aljazeeratopic|person/ali-khamenei}}
* {{Guardian topic}}
* {{JPosttopic|Ali_Khamenei}}
* {{NYTtopic|people/k/ali_khamenei}}
;Videos
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20110204053450/http://farsi.khamenei.ir/video-index Video Archive of Ayatollah Khamenei]
* [http://irannegah.com/Video.aspx?id=423 Ayatollah Khamenei in the city of Ardabil reading different poems in Azerbaijani language about Imam Hussein and events in Karbala.]
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{{s-ttl|title=[[Ministry of Defence and Armed Forces Logistics (Iran)|Deputy Minister of National Defence for Revolutionary Affairs]]|years=1979–1980}}
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{{s-inc}}
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{{s-ttl|title=[[Islamic Republican Party]] nominee for [[President of Iran]]|years=[[October 1981 Iranian presidential election|October 1981]]<br />[[1985 Iranian presidential election|1985]]}}
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{{s-end}}

{{Ali Khamenei}}
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