On 16 January 1979, Iran’s Shah fled the country. His departure marked the collapse of a monarchy that had ruled for decades. In its place rose a revolution that changed not only Iran, but the entire Middle East. From that political storm came the Islamic Republic, a system based on clerical rule and religious authority.

Nearly fifty years later, that same system faced its greatest shock. It ended with the death of the man who had come to symbolize it for more than thirty years.

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s second Supreme Leader, had risen from the world of religious scholarship into the highest office of the state. Over the years, he survived assassination attempts, a devastating war with Iraq, strict economic sanctions, and repeated waves of protests at home. He remained in power while presidents came and went. He stood firm against foreign adversaries. But in the end, it was direct conflict with the United States and Israel, the confrontation that had shaped much of his leadership, that brought his life and rule to an abrupt end.

Iranian state media confirmed his death after large-scale US and Israeli air strikes on Tehran. With that announcement, a chapter that began with revolution and the overthrow of a king closed in violence.

Born in resistance, the Islamic Republic was always shaped by struggle. Under Khamenei, that struggle hardened into a system that showed little space for dissent or compromise.

From Seminary Student to Supreme Authority

Ali Khamenei was born in 1939 in Mashhad, into a clerical family. His early life was shaped by religious study and political awareness. As a young cleric, he studied in Qom under Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. During the Shah’s rule, he was arrested several times for his anti-regime activism. These experiences shaped his political outlook and strengthened his opposition to Western influence.

After the 1979 revolution, his rise was swift. He became Tehran’s Friday prayer leader and later served as president during the harsh years of the Iran–Iraq war. In 1981, he survived an assassination attempt that left his right arm permanently paralysed. The attack deepened his distrust of both internal rivals and foreign enemies.

When Ayatollah Khomeini died in 1989, Khamenei did not hold the same high clerical rank as his mentor. Yet, in an unexpected decision, the Assembly of Experts appointed him Supreme Leader. At first, many viewed him as a weak compromise candidate. Over time, however, he strengthened his position. Constitutional changes expanded the authority of the Supreme Leader. He built strong networks within the judiciary, parliament, state media and the clerical establishment. Gradually, he transformed himself into the central and most powerful figure of the Islamic Republic.

Building a Security State

A key pillar of Khamenei’s power was the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, known as the IRGC. Under his leadership, it became not only a military force but also a major economic power. It gained control over Iran’s ballistic missile programme and expanded into business sectors across the country. In return, it stood firmly behind him.

The Basij militia and intelligence services were repeatedly used to control unrest. Student protests in 1999 were crushed. The 2009 “Green Movement”, which began after a disputed presidential election, was suppressed through arrests and force. Later economic protests in 2017 and 2019 met similar responses.

The most serious internal crisis came in 2022 after the death of Mahsa Amini while in police custody for allegedly violating Iran’s dress code. Demonstrations led by women and young people spread nationwide. Hundreds were killed and thousands arrested. Khamenei described the protests as foreign-instigated sedition and rejected any changes to compulsory hijab laws or political reforms.

His final and most violent crackdown followed a sharp currency collapse that pushed the Iranian rial to record lows. As protesters once again chanted “Death to the dictator”, he declared that “rioters must be put in their place”. Security forces opened fire. Activists reported thousands killed. The show of force revealed both the regime’s ability to survive and its deep fear of losing control.

Confrontation with the West and Regional Ambition

Khamenei’s foreign policy was defined by confrontation. He repeatedly described the United States as Iran’s main enemy and accused it of seeking regime change. The US embassy hostage crisis of 1979–81, supported by revolutionary leaders including Khamenei, cemented decades of hostility.

Under his leadership, Iran expanded its influence across the region. Through groups such as Hezbollah in Lebanon, Hamas in Gaza and the Houthis in Yemen, Tehran extended its reach without engaging in direct war. Khamenei viewed Israel as illegitimate and backed armed resistance as both a religious and strategic position.

Iran’s nuclear programme became the central issue in its relations with the West. The 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, widely known as the JCPOA, offered sanctions relief in exchange for limits on uranium enrichment. Khamenei supported it carefully, calling compromise “heroic flexibility.” When the United States withdrew from the agreement in 2018 and reimposed sanctions, Iran gradually stepped back from its commitments.

Years of sanctions, combined with economic mismanagement and corruption, weakened the country’s economy. Inflation rose sharply. Oil revenues declined. Public anger grew. Yet Khamenei refused to abandon missile development or regional alliances, seeing them as essential to Iran’s security.

In his final months, tensions escalated. As US forces increased their presence in the region and Israel struck Iranian-linked targets, he warned that any attack would lead to wider war. Negotiations appeared briefly, then stalled. Soon after, strikes targeted key military sites and his own compound in Tehran.

An Uncertain Future

Khamenei’s death leaves Iran without a confirmed successor. According to the constitution, the Assembly of Experts must appoint a new Supreme Leader. Speculation has included senior clerics and even his son Mojtaba Khamenei. The IRGC, now the country’s most powerful institution, is expected to play a decisive role.

Iran stands at a turning point. The revolutionary system Khamenei inherited, he strengthened into a state driven by ideology and supported by force. Yet beneath that structure lies a society tired of economic hardship, isolation and repression.

Family Members Killed in Strikes

Reports from Iranian media confirmed that Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s daughter, granddaughter, daughter-in-law, and son-in-law were also killed in the US and Israeli strikes. Iranian state outlets reported the death of the 86-year-old leader shortly after US President Donald Trump announced that Khamenei had been killed in the operation launched on Saturday.

Khamenei reportedly had six children, including three daughters, though it was not immediately clear which one had died in the attack.

President Trump reacted strongly on his Truth Social platform. He wrote, “Khamenei, one of the most evil people in History, is dead. This is not only Justice for the people of Iran, but for all Great Americans, and those people from many Countries throughout the World, that have been killed or mutilated by Khamenei and his gang of bloodthirsty THUGS,” and added, “There was not a thing he, or the other leaders that have been killed along with him, could do,”.

Trump further described the moment as the “single greatest chance” for the Iranian people to “take back” their country. He said the “heavy and pinpoint bombing” would continue “uninterrupted” throughout the week, or “Or as long as necessary to achieve our objective of PEACE THROUGHOUT THE MIDDLE EAST AND, INDEED, THE WORLD,”.

“Many Signs” That Khamenei Is No Longer Alive

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also addressed the situation. He stated that there were “many signs” that Ali Khamenei is “no longer alive”. In a video statement, he declared, “This morning we destroyed the compound of the tyrant Khamenei,”.

Netanyahu accused Khamenei of spreading terrorism globally and said he had worked tirelessly to threaten Israel. He added, “There are many signs that this tyrant is no longer. This morning we eliminated senior officials in the ayatollahs' regime, Revolutionary Guards commanders, senior figures in the nuclear programme - and we will continue. In the next few days, we will hit thousands more targets of the terror regime,”. He also called on Iranians to “overthrow the regime and to secure your future.”

Iran’s state television confirmed Khamenei’s death. However, two Iranian news agencies, Tasnim and Mehr, reported that he was “steadfast and firm in commanding the field.”

The Israeli army stated that Ali Shamkhani, a senior advisor to Khamenei, and General Mohammad Pakpour, head of the Revolutionary Guards, were also killed.

US and Israel Strike Iran

The joint US-Israeli operation began on Saturday, with smoke rising over Tehran. President Trump announced “major combat operations” aimed at “eliminating imminent threats”.

Iran described the strikes as unprovoked and illegal. It responded by firing missiles at Israel and at least seven other countries, including Gulf states that host American bases.

Iran’s IRGC vowed ‘a severe, decisive and regret-inducing punishment’ over Khamenei’s killing. Citing the state-run Fars agency, IRNA reported that Iran was launching “the most devastating offensive operation in the history of the Islamic Republic”. The offensive would begin “in just moments” and target the “occupied territories and American terrorist bases” across the region.

US Central Command said the strikes focused on sites that posed an imminent threat, including “Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps command and control facilities, Iranian air defense capabilities, missile and drone launch sites, and military airfields,”.

Israel’s military confirmed that “dozens” of missiles were fired by Iran. Many were intercepted and no serious injuries were reported, though the barrages continued after sunset.

Across the Middle East, several governments condemned Iran’s strikes on Arab neighbours while remaining silent on earlier US and Israeli actions. Countries including Morocco, Jordan and the United Arab Emirates criticised Iranian attacks targeting US bases in Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar and the Emirates.

Global Reactions and Transition Process

The European Union announced it would hold an emergency security meeting. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said, “For regional security and stability, it is of the utmost importance that there is no further escalation through Iran’s unjustified attacks on partners in the region,”.

Inside Iran, officials moved quickly to begin the process of selecting a new Supreme Leader. Security chief Ali Larijani stated that the transition would begin from Sunday. He said, “An interim leadership council will soon be formed. The president, the head of the judiciary and a jurist from the Guardian Council will assume responsibility until the election of the next leader,”. He added, “This council will be established as soon as possible. We are working to form it as early as today,”.

The Iranian Embassy in India described Khamenei’s death as a “martyrdom” following what it called “brutal and criminal attacks” by the United States and Israel. In a post on X, it stated, “Undoubtedly, the grave consequences of this unforgivable crime shall fall directly upon the criminal US regime and the occupying Zionist regime, who bear full responsibility for all resulting repercussions,”.

On Iranian state-affiliated Press TV, a news presenter became emotional while announcing what the channel described as the “martyrdom” of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. The anchor referred to him as the “Leader of the Islamic Revolution” and described the news of his death as “confirmed”.

Press TV aired images from the Imam Hussein Shrine in Karbala, where pilgrims reacted with grief. In Tehran, crowds gathered at Enghelab Square, holding portraits and chanting slogans.

Iran’s government issued a warning that the “crime of assassination of the Leader of the Islamic Revolution will not go unpunished” and declared that the “pure blood of the martyred Leader will uproot the criminal regimes of the US and Israel.”

With that, a powerful and controversial era in Iran’s modern history came to an end. What follows next remains uncertain, not only for Iran, but for the entire region.