Tehran: The reign of Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, a figure of significant influence in Iran over three decades, has come to an end. Iran's Supreme National Security Council and state news agency confirmed that Supreme Leader Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei died Saturday morning at the presidential palace, the target of a joint US-Israeli airstrike.
According to Thai News Agency, around 40 other high-ranking Iranian officials were also killed in the airstrike, as reported by sources to CBS television. In response, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has vowed to fight and destroy all US and Israeli military bases. The Iranian Crescent Society reported that the attacks have left at least 200 people dead across Iran, with at least 108 killed during a joint US-Israeli bombing of a girls' primary school in southern Iran.
Iran has appointed Brigadier General Ahmad Vahidi, deputy commander of the IRGC, as the new supreme commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. The passing of Khamenei at the age of 86 marks one of the most significant turning points in the modern history of the Middle East. Khamenei was not only a religious leader but also the most powerful figure in Iran's political structure since 1989, succeeding Ayatollah Khomeini, the founder of the Islamic Republic.
Throughout his time in power, Khamenei faced immense pressure, including international economic sanctions amounting to billions of dollars, as well as recurring domestic protests. Despite these challenges, he consistently managed to steer his regime through them, until his downfall.
Ali Khamenei was born in 1939 in Mashhad, in northeastern Iran. He grew up in a devout family and followed in the footsteps of his father, a religious scholar. He studied Islamic scholarship before entering politics to oppose the monarchy (Shah) with the group of Ayatollah Khomeini, which marked the beginning of his rise to a high level of trust.
When Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khomeini died in 1989, the Council of Experts elected Ali Khamenei as the country's new Supreme Leader. They made a special amendment to the constitution to allow him to assume the position, as at that time Ali Khamenei did not possess a sufficiently high religious rank according to the established criteria.
Khamenei's role as Deputy Secretary of Defense in the post-revolution period was pivotal, particularly his role in establishing the IRGC as a parallel force to the regular army, tasked with protecting the new regime and suppressing dissent. Khamenei used security forces as his primary tool to deal with dissenters, particularly the protests that began on December 28, 2025, stemming from the depreciation of the real and hyperinflation, which escalated into calls for regime change.
Khamenei has consistently maintained an "unfriendly" policy towards the United States, believing that any negotiations are a trap designed to undermine the Islamic Revolutionary ideology. While there were periods where relations appeared to ease, Khamenei consistently reaffirmed his stance that the United States is the number one enemy, attempting to destabilize Iran through economic sanctions and support for protests within the country.
One of Khamenei's most prominent rhetoric is his declaration of the goal of "eliminating Israel from the map." Reports indicate that Iran's Supreme Leader provides financial and weapons support to proxy groups such as Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in Palestine to build a coalition against Israel.
The steadfast grip on power for 37 years has made Iran's political structure inextricably linked to individuals and the IRGC forces. With Khamenei's death, concerns arise that long-suppressed conflicts could erupt into a civil war or an internal power struggle between hawkish and military factions.