{"id":"f-445134d771-f9ea9f6b-ec03-5e53-94b9-d0f3f1d63300","title":"Power, Protests, and Control: The Rise, Rule & Fall of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei","description":"Khamenei's passing raises uncertainties regarding Iran's political future as no clear successor exists within the ruling clerical body.","timestamp":1772355249,"category":"international","headline":"Power, Protests, and Control: The Rise, Rule & Fall of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei","modifiedHeadline":"Rise, Rule & Fall of Iran’s Ayatollah Khamenei","subCategories":["scid_afe28127"],"subcategoriesName":["International Political News"],"region":"IN","bundleMetaData":{"bundleId":"c80449a0-0ad6-472b-8d17-5747dd8f5c83","bundleTitle":"Around the globe","cardData":null},"iabCategoryId":"386","fcSummary":"iran's supreme leader, ayatollah ali khamenei, has died in a joint us-israel strike, initiating a 40-day mourning period. the attacks also claimed lives of family members. khamenei, who reshaped iran after 1989, faced growing domestic unrest and escalating tensions with the us and israel. his death sparks succession questions, with exiled son of the shah, reza pahlavi, expressing interest.","summary":"Iran's Supreme Leader Khamenei dies in US-Israel strikes, sparking mourning & succession uncertainty. Protests & future unclear.","ctaUrl":"https://trends.glance.com/newz/news/IN/en/timesnow/f-445134d771-f9ea9f6b-ec03-5e53-94b9-d0f3f1d63300","sourceUrl":"https://www.timesnownews.com/world/middle-east/power-protests-and-control-the-rise-rule-fall-of-irans-supreme-leader-ayatollah-ali-khamenei-article-153723424","bannerImage":"https://g-mob.glance-cdn.com/public/fc/image/qTRfMzLiyGe0.webp","content":"

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran's Supreme Leader, has been killed in joint strikes carried out by the United States and Israel, triggering a 40-day national

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mourning period across Iran. Several members of his family, including his daughter, grandchild, daughter-in-law, and son-in-law, were also reported dead in the surprise attacks. The clerical leader was responsible for dramatically remoulding the Islamic Republic ever since he took the reins after the death of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini in 1989, best known for leading the 1979 Iranian Revolution, which overthrew the Pahlavi dynasty under Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi. After Khamenei's death, Reza Pahlavi, the son of the Shah of Iran who was deposed in the Islamic Revolution, staked a claim, saying, \"I want to be by your side as soon as possible so that together we can take back and rebuild Iran”. So far, he does not appear to have the backing of the US or a large following in Iran, raising a question mark over his future.

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How Khamnenei redefined Iran after the revolution

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\nKhamenei reshaped Iran's Islamic Republic after taking power in 1989 following the death of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the fiery revolutionary who established clerical rule rooted in Shiite ideology and tasked it with spreading religious purity. Unlike Khomeini, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei entered office with comparatively weaker religious authority and a less commanding public persona. Yet over time, he transformed the revolutionary system into a tightly controlled state structure, ultimately ruling Iran for far longer than his predecessor.\n
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\nKhamenei significantly expanded the Shiite clerical establishment set by his predecessor and transformed the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps into the central pillar of his rule. Over time, the Guard evolved into a powerful military force, overseeing Iran's ballistic missile programme. He also aggressively advanced Iran’s nuclear programme, a major source of tension with the United States. \n
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\nDuring his second term, Donald Trump escalated the confrontation beyond efforts to curb Iran's nuclear ambitions, shifting towards calling for regime change. At the same time, the Middle East wars sparked by Hamas' October 7, 2023, attack on Israel set in motion the collapse of the regionwide Axis of Resistance built by Khamenei. \n
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\nIn 2024, Israel and Iran attacked each other directly for the first time. Israel struck Iran again in June 2025, as it and the United States targeted the country’s nuclear programme and killed top military officers and nuclear scientists. Iran retaliated by sending missiles and drones at Israel. But the flare-up died down in just twelve days.\n
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\nOver the last few years, domestic strains also became harder to contain for Khamenei. Political repression and the faltering economy fuelled bigger waves of mass protests successively, and anger over the 2022 death of Mahsa Amini, detained for not wearing her mandatory headscarf properly, escalated into demonstrations against social restrictions. \n
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\nIn January this year, Iran was convulsed by another wave of public protests sparked by inflation as hundreds of thousands marched in cities across the country, many chanting, \"Death to Khamenei\". Khamenei responded with the deadliest crackdown seen in nearly 50 years of clerical rule as security forces opened fire on crowds, killing anywhere between 15,000 and 30,000 protestors.\n
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\nAnnouncing Khamenei's death after the strikes, US President Donald Trump, who authorised the joint military operation alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, described the turning point as “justice” for victims of what he called the Iranian regime’s actions.\n
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\nHis death now raises questions about the future of the Islamic Republic.\n
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\nThe 88-seat Assembly of Experts, a group of mostly hard-line clerics, will choose Khamenei’s replacement. But no clear successor is in place.\n
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(With AP inputs)\n

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Power, Protests, and Control: The Rise, Rule & Fall of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei

SUMMARY