Ali Khamenei

Introduction & Top Questions
Revolutionary role and presidency
Second leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran
- Intervention in Iranian democracy
- Iran’s nuclear program and international isolation
- An iron fist and the death of Jina Mahsa Amini
- The Axis of Resistance and the Israel-Hamas War
- Direct conflict with Israel and the United States and Khamenei’s death

References & Edit History Quick Facts & Related Topics

Images

Iranian President Ali Khamenei speaks at a podium in Tehran with a large Iranian flag piercing an American flag and the U.S. Presidential Seal, portraits and banners behind him.

A crowd of people, many wearing masks, gathers on a Tehran street in protest. Some hold up scarves or clothing, and smoke rises in the foreground near a traffic light.

Map highlighting the Middle East, showing Israel in blue, the West Bank and Gaza Strip in purple, and Iran, Lebanon, and Yemen in orange to indicate the Iran-backed axis of resistance. An inset zooms in on Israel, Lebanon, and surrounding areas, marking key locations such as the Golan Heights, Gaza Strip, and West Bank, with Lebanon labeled for Hezbollah and Yemen for the Houthi movement. The map

Key sites of Iran's military-industrial complex

Ali Khamenei: Media

Second Supreme Leader of Iran

Images

Ali Khamenei

Ali Khamenei

HASAN SARBAKHSHIAN/AP/Shutterstock.com

Iranian President Ali Khamenei speaks at a podium in Tehran with a large Iranian flag piercing an American flag and the U.S. Presidential Seal, portraits and banners behind him.

Ali Khamenei after the downing of Iran Air flight 655

Iranian flag driven through the U.S. flag and presidential seal as Ali Khamenei,...

© Barry Iverson—The Chronicle Collection/Getty Images

A crowd of people, many wearing masks, gathers on a Tehran street in protest. Some hold up scarves or clothing, and smoke rises in the foreground near a traffic light.

Iranian protests in 2022

Iranian women removing their head coverings on September 19, 2022, in protest against...

Getty Images

Map highlighting the Middle East, showing Israel in blue, the West Bank and Gaza Strip in purple, and Iran, Lebanon, and Yemen in orange to indicate the Iran-backed axis of resistance. An inset zooms in on Israel, Lebanon, and surrounding areas, marking key locations such as the Golan Heights, Gaza Strip, and West Bank, with Lebanon labeled for Hezbollah and Yemen for the Houthi movement. The map

Iran's Axis of Resistance and the Israel-Hamas War

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc./Kenny Chmielewski

Interactives

Key sites of Iran's military-industrial complex

Key sites of Iran's military-industrial complex

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

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