Who Was Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei? A Detailed Review of His Life and Power

Ali Khamenei was Iran’s Supreme Leader for more than three decades, shaping domestic policy, regional strategy, and the country’s relationship with the West.

Ali Khamenei was born in 1939 in Mashhad into a religious family. He began his clerical studies there before continuing in Najaf and Qom, where he became a student of Ruhollah Khomeini and joined the political religious movement opposing the Shah. His activism led to several arrests and periods of exile before the 1979 revolution.

After the revolution...