Iran Supreme Leader Khamenei
Iran Supreme Leader Khamenei is the most powerful figure in the country, both domestically and internationally, is the Iranian political and religions leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Political Life of Iran Supreme Leader Khamenei
Khamenei, born in Mashhad in 1939, rose to prominence after the 1979 Iranian Revolution, which ousted the U.S.-backed monarchy of Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi, going on to hold several positions since the revolution, including president between 1981 and 1989, before becoming Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic following the death of revolutionary figurehead Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.
Khamenei has the supreme power in Iranian regime (higher than President), He controls military, judiciary, and media, and economy. He has control over the military, nuclear weapons and foreign policy.
Khamenei makes all major appointments in the government and religious institutions including the members of the Guardian Council that is very important in checking political candidates and legislation. Khamenei, who has been in his position of Supreme Leader since Khamenei came to power, has been a mixture of the ideologue and pragmatist.
- He has also been an ardent adversary of the western particularly the US and Israel hegemony and a promoter of containment policy of Iran, autonomy and sovereignty of Iran.
- He has also shown a nationalist streak, such as his approval of nuclear talks with the West that resulted in the 2015 nuclear agreement (the JCPOA).
- Khamenei has survived multiple crises during his rule, from sanctions to protests and calls from reformists for more freedoms, but since the US backed out of the deal in 2018 he’s challenged the West’s motives.
Instead, he has tried to strike a balance between maintaining the idealistic foundations of the Islamic Republic and functioning within the realities of the contemporary world.
