UANI Releases New Report On Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei

(New York, N.Y.) — United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) released a new, comprehensive report today, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei: Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran. This deep, wide-ranging analysis chronicles Ayatollah Khamenei’s formative years, activities during and after the 1979 Iranian revolution, and tenure as the Islamic Republic’s Supreme Leader.

To read the full report, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei: Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran, please click here.

While Iran’s political structure includes positions such as the president, a legislature, and a judiciary, the power wielded by the Supreme Leader transcends them all. There are effectively no checks on Khamenei’s power, which includes interpreting divine Islamic law, sharia, and commanding the Islamic Republic in all matters, religious and political.

Along with religious and political roles, Khamenei serves as the commander-in-chief of all armed forces – including the traditional state military and Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), a U.S.-designated Foreign Terrorist Organization. He also controls Iranian state-owned media and a massive financial system that holds billions of dollars in financial assets and runs parallel to the economy of Iran.

Since Khamenei was appointed Supreme Leader in 1989, he has continued his predecessor’s hardline, conservative legacy and ideology known as Khomeinism. Throughout his tenure, Khamenei has expressed hatred and hostility toward the U.S., Israel, anti-regime dissidents, and marginalized groups, including women, LGBTQ citizens, and religious and ethnic minorities. 

At 84 years old, Khamenei is a cancer survivor but is rumored to have suffered a relapse. The ten most likely successors are identified by UANI in its resource, Who Will Be Iran’s Next Supreme Leader.

To read the full report, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei: Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran, please click here.