Ali Khamenei Dies In US-Israel-Iran War: Know All About Iranian Supreme Leader Whose 37-Year Iron Reign Ends

The map of the Middle East has changed from blue skies to thick black smoke, raining missiles and battered soils. The latest country to face the turmoil is Iran, which reportedly has confirmed the death of its supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, in an airstrike launched by US-Israel.

But apart from this, the world's opinion of Khamenei was split. Some saw him as a blessing, a savior for the reign of their Islamic regime in the Middle East, while some referred to him as the terror funder, the enemy himself! To US President Donald Trump, Khamenei was 'evil.'

Iran Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei's Death:

The US President Donald Trump confirmed his death on his Truth Social account. He said, "Khamenei, one of the most evil people in History, is dead. This is not only Justice for the people of Iran but also for all Great Americans, and those people from many Countries throughout the World, that have been killed or mutilated by Khamenei and his gang of bloodthirsty THUGS."

"He was unable to avoid our Intelligence and Highly Sophisticated Tracking Systems and, working closely with Israel, there was not a thing he, or the other leaders that have been killed along with him, could do. This is the single greatest chance for the Iranian people to take back their Country. We are hearing that many of their IRGC, Military, and other Security and Police Forces, no longer want to fight, and are looking for Immunity from us," Trump added in the early hours of March 1st.

He further said, "As I said last night, "Now they can have Immunity, later they only get Death!" Hopefully, the IRGC and Police will peacefully merge with the Iranian Patriots, and work together as a unit to bring back the Country to the Greatness it deserves."

US-Israel Attacks Iran:

His statement comes after the US and Israel launched a barrage of attacks on various locations in Iran on February 28. The duo's operation is called 'Roaring Lion' by Israel and 'Epic Fury' by the United States Department of Defense. Khamenei was assassinated as part of this attack.

The US-Israel duo launched airstrikes in various cities, including Tehran, Isfahan, Qom, Karaj, and Kermanshah. However, even after Trump and Israel confirmed the death of Khamenei, Iran was yet to confirm the same in the early hours of Sunday.

But now the confirmation has arrived. As per Iran's state-run agency, IRNA, the Ayatollah was found dead in a US-Israeli airstrike. Along with him, four other members of his family were reported dead too. This included his daughter, grandchild, daughter-in-law and son-in-law.

Iran has vowed a severe, decisive and regret-inducing punishment for US-Israel over their supreme leader's death.

That being said, let's dive into the man who ruled Iran for 37 years.

Ali Khamenei Early Life Before Becoming Supreme Leader:

Born on April 19, 1939, Ali Khamenei's ancestral roots are said to be of Sayyid Hossein Tafreshi, who was likely a descendant of the Aftasi Sayyids, supposedly reaching to Sultan ul-Ulama Ahmad, who is known as Sultan Sayyid, a grandchild of the fourth Shia Imam, Ali al-Sajjad.

Khamenei was born in Najaf, Iran, in a family of clerics. His father, Javad Khamenei was an alim and mujtahid of Azerbaijani Turk ethnicity from Khamaneh, while his mother was Khadijeh Mirdamadi, an ethnic Persian from Yazd. He was the second of eight children, most of whom were clerics.

He began learning Quran when he was just four years old. While growing up, he took advanced lessons at the hawza of Mashhad, under mentors such as Sheikh Hashem Qazvini and Ayatollah Milani.

Ali Khamenei Joins Opposition Against Mohammad Reza Pahlavi:

Amidst strengthening his knowledge as a cleric, he also attended classes of Ruhollah Khomeini, who was the former Iran supreme leader from 1979 to 1989.

Khamenei entered politics by joining opposition to Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the Shah of Iran. He faced his share of struggles during his retaliation against the Shah regime and was arrested six times before being exiled for three years by the regime. But that was enough to make Khamenei a mainstream figure in Iran's revolution during 1978 to 1979.

After serving various roles in the Islamic Republic of Iran, Khamenei became the president of Iran from 1981 to 1989. But after the death of Rohullah Khomeini in 1989, Khamenei was elected by majority to become the supreme leader.

Ali Khamenei As Supreme Leader:

Being Iran's supreme leader, Khamenei played a key role in changing the face of Middle East.

He supported Iran's nuclear program for civilian use while issuing a fatwa forbidding the production of weapons of mass destruction. Khamenei favoured economic privatization of state-owned industries and, with oil and gas reserves, transformed Iran into an "energy superpower". His foreign policy centered on Shia Islamism and exporting the Iranian Revolution, as per Wikipedia.

He played a major part in developing the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) for domestic control and regional influence.

Under his rule, Iran supported the "Axis of Resistance" coalition in the Syrian civil war, War in Iraq, Yemeni civil war and the Gaza war, as well as Russia during the Russo-Ukrainian war. A staunch critic of Israel and of Zionism, Khamenei supported the Palestinians in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict; his rhetoric included calls for Israel's destruction and antisemitic tropes. Under Khamenei, Iran was involved in proxy wars with Israel and Saudi Arabia; in 2025 and 2026, tensions with Israel and the United States escalated to a 12-day armed conflict and ongoing strikes, as per Wikipedia.

A Snippet Here:

Period / Theme	Key Points	Impact
1989 - Rise to Power	Succeeded Ruhollah Khomeini as Supreme Leader	Became Iran's highest political and religious authority
Power Consolidation	Strengthened authority of Supreme Leader; expanded role of Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps	Centralized control over military, judiciary, media
Domestic Policy	Crackdowns on protests (1999, 2009, 2022-23)	Increased repression; international criticism
Foreign Policy	Advanced nuclear program; approved 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action	Heightened tensions with U.S.; sanctions cycles
Regional Strategy	Backed allies like Hezbollah and Hamas	Expanded Iran's influence in the Middle East
Economic Challenges	Faced sanctions, inflation, currency decline	Growing public dissatisfaction
End of Rule (2026)	Killed in joint U.S.-Israeli strike	Major turning point in Iran's political trajectory