Middle East shaken by the death of Ayatollah, who ruled Iran for 36 years, know the story of him going from being useless in one hand to becoming ‘Supreme Leader’:

Tehran/Washington. An era has ended in the politics of West Asia. Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has been killed in a massive airstrike by the US and Israel. This news has not only deepened the clouds of war in the Gulf countries, but has also started a round of demonstrations across the world. Khamenei, who controlled Iran’s power for 36 years, has now been recorded in the pages of history. His death has sparked debate over the controversial and harsh rule that shaped the course of modern Iran.

When the deadly attack was caused by ‘tape recorder’ bomb

Khamenei’s journey to becoming the Supreme Leader was full of thorns. In 1981, when he was the President of Iran, there was a horrific suicide attack on him. After the Namaz, he was answering the questions of the public, then ‘Furkan Group’ One of the attackers placed a tape recorder equipped with a bomb on his desk. The blast was so powerful that Khamenei remained in hospital for several months.

This attack left him scarred for life—his Right hand permanently useless (paralyzed) Done. This was the reason why he used to greet or take oath in public forums only by raising his left hand. He then said, “If my brain and tongue work, I don’t need a hand.”

From Madrasa to flag bearer of ‘Khomeiniism’

Born in Mashhad in 1939, Khamenei received fundamentalist and revolutionary education in Islamic seminaries since childhood. In 1958, he met Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, whom he considered his guru. They ‘Vilayat-e-Faqih’ Adopted the principle of (guardianship of the religious leader), which meant that the command of the country should be in the hands of a supreme Shia scholar. He fought for two decades against the rule of Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, going to jail and enduring torture. When the Shah fell after the 1979 Islamic Revolution, Khamenei came to the center of power.

Election of ‘Supreme Leader’ amid controversies

When Ayatollah Khomeini died in 1989, there was a lot of fighting over his successor. Khamenei did not have the religious status of ‘Grand Ayatollah’, which was mandatory at the time to become supreme leader. But due to his political influence and loyalty to Khomeini, he got the constitution amended and overnight became the most powerful person in Iran by getting the status of ‘Ayatollah’.

Rule with an iron fist: IRGC and internal repression

Khamenei during his reign Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Made India so powerful that it became even superior to Iran’s army. He not only took on external enemies (America and Israel), but also brutally crushed internal rebellions. Recently, his government suppressed the mass movements that took place between December 2025 and January 2026 very harshly, in which thousands of protesters lost their lives. Today, after his death, while one section is mourning, the other section is seeing it as the end of a ‘dictatorship’.