Khamenei

October 4, 2024 3:15 PM

Khamenei says Iran and its allies will not back down from Israel

Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Friday that Iran and its regional proxies will not back down from Israel hours after an Israeli attack on Beirut that is thought to have targeted the heir apparent to Tehran-backed Hezbollah's slain secretary general. "The brilliant action of our armed forces a couple of nights ago was completely legal and legitimate", Khamenei said in a rare appearance leading Friday prayers in Tehran, referring to Iran's missile attacks on Israel on Tuesday. U.S....

September 16, 2024 4:50 PM

Iran orders ‘direct attack’ on Israel in retaliation for Haniyeh killing: Report

Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has ordered Iran to strike Israel directly, in retaliation for the killing of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran, New York Times reported, citing three Iranian officials, briefed on the order, including two members of the Revolutionary Guards. Khamenei gave the order at an emergency meeting of Iran's Supreme National Security Council on Wednesday morning, shortly after Iran announced that Haniyeh had been killed. Iran and Hamas have accused Isra...

July 19, 2024 4:13 PM

How Iran’s Khamenei elevated a little-known moderate to the presidency

When intelligence officials briefed Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in May ahead of a snap presidential election, their report was grim: angered by economic hardship and crackdowns on social freedoms, most Iranians planned to boycott the vote and turnout would only be about 13%. That's when Khamenei decided to plan a carefully orchestrated election, setting the stage for a little-known but trusted moderate, Massoud Pezeshkian, to rise to the presidency in a race that would initiall...