Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s militant and uncompromising supreme leader who governed the Islamic Republic for over three decades and presided over a period of severe domestic repression and conflict with the United States and Israel, has died after an Israeli strike on his Tehran compound—destroyed in the attack—according to a senior Israeli official who spoke to Digital.
“Khamenei was the longest-ruling autocrat in the modern Middle East. He didn’t stay in power by taking risks. He was an ideologue, but one who viciously worked to uphold and defend his beliefs, frequently advancing two steps then retreating one,” Behnam Ben Taleblu, senior director of FDD’s Iran program, told Digital.
“His worldview was shaped by militant anti-American and antisemitic views, which first emerged during his protests against Iran’s Shah,” he added.
Born on April 19, 1939, in Mashhad, Khamenei was among the Islamist activists who played a key role in the 1979 revolution that ousted the U.S.-backed Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. A close ally of Iran’s first supreme leader, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, he rose through the new system and served as president from 1981 to 1989 before becoming supreme leader after Khomeini’s death that same year.
Over decades in power, Khamenei tightened control over Iran’s political and security apparatus, overseeing repeated crackdowns on dissent and maintaining a hardline stance toward Washington and Jerusalem.
“Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s reign has been defined by unyielding brutality and repression—both inside Iran and abroad,” said Lisa Daftari, an Iran expert and editor-in-chief of The Foreign Desk. She cited executions and the enforcement of strict social controls as key hallmarks of the system under Khamenei’s leadership.
His ultra-conservative leadership style did face challenges, however. In 2009, after Khamenei declared victory for incumbent President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in disputed elections, massive protests erupted across the country.
Protests also broke out in 2022 after Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old woman, died in morality police custody for purportedly wearing her headscarf incorrectly. The protests were violently suppressed by his regime, with many arrested and executed.
In late December, Iran was again shaken by protests and a brutal, forceful security response. According to an Iran International investigation, as many as 30,000 people may have been killed over two days—January 8 to 9, 2026.
International monitors and human rights groups have repeatedly documented high execution rates in Iran in recent years as well. Amnesty International reported that Iranian authorities executed more than 1,000 people in 2025, calling it the highest annual figure the organization has recorded in at least 15 years. Separately, a U.N. report said Iran executed at least 975 people in 2024—the highest number since 2015.
Regionally, Khamenei heavily invested in Iran’s network of allied militias and armed groups, a strategy to project Iranian power beyond its borders. From the West Bank and Gaza to backing terrorist groups such as in Lebanon, Houthi extremists in Yemen, and other militant factions in Iraq, Iran under Khamenei spent hundreds of millions of dollars on these groups.
However, —along with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s regime—collapsed under Israeli military pressure following the October 7, 2023, attack. During a 12-day war in June 2025, Israel also eliminated some of Khamenei’s closest aides and senior security officials, leaving the long-serving leader significantly weakened.
Yet analysts argue that Khamenei’s most enduring legacy may be the institutional framework he built at home to safeguard the regime.
A recent report by United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI), authored by Saeid Golkar and Kasra Aarabi, describes the Bayt, , as a parallel structure embedded across Iran’s military, economy, religious institutions, and bureaucracy.
In an interview with Digital, Aarabi said, “It is the hidden nerve center of Iran’s regime… it operates as a state within a state.” He argued that even Khamenei’s removal would not necessarily dismantle the system. “Even if he is eliminated, the Bayt as an institution enables the Supreme Leader to function,” Aarabi said, adding, “Think of the Supreme Leader as an institution rather than just a single individual.”
Aarabi also warned that ” on its own is not enough,” calling for a broader strategy targeting the larger apparatus surrounding the supreme leader. “You have to dismantle the vast system he created,” he said.
“Unlike Khomeini—the founding father of the Islamic Republic—Khamenei institutionalized his power. Today, the Islamic Republic is more a product of Khamenei than Khomeini,” FDD’s Ben Taleblu added.