Iran leader: Who is Ayatollah Ali Khamenei? Supreme leader gains surprising attention as old tweets resurface amid Israel conflict
Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, long a symbol of anti-Western defiance, is experiencing a surprising resurgence in attention among some younger Western audiences, as his old tweets resurfaced.
So who is this 86-year-old leader, described by analysts as a symbol of anti-Western defiance, as Israel intensifies its air campaign targeting Iran’s military infrastructure and regional proxies?
Born on 19 April 1939 in Mashhad, Khamenei is the son of a prominent Shia cleric, Javad Khamenei, and a Persian mother, Khadijeh Mirdamadi, known for her religious and literary scholarship. Raised in a clerical family that claims descent from the Prophet Muhammad through the Sadat-e Hosseini lineage, he began Quranic schooling at age four, and later studied under top theologians in Najaf and Qom, including the future revolutionary leader Ruhollah Khomeini.
He was arrested and exiled multiple times under the Shah for his political activities before rising to prominence in the 1979 Islamic Revolution. After surviving a bombing while serving as President of Iran (1981–1989), he succeeded Ayatollah Khomeini as Supreme Leader, despite having relatively modest religious credentials.
From that moment, Khamenei entrenched a system of clerical dominance, fortified by the rise of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) - which he empowered politically, militarily, and economically in return for loyalty. Under his watch, Iran became a regional power, projecting influence through proxies in Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Palestinian territories, and Yemen - what he termed the Axis of Resistance.
According to the Associated Press, Khamenei now finds himself surrounded by threats. His Axis of Resistance is at its weakest point in decades. Hamas has been severely degraded in Gaza. Hezbollah has been pummelled by Israeli strikes in Lebanon. The fall of Assad in Syria last year removed a crucial Iranian ally in Damascus. And within Iran, years of nationwide protests, including over the death of Mahsa Amini, have revealed deep-seated public dissatisfaction with clerical rule and economic hardship.
Still, Khamenei has remained defiant. In a video address on Wednesday, he warned: “The Iranian nation is not one to surrender,” adding that US intervention would bring “irreparable damage to them.”
His calculated defiance, even under the weight of airstrikes, sanctions, and isolation, has won admiration among Iranian hardliners and boosted his symbolic image in parts of the Global South.
His son Mojtaba Khamenei, a cleric with deep ties to security services, is seen as a potential successor despite holding no formal public office. The Assembly of Experts, the body tasked with selecting the next Supreme Leader, has been carefully stacked with loyalists.
What are some his resurfaced tweets?
One user on X (formerly Twitter) unearthed a tweet from April 2019 posted by Iran’s government-verified account, @khamenei_ir, which read: “The lands on the north of US-Mexico border - i.e. California, Texas, etc - all belonged to Mexico! They’re actually part of Mexico. US snagged them by coercion, weapons & massacres and now they want to build a wall! It’s not only about Trump; it’s about the US regime & establishment.”
The tweet, which predates the current conflict, has been widely reshared in recent days. One user responded: “Khameni [sic] went from one of the most demonized figures in world politics to one of the most popular within a month. Standing up to oppressors does that.”
Another wrote: “I apologize, ayatollah khamenei, I was unfamiliar with your game,” in response to a tweet from April 2015 that stated: “They celebrate a day of abolition of slavery but such crimes are committed against the blacks. #EricGarner #TrayvonMartin #BlackLivesMatter.”
Tweets on gender roles have also resurfaced, including one from September 2013 that reads: “It is not true that the wife should obey the husband in every occasion. No, there’s no such thing in Islam or Sharia Law #LifeStyle.” This was followed by another post: “U can’t leave all tasks 2ur wife & then criticize her. Even if she’s a scientist/politician, yet when interacting within family, she’s a flower.”
He has also spoken about interfaith respect. In a 2019 tweet, he wrote: “Any Muslim who denies Jesus Christ’s and Saint Mary’s infallibility is rejected by Islam. This is how Islam respects Jesus and Mary (peace be upon them).”
Since Friday, Israel has carried out strikes on Iran’s top nuclear facilities and has reportedly killed at least 14 Iranian nuclear scientists. According to Israel’s armed forces, the individuals targeted “were key factors in the development of Iranian nuclear weapons” and that “their elimination is a significant blow to the regime’s ability to acquire weapons of mass destruction (WMDs).”
Iran maintains that its nuclear programme is solely for peaceful, civilian use. It cites a longstanding religious edict by Khamenei prohibiting the development or use of nuclear weapons as evidence of its non-military intentions.