
Person
Ali Khamenei
Acting
- Known for
- Acting
- Born
- Jul 17, 1939
- Died
- Feb 28, 2026
- From
- Mashhad, Khorasan, Iran
Ali Hosseini Khamenei (19 April 1939 – 28 February 2026) was an Iranian cleric and politician who served as the supreme leader of Iran since 1989, the second person to hold the position. He had previously served as the president of Iran from 1981 to 1989. His tenure as supreme leader, spanning 36 years, made him the longest-serving head of state in the Middle East and the longest-serving Iranian leader since Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi.
Images
Credits

PBS News Hour

Dispatches

Russia, China, Iran: The Axis of Revenge

The Green Wave

A Dying King: The Shah of Iran

Salman Rushdie: Death on a Trail

House of Saud: A Family at War
Letters from Iran
A Question of Eligibility

Inside the Iranian Uprising

Bitter Rivals: Iran and Saudi Arabia

Bazm-e Razm

How Khamenei Was Killed – The Attack in Iran

Khamenei's Last Move
Das Sonntagsinterview