Since the 1979 revolution, Ali Khamenei has been the most central player in Iran’s political establishment. His vision still sets the nation’s course today. Khamenei was born in Mashhad to a poor cleric. He did this while navigating a chaotic political environment of the early 1960s, rapidly rising through the political hierarchy to emerge as the supreme leader of the Islamic Republic itself. His tenure has been marked by a relentless commitment to preserving the regime’s ideological core while adapting his strategies to global pressures and internal dissent.
After Mohammad Khatami was elected president in 1997, Khamenei gave a few years of limited cultural freedom. This major shift happened to intersect with Khatami’s reformist agenda. This period initiated an attempt at rapprochement between Iran and the West, particularly after the September 11 attacks in 2001. What is true is that Khamenei never blocked Khatami’s overtures to Washington, even if such moves ultimately went nowhere. In sum, what happened during this period points to an openness on his part to pursue diplomatic channels, though very tentatively.
In pursuit of safeguarding the Islamic Republic’s survival at all costs, Khamenei has entrusted himself with a web of asymmetric proxies throughout the Middle East. He has invested heavily in groups such as Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon, and the Houthi movement in Yemen. This strategy redefines Iranian power in a strikingly clear fashion. Secondly, it has functioned as a robust counterweight against real or imagined threats, most notably the Israeli threat. His approach shows a deliberate way of keeping power in an increasingly multipolar world.
Though a hardliner in his political orientation, Khamenei has a reputation as an intellectual. He is unabashedly addicted to Western literature. Other big influences on his writing were authors like Leo Tolstoy, Victor Hugo and John Steinbeck. This dimension of his personality stands in stark opposition to his political careers and the reactionary beliefs he has pushed. He has in the past collaborated with intellectuals who have sought to bring together Marxism and Islamism. Unrelated to the Islamists, this interaction has resulted in the creation of new ideologies that oppose Western influence, which he describes as “westoxification.”
Khamenei’s ascent to power came with complications. He himself survived an assassination attempt in 1981. Soon after, he became president, a largely ceremonial role at the time. His experience of imprisonment by Iran’s security forces during the 1978 protests against the Shah shaped his understanding of power dynamics and resistance. These early experiences formed the basis for his political tactics in the years to come.
In his relentless consolidation of power, Khamenei has played off opposing currents in Iran’s new political class against one another. His visible acts have ranged from forswearing nuclear weapons, in the spirit of Ayatollah Khomeini, to adopting a deeply ascetic lifestyle. He lives with his wife and two children in a shabby corner of his family’s house on Palestine Street in Tehran. He uses this home to highlight his own adherence to a simple and humble lifestyle.
Khamenei’s leadership has been marked by an iron ideological will. He has been careful to insulate the regime from any major internal threat, further rewarding fidelity within his inner circle. This new approach exposes his overriding ambition to protect the legacy of Ayatollah Khomeini. At the same time, he wants to consolidate his own political power in the Islamic Republic.
“We must stand up against the enemy while strengthening our unwavering faith.” – Ayatollah Ali Hosseini Khamenei
Khamenei is proving remarkably adept at playing off the various internal and external pressures facing the regime against each other. Those decisions will prove immensely influential in determining Iran’s long-term path. Yet his ideological commitments are at odds with the practical necessities of good governance. He aims to continue this delicate balancing act amid new global changes and challenges.