PARIS: Ayatollah Ali Khamenei had been Iran&#39;s hardline spiritual guide and top political authority since 1989, when he succeeded Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini as supreme leader. Here is a look at his life in key dates: - July 17, 1939: Khamenei is born in the shrine city of Mashhad to parents from Iran&#39;s Azeri minority. - 1957: Meets Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, who will emerge as a key influence. - 1977: After several stays in prison due to his opposition to the shah, he is exiled to Iranshahr, a remote desert city close to the Pakistan border. He returns to Mashhad in 1979 for the Islamic Revolution. - 1979: His rapid ascent to power begins when he is named deputy defence minister and subsequently head of the elite Revolutionary Guards by Khomeini. - 1981: Becomes the first cleric to be elected president of the Islamic republic. Re-elected in 1985. - June 27, 1981: Survives a bomb attack by the outlawed People&#39;s Mujahedeen group in a Tehran mosque, but his right hand is never the same. Learns to write with his left. - June 4, 1989: Upon the death of Khomeini, he is elected supreme leader just a year after the end of the war with Iraq (1980-1988). - January 2005: Confirms the &quot;death sentence&quot; fatwa handed down on writer Salman Rushdie by Khomeini. - September 8, 2014: Undergoes prostate surgery after two decades of speculation about his health. - July 14, 2015: Supports the Vienna accord with world powers on Iran&#39;s nuclear programme. - January 17, 2020: Leads Friday prayers in Tehran for the first time since 2012. Uses the occasion to condemn anti-government protests. - October 3, 2022: Blames the United States and Israel for fomenting the widespread nationwide unrest sparked by the death of Mahsa Amini. - June 13-24, 2025: Going into hiding during the 12-day war with Israel, which the United States briefly joins, but emerges from the conflict unscathed. - January 17, 2026: Says &quot;Iran must break the back of the seditionists&quot; as the clerical authorities brutally repress the biggest protests against the Islamic republic in more than three years. - February 28, 2026: Killed in the wave of strikes launched by the United States and Israel.

Middle East

Important dates in the life of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei

Iran's supreme leader Khamenei in dates

TEHRAN: Iran&#39;s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Tuesday said the Islamic republic would not give in to pressure to abandon its enrichment of uranium. Khamenei, in a televised address, also called any talks with the United States a &quot;dead end&quot; that were of no benefit to his country. His statement came as European powers seeking to reimpose tough sanctions on Iran over its nuclear program met with the Islamic republic&#39;s top diplomat, without any signs of a compromise. &quot;The American side has been adamant that Iran must not have (uranium) enrichment,&quot; Khamenei said. &quot;We did not surrender and we will not. We did not and will not yield to pressure in this matter or any other matter,&quot; he added. The supreme leader went on to say talks with the United States would only bring harm to Iran. Negotiating with America &quot;not only brings no benefit, but also causes major harm under the current conditions, some of which might even be described as irreparable&quot;, he said. &#39;Complete dead end&#39;&nbsp;&quot;Let us not forget the experience of these past 10 years, and the other side -- which is the subject of our discussion for now -- is the United States,&quot; he continued, referring to the landmark 2015 nuclear deal that Washington withdrew from three years later. &quot;This other side consistently breaks promises, lies about everything, deceives and threatens militarily at every opportunity,&quot; Khamenei said. &quot;One cannot negotiate with such a party. In my view, negotiations with the United States on the nuclear issue, and perhaps on other issues as well, are a complete dead end.&quot; European countries and the United States suspect the Iranian government of allegedly seeking to acquire an atomic bomb. Tehran has vigorously denied that, insisting it has a right to civilian nuclear energy. Israel in June carried out a major military campaign against Iranian nuclear sites, with President Donald Trump joining by ordering US warplanes to drop bombs on key targets. The Trump administration, which had long pushed for the re-imposition of sanctions, has voiced a willingness to hold talks with Iran, which doubts Washington&#39;s sincerity.

Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said the Islamic republic would not give in to pressure to abandon its enrichment of uranium

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Iran's supreme leader Khamenei in dates

Iran 'won't yield' to pressure to abandon uranium enrichment: Khamenei