Regional
Iran’s Ali Khamenei, who based iron rule on fiery hostility to US and Israel, dies at 86
Ali Khamenei was born in Mashhad, northeast Iran, in April 1939. His religious commitment was clear when he became a cleric at the age of 11. He studied in Iraq and in Qom, Iran’s religious capital.
The 36-year rule of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei built Iran into a powerful anti-U.S. force, spreading its military sway across the Middle East, while using an iron fist to crush repeated unrest at home, Reuters reported.
He was killed on Saturday, aged 86, Iranian state media announced, in air strikes by Israel and the U.S. that pulverised his central Tehran compound, after decades of efforts to resolve the dispute over Iran’s nuclear program diplomatically failed.
At first dismissed as weak and indecisive, Khamenei seemed an unlikely choice for supreme leader after the death of the charismatic Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, who founded the Islamic Republic of Iran. But Khamenei’s rise to the pinnacle of the country’s power structure afforded him a tight grip over the nation’s affairs.
Khamenei was “an accident of history” who went from “a weak president to an initially weak supreme leader to one of the five most powerful Iranians of the last 100 years”, Karim Sadjadpour at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace told Reuters.
The ayatollah criticised Washington throughout his rule, continuing to deploy barbs after the start of Donald Trump’s second term as U.S. president in 2025.
As a new wave of protests spread through Iran, with slogans such as “Death to the dictator”, and as Trump threatened to intervene, Khamenei vowed in January that the country would not “yield to the enemy”.
The comment was typical of the ferociously anti-Western Khamenei, in office since 1989.
By maintaining the hardline stance of Khomeini, the Republic’s first supreme leader, Khamenei quashed the ambitions of a succession of independent-minded elected presidents who sought more open policies at home and abroad.
In the process, he ensured Iran’s isolation, critics say.
Khamenei long denied that Iran’s nuclear programme was aimed at producing an atomic weapon, as the West contended. In 2015 he cautiously supported a nuclear deal between world powers and the government of pragmatist President Hassan Rouhani that curbed the country’s nuclear programme in return for sanctions relief. The hard-won accord resulted in a partial lifting of Iran’s economic and political isolation, read the report.
But Khamenei’s hostility toward the U.S. was undimmed, intensifying in 2018 when Trump’s first administration withdrew from the nuclear agreement and reimposed sanctions to choke Iran’s oil and shipping industries.
Following the U.S. withdrawal, Khamenei sided with hardline supporters who criticised Rouhani’s policy of appeasement towards the West.
As Trump pressed Iran to agree to a new nuclear deal in 2025, Khamenei condemned “the rude and arrogant leaders of America”. “Who are you to decide whether Iran should have enrichment?” he asked.
Khamenei often denounced “the Great Satan” in speeches, reassuring hardliners for whom anti-U.S. sentiment was at the heart of the 1979 revolution, which forced the last shah of Iran into exile.
Iran saw major student-led protests in 1999 and 2002. But Khamenei’s authority was put to the test more profoundly in 2009, when the contested results of a presidential election that he had validated ignited violent street unrest, stoking a crisis of legitimacy that lingered until his death.
In 2022, Khamenei cracked down on protesters enraged by the death of Iranian-Kurdish woman Mahsa Amini, 22, who died in the custody of morality police in September of that year.
Faced with some of the most intense turmoil since the revolution, Khamenei blamed Western enemies then resorted to the hanging of protesters and the display of their bodies, suspended from cranes, after months of unrest.
As supreme leader, Khamenei’s word was law. He inherited enormous powers, including command of the armed forces and the authority to appoint many senior figures, among them the heads of the judiciary, security agencies and state radio and television.
He appointed allies as commanders of the elite Revolutionary Guards.
As the final authority in Iran’s complex system of clerical rule and limited democracy, Khamenei long sought to ensure that no group, even among his closest allies, mustered enough power to challenge him and his anti-U.S. stance.
Scholars outside Iran painted a picture of a secretive ideologue fearful of betrayal – an anxiety fuelled by an assassination attempt in 1981 that paralysed his right arm.
International organisations and activists repeatedly criticised violations of human rights in Iran. Tehran said it has the best human rights record in the Muslim world.
Ali Khamenei was born in Mashhad, northeast Iran, in April 1939. His religious commitment was clear when he became a cleric at the age of 11. He studied in Iraq and in Qom, Iran’s religious capital.
His father, a religious scholar of ethnic Azeri descent, was a traditionalist cleric opposed to mixing religion and politics. In contrast, his son embraced the Islamist revolutionary cause.
“He (Khamenei’s father) came across as a modernist or progressive cleric,” said Mahmoud Moradkhani, a nephew who opposes Khamenei’s rule and lives in exile. Unlike his son, “he was not a part of the fundamentalists”, Moradkhani said.
In 1963, Khamenei served the first of many terms in prison when at 24 he was detained for political activities. Later that year he was imprisoned for 10 days in Mashhad, where he underwent severe torture, according to his official biography.
After the shah’s fall, Khamenei took up several posts in the Islamic Republic. As deputy minister of defence, he became close to the military and was a key figure in the 1980-88 war with neighbouring Iraq, which claimed an estimated total of one million lives.
A skilled orator, he was appointed by Khomeini as a Friday prayer leader in Tehran.
There were questions about his rapid, unprecedented rise. He won the presidency with Khomeini’s support – the first cleric in the post – and was a surprise choice as Khomeini’s successor, given that he lacked both Khomeini’s popular appeal and superior clerical credentials, Reuters reported.
His ties to the powerful Guards paid off in 2009. That year, the force crushed protests after President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad won re-election amid opposition accusations of vote fraud.
He also presided over a vast financial empire through Setad, an organisation founded by Khomeini but expanded hugely under Khamenei, with assets worth tens of billions of dollars.
Khamenei expanded Iranian influence in the region, empowering Shi’ite militias in Iraq and Lebanon, and propping up then-President Bashar al-Assad by deploying thousands of soldiers to Syria.
He spent billions over four decades on these allies – the “Axis of Resistance”, which also included Hamas, the Palestinian Islamist group, and Yemen’s Houthis – to oppose Israeli and U.S. power in the Middle East.
But in 2024 Khamenei saw these alliances unravel, and Iran’s regional influence shrivel, with the ousting of Assad and a series of defeats inflicted by Israel on Hezbollah in Lebanon and on Hamas in Gaza, including the killing of their leaders.
Under Khamenei’s rule, Iran and Israel fought a shadow war for years, with Israel assassinating Tehran’s nuclear scientists and Revolutionary Guard commanders.
It exploded into the open during Israel’s war on Hamas in Gaza from 2023. In April 2024, Iran fired hundreds of missiles and drones at Israel after it bombed Tehran’s embassy compound in Damascus. Israel struck Iranian soil in response.
But that was only a prelude to June 2025, when Israel’s military unleashed hundreds of fighter jets to strike Iranian nuclear and military targets as well as senior personnel. The surprise attack provoked a barrage of missiles in both directions, transforming simmering conflict into all-out war. The U.S. joined the air offensive on Iran, which lasted 12 days.
The U.S. and Israel had warned they would strike again if Iran pressed ahead with its nuclear and ballistic missile programmes and, on Saturday, they launched the most ambitious attack on Iranian targets in decades.
Negotiations between U.S. and Iranian officials took place as recently as Thursday, but senior U.S. officials said that Iran had not been willing to give up its ability to enrich uranium, which the Iranians argued they wanted for nuclear energy but U.S. officials said would enable the country to build a nuclear bomb.
On the diplomatic front, Khamenei rejected any normalisation of ties with the United States. He argued that Washington had backed hardline groups like Islamic State to inflame a sectarian war in the region.
Like all Iranian officials, Khamenei denied any intent to develop nuclear weapons and went so far as to issue an Islamic ruling, or fatwa, in the mid-1990s on “production and usage” of nuclear weapons, saying: “It is against our Islamic thoughts.”
He also supported a fatwa issued by Khomeini in 1989, which called on Muslims to kill the Indian-born author Salman Rushdie after the publication of his novel “The Satanic Verses”.
Khamenei’s official website confirmed the ongoing validity of the death edict as recently as 2017. Five years later, Rushdie was stabbed while giving a public lecture in New York. The writer was gravely wounded, but survived. The perpetrator, who was sentenced to 25 years in prison in 2025 for attempted murder, did not testify at the trial.
The late ayatollah leaves an Islamic Republic wrestling with uncertainty amid the attacks from Israel and the United States, as well as growing dissent at home, especially among younger generations.
“I just want to live a peaceful, normal life … Instead, they (the rulers) insist on a nuclear programme, supporting armed groups in the region, and maintaining hostility toward the United States,” Mina, 25, told Reuters by phone from Kuhdasht in the western Lorestan province at the start of 2026, read the report.
“Those policies may have made sense in 1979, but not today,” the jobless university graduate added. “The world has changed.”
Regional
Iran gave US a proposal for reopening the Strait Of Hormuz and ending the war, Axios reports
Iran through Pakistani mediators gave the U.S. a new proposal on reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and the ending of the war, with nuclear negotiations postponed for a later stage, Axios reported on Sunday, citing a U.S. official and two sources with knowledge of the matter.
Meanwhile, U.S. President Donald Trump said on Sunday Iran could telephone if it wants to negotiate an end to their two-month war and stressed it can never have a nuclear weapon, after Tehran said the U.S. should remove obstacles to a deal, including its blockade of Iran’s ports, Reuters reported.
Hopes of reviving peace efforts receded on Saturday when Trump scrapped a visit to Islamabad by his envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi shuttled to and from mediators Pakistan and Oman on Sunday before heading to Russia, where he is due to meet President Vladimir Putin.
Oil prices rose, the dollar inched higher and U.S. stock futures wobbled lower in early Asia trade on Monday after the peace talks stalled, leaving Gulf shipping blocked.
“If they want to talk, they can come to us, or they can call us. You know, there is a telephone. We have nice, secure lines,” Trump told “The Sunday Briefing” on Fox News.
“They know what has to be in the agreement. It’s very simple: They cannot have a nuclear weapon, otherwise there’s no reason to meet,” Trump said.
Hopes of a diplomatic breakthrough in the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran receded as a new week began, with talks aimed at ending the two-month conflict at a standstill and both Tehran and Washington showing little willingness to soften their terms.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi left mediator Pakistan empty-handed at the weekend, and U.S. President Donald Trump canceled a planned visit to Islamabad by his envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, dealing back-to-back blows to peace prospects, Reuters reported.
The deadlock leaves the world’s biggest economy and a major oil power locked in a confrontation that has already pushed energy prices to multi-year highs, stoked inflation and darkened global growth prospects.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian told Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif by phone that Tehran would not enter “imposed negotiations” under threats or blockade, according to a statement from the Iranian government.
Pezeshkian said the United States should first remove “operational obstacles,” including its blockade on Iranian ports, before negotiators can lay any groundwork to resolve the conflict.
Araqchi described his visit to Pakistan as “very fruitful.” An Iranian diplomatic source in Islamabad said Tehran would not accept “maximalist demands” from the United States.
Trump told reporters in Florida that he scrapped the envoys’ visit because the talks involved too much travel and expense to consider an inadequate offer from the Iranians. After the diplomatic trip was called off, Iran “offered a lot, but not enough,” Trump said.
On Truth Social, he wrote that there was “tremendous infighting and confusion” within Iran’s leadership.
“Nobody knows who is in charge, including them,” he posted. “Also, we have all the cards, they have none! If they want to talk, all they have to do is call!!!”
Pezeshkian said on Thursday that there were “no hardliners or moderates” in Tehran and that the country stood united behind its supreme leader. Iran’s top negotiator Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf and Araqchi echoed the message in recent days.
Adding to regional strains, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered his troops to attack Hezbollah targets in Lebanon, his office said, further testing a three-week ceasefire.
Tehran has largely closed the Strait of Hormuz, which normally carries one-fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas shipments, while Washington blocks Iran’s oil exports.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt earlier said the U.S. had seen some progress from the Iranian side and that Vice President JD Vance was ready to travel to Pakistan. Vance led an unsuccessful first round of talks in Islamabad this month.
The U.S.-Iran conflict, in which a ceasefire is in force, began with U.S.-Israeli airstrikes on Iran on February 28. Iran has since struck Israel, U.S. bases and Gulf states.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi arrived in the Pakistani capital Islamabad on Friday to discuss proposals for restarting peace talks with the U.S., offering some hope for an end to the eight-week war that has killed thousands and sown turmoil in global markets.
U.S. President Donald Trump told Reuters on Friday that Iran plans to make an offer aimed at satisfying U.S. demands, but said he did not yet know what the offer entailed.
When asked who the U.S. was negotiating with, Trump said: “I don’t want to say that, but we’re dealing with the people that are in charge now.”
But Iran’s foreign ministry spokesperson said on X that Iranian officials did not plan to meet with U.S. representatives, even though U.S. special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner planned to travel to Islamabad. Iran’s concerns would be conveyed to Pakistan, the spokesperson said.
After a U.S. bombing campaign and Iran’s blocking of the strategic Strait of Hormuz, the two countries are at a costly impasse, with Iran’s oil exports blocked and U.S. gasoline prices at multi-year highs.
Speaking before the Iranian foreign ministry’s statement, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Witkoff and Kushner would leave for Pakistan on Saturday morning for talks with Araqchi.
Leavitt struck an upbeat tone, saying the U.S. had seen some progress from the Iranian side in recent days and hoped more would come this weekend.
She added that U.S. Vice President JD Vance, who earlier this month led a first round of unsuccessful talks with Iran to end their war, is ready to travel to Pakistan as well.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the Iranian statement.
Pakistani sources said earlier that a U.S. logistics and security team was already in place in Islamabad for potential talks.
Pakistan’s foreign ministry confirmed Araqchi’s arrival in Islamabad, where a heavy military and paramilitary presence was visible across the central parts of the city.
Araqchi went straight into a meeting with Pakistani Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar at the Serena Hotel, where the first round of talks with the U.S. was held, two government sources said.
Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani pledged his country’s support for mediation efforts by Pakistan in a phone call with Trump, Qatar’s state news agency reported.
Araqchi wrote on X that he was visiting Pakistan, Oman and Russia to coordinate with partners on bilateral matters and consult on regional developments. The tour will include consultations on the latest efforts to end the war, Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson later told state media.
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told a briefing earlier on Friday that Iran had a chance to make a “good deal” with the United States.
“Iran knows that they still have an open window to choose wisely,” he said. “All they have to do is abandon a nuclear weapon in meaningful and verifiable ways.”
The last round of peace talks had been expected to resume on Tuesday but never took place, with Iran saying it was not yet ready to commit to attending and a U.S. delegation led by Vance never leaving Washington.
Trump unilaterally extended a two-week ceasefire on Tuesday to allow more time to reconvene the negotiators.
Oil prices remained volatile on Friday, as traders weighed potential disruption from the worst oil shock in history amid the prospect for further talks.
Brent crude futures settled at $105.33 a barrel, about 0.3% higher, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures were down 1% at $94.88.
HEZBOLLAH DISMISSES LEBANON CEASEFIRE EXTENSION
On Thursday, Israel and Lebanon extended a separate ceasefire for three weeks at a White House meeting brokered by Trump.
The war in Lebanon, which Israel invaded last month to root out Iran’s Hezbollah allies after the militant group fired across the border, has run in parallel with the wider Iran war, and Tehran says a ceasefire there is a precondition for talks.
There was little sign of an end to the fighting in southern Lebanon. Lebanese authorities reported two people were killed by an Israeli strike and Hezbollah downed an Israeli drone.
While the ceasefire that came into force on April 16 has led to a significant reduction in hostilities, Israel and Hezbollah have continued to trade blows in southern Lebanon, where Israel has kept soldiers in a self-declared “buffer zone.”
“It is essential to point out that the ceasefire is meaningless in light of Israel’s insistence on hostile acts, including assassinations, shelling, and gunfire” and its demolition of villages and towns in southern Lebanon, Hezbollah lawmaker Ali Fayyad said in response to the extension of the ceasefire.
Israel’s military said it had killed six armed Hezbollah members in southern Lebanon on Friday.
STRAIT OF HORMUZ BLOCKADE
Trump on Thursday said he wanted an “everlasting” agreement with Iran, while asserting the U.S. had an upper hand in the standoff in the Strait of Hormuz, the world’s most important energy shipping route.
The U.S. has yet to find a way to open the strait, where Iran has blocked nearly all ships apart from its own since the start of the war eight weeks ago. Iran showed off its control this week by seizing two huge cargo vessels there.
Trump imposed a separate blockade of Iranian shipping last week. Iran says it will not reopen the strait until Trump lifts his blockade.
Only five ships crossed the strait in the last 24 hours, shipping data showed on Friday, compared to around 130 a day before the war. Those included one Iranian oil products tanker, but none of the vast crude-carrying supertankers that normally feed global energy markets.
IEA statement on Saur anniversaries emphasizes unity and system protection
Construction of Yatim Taq cement factory launched in Jawzjan
Minister of Education: Kalashnikovs and ‘yellow barrels’ not enough for modern defense
Haqqani, Chinese ambassador discuss bilateral ties and regional stability
IPL double-header delivers drama: GT seal dominant win, KKR win Super Over
IEA supreme leader orders replacement of foreign terminology in official documents
Afghanistan hosts inaugural Afghanistan–Central Asia Consultative Dialogue to strengthen regional cooperation
TAPI gas pipeline advances 25 km in Afghanistan
Russia backs Uzbekistan–Afghanistan trade hub, praises regional economic cooperation
Injury concerns mount ahead of FIFA World Cup 2026 as stars sidelined
Saar: Anti-immigration wave gains ground worldwide
Saar: Talks between Iran and US discussed
Tawsia: Activities of Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation and Development discussed
Tahawol: EU envoy’s concern over Afghanistan discussed
Saar: Afghanistan’s focus on developing regional cooperation discussed
-
Sport4 days agoKabul hosts international wrestling tournament, highlighting regional ties and unity
-
Latest News5 days agoIEA ambassador, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chief minister discuss Afghan refugee situation
-
Latest News3 days agoAlbanian PM criticizes NATO’s Afghanistan withdrawal
-
Tahawol5 days agoTahawol: Ceasefire extension between US and Iran discussed
-
Latest News2 days agoUK considers talks with IEA over deporting Afghan asylum seekers
-
World4 days agoUS seizes tanker, Trump orders navy to use force as Hormuz tensions escalate
-
Latest News3 days agoPoland deports three Afghan asylum seekers despite European court order
-
Regional4 days agoIran tightens grip on Hormuz as ceasefire uncertainty lingers