How Khamenei Reshaped Middle East Across Decades of Iran Brutality

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s Supreme Leader, shaped the modern Middle East more than any other leader over the past four decades, ruling the country with an iron fist and crushing dissent with brutality. Having played a key role in the 1979 Islamic Revolution, he became president of Iran in 1981 and succeeded Ayatollah Khomeini as Iran’s Supreme Leader in 1989. Khamenei tightened control over the country’s political system and turned the role into the ultimate center of power. Under his rule, elections were closely managed, dissent snuffed out and the security state has expanded exponentially. His death in a joint…