The last revolutionary of Iran

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Iran has begun the official funeral ceremonies for Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the country’s second Supreme Leader who was assassinated by the U.S. and Israel on February 28. The main public funeral procession would be held in Tehran on June 6 and the final burial ceremony would take place at the Imam Reza Shrine in Mashhad, Khamenei’s home town.

Khamenei, in many ways, was a key architect of the Islamic Republic. When he took over the country as the leader, the Islamic Republic, founded by Ayatollah Khomeini, was just 10 years old. If it was Khomeini who laid the foundations of the republic, it was Khamenei who built the theocratic system. He acted as a stabilising force between the clergy, the political class and the military establishment. He was a hardliner who resisted reforms and a pragmatist who cleared talks with the West at the same time. A conservative cleric, he led Iran through political and economic upheavals, and survived both reformist and hardliner Presidents. But in recent years, on Khamenei’s watch, unrest spread across the country. Iran also saw its influence abroad wane dramatically, particularly after Israel started attacking the so-called ‘axis of resistance’, the Iran-backed militia network in West Asia, after the October 7, 2023 attack by Hamas.

Khamenei watched helplessly when Israel destroyed Gaza, degraded Hezbollah and bombed the regime of Bashar al Assad in Syria, which eventually collapsed. It was only a matter of time before the Israelis came for Iran. And they did so on June 13, 2025.

Iran’s retaliatory strike against Israel on the night of June 13 was a bold display of force – a message that the Islamic Republic still had the firepower to hit the ‘Little Satan’. But it also exposed Iran’s vulnerable defence. Iran survived the 12-day war, but eight months later, the U.S. and Israel launched another war — this time regime change being their key objectives. They thought the assassination of the leader, who stayed at the centre of Iran’s state and politics for nearly four decades, would create a huge vacuum. Khamenei was once described by a reformist politician as the ‘Sun of the Iranian solar system’. The U.S.-Israel combine took out the Sun, hoping that the system would collapse. But the dead Khamenei proved more dangerous than the living one.

Mourners raise their fists and carry religion flags and a sign depicting President Donald Trump reading "Wanted dead, 24,000,000,000$" during the funeral procession of the late Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in Tehran, Iran, Monday, July 6, 2026.

| Photo Credit:

AP

The martyred leader entered the pantheon of Shia leaders. The system refused to fall. The state recouped fast after the initial setback. The IRGC started running the war, while the Supreme National Security Council emerged as the key decision-making body. The administration of President Masoud Pezeshkian focused on running the wartime economy. And the assembly of experts chose a new Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khomeini, Ali Khamenei’s son, who survived the February 28 attack. After 40 days of war and more than 60 days of talks, the U.S. had to reach an agreement with the same Islamic Republic which it sought to topple to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, which was open before the war.

To understand more about Khamenei, read this profile we carried when he was assassinated:

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei: The cleric who reshaped Islamic Iran

Within Iran, the assassination of Khamenei seemed to have altered the balance of power. While Mojtaba remains the most influential man – both as head of the state and a Shia religious leader – he has not been seen in public since the war began. Many thought he would make a public appearance during the funeral ceremonies of his father. But he hasn’t. There have also been speculations about his health. As Mojtaba is leading the country from behind the curtain, the IRGC, which led the war efforts, appears to have emerged as the most powerful branch of the Islamic Republic. Iran’s position towards a final settlement of the conflict with the U.S. has also hardened since the war. Take, for example, the case of the Strait of Hormuz. Iran’s Foreign Minister had said in April that the Strait would be opened. But the IRGC Navy kept its tight grip on the waterway. In the MoU signed by Iran and the U.S., Iran has promised to allow safe passage of commercial vessels through the strait and demine the waters in 30 days. But since then, Iran’s military has sent conflicting signals, citing Israel’s continued bombing of Lebanon. The military and the IRGC now say ships should take only the Iran-designated route. So it’s now evident that Iran doesn’t want to give up its control over the Strait. Why? See this analysis: In the Strait of Hormuz, Iran draws its red lines.

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