From Les Misérables to Supreme Dictator: The Strange Journey of Ali Khamenei

Protests against the dramatic devaluation of the rial erupted in Iran's capital Tehran last year, and by early January this year, these demonstrations had spread to most areas across all 31 provinces nationwide. Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei coldly warned protesters that they "must be kept in line," but seeing that intimidation proved ineffective, he directly ordered security forces to suppress the uprising "at any cost." Khamenei's forces killed at least 7,000 people in a short period — opposition groups estimate over 36,500 deaths — but this 86-year-old man would never again be able to issue any commands.

In the early hours of February 28 this year, the United States and Israel launched a bombing campaign targeting sites and leadership across Iran. That evening, U.S. President Donald Trump announced online the "death of evil leader Khamenei." Iran's Foreign Minister initially appeared on television to deny this, but just hours later, Iranian officials confirmed news of Khamenei's death. Iranian state media confirmed his passing, though independent verification of the circumstances remains limited. This dictator, who held power for 36 years and pushed Iran toward the brink of ruin, had finally met his bloody end.

Khamenei was the Middle East's longest-serving leader, experiencing countless personal and political challenges throughout his life. His initially humble style later degenerated into an obsession with power, relying on hardliners to maintain his position. In 1981, a bomb exploded in a tape recorder on a desk in front of him, causing severe damage to his right arm. Large-scale protest movements repeatedly shook his regime. Yet according to analysts, Khamenei's strategic instincts proved superior to those of other Iranian leaders considered far more sophisticated.​

From Literary Youth to Political Strategist

Khamenei ruled for nearly 37 years — 26 years longer than Ruhollah Khomeini, the revolutionary leader who overthrew Mohammad Reza Pahlavi and established the Islamic Republic of Iran in 1979. （Related： Iran declares 40 days of mourning after Khamenei’s killing, vows further strikes on US and Israel ｜ Latest ）

​According to Barbara Slavin of the Stimson Center think tank in Washington, Khamenei was born in 1939 in the holy city of Mashhad in eastern Iran, to an Azerbaijani father and Persian mother. As the second of eight children, his family was extremely poor. By his own account, dinner sometimes consisted of only bread and raisins. From childhood, he followed his cleric father into seminary education.

Interestingly, Khamenei was not initially a rigid religious fanatic. Besides receiving religious education at the Shiite academic center of Qom, he demonstrated a genuine passion for literature. He greatly admired Victor Hugo's Les Misérables, calling it a "miracle" — a novel about state brutality against the powerless, beloved by a man who would go on to order the killing of tens of thousands of his own people. He also translated the works of Egyptian Islamic revolutionary Sayyid Qutb into Persian.

Older Iranians still remember Khamenei during his seminary years, debating with opium-smoking, secularized Iranians in parks. He drove a Volkswagen and smoked a pipe in his early years, seen as a revolutionary with modern religious intellectual tendencies. But revolutionary blood always flowed through his veins — his grandfather had supported uprisings against the previous dynasty in the early 20th century, and Khamenei similarly opposed the Shah's rule from his youth.

The 1953 CIA-assisted coup that overthrew Prime Minister Mohammad Mosaddegh left a lasting mark on him. As a teenager, he was further radicalized by Islamist Navab Safavi. Like his political mentors, he harbored deep hostility toward the United States and Israel, which supported the Shah and were seen as oppressing Muslims.

Lacking Charisma, But a Master of Palace Intrigue

After the 1979 Islamic Revolution, Khamenei held important positions in the Defense Ministry and the feared Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). In 1981, he survived an assassination attempt by opposition groups — a bomb hidden in a tape recorder exploded, causing him to lose use of his right arm. That same year, with Khomeini's backing, he was elected president, largely a ceremonial position, and was re-elected in 1985. （Related： Iran declares 40 days of mourning after Khamenei’s killing, vows further strikes on US and Israel ｜ Latest ）

After Khomeini's death in 1989, Khamenei succeeded him as Supreme Leader. Khomeini's chief adviser Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani orchestrated his rise. Rafsanjani calculated that Khamenei lacked Khomeini's religious standing, revolutionary credentials, and mass appeal — merely a mid-level cleric — so by elevating him, Rafsanjani believed he could wield real power himself and modernize Iran's political system.

Rafsanjani misjudged Khamenei. So did every other political rival.

The Economistnoted that while Khomeini was an agitator who forged his revolutionary aura in exile, Khamenei appeared more reserved. Yet Khamenei proved his political instincts were far sharper than anyone expected. He issued fatwas (religious decrees), skillfully exploiting contradictions between Iran's ruling institutions — pitting the military against the Revolutionary Guards, the president against the Majlis (parliament). He ensured these struggles ultimately returned to his doorstep, where he would decide the winners.

As Slavin has observed, many successful revolutions produce inspiring leaders, followed by less charismatic figures who consolidate new ideologies and government systems. Khamenei was a textbook example of the latter. He never commanded the fanatical devotion Khomeini inspired, and his approval ratings fell steadily throughout his rule. But he successfully consolidated Iran's unique theocratic system and transformed the country into a formidable adversary of the United States, Israel, and conservative Arab monarchies.

Consolidating Dictatorship: Purging Opponents and Seizing the Economy

Unlike presidents with term limits, Iran's Supreme Leader serves for life. This allowed Khamenei to patiently and steadily accumulate power, marginalizing or co-opting competitors. He directly or indirectly appointed all 12 members of the Guardian Council responsible for vetting election candidates. When they approved a seemingly moderate figure — such as Mohammad Khatami, who served as president from 1997 to 2005 — Khamenei moved to limit their authority. （Related： Iran declares 40 days of mourning after Khamenei’s killing, vows further strikes on US and Israel ｜ Latest ）

He gradually expanded the Supreme Leader's office, placing loyalists throughout government departments and every province, while commanding the million-strong paramilitary Basij, specifically tasked with enforcing ideological discipline.

Beyond political power, Khamenei also seized vast economic resources. He took over religious charitable foundations called bonyads — nominally providers of social services that had in practice expanded into construction, mining, and numerous other sectors. Being tax-exempt, and with international sanctions blocking foreign competitors, these foundations monopolized state contracts and gave him control over billions of dollars in assets. Under his rule, the IRGC became not only a tool for suppressing domestic dissent but a behemoth dominating the national economy and foreign policy.

A Foreign Policy Built on Anti-Americanism

​Khamenei's foreign policy was built almost entirely on hostility toward the United States and Israel — a worldview forged during the Iran-Iraq War of the 1980s. After consolidating power, he actively supported regional proxies: Hezbollah in Lebanon, Assad's regime in Syria, Hamas in Palestine, Iraqi militias, and Yemen's Houthis, attempting to deter foreign aggression against Iran.

The strategy exacted a devastating toll. International sanctions triggered by Iran's nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs severely damaged the economy. Although Khamenei demonstrated what he called "heroic flexibility" in 2015 by agreeing to the Iran nuclear deal (JCPOA), when the Trump administration unilaterally withdrew from the agreement in 2018 and restored sanctions, his distrust of America appeared thoroughly vindicated. （Related： Iran declares 40 days of mourning after Khamenei’s killing, vows further strikes on US and Israel ｜ Latest ）

Domestic economic collapse, inflation, and political oppression widened the chasm between the regime and the people. From the 2009 Green Movement to uprisings in 2017, 2019, 2022, and 2026, Iran experienced wave after wave of large-scale anti-government protest. "Death to the dictator" became a constant refrain. Khamenei's response never varied: ruthless, bloody suppression.

He consistently blamed Iran's economic failures on the quadrennially elected president, despite being the ultimate decision-maker for all key policies. A relative of Khamenei once noted he consistently opposed foreign investment, fearing outside influence. But low growth, high inflation, and relentless political repression compounded public anger. Even Iranian officials acknowledged that at least one-third of the country's 90 million people lived in poverty.

The Formula That Finally Failed

Former U.S. diplomat John Limbert, held hostage during the 1979–1981 Iranian hostage crisis and one of the few Americans ever to have met Khamenei, put it plainly in a 2022 interview with Foreign Policy. Iranian leaders survived, he said, through their opponents' incompetence, their own willingness to be brutal, and their capacity to compromise when necessary.

This was Khamenei's formula. It worked for 36 years. It could not, in the end, save him.

Hardliner President Ebrahim Raisi, considered Khamenei's most likely successor, died in a helicopter crash in 2024 under murky circumstances. Reformist President Masoud Pezeshkian was the last president of the Khamenei era. The Financial Times noted that Khamenei never publicly addressed the question of succession or cultivated a clear heir — he simply sidelined and persecuted anyone who might challenge his authority. Whether the Revolutionary Guards he relied upon will now strive to preserve his legacy or chart a different course remains an open question.

The man who loved Les Misérables — a novel about justice for the oppressed — spent nearly four decades ensuring that justice was the one thing his own people could never have. He died in U.S. and Israeli airstrikes, leaving behind a wife, four sons who serve as clerics, one daughter, at least twelve grandchildren, and a nation economically shattered, its citizens seething, its future profoundly uncertain.

Original Article in Chinese

Social Media Links & Editor Tag - Penny

（Related： Iran declares 40 days of mourning after Khamenei’s killing, vows further strikes on US and Israel ｜ Latest ）

​​