Pull to refresh
Logo
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei

Supreme Leader of Iran (1989–2026)

Appears in 23 stories

Born: April 19, 1939, Mashhad
Died: February 28, 2026
Party: Combatant Clergy Association
Education: Qom Hawza, Najaf Seminary, Hawza ‘Ilmiyya Khorasan
Previous offices: Deputy Minister of Defence and Armed Forces Logistics of Iran, Commander-in-Chief of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps

Last updated Nov 11, 2026

Stories

Iran conflict shuts down the world's most important oil chokepoint

Force in Play

Killed in U.S.-Israeli strikes on February 28, 2026

Oil prices have fallen sharply. Brent touched $89.65 on November 10, its lowest since August 31, and traded near $92, about 23% below the October 30 peak near $118. President Trump said he would hold off on further strikes on Iran after appeals from regional countries, while keeping the US naval blockade in the Strait of Hormuz.

Updated Yesterday

Oil tankers halt Strait of Hormuz transit after US-Israel strikes on Iran

Force in Play

Killed in US-Israeli strike on Tehran on February 28, 2026; succeeded as Supreme Leader by his son Mojtaba Khamenei on March 9, 2026

Iran said two oil tankers hit mines and caught fire in the Strait of Hormuz on November 8. A third vessel also burned, bringing the number of ships hit since the start of November to at least 12. The US military disabled a commercial vessel in the Gulf of Oman, and Iran's Revolutionary Guard later disabled navigation systems on four tankers using a route it considers unauthorized. Ship tracking put Hormuz traffic at about 5% of pre-war levels on November 10.

Updated Yesterday

US and Israel launch war on Iran after nuclear talks collapse

Force in Play

Killed February 28, 2026, in Israeli airstrike on his Tehran compound

The United States and Israel attacked Iran on February 28, 2026, killing Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and hitting nuclear and military sites. A 60-day ceasefire expired on August 18 without renewal, and Iran said it would shift to a 'fully offensive' military posture.

Updated 2 days ago

US strikes dismantle Iran's surface fleet after Strait of Hormuz blockade attempt

Force in Play

Killed in Israeli airstrike, February 28, 2026

A U.S. fighter jet destroyed an Iranian surface-to-air missile launcher on Qeshm Island on the night of Nov. 2, after the Revolutionary Guard fired at an American aircraft over the Strait of Hormuz, Axios reported. A U.S. official called the strikes on Iranian targets in the strait 'defensive,' and they came the night before midterm elections.

Updated 2 days ago

Iran's largest uprising since 1979

Force in Play

Killed in US-Israeli airstrike on February 28, 2026; buried in Mashhad on July 10; succeeded by son Mojtaba

Iran's December 2025 uprising was crushed at enormous cost. The Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) verified 7,007 deaths in its February 23 report, including 6,488 adult protesters and 236 children.

Updated 2 days ago

U.S. carrier strike groups converge on Persian Gulf

Force in Play

Killed Feb 28; son Mojtaba designated successor Mar 8

Three U.S. carrier strike groups are in the region, and the Theodore Roosevelt group, with about 10,000 more personnel, is due by late November. On November 7 the U.S. military launched a task force meant to stop Iran moving weapons and other material overland, Al Jazeera reported.

Updated 3 days ago

US-Iran nuclear standoff

Rule Changes

Killed in Israeli airstrike on February 28, 2026 during joint US-Israel Operation Roaring Lion; replaced as Supreme Leader by son Mojtaba Khamenei on March 8, 2026

On February 28, 2026, the United States and Israel launched airstrikes on Iran's military sites, nuclear facilities and leadership. Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei was killed, and his son Mojtaba was chosen to replace him. Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz, a route for about a fifth of world oil, and a Pakistan-brokered ceasefire on April 8 was followed by failed talks in Islamabad and a US naval blockade of Iranian ports.

Updated 4 days ago

US and Israel launch joint military campaign against Iran

Force in Play

Killed by Israeli strike, March 1, 2026

The US struck an Iranian air-defense device on Qeshm Island on November 6, and President Donald Trump called the operation 'minor.' Iran said its air defenses destroyed an American MQ-9 drone over the island, while US Central Command described the situation as 'relatively calm.'

Updated 4 days ago

Global oil shock as Iran war shuts down the Strait of Hormuz

Built World

Killed in Israeli airstrike on February 28, 2026

Brent reached $116 a barrel by November 1 as OPEC met and Saudi Arabia's economy contracted 3.8% under the cost of the war and disrupted oil exports. Saudi Arabia restarted the East-West pipeline and resumed loadings at Yanbu in late September, but attacks on tankers in the Strait of Hormuz kept traffic about 70% below prewar levels. The U.K. Maritime Trade Operations center recorded 144 maritime incidents in the Hormuz region since February 28, making October the worst month of the war.

Updated Nov 1

US and Israel wage sustained air campaign against Iran's nuclear infrastructure

Force in Play

As of May 2026: Killed February 28, 2026

Iran's nuclear infrastructure has become the primary target of an intensifying US-Israeli air campaign that began February 28 and has now entered its sixth week. The Natanz uranium enrichment complex has been struck four times. On April 4, 2026, US and Israeli forces expanded the campaign to strike the Bushehr nuclear power plant and the Mahshahr petrochemical hub in southwestern Iran. The strikes killed at least one security guard and wounded five workers. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has warned that strikes on civilian nuclear power plants cross 'the reddest line' of nuclear safety, raising the risk of a radiological catastrophe. Meanwhile, Iran has demonstrated growing military capability: on April 4, Iranian air defenses downed two US warplanes, marking the first confirmed loss of American aircraft in the conflict.

Updated May 30

Iran activates wartime succession after Khamenei killed in US-Israeli strikes

Force in Play

As of May 2026: Killed in US-Israeli strike on February 28, 2026

Ali Khamenei ruled Iran as supreme leader for 36 years until joint US-Israeli strikes on February 28, 2026, killed him along with family members and multiple top military and intelligence officials at his Tehran compound. The succession process is now opaque and under fire, with the Assembly of Experts' Qom site damaged, acting leader Ali Larijani facing a power vacuum, and the IRGC interim council trying to preserve control.

Updated May 30

Iran's retaliatory campaign spreads from Gulf military bases to European embassies

Force in Play

As of May 2026: Killed February 28, 2026

For more than four decades, US embassies in the Middle East and Africa have faced bombings, sieges, and missile strikes. None has been attacked in Western Europe — until an incendiary device detonated at the entrance of the US Embassy in Oslo at 1:00 a.m. on March 8, shattering windows and sending smoke into the street.

Updated May 30

Iran's civilian government and Revolutionary Guards publicly split over war strategy

Force in Play

As of May 2026: Killed in US-Israeli airstrike on February 28, 2026

Iran's Supreme Leader controlled both the presidency and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) for over four decades. Eight days after a joint United States-Israeli airstrike killed Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, that unified chain of command fractured.

Updated May 30

Iranian strikes on Gulf airports expose vulnerability of global aviation's most connected hub

Built World

As of May 2026: Killed in US-Israeli strikes on February 28, 2026

Dubai International Airport processed 95.2 million passengers in 2025 and became the world's busiest in January 2026. On March 1, Iranian missiles and drones struck its terminals, forcing full evacuation. On March 16—16 days into the conflict—another drone hit a fuel tank, reigniting flight suspensions and forcing additional Emirates cancellations despite partial airspace reopening. Abu Dhabi, Doha, and Kuwait shut down simultaneously on February 28, severing three major Gulf hubs that route long-haul traffic between Europe, Asia, and Africa.

Updated May 30

US-Iran conflict ignites deadly unrest across Pakistan

Force in Play

As of May 2026: Killed in US-Israeli airstrike on February 28, 2026

Pakistan has the second-largest Shia Muslim population on earth — roughly 30 million people. On February 28, joint United States-Israeli airstrikes killed Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Within hours, grief and fury erupted in every major Pakistani city.

Updated May 30

Iran's Lion and Sun revolution

Force in Play

As of May 2026: Authorized crackdown; acknowledged 'several thousand' deaths

On February 14, 2026, an estimated 250,000 people marched through Munich during the Munich Security Conference, the largest protest ever held in Europe against Iran's government. The same day, 350,000 gathered in Toronto and 60,000 in Los Angeles—part of a coordinated Global Day of Action called by Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi, the exiled son of Iran's last shah, who has lived outside Iran for 47 years. Over one million people participated worldwide.

Updated May 29

EU labels Iran's Revolutionary Guard a terrorist organization

Rule Changes

As of May 2026: Ordered crackdown that triggered EU designation

For over two decades, the European Union resisted designating Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist organization, wary of severing diplomatic ties with Tehran. On January 29, 2026, that resistance collapsed. All 27 EU foreign ministers voted unanimously to place the IRGC on the same legal footing as al-Qaeda, Hamas, and Islamic State—a designation that triggers automatic asset freezes and travel bans across the bloc. Within hours, the United Kingdom signaled it would follow suit with separate legislation targeting hostile state agencies.

Updated May 23

Iran's deadliest protest crackdown since the 1979 revolution

Force in Play

As of May 2026: Approved premeditated crackdown blueprint; warned by officials of collapse risk from US strikes

Iran's 2022 uprising killed roughly 500 people over several months. The current one has killed at least 6,842 people (possibly more than 30,000) in just over five weeks; leaked documents reveal Supreme Leader Khamenei approved a premeditated crackdown blueprint months in advance.[1][2]

Updated May 23

Iran's regime faces its gravest challenge since 1979

Force in Play

As of May 2026: Acknowledged 'thousands' killed, blames U.S. and Israel

Bazaar merchants bankrolled Iran's 1979 Islamic Revolution. Now they're in the streets demanding its end.

Updated May 22

Iran's bloodiest crackdown since 1979

Force in Play

As of May 2026: Publicly acknowledged 'thousands' killed in crackdown, blamed Trump and U.S.-Israel conspiracy

The Islamic Republic has survived four decades of protests—but never anything like this. What began on December 28 as Tehran bazaar merchants protesting a collapsing currency became Iran's largest uprising since the 1979 revolution, with demonstrations in all 31 provinces.

Updated May 21

Iran's economic collapse triggers largest uprising since 1979

Force in Play

As of May 2026: Acknowledged 'thousands' killed on January 17; called 'sick man' by Trump who demanded regime change; warned Trump would 'be brought down' like historical tyrants; faces EU terrorist designation of IRGC

Iran's nationwide uprising, triggered by December 28, 2025 bazaar marches in Tehran, was crushed in what may be the deadliest massacre in the Islamic Republic's history. An internet blackout that began January 8 was partially restored around January 17-18, though connectivity remains severely restricted. Early reports confirmed 572 deaths; after internet restoration in late January, the Human Rights Activists News Agency documented at least 6,126 deaths, with estimates ranging from 12,000 to over 36,500.

Updated May 20

Trump threatens military strike as Iran protests turn deadly

Force in Play

As of May 2026: Ordered crackdown on protesters, vowed regime won't back down

Iran's judiciary chief announced January 14 that detained protesters face fast-track trials and executions, despite Trump's warning of "very strong action." The death toll hit at least 2,571, per Human Rights Activists News Agency — four times the count from two days earlier and more than any crackdown since 1979.

Updated May 20

Iran's economic collapse ignites regime crisis

Force in Play

As of May 2026: Vowing regime will 'not back down' to protests

The Iranian rial lost half its value in six months, prompting merchants—the same traders who toppled the Shah in 1979—to shut down Tehran's Grand Bazaar on December 28. Within two weeks, the strike became the largest uprising since the Islamic Revolution; credible estimates range from 500 to 3,000 dead after a five-day internet blackout, with the IRGC firing live ammunition on crowds.

Updated May 20