The radical cleric took over as supreme leader in 1989 and is likely to be replaced by hardline figures
US-Israeli attack on Iran – live updates
US and Israel strikes on Iran: what we know so far
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hen he appeared in public for the first time in five years in October 2024, Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, had an uncompromising message: Israel “won’t last long”, he told tens of thousands of supporters at a mosque in Tehran in a Friday sermon.














