Marked Man? Ayatollah Khamenei

Facial view of older man with wire-rimmed glasses and a long white beard wearing a dark head covering — Iran’s Supreme Leader and marked man, Ayatollah Khamenei [Image from Wikimedia Commons]

With turmoil in the Middle East, one man sits in the bullseye. He’s not just any man. He’s the supreme leader of Iran, a position held in his grip for over three and a half decades. The marked man? Ayatollah Khamenei. What should we know about this religious/governmental figure and why is he an assassination target?

The Government of Ayatollah Khamenei

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is Iran’s supreme leader, its head of state, and the highest political and religious authority of that country. Therefore, knowledge about his nation’s government is crucial to understanding the man and the future actions he might take. Of particular importance with the ongoing missile exchanges between Iran and Israel, is that Iran’s supreme leader serves as commander-in-chief of the armed forces. Further, as the supreme leader, per Iran’s constitution he has effectively assumed the position for life.

An Islamic republic, Iran has no division between faith and politics. Muslims of the Shi’i branch, the official state religion, make up the majority of Iranians. Several bodies controlled by the clergy oversee the executive and judicial branches as well as the parliament. Above the state and the oversight institutions, its supreme leader is a ranking cleric whose powers equal that of a head of state. Clearly, then, religion permeates all decisions made by the government in general and by its supreme leader in particular.

Flag of marked man Ayatollah Khamenei’s Iran [Photo by Akbar Nemati on Unsplash]

Religious Background Of Ayatollah Khamenei

Born to a religious family in eastern Iran in 1939, Khamenei studied the writings of the Muslim brotherhood as a young man. He firmly believed in militant Islam and was an Islamic activist in the 1979 revolution to overthrow Mohammed Reza Palavi, the U.S. backed shah. Khamenei held the position of president of Iran, a mostly ceremonial role, from 1981 to 1989 before being named the country’s supreme leader. His ascendancy to supreme leader placed Khamenei in the position of the most senior guardian of the Shiite faith.

Khamenei’s title of Ayatollah denotes a position in the Shiite religious hierarchy given to scholars with highly advanced knowledge of Islamic religion and law. The term is both a title of honor and respect. Translated into English, ayatollah means Divine Sign, Reflection of God, or Sign of God. Therefore, Khamenei’s assassination by the US or Israel for the position he holds would equate to martyrdom in his eyes. Because he is a marked man, Khamenei has identified three possible successors, all clerics, from which the Assembly of Experts, the clerical body that selects the supreme leader. Assuring religious continuity is thus a concern to him.

Use Of Power By Marked Man Ayatollah Khamenei

Decades as Iran’s supreme leader gives ample evidence of 86-year-old Khamenei’s views and world perspective. First, his perspective is founded on his religious beliefs. He entrenched the system of rule by the Muslim Shiite clerics into the government. This clerical ruling system makes him head of state, giving him vast control based on religious authority.

In addition to his religious power, Khamenei has no qualms using the country’s military might to control things within Iran and in international relations. He built the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard into the country’s most elite military force. This group also oversees Iran’s ballistic missile program. Khamenei’s military control enabled him to repeatedly crush internal threats. When he stepped up to supreme leader, Khamenei’s country was beaten up and isolated as a result of the Iran-Iraq war. But his efforts have turned the country into an powerful influence in the Middle East, including supporting militant groups across the region.

Map showing location of the country of marked man Ayatollah Khamenei’s Iran [Image form Wikimedia Commons]

Nuclear Production Biggest Worry About Iran

Two known underground nuclear enrichment sites exist in Iran, one at Natanz and one at Fordow. Both sites are south of the country’s capital of Tehran in central Iran. International experts and monitors express the most concern about the Fordow location buried deep in a mountain. They believe it may conceal efforts to achieve nuclear weapons capability. Some analysts fear that recent devastating Israeli strikes might hurry the Iranians to convert enriched uranium stockpiles into a nuclear bomb.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu emphasizes he wants Iran weakened enough for the country to permanently abandon nuclear enrichment. Iranian officials, however, deny claims by Israel that they are building a nuclear weapon. Aligning with ally Israel, President Trump approved strikes on three facilities. To take out the Fordow location, the US “bunker-buster” bomb, known as the GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator (“MOP”), was utilized. This bomb is so heavy that only an American B-2 bomber can drop it. Thus, Ayatollah Khamenei may be a marked man, but his nuclear enrichment facilities were marked targets as well.

Picture of military bomb loaded on truck with three military individuals around it — The US turned to its bunker-busting bomb to cripple marked man Ayatollah Khamenei’s Fordow nuclear enrichment facility [Image from Wikimedia Commons]

Ayatollah Khamenei Still A Marked Man

While the strikes on Fordow and two other nuclear enrichment facilities reportedly hit their mark, Ayatollah Khamenei remains a marked man. Hiding in a bunker since the start of Israeli strikes on June 13th, the supreme leader recognizes his current peril. Nevertheless, he defiantly resisted President Trump’s call for surrender stating, “Iran will not submit to any demands or dictates.” Emphasizing marked man Ayatollah Khamenei’s peril, Trump stated that US intelligence knew Khamenei’s location but had no plans to kill him “for now.”

The supreme leader so far gives no indication of a desire to work things out peacefully. A threat still remains if uranium enrichment materials were moved prior to the US strikes or if other facilities can pick up where the damaged ones left off. Since Khamenei ultimately calls the shots in Iran, his elimination certainly offers an option to halt the dangerous path he has taken his nation on, at least temporarily. Hand in hand with his great power, marked man Ayatollah Khamenei faces great danger.