Iran Supreme Leader Weeps for General Killed by U.S. Airstrike

NASSER KARIMI and JON GAMBRELL / The Associated Press Jan 6, 2020 Ayatollah Ali Khamenei prays over caskets of Gen. Qassem Soleimani and others as vast crowds of mourners turn out demanding retaliation. Dig deeper ( 5 Min. Read )

Iranian President Says White House ‘Afflicted by Mental Retardation’

NASSER KARIMI and JON GAMBRELL / The Associated Press Jun 25, 2019 In a fiery new statement, Hassan Rouhani claims sanctions targeting his country's supreme leader have "[closed] the doors of diplomacy." Dig deeper ( 4 Min. Read )

Trump Signs Order Imposing Sanctions on Iran Supreme Leader

DEB RIECHMANN and KEVIN FREKING / The Associated Press Jun 24, 2019 The action against Ali Khamenei and his close allies is the president's latest attempt to discourage Tehran from developing nuclear weapons. Dig deeper ( 2 Min. Read )

President Obama and Iran’s Supreme Leader Have Been Writing Each Other Letters

Peter Z. Scheer / Truthdig Nov 13, 2014 Although the U.S. and Iran have no official diplomatic ties, the most powerful men in each country have apparently decided to cut out the middle men and women. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Iran Brands the U.S. an ‘Atomic Criminal’

Staff / Truthdig Apr 17, 2010 In the midst of an American-led push for nuclear disarmament, Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has labeled the United States an "atomic criminal," the U.S. being the only country to have used nuclear weapons in warfare. Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, meanwhile, called for an independent body to oversee nuclear disarmament. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

The Silent Cleric Who Holds the Key to Iran’s Future

Robert Fisk / Truthdig Dec 30, 2009 We like to believe -- and newspapers and television like us to believe -- that the battle for Iran is being fought on the streets of Tehran, of Isfahan, of Najafabad Untrue The future of the nation is being decided in Qom, among the clerical leaders of Iranian Shia Islam; and one of the most influential of them -- perhaps the closest of all the ayatollahs to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad -- is silent. Dig deeper ( 2 Min. Read )

Iranian Politicians Skip Ahmadinejad Ceremony

Staff / Truthdig Aug 4, 2009 Members of the Iranian public aren't the only ones registering their displeasure about President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's impending second term. On Monday, as Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei formally gave his endorsement to Ahmadinejad, some key members of Iran's political elite were conspicuously absent from the ceremony. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Symbols Are Not Enough to Win This Battle

Robert Fisk / Truthdig Jun 23, 2009 You don't overthrow Islamic revolutions with car headlights. And definitely not with candles. Peaceful protest might have served Gandhi well, but the supreme leader's Iran is not going to worry about a few thousand demonstrators on the streets, even if they do cry "Allahu Akbar" from their rooftops every night. Dig deeper ( 2 Min. Read )

10 Reported Killed in Streets of Tehran

Staff / Truthdig Jun 21, 2009 Protesters defied the supreme leader's threat of a crackdown and marched Saturday in the streets of Tehran, where they were reportedly met with tear gas and gunfire. Foreign media were unable to verify state television reports that 10 people were killed in Saturday's confrontation between police and "terrorists." Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Iran’s Supreme Leader Blasts Bush

Staff / Truthdig Sep 14, 2007 Providing a sharp retort to President Bush's Iraq war update speech on Thursday, Iran's Ayatollah Khamenei laid into Bush for his war policy and his administration's aggressive stance toward Iran during Friday prayers, opining that Bush will be tried in an international court for his part in the Iraq debacle. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )