Ruhollah Khomeini

Ruhollah Khomeini was an Iranian Shia cleric and political leader who led the 1979 revolution that overthrew Mohammad Reza Pahlavi’s monarchy. He became the Islamic Republic’s first supreme leader and held decisive authority until his death in 1989. Khomeini’s doctrine of clerical guardianship shaped Iran’s constitution and political system, and his leadership transformed the country’s relations with the United States, Israel and neighboring states.

Khomeini spent years in exile after opposing the shah’s policies and the expansion of royal power. He returned to Iran on 1 February 1979 after the shah left the country. A referendum established an Islamic republic, and a new constitution placed ultimate authority in the hands of a senior Islamic jurist. Khomeini’s government consolidated power through revolutionary institutions, a hostage crisis with the United States and a prolonged war with Iraq.

Supporters regard Khomeini as a defender of Iranian independence and Islamic government. Critics emphasize political repression, executions after the revolution, restrictions on women and minorities, and the state’s support for armed groups abroad. His leadership established institutions and political doctrines that continue to shape the Islamic Republic decades after his death.

Early years and education

Khomeini was born in 1900 in Khomeyn, a town in central Persia, into a family of religious scholars. His father, Mostafa, was killed when Khomeini was an infant. He was raised by his mother and aunt, both of whom died during his youth. The experience of family loss and religious study shaped his early life, though he later became known primarily for political leadership.

He studied Arabic, Islamic law, philosophy and theology in local seminaries before moving to Arak and then Qom, a major center of Shia scholarship. He became a respected teacher of jurisprudence and mysticism. His students included clerics who later held positions in the Islamic Republic. Khomeini’s religious authority grew through lectures and publications, and he became a marja, a source of emulation for Shia Muslims.

Khomeini married Khadijeh Saqafi in 1929. They had five children who survived infancy. The family’s life was affected by his teaching, political activism and periods of exile. Several of his relatives later entered public life, while the Islamic Republic’s political establishment remained centered on clerical institutions and revolutionary networks.

Political thought and early opposition

Khomeini’s political thought argued that Islamic law should govern public life and that senior jurists had a responsibility to guide the state. In lectures delivered in Najaf in 1970, he articulated the doctrine of velayat-e faqih, commonly translated as guardianship of the Islamic jurist. He argued that a qualified jurist should exercise authority to ensure that government complied with Islamic principles.

The doctrine departed from the more limited political role traditionally assigned to many Shia clerics. Khomeini’s supporters viewed it as a safeguard against tyranny and foreign domination. Critics within Shia scholarship argued that it concentrated power in the clergy and lacked sufficient basis in traditional jurisprudence. The Islamic Republic later incorporated an institutional version of the doctrine into its constitution.

Khomeini opposed the shah’s modernization program, especially reforms introduced through the White Revolution beginning in 1963. The program included land redistribution, women’s suffrage and state-led development. Khomeini argued that it weakened religious institutions, increased American influence and undermined Iran’s sovereignty. He denounced the shah in sermons and was arrested after a speech in June 1963, leading to protests and deaths in several cities.

After his release, Khomeini continued to criticize the monarchy. In 1964, he condemned a law granting American military personnel legal immunity in Iran. His speech angered the government, and he was arrested and expelled. He spent time in Turkey and then settled in Najaf, Iraq, where he taught and developed his political doctrine.

Life in exile and revolutionary activity

From 1965 to 1978, Khomeini lived in Najaf, a center of Shia learning. His lectures were recorded and circulated in Iran through tapes, pamphlets and religious networks. He criticized the monarchy, the secret police and the shah’s close relationship with the United States. His message connected religious authority with national independence and opposition to authoritarian rule.

In 1978, the Iraqi government expelled Khomeini under pressure from the shah. He traveled to France and settled in Neauphle-le-Château near Paris. From there he gave interviews to international journalists and communicated with supporters in Iran. The media coverage increased his international visibility and helped coordinate opposition during a period of escalating strikes and demonstrations.

The Iranian Revolution brought together religious conservatives, nationalists, liberals, leftists and labor groups opposed to the shah. Khomeini became its most influential leader, though the coalition included groups with different political goals. His public statements promised a broad role for the people and described a future government based on Islamic principles. After victory, disputes over the state’s form quickly emerged.

On 16 January 1979, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi left Iran. The shah’s departure did not immediately end the monarchy, but it weakened the government’s authority. Khomeini returned to Tehran on 1 February to a mass reception. He appointed Mehdi Bazargan as interim prime minister and called for the armed forces to support the revolution.

Revolution and consolidation of power

In February 1979, revolutionary forces defeated the monarchy’s remaining security institutions. A referendum held in March asked voters to approve an Islamic republic; the official result was overwhelmingly in favor. The new state began building institutions under Khomeini’s authority, including the Revolutionary Council, revolutionary courts and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

The provisional government led by Bazargan favored a more limited transition and resigned after the US embassy hostage crisis began in November 1979. Revolutionary students seized the embassy and held American diplomats hostage for 444 days. Khomeini supported the occupation, describing it as a response to American interference and the admission of the shah to the United States for medical treatment. The crisis ended diplomatic relations between Iran and the United States and isolated Iran internationally.

A new constitution was approved in December 1979. It created a president and parliament but placed overarching authority in the office of the supreme leader. Khomeini became the first holder of that office. The constitution also established the Guardian Council to review legislation and vet candidates, and it gave the IRGC a formal role in defending the revolution.

Political groups that had participated in the revolution were soon marginalized or suppressed. Revolutionary courts sentenced officials of the former monarchy and members of opposition organizations. Executions and political imprisonment became widespread. Khomeini’s government presented these actions as necessary to defend the revolution; human-rights organizations and exiled opponents condemned them as repression and violations of due process.

In 1980, Iraq invaded Iran, beginning an eight-year war. Saddam Hussein’s government expected to exploit revolutionary turmoil and secure territorial concessions. Iran mobilized regular forces, the IRGC and volunteer formations. Khomeini called for resistance and refused early ceasefire proposals, arguing that Iraq had to be held accountable for the invasion.

Supreme Leader and Iran–Iraq War

The war devastated border regions and killed hundreds of thousands of Iranians and Iraqis. Iraq used chemical weapons, including against Iranian troops and civilians. Iran relied on mass mobilization and human-wave tactics during some offensives, suffering severe casualties. Khomeini framed the war as a defense of Islam and national independence, and the conflict strengthened the IRGC’s political and economic position.

Iran also supported armed organizations beyond its borders. The IRGC’s Quds Force developed relationships with groups including Hezbollah in Lebanon. Khomeini’s government described this activity as support for resistance to Israel and Western influence. The policy increased Iran’s regional reach but contributed to sanctions, confrontation and allegations of terrorism by Iran-backed organizations.

In July 1988, Khomeini accepted United Nations Security Council Resolution 598 and agreed to a ceasefire with Iraq. He compared the decision to drinking poison, reflecting the difficulty of ending a war that had consumed national resources and lives. The ceasefire took effect in August. The conflict ended without major territorial changes and left both countries severely weakened.

After the war, Khomeini issued a 1989 decree calling for the death of British author Salman Rushdie over the novel The Satanic Verses, which he considered blasphemous. The decree prompted international condemnation and endangered translators and publishers. Iran’s government later indicated that only Rushdie himself could revoke the decree, and its consequences continued long after Khomeini’s death.

Relations with other states and movements

Khomeini’s government rejected Israel’s legitimacy and severed the close relationship that had existed between Israel and the shah’s government. It transferred the Israeli embassy in Tehran to the PLO and designated the final Friday of Ramadan as Quds Day. The policy became a defining component of the Islamic Republic’s foreign policy and reinforced its opposition to American influence in the region.

Iran’s relationship with the United States was shaped by the 1953 coup that restored the shah’s power, the embassy hostage crisis and Washington’s support for Iraq during the war. Khomeini described the United States as the Great Satan and opposed American military presence in the Gulf. His rhetoric shaped political culture and foreign policy, while pragmatic contacts occurred at different times through intermediaries.

Khomeini maintained ties with non-aligned states and movements opposing colonialism or Western intervention. Iran sought diplomatic relationships with countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America. The revolutionary government’s ideological outlook sometimes complicated relations with neighboring Muslim-majority governments, which feared the export of revolution or the mobilization of domestic opposition.

The new state also reshaped education, courts and public culture. Universities were closed temporarily during the Cultural Revolution of 1980–1983, and curricula were revised to align with the government’s Islamic principles. The state expanded clerical influence over legal institutions and required public compliance with religious regulations. These policies affected daily life and generated continuing debate within Iranian society.

Death and succession

Khomeini’s health deteriorated in 1989, and he underwent surgery in Tehran. He died on 3 June after a heart attack. Millions of mourners attended his funeral, which became a major public event. His burial site in Tehran developed into a monumental complex and remains a place of national and political commemoration.

Before his death, Khomeini dismissed Grand Ayatollah Hossein-Ali Montazeri as his designated successor after Montazeri criticized executions and other state policies. The Assembly of Experts selected Ali Khamenei as supreme leader, despite questions about his religious rank at the time. Constitutional changes removed the requirement that the leader be a grand ayatollah and strengthened the institution’s political authority.

Khomeini’s legacy is institutional as well as ideological. He created a system in which elected bodies operate alongside clerical oversight and revolutionary institutions. The constitution gives the supreme leader authority over the armed forces, state broadcasting and key appointments. His doctrine continues to shape Iran’s political structure, although later leaders have adapted its practice to economic, security and social pressures.

Supporters remember Khomeini as the leader who ended the monarchy and asserted Iran’s independence. Critics associate his government with repression, hostage-taking, the continuation of a costly war and regional militancy. His political project reshaped Iran and influenced movements across the Middle East. The consequences remain visible in Iran’s institutions and its rivalry with the United States and Israel.

The revolutionary leadership used Friday sermons, mosques and religious schools to circulate its message. These networks had survived under royal surveillance and could mobilize quickly when strikes and demonstrations began. Clerics provided both local leadership and a national language of opposition. The new government later brought many of these institutions under closer state supervision, changing their earlier role as centers of dissent.

Khomeini’s rule made the doctrine of clerical guardianship the organizing principle of the new political order. Elected institutions operated alongside offices whose authority rested on religious jurisprudence, with the Supreme Leader holding decisive influence over national policy. The model secured the revolution’s ideological direction but created persistent tension over who could interpret public consent and how far electoral institutions could act independently. That institutional structure outlived Khomeini and shaped every subsequent leadership transition.