Ali Khamenei

Mir Hossein Mousavi, Mehdi Karroubi and Zahra Rahnavard were placed under house arrest after calling for demonstrations. Human Rights Watch reported that Iran's police chief had stated that Khamenei approved the measure before its implementation.

Facing new demonstrations triggered by the collapse of the rial and inflation, Khamenei acknowledged the legitimacy of some economic grievances but declared that 'rioters' must be put in their place. Deaths and arrests were reported as security forces intervened.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Directly implicated

Khamenei was killed in coordinated US and Israeli strikes against Iran, alongside senior military officials. His death prompted Iranian retaliation and major regional escalation.

State of the evidence

Confirmed

Parliamentary reports and human rights organisations documented a sharp increase in executions in Iran in 2025, alongside mass arrests, repression of minorities and dissidents, and continued severe controls on women.

State of the evidence

Documented

Following the Israeli attack on Iran's diplomatic compound in Damascus, Iran launched more than 300 drones and missiles towards Israel. Khamenei congratulated the armed forces and stated that the demonstration of strength mattered more than the number of projectiles reaching their targets.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Directly implicated

Following Mahsa Amini's death in police custody, Khamenei expressed support for security forces confronting nationwide demonstrations and blamed the unrest on foreign enemies. According to human rights organisations, hundreds were killed in the crackdown.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Directly implicated

The United States imposed sanctions on Khamenei and subsequently several members of his inner circle, describing his office as the centre of a network of political, military and economic power.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Directly implicated

During the November 2019 protests, Reuters reported, citing Iranian sources, that Khamenei had ordered the unrest to be ended by whatever means necessary. Reuters estimated that approximately 1,500 people were killed, while other organisations published lower estimates but confirmed widespread use of force.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Directly implicated

Although the fatwa targeting Salman Rushdie was issued by Khomeini in 1989, Khamenei subsequently declared that it remained valid. In 2016, Iranian media further increased the reward offered for his killing.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Directly implicated

A Reuters investigation concluded that Khamenei controlled Setad, an organisation that had developed into a vast conglomerate with assets estimated at approximately $95 billion. The investigation described, among other things, acquisitions of confiscated property and an exceptionally opaque economic network.

Attribution

Institutional responsibility

Following the announcement of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's disputed re-election, Khamenei publicly endorsed the result and demanded an end to demonstrations, warning that opposition leaders would be held responsible for any violence. A widespread crackdown followed, with deaths, mass arrests and ill-treatment.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Directly implicated

After the closure of Salam newspaper, student demonstrations were violently suppressed. Human Rights Watch documented the attack on dormitories, hundreds of injuries and arrests, and directly called on Khamenei to ensure an independent investigation and uphold the rule of law.

State of the evidence

Documented

Four Iranian Kurdish opposition figures were murdered at the Mykonos restaurant in Berlin. The German judgment concluded that the operation had been decided at the highest level of the Iranian state and referred to the knowledge or involvement of leading officials, including Khamenei, causing a major diplomatic crisis with Europe.

Khamenei was chosen as Supreme Leader following Rouhollah Khomeini's death, although he was not then considered a marja-e taqlid in the traditional sense required under the previous Constitution. The Constitution was revised around the same time to relax the necessary qualifications.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Institutional responsibility