Ayatollah Ali Hosseini Khamenei, who ruled Iran with an iron fist as its supreme leader for nearly four decades, facing off against the US and Israel while crushing dissent and advancing a controversial nuclear program at home, has been killed, a seismic development that plunges his nation and the region into uncharted territory.
Multiple Iranian state media outlets confirmed Khamenei’s death on Sunday morning, hours after US and Israeli officials declared he had been killed in their joint strikes targeting his regime.
One of the Middle East’s most powerful men, Khamenei dominated Iran during a reign defined by resistance and resilience — standing firm against decades of Western and Israeli pressure…