The first detail most people notice about Iran’s Supreme Leader is his right hand — motionless, often tucked into a sleeve. That stillness is the trace of a bomb hidden in a cassette recorder at a Tehran mosque in June 1981, an attack that permanently damaged Ali Khamenei’s right arm, according to the official biography on Khamenei.ir — the same institutional record that explains how Iran’s leadership actually changes hands and why the succession question now dominates Tehran’s agenda.
Born: 19 April 1939, Mashhad, Iran · Title: Supreme Leader of Iran · Years in power: 1989–2026 · Previous office: President of Iran (1981–1989) · Hand injury: 27 June 1981 bombing, permanent right-hand damage · Children: 4 (including Mojtaba Khamenei)
Quick snapshot
- A bomb hidden in a cassette recorder exploded at Tehran’s Abuzar Mosque on 27 June 1981, injuring Khamenei’s right hand (Khamenei.ir (official website)).
- Iran’s 88-member Assembly of Experts — not voters — selects the Supreme Leader (BBC Monitoring (media monitoring service)).
- Khamenei’s death on 1 March 2026 was reported by major outlets, but details remain unconfirmed. (Khamenei.ir (official website))
- The identity of the next Supreme Leader has not been announced.
- Mojtaba Khamenei’s reported ties to Iran’s security establishment could help or hurt his chance (BBC Monitoring).
- The number of Ruhollah Khomeini’s wives is a running source of confusion in biographical records.
- 27 June 1981 — assassination attempt damages Khamenei’s right hand (Khamenei.ir). (Carnegie Endowment for International Peace)
- 4 June 1989 — Khamenei becomes Supreme Leader after Khomeini’s death (Khamenei.ir). (Carnegie Endowment for International Peace)
- March 2026 — succession debate intensifies after Khamenei’s reported death (Carnegie Endowment for International Peace).
- Iranian law requires the Assembly of Experts to name a successor “as swiftly as possible”, without a fixed deadline (BBC Monitoring).
- If the vacancy drags on, Article 111 of the constitution creates a three-person Interim Leadership Council (Carnegie Endowment for International Peace).
- The candidate list in circulation includes Mojtaba Khamenei, Ali Reza Arafi, and Hassan Khomeini (PBS NewsHour).
Seven facts anchor this piece, and the pattern to notice is how early Khamenei’s public identity was fixed — by 1989 he had already survived a bombing, served eight years as president, and helped build the Islamic Republic; most of those dates trace to the official biography on Khamenei.ir, with succession context from BBC Monitoring and the Carnegie Endowment.
| Fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Full Name | Ali Hosseini Khamenei |
| Title | Supreme Leader of Iran |
| Born | 19 April 1939, Mashhad, Iran |
| Died | 1 March 2026 (reported) |
| Became Supreme Leader | 4 June 1989 |
| Hand Injury | 27 June 1981 bombing — permanent right-hand damage |
| Children | 4 — Mojtaba, Mostafa, Masoud, Hoda |
What happened to Ali Khamenei’s hand?
When did Khamenei’s hand injury occur?
- Date: 27 June 1981
- Place: Abuzar Mosque, Tehran
- Device: a bomb hidden in a cassette recorder
Khamenei was giving a speech at the mosque when the device exploded. The blast seriously injured his chest, arms, and right hand, according to the official account on Khamenei.ir. Some republished accounts still date the attack to 1980; the official record places it on 27 June 1981.
The hand is the rare Khamenei fact that outsiders can verify visually — and the official archives document it in detail. That combination is why the injury keeps resurfacing in coverage of his health and his succession.
How did Khamenei’s hand injury happen?
- The bomb was small enough to hide inside a cassette recorder — an everyday object at a 1980s mosque event.
- The official biography identifies the attacker only as “unofficially reported”: the Mujahedin-e Khalq, an exiled opposition group.
Khamenei later underwent several surgical procedures on his right hand, but nerve and tissue damage caused permanent loss of motor function, according to Khamenei.ir’s account of his medical history. The official biography says the injury left him unable to write or use the right hand properly.
The implication: the most recognizable physical detail about Iran’s most powerful man is the scar tissue of an assassination attempt — and it became part of the system’s survival story.
What was Ali Khamenei known for?
What is Khamenei’s role as Supreme Leader?
- Head of state and the highest-ranking political and religious authority in Iran.
- Final authority over the military, the judiciary, state media, and foreign policy.
- Appoints the heads of the judiciary, the Revolutionary Guard, and the state broadcasters.
- Not removable by any elected body.
The office sits above the three branches of government rather than inside one of them. The Leader is chosen by the 88-member Assembly of Experts, whose members are elected every eight years and vetted by the Guardian Council — the process is summarized by BBC Monitoring (the BBC’s media monitoring service).
What was Khamenei’s presidency?
- Third president of Iran, serving from 1981 to 1989.
- Held the presidency through the Iran–Iraq War.
Born in Mashhad in 1939, Khamenei was a key organizer of the 1979 Islamic Revolution and moved through the institutions that it created. He became the second Supreme Leader on 4 June 1989, after Ruhollah Khomeini’s death, according to the official biography on Khamenei.ir.
What this means: his authority was built through institutional continuity — revolutionary organizer, wartime president, then Supreme Leader — which is why the succession question forces the entire system to imagine operating without him.
Who is stronger in Iran, president or supreme leader?
What powers does the Supreme Leader have?
- Final say over the military, the judiciary, state media, and foreign policy.
- Appoints the heads of the judiciary, the Islamic Revolutionary
James MitchellStaff WriterJames Mitchell is Editor-in-Chief at Southern Monitor, overseeing editorial standards, publication decisions and corrections.