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150-488: Ali Hosseini Khamenei (born 19 April 1939) is an Iranian cleric and politician who has served as the second supreme leader of Iran since 1989 . He previously served as the third president of Iran from 1981 to 1989. Khamenei's 35-year-long rule makes him the longest-serving head of state in the Middle East, as well as the second-longest-serving Iranian leader of the last century after Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi . Khamenei

300-448: A "prominent Iranian cleric and a former lawmaker said on Sunday that they had spoken to some of the authors and had no doubt the letter was genuine". According to this cleric, the letter's signatories number "several dozen, and are mostly midranking figures from Qum, Isfahan and Mashhad", and that "the pressure on clerics in Qum is much worse than the pressure on activists because the establishment

450-590: A 2010 version of these statements in the fatwa section of the website in Farsi as a fatwa on "Prohibition of Weapons of Mass Destruction". Doubts have been cast by experts on the existence of the fatwa as it can be changed or modified as and when deemed necessary, as well as doubts on its authenticity, its impact, and its apparently religious nature. Gareth Porter believes that the fatwa is "sincere" and Gholam-Hossein Elham commented that it will not change. In 2000, Khamenei sent

600-585: A Khamenei appointee, has warned the president of Iran against voicing opposition to Khamenei. In 1989, Ayatollah Khomeini dismissed Ayatollah Montazeri as his political successor, giving the position to Khamenei instead. Because Khamenei was neither a marja' or ayatollah , the Assembly of Experts had to modify the constitution to award him the position of Iran's new Supreme Leader (a decision opposed by several grand ayatollahs). Khamenei officially succeeded Ruhollah Khomeini after Khomeini's death, being elected as

750-685: A broad foundation for defining Muslim orthodoxy. as well as elaborating on the factors needed to create Islamic unity, he argues: "neither the Shia Muslims allied with the British MI6 are Shias, nor the Sunni mercenaries of the American CIA are Sunnis, as they are both anti-Islamic." In 2010, Khamenei issued a fatwa that bans any insult to the Sahabah (companions of Muhammad) as well as Muhammad's wives . The fatwa

900-809: A considerable number of Islamic schools (madrasas, the majority of them, however, dating from the later Safavid period. Mashhad Hawza (Persian: حوزه علمیه مشهد) is one of the largest seminaries of traditional Islamic school of higher learning in Mashhad, which was headed by Abbas Vaez-Tabasi (who was Chairman of the Astan Quds Razavi board from 1979) after the revolution, and in which Iranian politician and clerics such as Ali Khamenei , Ahmad Alamolhoda , Abolghasem Khazali , Mohammad Reyshahri , Morteza Motahhari , Abbas Vaez-Tabasi , and Madmoud Halabi (the founder of Hojjatieh and Mohammad Hadi Abd-e Khodaee learned Islamic studies). The number of seminary schools in Mashhad

1050-738: A descendant of the Aftasi Sayyids, whose lineage supposedly reached to Sultan ul-Ulama Ahmad, known as Sultan Sayyid, a grandchild of Shia fourth Imam, Ali al-Sajjad . Khamenei's education began at the age of four, by learning the Quran at Maktab ; he spent his basic and advanced levels of seminary studies at the hawza of Mashhad, under mentors such as Sheikh Hashem Qazvini and Ayatollah Milani . Then, he went to Najaf , Iraq , in 1957, but soon returned to Mashhad due to his father's unwillingness to let him stay there. In 1958, he settled in Qom where he attended

1200-488: A disagreement with the heir he had chosen— Hussein Ali Montazeri —so there was no agreed-on successor when Khomeini died. The Assembly of Experts elected Khamenei as the next supreme leader on 4 June 1989, at age 50. According to Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani , Khamenei was the man Khomeini had chosen as his successor. Khamenei has been head of the servants of Astan Quds Razavi since 14 April 1979. As supreme leader, Khamenei

1350-474: A distinct Arabian culture, cuisine and religious practices. There are also over 20 million pilgrims who visit the city every year. Today, the holy shrine and its museum hold one of the most extensive cultural and artistic treasuries of Iran, in particular manuscript books and paintings. Several important theological schools are associated with the shrine of the Eighth Imam . The second-largest holy city in

1500-459: A father and a son." In 2012, Khamenei ordered a halt to a parliamentary inquiry into Ahmadinejad's mishandling of the Iranian economy. In 2016, Khamenei advised Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, his former ally with whom his relationship was strained after Ahmadinejad accused his son Mojtaba Khamenei of embezzling from the state treasury, to not run for president again. Khamenei rejected talks for referendums on

1650-478: A few months, at a televised meeting with then-President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and his Cabinet ministers, important clerics, the leader of parliament and provincial governors, the heads of state broadcasting and the Iranian chamber of commerce, Khamenei ordered: "to pass some laws, sell off some businesses, and be quick about it." Khamenei warned that "those who are hostile to these policies are the ones who are going to lose their interests and influence." In 1994, after

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1800-571: A final rupture between Shi'ite clergy and the Shah. According to some Mashhadi historians, the Goharshad Mosque uprising, which took place in 1935, is an uprising against Reza Shah's decree banning all veils (headscarf and chador) on 8 January 1936. Mashhad experienced population growth after the Anglo-Soviet invasion of Iran in 1941 because of relative insecurity in rural areas, the 1948 drought, and

1950-515: A fortune running into billions of dollars." A six-month investigation by Reuters has said that Khamenei controls a "financial empire" worth approximately US$ 95 billion that the Iranian Parliament does not oversee, a figure much larger than the estimated wealth of the late Shah of Iran . According to the Reuters investigation, Khamenei uses the assets of a company called Headquarters for Executing

2100-526: A history of over six centuries. There are some six million historical documents in the foundation's central library. A museum is also home to over 70,000 rare manuscripts from various historical eras. The Astan Quds Razavi Central Museum , which is part of the Astan-e Quds Razavi Complex, contains Islamic art and historical artifacts. In 1976, a new edifice was designed and constructed by the well-known Iranian architect Dariush Borbor to house

2250-518: A joint-stock in the field of restaurants, tourism and construction, with a football club ( Padideh F.C. ; formerly named Azadegan League club Mes Sarcheshmeh). In January 2015, the company was accused of a "fraud" worth $ 34.3 billion, which is one eighth of Iran budget. Several credit institutions have been established in Mashhad, including Samenolhojaj ( مؤسسه مالی و اعتباری ثامن الحجج ), Samenola'emmeh ( مؤسسه اعتباری ثامن ) and Melal (formerly Askariye, مؤسسه اعتباری عسکریه ). The depositors of

2400-515: A landslide vote (97%) in the October 1981 Iranian presidential election in which only four candidates were approved by the Council of Guardians. Khamenei became the first cleric to be in the office. Ruhollah Khomeini had originally wanted to keep clerics out of the presidency but later changed his views. Khamenei was reelected in 1985 Iranian presidential election where only three candidates were approved by

2550-403: A letter to the Iranian parliament forbidding the legislature from debating a revision of the Iranian press law to allow more press freedom. He wrote: "The present press law has prevented this big plague. The draft bill is not legitimate and in the interests of the system and the revolution." Earlier in 1996, he issued a fatwa stating, "The promotion of music [both traditional and Western] in schools

2700-476: A new successor, a relatively low-ranking member of the clergy, Ali Khamene'i . However Article 109 stipulated that the leader be "a source of imitation" (Marja-e taqlid). Khomeini wrote a letter to the president of the Assembly for Revising the Constitution, which was in session at the time, making the necessary arrangements to designate Khamene'i as his successor, and Article 109 was revised accordingly. "Khomeini

2850-628: A phrase that would have been almost unimaginable not long ago." The letter was addressed to the head of the Assembly of Experts , Ayatollah Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, a "powerful former president" who also questions the election results. According to the Associated Press, it is unlikely the letter's demands would be met as "two-thirds of the 86-member assembly are considered strong loyalists of Khamenei and would oppose" any investigation of him. According to The New York Times reporting in mid-August 2009,

3000-480: A salary. Shortly before Khomeini's death a change was made in the constitution allowing a lower ranking Shia cleric to become Supreme Leader. Khomeini had a falling out with his successor Hussein-Ali Montazeri who disapproved of human rights abuses by the Islamic Republic such as the mass execution of political prisoners in late summer and early autumn 1988. Montazeri was demoted as a marja and Khomeini chose

3150-475: A student, Khamenei traveled to Libya during his time as president. In his speeches, Khamenei regularly mentions many familiar themes of the 1979 revolution: justice, independence, self-sufficiency, Islamic government and resolute opposition to Israel and the United States, while rarely mentioning other revolutionary ideals such as democracy and greater government transparency. According to Karim Sadjadpour of

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3300-457: A tape recorder, exploded beside him. On 27 June 1981, while Khamenei had returned from the frontline , he went to the Aboozar Mosque according to his Saturday's schedule. After the first prayer, he lectured to worshippers who had written their questions on paper. Meanwhile, a young man who pressed a button put a tape recorder accompanied by papers on the desk in front of Khamenei. After a minute

3450-406: A term employed also of its inhabitants. As an important problem, the duration when new passengers stay in Mashhad has been considerably reduced to 2 days nowadays and they prefer to finish their trip immediately after doing pilgrimage and shopping in the markets. There are about 3000–5000 unauthorized residential units in Mashhad, which, as a unique statistic worldwide, has caused various problems in

3600-524: A very popular role model for Shiites and hoped for the Iranian Revolution to be the first step to a much larger Islamic revolution, transcending Shia Islam, in the same way that Vladimir Lenin and Leon Trotsky wanted their revolution to be a world revolution, not just a Russian one. Duties and Powers given to the Supreme Leader by the Constitution, decrees and other laws are: The role of

3750-512: A video that surfaced during the 2017–18 Iranian protests , Khamenei is seen before the assembly said he was not religiously qualified to be a Supreme leader. Khamenei, who was ranked as a Hujjat al-Islam and not a marja' as required by the Iranian constitution, said he would only be a "ceremonial leader", and was reassured by Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani the position would be "temporary" until a referendum, apparently planned for one year later. On 29 August 2022, al-Haeri announced his resignation from

3900-524: A whole human. Also in 2002, after protests erupted in the capital, Khamenei intervened against the death sentence given to Hashem Aghajari for arguing that Muslims should re-interpret Islam rather than blindly follow leaders. Khamenei ordered a review of the sentence against Aghajari, which was later commuted to a prison sentence. Khamenei annually issues messages on the occasion of Hajj for all Muslims (pilgrims) in Hajj. He commenced to issue such messages since

4050-461: Is Persian with a variating Mashhadi accent, which can at times, prove itself as a sort of dialect. The Mashhadi Persian dialect is somewhat different from the standard Persian dialect in some of its tones and stresses. Long a center of secular and religious learning, Mashhad has been a center for the Islamic arts and sciences, as well as piety and pilgrimage. Mashhad was an educational centre, with

4200-469: Is Baha'i, as well as Shi'ite Muslims, business people and Iranians living abroad." Despite the negative accounts of Western sources, Iranian official authorities depict Setad as a vast charity foundation. In an interview in October 2014 with Islamic Republic News Agency , Muhammad Mukhber , the head of Setad, stated that over 90% of profits from Setad business activities are spent on improving infrastructure in

4350-425: Is Iran's second largest automobile production hub. The city's economy is based mainly on dry fruits, salted nuts, saffron, Iranian sweets like gaz and sohaan, precious stones like agates, turquoise, intricately designed silver jewelry studded with rubies and emeralds, eighteen carat gold jewelry, perfumes, religious souvenirs, trench coats, scarves, termeh, carpets, and rugs. According to the writings and documents,

4500-508: Is a marja' , a title given to the highest level of religious cleric in Twelver Shi'sm . According to his official website, Khamenei was arrested six times before being exiled for three years during the reign of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. In June 1981, after the Iranian revolution and the overthrow of the shah, he was the target of an attempted assassination that paralyzed his right arm. Khamenei

4650-514: Is a newspaper editor and cleric. His elder sister Fatemeh Hosseini Khamenei died in 2015, aged 89. His father was an ethnic Azerbaijani from Khamaneh , while his mother was an ethnic Persian from Yazd . Some of his ancestors are from Tafresh in today's Markazi Province and migrated from their original home in Tafresh to Khamaneh near Tabriz . Khamenei's great ancestor was Sayyid Hossein Tafreshi,

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4800-403: Is a single community, and I am your Lord, so worship Me' [21:92]), and to assure the continuation of the struggle for the liberation of all deprived and oppressed peoples in the world. According to author Seyyed Vali Nasr, Khomeini appealed to the masses, during the pre-1979 period, by referring to them as the oppressed and with charisma and political ability was tremendously successful. He became

4950-512: Is afraid that if they say anything they can turn the more traditional sectors of society against the regime". Early in his presidency, Ahmadinejad was sometimes described as "enjoy[ing] the full backing" of the Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, and even as being his "protege". In Ahmadinejad's 2005 inauguration the supreme leader allowed Ahmadinejad to kiss his hand and cheeks in what was called "a sign of closeness and loyalty", and after

5100-508: Is as follows: The ritual of Bara'ah which means refusing every instance of mercilessness, cruelty, wrongdoing and corruption of the tyrants of any time, and rising against intimidation and extortion by the arrogant throughout history, is one of the great blessings of Hajj, and an opportunity for oppressed Muslim nations. Khamenei was one of the Ulama signatories of the Amman Message , which gives

5250-408: Is contrary to the goals and teachings of Islam, regardless of age and level of study." Many music schools were closed and public (but not private) music instruction to children under 16 was banned thereafter. In 1999, Khamenei had issued a fatwa stating that it was permitted to use a third party (donor sperm, ova or surrogacy) in fertility treatments. This was different in "both style and substance" to

5400-456: Is located at 36.20º North latitude and 59.35º East longitude, in the valley of the Kashafrud River near Turkmenistan , between the two mountain ranges of Binalood and Hezar Masjed Mountains . The city benefits from the proximity of the mountains, having cool winters, pleasant springs, and mild summers. It is only about 250 km (160 mi) from Ashgabat , Turkmenistan. The city is

5550-441: Is now thirty nine and there are an estimated 2,300 seminarians in the city. The Ferdowsi University of Mashhad , named after the great Iranian poet, is located here and is regarded as the third institution in attracting foreign students, mainly from Lebanon, Syria, Yemen, Bahrain, Central Asian republics. The Madrassa of Ayatollah Al-Khoei , originally built in the seventeenth century and recently replaced with modern facilities,

5700-542: Is supposed to have written a letter to the Chairman of the assembly of Leadership Experts on 29.4.89 in which he emphasised that he had always been of the opinion that the marja'iyat was not a requirement for the office of leader." The constitution of Iran combines concepts of both democracy and theocracy , theocracy in the form of Khomeini's concept of vilayat-e faqih (Guardianship of the Islamic Jurist), as expressed in

5850-707: Is the commander-in-chief of the armed forces and the provisional head of the three branches of the state (the Judiciary , the Legislature , and the Executive ). He oversees, appoints (or inaugurates) and can dismiss the following offices: Iran's regional policy is directly controlled by the office of the Supreme Leader with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs ' task limited to protocol and ceremonial occasions. All of Iran's ambassadors to Arab countries, for example, are chosen by

6000-515: Is the second-most-populous city in Iran, located in the relatively remote north-east of the country about 900 kilometres (560 miles) from Tehran . In the Central District of Mashhad County , it serves as the capital of Razavi Khorasan province, the county, and the district. It has a population of about 3,400,000 (2016 census), which includes the areas of Mashhad Taman and Torqabeh . The city

6150-548: Is the city's foremost traditional centre for religious learning. The Razavi University of Islamic Sciences, founded in 1984, stands at the centre of town, within the shrine complex. The prestige of traditional religious education at Mashhad attracts students, known as Talabeh , or "Mollah" internationally. Mashhad is also home to one of the oldest libraries of the Middle-East called the Central Library of Astan Quds Razavi with

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6300-461: Is the most powerful political authority in the Islamic Republic. He is the head of state of Iran , the commander-in-chief of its armed forces , and can issue decrees and make the final decisions on the main policies of the government in economy, the environment, foreign policy, and national planning in Iran. As supreme leader, Khamenei has either direct or indirect control over the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of government, as well as

6450-501: Is thought to be cooked with any food available (the main ingredients are meat, grains and abundant spices) and be a Mongolian word. It seems that the importance of Sanabad-Mashhad continually increased with the growing fame of its sanctuary and the decline of Tus, which received its death-blow in 1389 from Miran Shah , a son of Timur . When the Mongol noble who governed the place rebelled and attempted to make himself independent, Miran Shah

6600-475: Is used to fund Khamenei's Beit Rahbari compound, which employs over 500 stewards, as was reported in 2013. Hamid Vaezi, Setad's head of public relations, said the information "was far from realities and is not correct". The six-month investigation by Reuters found that, regarding the source of Setad's funds, "Setad built its empire on the systematic seizure of thousands of properties belonging to ordinary Iranians: members of religious minorities like Vahdat-e-Hagh, who

6750-499: The Arab traveller Ibn Battuta visited the town in 1333, he reported that it was a large town with abundant fruit trees, streams and mills. A great dome of elegant construction surmounts the noble mausoleum, the walls being decorated with colored tiles. The most well-known dish cooked in Mashhad, "sholeh Mashhadi" (شله مشهدی) or "Sholeh", dates back to the era of the Mongolian invasion when it

6900-564: The Basij organization) was founded in 1934; the sugar factory of Abkuh in 1935; and the Mashhad University of Medical Sciences in 1939. The city's first power station was installed in 1936, and in 1939, the first urban transport service began with two buses. In this year the first population census was performed, with a result of 76,471 inhabitants. In 1935, a backlash against the modernizing, anti-religious policies of Reza Pahlavi erupted in

7050-578: The Behistun inscription (520 BC) of the Achaemenid Emperor Darius the Great , may have been located at the Mashhad. At the beginning of the 9th century (3rd century AH), Mashhad was a small city called Sanabad, which was situated 24 kilometres (15 miles) away from Tus . There was a summer palace of Humayd ibn Qahtaba , the governor of Khurasan . In 808, when Harun al-Rashid , Abbasid caliph ,

7200-491: The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace , Khamenei has "resisted Rafsanjani's attempts to find a modus vivendi with the United States, Khatami's aspirations for a more democratic Islamic state, and Ahmadinejad's penchant for outright confrontation." In 2007, Khamenei called for privatizing state-owned companies, including the telephone company, three banks and dozens of small oil and petrochemical enterprises. After

7350-578: The Guardian Council (in 2016, 166 candidates were approved by the Guardians out of 801 who applied to run for the office), whose members in turn, are half appointed unilaterally by the Supreme Leader and half subject to confirmation by the Majlis after being appointed by the head of the Iranian judiciary ( Chief Justice of Iran ), who is himself appointed by the Supreme Leader. The Assembly has never questioned

7500-559: The Imam Reza shrine , where the eighth Shia Imam , Ali al-Rida , is buried. The Abbasid caliph Harun al-Rashid is also buried within the same shrine. The shrine is an important place of pilgrimage , visited by 25 millions each year in what is often described as "the holiest city in Iran". Mashhad later also became associated with Ferdowsi , the Persian poet and author of the Shahnameh , who

7650-460: The Imam Reza shrine . Besides its religious significance, Mashhad has played an important political role as well. The Safavid dynasty has been criticized in a book (Red Shi'sm vs. Black Shi'ism) on the perceived dual aspects of the Shi'a religion throughout history) as a period in which although the dynasty didn't form the idea of Black Shi'ism, but this idea was formed after the defeat of Shah Ismail against

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7800-658: The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in Vienna . It's been widely discussed by international officials and specifically recognized by the US administration. The Iranian official website for information regarding its nuclear program has provided numerous instances of public statements by Khamenei wherein he voices his opposition to the pursuit and development of nuclear weapons in moral, religious and Islamic juridical terms. Khamenei's official website specifically cites

7950-699: The Iraqi Army was expelled from Iran in 1982, Khamenei became one of the main opponents of his own decision to counter-invade into Iraq, an opinion Khamenei shared with Prime Minister Mir-Hossein Mousavi , with whom he would later conflict during the 2009–10 Iranian election protests . In its 10 April 1997 ruling regarding the Mykonos restaurant assassinations , the German court issued an international arrest warrant for Iranian intelligence minister Ali Fallahian after declaring that

8100-674: The Islamic Republic . According to Ayatollah Khomeini, the Guardianship of the Islamic Jurist was not restricted to orphans or mental incompetents, but applied to everyone in absence of the twelfth Imam . Jurists were the only rightful political/governmental leaders because "God had commanded Islamic government" and "no one knew religion better than the ulama " (Islamic clergy). They alone would preserve "Islamic order" and keep everyone from deviating from "the just path of Islam". Prior to

8250-477: The Quds Force , which directly reports to the Supreme Leader. According to the constitution, all Supreme Leaders (following Ayatollah Khomeini) are to be elected by the Assembly of Experts who are elected by Iranian voters to eight year terms. However, all candidates for membership at the Assembly of Experts (along with candidates for president and for the Majlis (parliament)) must have their candidacy approved by

8400-519: The nuclear program of Iran , Khamenei issued a fatwa in 2003 forbidding the production, stockpiling and use of all kinds of weapons of mass destruction. Born to Seyed Javad Khamenei , an Alim and Mujtahid born in Najaf , and Khadijeh Mirdamadi (daughter of Hashem Mirdamadi ]) in Mashhad , Khamenei is the second of eight children. Two of his brothers are also clerics; his younger brother, Hadi Khamenei ,

8550-462: The revolution , observant Shia Muslims selected their own leading faqih to emulate (known as a Marja' -i taqlid ) according to their own decision making. The "congregation rather than the hierarchy decided how prominent the ayatollah was" thus allowing the public to possibly limit the influence of the Faqih. After the revolution Shia Muslims (or at least Iranian Shia) were commanded to show allegiance to

8700-456: The 10th to the 16th century AD, attribute the founding of " Sanabad " (the old name of the city) to Alexander. Also in the Shia hadith sources, which the narrators connect to the 7th to 9th centuries AD, there are quotations that Imam Ridha and Harun al-Rashid are buried in a city founded by "the righteous servant, the two-horned one", which is an Islamic title commonly attributed to Alexander

8850-514: The 14th century under the Il-Khanids , seems to have been gradually replaced by al-Mashhad or Mashhad. Shias began to make pilgrimages to his grave. By the end of the 9th century, a dome was built above the grave, and many other buildings and bazaars sprang up around it. Over the course of more than a millennium, it has been destroyed and rebuilt several times. In 1161, however, the Seljuks seized

9000-433: The 1979 constitution is a "hybrid" of "theocratic and democratic elements" with much of it based on the ideas Khomeini presented in his published book Islamic Government ( Hukumat-e Islami ). In the work, Khomeini argued that government must be run in accordance with traditional Islamic sharia , and for this to happen a leading Islamic jurist ( faqih ) must provide political "guardianship" ( wilayat or velayat ) over

9150-546: The 1994 Qazvin protests, the 1999 student protests , the 2009 presidential election protests , the 2011–12 protests , the 2017–18 protests , the 2018–19 general strikes and protests , the 2019–20 protests , the 2021–22 protests , and the Mahsa Amini protests . Journalists, bloggers, and others have been imprisoned in Iran for insulting Khamenei, often in conjunction with blasphemy charges. Their sentences have included lashing and jail time; some have died in custody. Regarding

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9300-452: The 2009 election fully endorsed Ahmadinejad against protesters. However, as early as January 2008 signs of disagreement between the two men developed over domestic policies, and by the period of 2010–11 several sources detected a "growing rift" between them. The disagreement was described as centered on Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei , a top adviser and close confidant of Ahmadinejad. Mashaei was vice president of Iran until being ordered to resign from

9450-535: The American Carnegie Endowment for International Peace , several factors have strengthened Khamenei in recent years: (1) A vast network of commissars stationed in strategic posts throughout government bureaucracies, dedicated to enforcing his authority; (2) the weak, conservative-dominated parliament, headed by Khamenei loyalist Gholam-Ali Haddad-Adel (whose daughter is married to the Leader's son); (3)

9600-552: The Astan Quds Razavi, the administration of the Shrine waqf, probably the most important in the Muslim world and the largest active bonyad in Iran. The Astan Quds Razavi is a major player in the economy of the city of Mashhad. The land occupied by the shrine has grown fourfold since 1979 according to the head of the foundation's international relations department. The Shrine of Imam Reza is vaster than Vatican City. The foundation owns most of

9750-458: The Council of Guardians, receiving 87% of the votes. The only Iranian presidential election with fewer candidates approved by the Council of Guardians was the 1989 Iranian presidential election , where only two candidates were approved by the Council of Guardians to run, and Rafsanjani easily won 96% of the votes. In his presidential inaugural address, Khamenei vowed to eliminate "deviation, liberalism, and American-influenced leftists". According to

9900-461: The Great in this land, which was called " Susia " ( Ancient Greek : Σούσια ), in 330 BC. The map of Tabula Peutingeriana , which dates back to the early Roman era , names this city on the west of Merv , Alexandria, instead of Susia. Pliny the Elder , says there is a city in the middle of Parthia , near Arsace and Nisiaea , called "Alexandropolis" after its founder. Many Muslim historians, from

10050-569: The Great. The older name of Mashhad is Sanabad ( سناباد Sanâbâd ). It was eventually renamed to Mashhad during the Safavid Empire . The name Mashhad comes from Arabic , meaning a Mazar (mausoleum) . It is also known as the place where Ali ar-Ridha ( Persian , Imam Reza), the eighth Imam of Shia Muslims, died (according to the Shias, was martyred). Reza's shrine was placed there. The ancient Parthian city of Patigrabanâ , mentioned in

10200-455: The Iran Chamber, vigorous opposition to the government, including nonviolent and violent protest, assassinations, guerrilla activity and insurrections, was answered by state repression and terror in the early 1980s, both before and during Khamenei's presidency. Thousands of rank-and-file members of insurgent groups were killed, often by revolutionary courts. By 1982, the government announced that

10350-433: The Iranian Revolution, when the former President of Iran, Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani , then a confidant of Khomeini, brought Khamenei into Khomeini's inner circle. Later on, Hassan Rouhani , then a member of Parliament, arranged for Khamenei to get his first major post in the provisional revolutionary government as deputy defense minister. Khomeini appointed Khamenei to the post of Tehran's Friday prayers Imam in 1980, after

10500-528: The Iranian Vice Supreme Leader (Deputy Supreme Leader) was eventually incorporated into the authority of the Supreme Leader. During the presidency of Hassan Rouhani and amid longstanding rumors of Khamenei's declining health, it was recommended to Khamenei to reestablish the office of deputy supreme leader to better facilitate the transition towards new leadership. Mashhad Mashhad ( Persian : مشهد ; [mæʃˈhæd] )

10650-456: The Islamic Republic of Iran has had only two Supreme Leaders: Khomeini, who held the position from 1979 until his death in 1989 and Ali Khamenei, who has held the position for more than 30 years since Khomeini's death. The Supreme Leader of Iran is elected by the Assembly of Experts ( مجلس خبرگان , Majles-e Khobregan ), which is also the only government body in charge of choosing and dismissing Supreme Leaders of Iran. The Supreme Leader

10800-440: The Mashhad shrine. Responding to a cleric who denounced the Shah's heretical innovations, corruption, and heavy consumer taxes, many bazaars and villagers took refuge in the shrine, chanted slogans such as "The Shah is a new Yazid." For four days local police and army refused to violate the shrine and the standoff was ended when troops from Azerbaijan arrived and broke into the shrine, killing dozens and injuring hundreds, and marking

10950-615: The Order of the Imam or "Setad" in Farsi, to increase his grip on power. Reuters "found no evidence that Khamenei is tapping Setad to enrich himself," but did find that he used Setad's funds, which "rival the holdings of the shah", for political expedience – "Setad gives him the financial means to operate independently of parliament and the national budget, insulating him from Iran's messy factional infighting." According to The Daily Telegraph , money from Setad

11100-453: The Ottoman leader Sultan Yavuz Selim. Black Shi'ism is a product of the post-Safavid period. Mashad saw its greatest glory under Nader Shah , ruler of Iran from 1736 to 1747, and also a great benefactor of the shrine of Imam Reza, who made the city his capital. Nearly the whole eastern part of the kingdom of Nadir Shah passed to foreign rulers in this period of Persian impotence under the rule of

11250-478: The Supreme Leader. There have been cases where the Guardian Council repealed its ban on particular people after being directed to do so by Khamenei. The Supreme Leader is legally considered "inviolable", with Iranians being routinely punished for questioning or insulting him. In March 1979, shortly after Ruhollah Khomeini 's return from exile and the overthrow of Iran's monarchy, a national referendum

11400-438: The Supreme Leader. In practice, the Assembly has never been known to challenge or otherwise publicly oversee any of the Supreme Leader's decisions (all of its meetings and notes are strictly confidential). Members of the Assembly are chosen by bodies (the Guardian Council ) whose members are appointed by the Supreme Leader or appointed by an individual ( Chief Justice of Iran ) appointed by the Supreme Leader. In its history ,

11550-572: The Uzbeks in a great battle near Herat as well as managing to drive them beyond the Oxus River . Abbas the Great wanted to encourage Iranians to go to Mashhad for pilgrimage. He is said to have walked from Isfahan to Mashhad. During the Safavid era, Mashhad gained even more religious recognition, becoming the most important city of Greater Khorasan, as several madrasah and other structures were built beside

11700-671: The administrative center of Mashhad County (or the Shahrestan of Mashhad) as well as the somewhat smaller district ( Bakhsh ) of Mashhad. The city itself, excluding parts of the surrounding Bakhsh and Shahrestan , is divided into 13 smaller administrative units, with a total population of more than 3 million. Mashhad features a cold semi-arid climate ( Köppen BSk ; Trewartha : BShk ) with very hot summers, cold winters and Mediterranean -like dry summer precipitation pattern . The city only sees about 250 millimetres (9.8 inches) of precipitation per year, some of which occasionally falls in

11850-404: The agrarian reform of 1963, the founding of the city's airport, the creation of new factories and the development of the health system. In 1966, the population reached 409,616 inhabitants, and 667,770 in 1976. The extension of the city was expanded from 16 to 33 square kilometres (170,000,000 to 360,000,000 square feet). In 1965 an important urban renewal development project for the surroundings of

12000-427: The armed forces and then among the clerics, while administering the major bonyads and seminaries of Qom and Mashhad. Having been Supreme Leader for three decades, Khamenei has been able to place many loyalists throughout Iran's major institutions, "building a system that serves and protects him". Former cleric Mehdi Khalaji and Saeid Golkar, describe Khamenei's system as having creating a "parallel structure" for each of

12150-666: The assassination had been ordered by him with knowledge of Khamenei and Rafsanjani. Iranian officials, however, have categorically denied their involvement. The then-Iranian Parliament speaker Ali Akbar Nategh-Nouri dismissed the ruling as political, untrue and unsubstantiated. The ruling led to a diplomatic crisis between the governments of Iran and several European countries, which lasted until November 1997. The accused assassins, Darabi and Rhayel, were finally released from prison on 10 December 2007 and deported back to their home countries. Khamenei has fired and reinstated presidential cabinet appointments. Iran's Chief Justice Sadeq Larijani ,

12300-504: The basis of Islamic norms. ... the Constitution provides the necessary basis for ensuring the continuation of the Revolution at home and abroad. In particular, in the development of international relations, the Constitution will strive with other Islamic and popular movements to prepare the way for the formation of a single world community (in accordance with the Koranic verse 'This your community

12450-412: The broadcasting council and supreme judicial council, were not successful in practice and the leadership council would not do well for similar reasons. iii) People were accustomed to the leadership of an individual and a council of leaders was something unfamiliar to them. iv) An individual leader could act more decisively when dealing with critical and essential decisions and solving problems and crisis. On

12600-778: The cabinet by the supreme leader, and was also an opponent of "greater involvement of clerics in politics". In 2009, Ahmadinejad dismissed Intelligence Minister Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Eje'i , an opponent of Mashaei. In April 2011, another Intelligence minister, Heydar Moslehi , resigned after being asked to by Ahmadinejad but was reinstated by the supreme leader within hours. Ahmadinejad declined to officially back Moslehi's reinstatement for two weeks and in protest engaged in an "11-day walkout" of cabinet meetings, religious ceremonies, and other official functions. Ahmadinejad's actions led to angry public attacks by clerics, parliamentarians and military commanders, who accused him of ignoring orders from

12750-593: The case of the Judiciary Council. Ebrahim Amini listed the summary of the reasons presented by the two sides. According to him, the opposers rejected the proposal because i) Evidence for Guardianship of the Islamic Jurist was true only for the guardianship of an individual and it was not clear who held the guardianship when there was a council. The guardianship of a council was not rooted in Hadiths and Islamic jurisprudence. ii) Previous council-type organizations, such as

12900-456: The city was called Mashhad al-Ridha (the place of martyrdom of al-Ridha), it seems that Mashhad, as a place-name, first appears in al-Maqdisi, i.e., in the last third of the 10th century. About the middle of the 14th century, the traveller Ibn Battuta uses the expression "town of Mashhad al-Rida". Towards the end of the Middle Ages, the name Nuqan, which is still found on coins in the first half of

13050-475: The city, but they spared the sacred area their pillaging. Mashad al-Ridha was not considered a "great" city until Mongol raids in 1220, which caused the destruction of many large cities in Khurasan but leaving Mashhad relatively intact in the hands of Mongolian commanders because of the cemetery of Ali Al-Rezza and Harun al-Rashid (the latter was stolen). Thus the survivors of the massacres migrated to Mashhad. When

13200-570: The city. Although mainly inhabited by Muslims, there were in the past some religious minorities in Mashhad, mainly Jews who were forcibly converted to Islam in 1839 after the Allahdad incident took place for Mashhadi Jews in 1839. They became known as Jadid al-Islam ("Newcomers in Islam"). On the outside, they adapted to the Islamic way of life, but often secretly kept their faith and traditions. Mashhad

13350-565: The classes of Seyyed Hossein Borujerdi and Ruhollah Khomeini . Like many other politically active clerics at the time, Khamenei was far more involved with politics than religious scholarship. Khamenei was a key figure in the Iranian Revolution in Iran and a close confidant of Ruhollah Khomeini . Since the founding of the Islamic Republic , Khamenei has held many government posts. Muhammad Sahimi claims that his political career began after

13500-513: The constitution required the Supreme Leader to be Marja' -e taqlid , the highest-ranking cleric in the religious laws of Usuli Twelver Shia Islam . In 1989, however, the constitution was amended and simply asked for Islamic "scholarship" to allow the Supreme Leader to be a lower-ranking cleric. As the Guardian Jurist ( Vali-ye faqih ), the Supreme Leader guides the country, protecting it from heresy and imperialist predations, and ensuring

13650-511: The country's institutions (army, intelligence agencies, etc.) to keep those institutions weak. According to Vali Nasr of the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies , "[Khamenei] [took] many of the powers of the presidency with him and [turned] the office of the supreme leader into the omnipotent overseer of Iran's political scene". In Nasr's view, Khamenei is an "unusual sort of dictator". Officials under Khamenei influence

13800-539: The country's various powers, and sometimes bickering, institutions, including "the parliament, the presidency, the judiciary, the Revolutionary Guards, the military, the intelligence services, the police agencies, the clerical elite, the Friday prayer leaders and much of the media", as well as various "nongovernmental foundations, organizations, councils, seminaries and business groups". Khamenei issues decrees and makes

13950-463: The courts would be reined in, although various political groups continued to be repressed by the government in the first half of the 1980s. Khamenei was one of Iran's leaders during the Iran–Iraq War in the 1980s and developed close ties with the now-powerful Revolutionary Guards . As president, he had a reputation for being deeply interested in the military, budget and administrative details. After

14100-401: The current vali-e faghih , Guardian Jurist or Supreme Leader. In this new system, the jurist oversaw all governmental affairs. The complete control exercised by the Faqih was not to be limited to the Iranian Revolution because the revolution and its Leader had international aspirations. As the constitution of the Islamic Republic states, it intends to establish an ideal and model society on

14250-517: The death of Grand Ayatollah Mohammad Ali Araki , the Society of Seminary Teachers of Qom declared Khamenei a new marja. Several ayatollahs, however, declined to recognize him as such. Some of those dissidents clerics included Mohammad Shirazi , Hossein-Ali Montazeri , Hassan Tabatabai-Qomi , and Yasubedin Rastegar Jooybari . In 1997, for example, Montazeri "questioned the powers of the Leader" and

14400-574: The decline of the Timurid dynasty. He was later captured by the Uzbeks during the reign of Shah Abbas I . In the 16th century the town suffered considerably from the repeated raids of the Özbegs (Uzbeks). In 1507, it was taken by the troops of the Shaybani or Shabani Khan. After two decades, Shah Tahmasp I succeeded in repelling the enemy from the town again in 1528. But in 1544, the Özbegs again succeeded in entering

14550-406: The establishment of Mashhad University in 1949. At the same time, public transport vehicles increased to 77 buses and 200 taxis and the railway link with the capital, Tehran, was established in 1957. The 1956 census reflected a population of 241,989 people. The increase in population continued in the following years thanks to the increase in Iranian oil revenues, the decline of the feudal social model,

14700-551: The excuse to intervene and 29 March 1912 bombed the city; this bombing killed several people and pilgrims; action against a Muslim shrine caused a great shock to all Islamic countries . On 29 March 1912, the sanctuary of Imam Reza was bombed by the Russian artillery fire, causing some damage, including to the golden dome, resulting in a widespread and persisting resentment in the Shiite Muslim world as well as British India . This bombing

14850-417: The fatwa on Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) by Gad El-Hak Ali Gad El-Hak of Egypt's Al-Azhar University in the late 1980s which permitted ART (IVF and similar technologies) as long there is no third-party donation (of sperm, eggs, embryos, or uteruses). In 2002, Khamenei ruled that human stem cell research was permissible under Islam, with the condition that it be used to create only parts instead of

15000-552: The final decisions on the economy, environment, foreign policy and everything else in Iran. Khamenei regularly meets with the president, cabinet members, head and officials of the judiciary branch, parliamentarians, among others, and tells them what to do. Khamenei has also fired and reinstated presidential cabinet appointments. Khamenei meets with foreign dignitaries, however, he does not travel overseas; if anyone wishes to see him, that person must travel to Iran. Apart from his time in Najaf as

15150-429: The first institution have faced problem in receiving cash from the institution. The city's International Exhibition Center is the second most active exhibition center after Tehran, which due to proximity to Central Asian countries hosts dozens of international exhibitions each year. Companies such as Smart-innovators in Mashhad are pioneers in electrical and computer technology. The language mainly spoken in Mashhad

15300-512: The form of snow . Mashhad has wetter and drier periods with the bulk of the annual precipitation falling between the months of December and May. Summers are typically hot and dry, with high temperatures sometimes exceeding 33 °C (91 °F). Winters are typically cool to cold and somewhat damper, with overnight lows routinely dropping below freezing. Mashhad enjoys on average just above 2900 hours of sunshine per year. Snow cover had been observed in 21.1 days annually, with only 3.8 days in which

15450-410: The formation of over 350 thousand jobs expecting a total of 700 thousands for the upcoming three years. Mukhber also cited a sum total grant of 2.21 trillion rials of Qard al-Hasan , interest-free loans, to 41 thousands families in poor regions of the country. He also revealed plans of gradual sell-off of Setad profitable businesses in the stock market with the aim of transferring their ownership into

15600-404: The handicraft industry. With more than 55% of all the hotels in Iran, Mashhad is the hub of tourism in the country. Religious shrines are the most powerful attractions for foreign travelers; every year, 20 to 30 million pilgrims from Iran and more than 2 million pilgrims and tourists from elsewhere around the world come to Mashhad. Mashhad is one of the main producers of leather products in

15750-457: The hands of Iranian people. He also envisioned the construction and delivery of 17 thousand housing units to families in poor regions of Iran by 2018. In mid-August 2009, a group of unnamed former reformist lawmakers appealed to the Assembly of Experts – the constitutional body charged with electing and (in theory) supervising and removing the Leader – to investigate Leader Ali Khamenei's qualification to rule. A week later another anonymous letter

15900-422: The head of committee responsible for revising the Constitution, asking Khomeini's viewpoint regarding the 'marjaʿiyyat criteria, Khomeini said: "From the very beginning, I believed and insisted that there is no need for the requirements of marjaʿiyyat (authority in jurisprudence). A pious mujtahid (jurist-intellectual), who is approved by the esteemed Assembly of Experts ( Majlis-i Khobregan ), will suffice." In

16050-441: The importance of the Supreme Leader. Article 5 states during the absence of the removed Twelfth Imam (may God hasten his reappearance) government and leadership of the community in the Islamic Republic of Iran belong to the rightful God fearing legal scholar (Faqih) who is recognized and acknowledged as the Islamic leader by the majority of the population. Article 107 in the constitution mentions Khomeini by name and praises him as

16200-410: The laws of Islam are followed. The style "Supreme Leader" ( Persian : رهبر معظم , romanized :  rahbar-e mo'azzam ) is commonly used as a sign of respect although the Constitution designates them simply as "Leader" ( رهبر , rahbar ). According to the constitution (Article 111), the Assembly of Experts is tasked with electing (following Ayatollah Khomeini), supervising, and dismissing

16350-409: The leader's intervention or resign, and on 8 May he "apparently bowed" to the reinstatement, welcoming back Moslehi to a cabinet meeting. The events have been said to have "humiliated and weakened" Ahmadinejad. However, the president denied that there had been any rift between the two, and according to the semiofficial Fars News Agency , he stated that his relationship with the supreme leader "is that of

16500-462: The main cities of the realm. In 1418, his wife Goharshad funded the construction of an outstanding mosque beside the shrine, which is known as the Goharshad Mosque . The mosque remains relatively intact to this date, its great size an indicator to the status the city held in the 15th century. Ismail I , founder of the Safavid Empire , conquered Mashhad after the death of Husayn Bayqarah and

16650-434: The military and media. All candidates for the Assembly of Experts, the presidency and the Majlis (Parliament) are vetted by the Guardian Council , whose members are selected directly or indirectly by the Supreme Leader of Iran. There have also been instances when the Guardian Council reversed its ban on particular people after being ordered to do so by Khamenei. There have been major protests during Khamenei's reign, including

16800-432: The most learned and talented leader for emulation ( marja-i taqlid ). The responsibilities of the Supreme Leader are vaguely stated in the constitution, thus any 'violation' by the Supreme Leader would be dismissed almost immediately. As the rest of the clergy governed affairs on a daily basis, the Supreme Leader is capable of mandating a new decision as per the concept of Vilayat-e Faqih. The Supreme Leader does not receive

16950-412: The most significant literary figures and artists of modern Iran, such as the poet Mehdi Akhavan-Sales , and the traditional Iranian singer and composer Mohammad-Reza Shajarian . On 30 October 2009 (the anniversary of Imam Reza's martyrdom), Iran's then-President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad declared Mashhad to be "Iran's spiritual capital". Ancient Greek sources mention the passage and residence of Alexander

17100-407: The mujtahids of the Assembly. Since Khamenei was not a marja' at the time—which the Iranian constitution required—he was named as the temporary Supreme Leader. Later, the constitution was amended to remove that requirement and the Assembly of Experts reconvened on 6 August 1989, to reconfirm Khamenei with 60 votes out of 64 present. On 29 April 1989, responding to the letter of Ayatollah Meshkini ,

17250-404: The new Supreme Leader by the Assembly of Experts on 4 June 1989 . Initially, some members of the Assembly of Experts proposed the idea of a leadership council. Various lists were proposed and Khamenei was named in all of them. For instance, a council of three members, Ali Meshkini , Mousavi Ardebili and Khamenei, was proposed to lead Iran. According to Rafsanjani, he and Khamenei were against

17400-510: The oldest existing carpet attributed to the city belongs to the reign of Shah Abbas ( Abbas I of Persia ). Also, there is a type of carpet, classified as Mashhad Turkbâf, which, as its name suggests, is woven by hand with Turkish knots by craftsmen who emigrated from Tabriz to Mashhad in the nineteenth century. Among other major industries in the city are the nutrition, clothing, leather, textiles, chemical , steel, metallic, and non-metallic mineral industries, construction materials factories, &

17550-459: The other hand, the supporters of the proposal believed that: i) At the time, there were no Faqih equal to Khomeini or even two or three levels lower than him so that he could fulfill the expectation of people. ii) In the case of a council of leaders, the members could compensate each other, if any of them had some shortage in a field. Finally, 45 members voted against the leadership council proposal while more than 20 people were in favor of it and

17700-430: The people. The leading jurist were known as Marja' . The Constitution stresses the importance of the clergy in government, with Article 4 stating that all civil, criminal, financial, economic, administrative, cultural, military, political, and all other statutes and regulations (must) be keeping with Islamic measures;…the Islamic legal scholars of the watch council (Shura yi Nigahban) will keep watch over this. and

17850-401: The poor regions of the country, creating jobs and improving the well-being of people in these regions reflecting the top concerns of Iran's Supreme Leader, Khamenei for the Iranian society. He states that 85 percent of Setad's charitable works occur in poor Iran regions. He cited the construction of several hundred schools, mosques and hussainiyas , as well as direct and indirect contributions to

18000-473: The population of the city as 3,001,184 people in 914,146 households. The vast majority of Mashhadi people are ethnic Persians , who form the majority of the city's population. Other ethnic groups include Kurdish and Turkmen people who have emigrated recently to the city from the North Khorasan province . There is also a significant community of non-Arabic speakers of Arabian descent who have retained

18150-606: The position of marja due to old age and illness. This was described as the first time in history a marja has ever resigned from his position. He called on his followers to follow Ali Khamenei, Supreme Leader of Iran as "the best person for the leadership of our people and removing the aggressors". Khamenei's era has differed from that of his predecessor. He has, however, continued Khomeini's policy of "balancing one group against another, making sure that no single side gains too much power." But lacking Khomeini's charisma and clerical standing, he has developed personal networks, first inside

18300-400: The proposal was rejected. After the assembly rejected the idea of a Leadership Council, Khamenei was elected Leader by 60 of the 74 members present with Grand Ayatollah Mohammad-Reza Golpaygani receiving the remaining 14 votes. Although he eventually accepted the post, Khamenei made protestations of his unworthiness, saying "my nomination should make us all cry tears of blood", and debated with

18450-410: The proposal, while Ayatollah Haeri Shirazi  [ fa ] and Ayatollah Ebrahim Amini were in favor of it. Supporters of the council proposal believed that having a council would produce a higher degree of unity in society and more positive characteristics would be found in a council. In contrast, the opposers believed that an individual leader was more efficient according to past experiences in

18600-597: The rapidly rising political and economic influence of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards , whose top leaders are directly appointed by Khamenei and have always been publicly obedient to him; (4) the political disengagement of Iran's young population ...; and (5) most significant[ly], the 2005 presidential election, which saw hardliner Mahmoud Ahmadinejad trounce Khamenei's chief rival ... Hashemi Rafsanjani ... According to Christopher Dickey , to consolidate his power base, Khamenei has developed close relations with

18750-421: The real estate in Mashhad and rents out shop space to bazaaris and hoteliers. The main resource of the institution is endowments, estimated to have annual revenue of $ 210 billion. Ahmad Marvi is the current Custodian of Astan Quds Razavi. Padideh Shandiz International Tourism Development Company, an Iranian private joint-stock holding company, behaves like a public company by selling stocks despite being

18900-419: The recorder began whistling, then suddenly exploded. "A gift of Furqan Group to the Islamic Republic" was written on the inner wall of the tape recorder. Khamenei's treatment took several months and his arm, vocal cords and lungs were seriously injured. He was permanently injured, losing the use of his right arm. In 1981, after the assassination of Mohammad-Ali Rajai, Khamenei was elected President of Iran by

19050-410: The region. Unemployment, poverty, drug addiction, and theft are the most important social problems of the city. The divorce rate in Mashhad had increased by 35 percent by 2014. Khorasan and Mashhad ranked the second in violence across the country in 2013. At the same time, the city has kept its character as a goal of pilgrimage, dominated by the strength of the economic and political authority of

19200-480: The reign of the blind Shah Rukh, which with repeated short interruptions lasted for nearly half a century, passed without any events of special note. It was only after the death of Timur Shah (1792) that Agha Mohammad Khan Qajar , the founder of the Qajar dynasty, succeeded in taking Shah Rukh's domains and putting him to death in 1795, thus ending the separation of Khurasan from the rest of Persia. Some believe that Mashhad

19350-531: The resignation of Hussein-Ali Montazeri from the post. He was briefly the vice Minister of National Defence from late July to 6 November 1979 and as a supervisor of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards. He also went to the battlefield as a representative of the parliament's defense commission. Khamenei narrowly escaped an assassination attempt by the Mujahedin-e Khalq when a bomb, concealed in

19500-469: The revolution, the urban renewal project was abandoned. On 20 June 1994, a bomb exploded in a prayer hall of the shrine of the Imam Reza . The bomb that killed at least 25 people on 20 June in Mashhad exploded on Ashura . The Baloch terrorist, Ramzi Yousef , a Sunni Muslim turned Wahhabi , one of the main perpetrators of the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, was found to be behind the plot. The city

19650-473: The security and military establishment while also expanding the bureaucracy inside the government and around his Beit Rahbari compound. Writing in The Daily Telegraph , Damien McElroy and Ahmad Vahdat observed: "The ayatollah likes to cultivate an image of austerity but receives major commissions from the Iranian oil and arms industries and there have been regular claims that he and his son have amassed

19800-534: The shrine of Imam Reza was proposed by the Iranian architect and urban designer Dariush Borbor to replace the dilapidated slum conditions which surrounded the historic monuments. The project was officially approved in 1968. In 1977 the surrounding areas were demolished to make way for the implementation of this project. To relocate the demolished businesses, a new bazaar was designed and constructed in Meydan-e Ab square (in Persian, "میدان آب") by Dariush Borbor . After

19950-438: The snow depth exceeds 10 cm (3.9 in). The highest recorded temperature was 43.8 °C (111 °F) on 6 July 1998 and the lowest recorded temperature was −28 °C (−18 °F) on 3 February 1972. (sunshine) At the time of the 2006 National Census, the city's population was 2,410,800 in 621,697 households. The following census in 2011 counted 2,766,258 people in 804,391 households. The 2016 census measured

20100-521: The start of his responsibility as the supreme leader of Iran (1989). He continually invites all Muslims to Tawhid , and afterward expresses the significance of Hajj in spiritual/social life. He also asks the Muslims to be aware of what he considers "the conspiracy of the enemies" by having a right comprehension and advises them to "not be deceived by them". So far, Iran's supreme leader has issued 32 messages (since 1989). A part of his last message (6 August 2019)

20250-420: The state's future, questioning people's judgment and causing public outrage. In 2024 he claimed that while speaking to his military he had been saying what words God put in his tongue. Khamenei has reportedly issued a fatwa saying the production, stockpiling, and use of nuclear weapons was forbidden under Islam. The fatwa was cited in an official statement by the Iranian government at an August 2005 meeting of

20400-462: The supreme leader. Conservative opponents in parliament launched an "impeachment drive" against him, four websites with ties to Ahmadinejad reportedly were "filtered and blocked", and several people "said to be close" to the president and Mashaei (such as Abbas Amirifar and Mohammed Sharif Malekzadeh ) were arrested on charges of being "magicians" and invoking djinns . On 6 May 2011, it was reported that Ahmadinejad had been given an ultimatum to accept

20550-525: The town and plundering and murdering there. The year 1589 was a disastrous one for Mashhad. The Shaybanid ' Abd al-Mu'min after a four months' siege forced the town to surrender. Shah Abbas I, who lived in Mashhad from 1585 until his official ascent of the throne in Qazwin in 1587, was not able to retake Mashhad from the Özbegs until 1598. Mashhad was retaken by the Shah Abbas after a long and hard struggle, defeating

20700-525: The vigorous Ahmad Shah Durrani of the Afghan Durrani Empire . Ahmad defeated the Persians and took Mashhad after an eight-month siege in 1753. Ahmad Shah and his successor Timur Shah left Shah Rukh in possession of Khurasan as their vassal, making Khurasan a kind of buffer state between them and Persia. As the city's real rulers, however, both these Durrani rulers struck coins in Mashhad. Otherwise,

20850-418: The world, Mashhad attracts more than 20 million tourists and pilgrims every year, many of whom come to pay homage to the Imam Reza shrine (the eighth Shi'ite Imam). It has been a magnet for travellers since medieval times. Thus, even as those who complete the pilgrimage to Mecca receive the title of Haji , those who make the pilgrimage to Mashhad—and especially to the Imam Reza shrine—are known as Mashtee ,

21000-550: Was born in Tus (with many institutions in Mashhad named after him). Mashhad enjoyed relative prosperity in the Mongol period , and continued to grow. Between 1736 and 1796, Mashhad became the capital of Afsharid Iran which was ruled by the Afsharid dynasty founded by Nader Shah , whose tomb is located in the city. In the modern era, Mashhad continued to expand and became the hometown of some of

21150-428: Was governed by different ethnic groups over the course of its history. Mashhad was previously a small village, which by the 9th century had been known as Sanabad , and which was located—along with Tus and other villages—on the ancient Silk Road connecting them with Merv to the east. Mashhad would eventually outgrow all its surrounding villages. It gained its current name meaning "place of martyrdom " in reference to

21300-445: Was held throughout Iran with the question "Islamic Republic, yes or no?" . Although some groups objected to the wording and choice and boycotted the referendum, 98% of those voting voted "yes". Following this landslide victory, the constitution of Iran of 1906 was declared invalid and a new constitution for an Islamic state was created and ratified by referendum during the first week of December in 1979 . According to Francis Fukuyama ,

21450-441: Was issued "calling Iran's leader a dictator and demanding his removal", this one by a group of Iranian clerics. The letters were called a blow to Khamenei's "status as a neutral arbiter and Islamic figurehead" and an "unprecedented challenge to the country's most powerful man" though not a blow to his actual power as a leader. The New York Times reports "the phrase 'death to Khamenei' has begun appearing in graffiti on Tehran walls,

21600-531: Was issued to reconcile legal, social, and political disagreements between Sunni and Shia. In 2017, he issued a fatwa against women riding bicycles in public. Principlist groups Supreme Leader of Iran The office was established by the Constitution of Iran in 1979, pursuant to Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini 's concept of the Guardianship of the Islamic Jurist , and is a lifetime appointment. Originally

21750-520: Was one of Iran's leaders during the Iran–Iraq War in the 1980s, and developed close ties with the Revolutionary Guards , which he controls, and whose commanders are elected and dismissed by him. The Revolutionary Guards have been deployed to suppress opposition to him. Khamenei served as the third president of Iran from 1981 to 1989, while becoming a close ally of the first supreme leader, Ruhollah Khomeini . Shortly before his death, Khomeini had

21900-574: Was orchestrated by Prince Aristid Mikhailovich Dabizha (a Moldovan who was the Russian Consul in Mashhad) and General Radko (a Bulgarian who was commander of the Russian Cossacks in the city). Yusuf Khan ended up captured by the Persians and was executed. The modern development of the city accelerated under Reza Shah (1925-1941). Shah Reza Hospital (currently Imam Reza Hospital, affiliated with

22050-853: Was passing through to quell the insurrection of Rafi ibn al-Layth in Transoxania , he became ill and died. He was buried under the palace of Humayd ibn Qahtaba. Thus the Dar al-Imarah was known as the Mausoleum of Haruniyyeh. In 818, Ali al-Ridha was martyred by al-Ma'mun and was buried beside the grave of Harun. Although Mashhad owns the cultural heritage of Tus (including its figures like Nizam al-Mulk , Al-Ghazali , Ahmad Ghazali , Ferdowsi , Asadi Tusi , and Shaykh Tusi ), earlier Arab geographers have correctly identified Mashhad and Tus as two separate cities that are now located about 19 kilometres (12 miles) from each other. Although some believe that after this event,

22200-412: Was ruled by Shahrukh Afshar and remained the capital of the Afsharid dynasty during Zand dynasty until Agha Mohammad Khan Qajar conquered the then larger region of Khorasan in 1796. In 1911 Yusuf Khan of Herat was declared independent in Mashhad as Muhammad Ali Shah and brought together a large group of reactionaries opposed to the revolution, and keep stirring for some time. This gave Russia

22350-470: Was sent against him by his father. Tus was stormed after a siege of several months, sacked and left a heap of ruins; 10,000 inhabitants were massacred. Those who escaped the holocaust settled in the shelter of the 'Alid sanctuary. Tus was henceforth abandoned and Mashhad took its place as the capital of the district. Later on, during the reign of the Timurid Shahrukh Mirza , Mashhad became one of

22500-529: Was subsequently punished for his comments with the closure of his religious school, an attack on his office in Qom, and a period of house arrest. The table below lists some of the incumbent senior officeholders in Iran directly appointed by the supreme leader (sorted by date of appointment): Khamenei developed a cult of personality ; with supporters describing him as a "divine gift to mankind" and in which Khamenei critics are persecuted. According to Karim Sadjadpour of

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