Ali Akbar Shdid

Ali Khamenei became Iran's supreme leader in 1989. He oversaw Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), which the U.S. designated a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) in 2019, and was instrumental in building up Iran’s nuclear capabilities. He ordered mass executions and lethal force against internal dissent. Khamenei was killed in a joint U.S.-Israel operation in February 2026.

On February 28, 2026, the U.S. and Israel preemptively attacked Iran to prevent it from developing nuclear weapons and from expanding its missile capabilities, and to destroy its navy and other security infrastructure.