Khamenei survived a deadly assassination attempt in 1981, was left with a permanently paralysed arm

Khamenei was killed in air strikes on Saturday

Long before he rose to become Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei narrowly survived a deadly assassination attempt that left him permanently injured.

On June 27, 1981, a bomb concealed inside a tape recorder exploded as Khamenei delivered a speech at the Abuzar Mosque in Tehran. The device detonated shortly after he began addressing the gathering, causing severe injuries.

Khamenei suffered extensive wounds in the blast, and his right arm was permanently paralysed. Reports from that period also note that he sustained additional injuries that required prolonged medical treatment.

The attack took place during a turbulent phase in post-revolution Iran marked by political violence and internal power struggles. Responsibility for the bombing was widely attributed to opposition groups active at the time, including the Mojahedin-e Khalq.

The 1981 attack became a defining episode in Khamenei’s early political life, shaping his public image as a cleric who survived one of the most violent chapters of the Islamic Republic’s formative years.

Khamenei killed in air strikes

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in coordinated US and Israeli air strikes on Saturday, the Iranian state media confirmed.

The strikes targeted key leadership and military sites in Tehran in what marked a major escalation in the Iran-US-Israel conflict. Khamenei, who had led Iran since 1989, was killed during the operation, officials confirmed.

US President Donald Trump announced that Khamenei’s death dealt a decisive blow to Iran’s leadership. Iranian state broadcasters later confirmed his death and declared a 40-day period of national mourning.

The killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader represents one of the most dramatic developments in the region in decades, raising immediate questions about Iran’s leadership transition and the wider geopolitical fallout.