After US and Israeli strikes, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei faces a critical choice: rebuild the same regime or open up in a way that could threaten his hold on power., Ali Khamenei (b. 1939) has stood at the heart of the Islamic Republic since the 1979 Iranian Revolution, playing a pivotal role in both the militarization of the state and the consolidation of near-absolute authority in the Office of the Supreme Leader., Khamenei, 86, has led Iran since the death in 1989 of its founding supreme leader, Ruhollah Khomeini, who had led Iran for 10 years after toppling the country's last shah, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi., Who Is Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s Supreme Leader? The cleric has ruled for more than three decades, spearheading a policy of backing proxy groups to wield influence across the Middle East., Khamenei is only the second supreme leader since Iran's Islamic revolution in 1979. He succeeded the similarly-named but unrelated Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, who had been, .