He is the grandson of an influential Shiite cleric, born in Qom — the centre of religious studies in Iran — and raised in a traditional family that embraced the theocracy. But by his late 20s, he had stopped praying and abandoned the idea of clerical rule. Now, he can barely discuss politics or religion with his siblings and father.
The tech worker, now in his mid-30s, says Iranian society is deeply divided, even among opponents of the Islamic Republic, and he blames one man — Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The supreme leader, who ruled Iran for more than three decades, will be buried on Thursday after being killed at the start of the war.
Processions carrying his coffin in Tehran and other cities drew huge crowds of supporters in a show of strength by the hard-liners at the core of the Islamic Republic, who portrayed him as a defender of clerical rule who stood up to the West and Israel.
But beneath the displays of support run deep currents of discontent that have grown over decades of bloody repression, international sanctions and economic mismanagement, and have intensified since authorities killed thousands of anti-government protesters in January.
“A gap has opened up in homes across the country that is really remarkable,” said the tech worker by phone from Tehran, where he now lives. Like others interviewed by The Associated Press about Khamenei’s rule, he spoke on condition of anonymity because of security concerns.
Khamenei’s death in Israeli strikes on 28 February cemented his legacy in the eyes of Iran’s rulers and supporters, who regard him as a martyr. Echoing the slogans of ultra-hardliners opposed to talks with the US, some mourners at the funeral called for US President Donald Trump to be killed in retaliation.
“Our goal is to prove to the world that we will not submit to oppression and tyranny, and that we will avenge the blood of our leader,” said Hossein Akbari, a 60-year-old mourner in Tehran.
Khamenei took the reins in 1989 following the death of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the charismatic ideologue who had led the overthrow of the US-backed shah a decade earlier and inspired a mass following.
Under the banner of resisting the West, Khamenei defied sanctions to expand the country’s nuclear programme, its missile arsenal and its network of militant allies across the region.
Inside Iran, he entrenched hard-line clerical rule by largely neutralising the reform movement. He gave the Revolutionary Guard enormous military, political and economic power. As younger Iranians pushed for liberalisation, he sought to maintain strict control over personal freedoms and dress codes.
A critical turning point came in 2009, when protests triggered by allegations of vote-rigging in that year’s presidential election were brutally suppressed. Dozens were killed in the first major crackdown on a large protest movement.
The crackdown created widespread hopelessness, according to an Iranian activist and former political prisoner who writes for a reformist-leaning magazine in Tehran.
A senior aide to Iran’s reformist President Masoud Pezeshkian acknowledged last month that Iran was “severely polarised” between staunch supporters of the Islamic Republic and those seeking its downfall. But Ali Rabiei said a large section of society existed between the “two poles” and could help deliver change from within the system. His comments were carried by the state news agency IRNA.
There is no reliable polling in Iran, but elections provide some insight into public sentiment.
Turnout in Iran’s most recent presidential election fell to one of its lowest levels ever, widely seen as a sign that millions who wanted change saw little point in voting. Still, the hard-line candidate received 13.5 million votes, while Pezeshkian, the reformist candidate, secured 16.3 million.
Repeated waves of protests since 2009 have been met with violent crackdowns. January’s unrest was the deadliest, with security forces killing thousands to crush nationwide demonstrations that began over economic grievances before escalating into demands for Khamenei’s removal.
The sister of a protester who was shot dead in Tehran on 9 January summed up Khamenei’s legacy in one word: injustice.
For working-class families, Iran’s deteriorating economy has only worsened since the war.
“Workers can barely afford to buy bread; everything is so expensive,” she said.
“Since my sister died, mentally and financially, our life has fallen apart. All we do is look at photos and videos of my sister and cry. What do we have left?” she said from her home in eastern Iran.
A quiet form of dissent emerged over the past month as Iranians observed Ashoura, the holy period commemorating the martyrdom of a seventh-century Shiite saint through funeral-style marches. Videos shared on social media showed some Iranians joining the processions while carrying photographs of family members killed during the January crackdown.
One of Khamenei’s legacies is the Islamic Republic’s ability to survive both his death and the massive US-Israeli assault. The leadership emerged from the war with an interim agreement with the US that brought immediate benefits. The deal could deliver greater gains — including sanctions relief — if Tehran and Washington reach a final nuclear agreement, though that remains uncertain.
“It’s a victory for the Islamic Republic,” said a 35-year-old woman who joined the January protests, referring to the deal. “But for Iran’s people, until we see the results, we won’t know if it is.”
She worries about the widening divisions in Iranian society and fractures among opponents of the theocracy, some of whom want its immediate overthrow while others favour gradual change.
“The space for dialogue is very closed, and I don’t mean only the government, I mean the people,” she said.
After losing his job at a technology company, a 33-year-old Tehran resident who also participated in the January protests said his main concern was the damaged economy, where unemployment and prices have surged. Many of his friends are now jobless, while his wife’s employer has cut salaries.
“All of us, frankly, are just trying to stay alive, and all our struggle is taken up with meeting basic needs like rent and food,” he said.
Rebin Rahmani, a Kurdish activist who was once imprisoned in Iran and now lives in Paris, said Khamenei’s theocracy had no answer to Iran’s growing political and economic challenges other than further repression.
“Its insistence on iron-fisted, security-driven approaches will only trigger further unrest,” said Rahmani, director of the Kurdish Human Rights Network. Protests are “reigniting every few years with renewed force”.
Pezeshkian and other pragmatists within the system want to use negotiations with the US to secure sanctions relief and rebuild the economy. For now, they appear to have the backing of Khamenei’s son and successor, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, who remains in hiding but gave tentative support for talks in a written statement.
Peacetime may prove the real test of the elder Khamenei’s legacy, said Ali Vaez, Iran director at the International Crisis Group, as rival factions compete to shape the future of the Islamic Republic.
“Wartime gave the system a degree of cohesion under shared duress. But the governance challenges remain just as stark.”