Khamenei family
Ruling family of Iran (1989–present)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Khamenei family[a] is an Iranian religious and political family that has ruled Iran since Ali Khamenei was elected the second supreme leader of Iran in 1989. After his assassination in February 2026, he was succeeded by his son, Mojtaba Khamenei.[3] Their predecessors as the family of the supreme leader were the Khomeini family headed by Ruhollah Khomeini from 1979 to 1989.[4]
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- Quraysh (claimed)
- Banu Hashim (claimed)
- Alids (claimed)
- Husaynids (claimed)
- Sadat-e Hosseini (claimed)
- Mir-Fakhrayi (claimed)
- Sultan-al-Ulama Ahmad (also known as Seyyed Ahmad; claimed)
- Sayyid of Aftasi (claimed)
The Khamenei family has played a prominent role in Iranian politics since the 1980s after Ali Khamenei became president of Iran in 1981. The family is of Iranian Azerbaijani and Persian[b] origin and claim to be Sayyids, descended from Ali al-Sajjad, the fourth Shia Imam.[5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14] Ali Khamenei was the most powerful member of the family until his assassination.[15][16][17][18]
Ancestry
Ali Khamenei's father was the cleric Javad Khamenei,[15][19][20][21][22] and his paternal grandfather was Hussein,[23] who was buried in Najaf, Iraq (in the Wadi-us-Salaam cemetery).[24] Hussein's father was Mohammad Hosseini Tafresshi, who was considered a Sayyid of Aftasi, whose family tree was connected to Sultan-al-Ulama Ahmad (also known as Seyyed Ahmad).[25]
Mohammad Hosseini Tafreshi Khamenei Tabrizi was the son of Mohamad Taghi, who was the son of Mirza Ali-Akbar, who was the son of Fakhr-al-Din Tafreshi. The descendants of Fakhr-al-Din (also known as Mir-Fakhra) are called Mir-Fakhrayi.[26]
The family's descent, known as "Sadat-e Hosseini", is likewise connected to the third Shia Imam, Husayn ibn Ali.[9][27]
Name
The name Khamenei is of Azerbaijani origin and derives from the city of Khamaneh in Iranian Azerbaijan.[28]
Pronunciation
The name is pronounced [xɑmeneji] in Persian[29][more detail needed] and [xɑmɯneˈji] in Azerbaijani,[citation needed] but English-language speakers vary in their pronunciation of the name.[30] A news report by The New York Times during the 1989 Iranian supreme leader election stated the name was pronounced "kha-meh-neh-ee".[31] Other English-language sources give the following pronunciations of the name:
- American Heritage Dictionary: /kəˈmeɪniː, xɑː-, ˈxɑːmeɪˌneɪ/ kə-MAY-nee, khah-, KHAH-may-NAY;[32]
- Collins English Dictionary: /ˌxɑːməˈniː/ KHAH-mə-NEE;[33]
- Dictionary.com: /ˌxɑːməˈneɪ, -ˈniː, ˌkɑː-/ K(H)AH-mə-NAY, -NEE;[34]
- Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary: /xɑːmeɪˈneɪ/ khah-MAY-nay;[35]
- Pronouncing Dictionary of Proper Names: /xɑːˈmɛniː, hɑːˈmiːniː/ khah-MEH-nee, hah-MEE-nee;[36]
- VOA Pronunciation Guide: /hɑːmɛneɪˈiː/ hah-meh-nay-EE.[37]
Family tree
- Javad Khamenei (1895–1986)
- Alavieh Khamenei
- Batoul Khamenei
- Fatemeh Soltan Khamenei
- Mohammad Khamenei (b. 1935)
- Ali Khamenei (1939–2026), married Mansoureh Khojasteh Bagherzadeh (b. 1947)
- Mostafa Khamenei (b. 1965)
- Mojtaba Khamenei (b. 1969), married Zahra Haddad-Adel (1979–2026)
- Mohammad Bagher Khamenei (2007–2026)
- Fatemeh Sadaat Khamenei
- Mohammad Amin Khamenei
- Masoud Khamenei (b. 1974)
- Meysam Khamenei (b. 1978)
- Hoda Khamenei (1979–2026) married Mesbah Bagheri Kani (unknown–2026)
- Boshra Khamenei (1980–2026) married a son of Mohammad Mohammadi Golpayegani
- Zahra Mohammadi Golpayegani (2024–2026)
- Badri Khamenei (b. 1942/1943), married Ali Tehrani (1926–2022)
- Farideh Moradkhani (b. 1971)
- Hadi Khamenei (b. 1948)
- Mohammad Hassan Khamenei
