The assassination attempt
The 1981 bombing left his right arm disabled for the rest of his life. He carried the injury as a mark of his service to the Revolution.
Life
Presidency
Scroll
President of the Republic
In October 1981 Ayatollah Khamenei was elected President of Iran. He was the third president of the Islamic Republic, and the first to complete a full term. He served two, from 1981 to 1989.
He came to the office in the hardest hour. That summer, bombings had torn through the young Republic's leadership, killing the president and the prime minister together in August. In June a bomb hidden in a tape recorder had exploded beside him as he spoke at a Tehran mosque, and it left his right arm paralysed for the rest of his life. Months later the people elected him president by a large majority.
His two terms fell almost entirely within the eight years of the war imposed by Iraq. He led the civilian government while the front consumed the nation's men and resources, travelling often to the front line in plain military dress, and he was returned to office for a second term in 1985.
Through the longest and costliest war in the Republic's history his public speech kept to the same themes: jihad, patience, national dignity, and reliance upon Allah. He led the Friday prayers in Tehran and spoke directly to the people week after week.
October 1981
Imam Khomeini confirmed his election as President of the Republic.
New York, 1987
As President he addressed the United Nations General Assembly, and set Iran's case against the imposed war before the world.
Public Trust
Wound
Presidency
War
People
Four things defined his years of public office.
Two terms in office
He was the third president of the Islamic Republic and the first to complete a full term, holding the office from 1981 to 1989.
The imposed war
Iraq's invasion forced the young Republic to organize endurance, sacrifice, and self-reliance over eight years of war.
Friday prayer and public address
Alongside his offices he remained a preacher and teacher, leading Friday prayers and speaking directly to the people.
"The people of Iran managed to overthrow it with the power of faith, jihad and self-sacrifice."Ayatollah Khamenei, on the Islamic Revolution