In 2018, he pulled the United States out of the international agreement on Iran’s nuclear programme, which offered Tehran sanctions relief in exchange for limiting its ambitions. Iran’s 86-year-old supreme leader has long embodied the Islamic Republic’s posture of defiance towards its enemies, chiefly the United States and Israel. In power since 1989 and holding the final say on all major state matters, Khamenei has overseen the steady advancement of Iran’s nuclear programme, framing uranium enrichment as a sovereign right. Khamenei has insisted Iran will “never surrender” to the United States and is sceptical about diplomacy. Prime Minister Benjamin NetanyahuFor decades, the Israeli prime minister has cast Iran’s nuclear ambitions, its missile arsenal and its support for militant groups as an existential danger.

Source: Punch February 28, 2026 15:47 UTC