Ali Khamenei - The Atlantic

Ali Khamenei

America Looks Like a Paper Tiger

Brynn Tannehill

April 8, 2026

Photograph of a young girl sitting in the backseat of a car and holding an Iranian flag out of the rolled down window

Trump’s Fundamental Misunderstanding in Iran

Karim Sadjadpour

April 7, 2026

Illustration showing Trump, Iran imagery, and an optical illusion

Someday in Tehran

a woman in a headscarf walks in front of a mural showing Ruhollah Khomeini and toward a group of women in black chadors

‘You Want to Leave Us Alone With Mojtaba?’

March 24, 2026

A photo of mourning Iranian women

Trump May Not Be Able to End This War

Pegah Banihashemi and Paul Poast

March 18, 2026

A color photo showing portraits of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei displayed alongside Iranian flags at a rally.

Iran’s War Is Not Only With the West

Elizabeth Tsurkov

March 16, 2026

Photograph of a ruined street in Damascus with a poster of Khamenei, Assad, and Nasrallah.

Why Trump Didn’t Plan for the Strait of Hormuz

Phillips Payson O’Brien

March 13, 2026

Collage with an oil-tanker explosion, Mojtaba Khamenei's face, and maps of the Strait of Hormuz

The Iranian Regime Doubles Down

Karim Sadjadpour

March 10, 2026

Collage of red and black maps of Iran with arrows and Mojtaba Khamenei's face

Why Mahmoud Ahmadinejad Is Still Useful

March 10, 2026

Photograph of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad flashing a victory sign to a crowd of waving supporters

Meet the Nepo-tollah

March 9, 2026

Black and white illustration of Mojtaba Khamenei against a red and green geometric background.

Insider Trading Is Going to Get People Killed

March 7, 2026

Illustration of soldiers running superimposed with an upward graph line

America’s and Israel’s Goals Are Already Colliding

March 6, 2026

A photo-illustration showing Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu separated by a red line

‘The Most Dangerous Man in the World’

March 5, 2026

Black and white photograph of Mojtaba Khamenei in a crowd of people.

The Atlantic Daily

What Anti-Regime Iranians Can’t Agree On

March 3, 2026

Black-and-white photo of a building destroyed after strikes in Iran.

This Joke Explains Iran Today

March 3, 2026

Photo of a surveillance camera overlooking a banner featuring a portrait of Ali Khamenei overlaid on green, white, and red stripes resembling the Iranian flag.

Why Iranians Are Weeping for a Tyrant

March 3, 2026

Illustration of liquid on a gray background, showing fragments of the face of a man with a mustache.

Trump Opens the Pandora’s Box of Assassination

March 3, 2026

National Security

The Big Story: The Iran War

March 2, 2026

Black text in a white speech bubble on a red background that reads: The Big Story The Iran War

After Khamenei, What Now?

March 2, 2026

People protest against the Iranian government in Rome, Italy on March 1, 2026.

‘Our Resources Are Done’

March 1, 2026

A collage shows Ali Larijani and Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf on either side of a map of Iran.

National Security

‘I Have Agreed to Talk’

Michael Scherer

March 1, 2026

Portrait of Trump wearing a suit, angled from slightly above

Why Khamenei Is Dead

March 1, 2026

Iranian leader Ali Khamenei

The Death of Khamenei and the End of an Era

Karim Sadjadpour

February 28, 2026

Women in chadors surround a large framed photograph of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei

The Epic Miscalculations of Trump and Khamenei

Karim Sadjadpour

February 28, 2026

A collage of two photographs of Donald Trump and Ali Khamanei oriented towards each other with hands raised.

An Iranian Network Is Ready to Act

February 27, 2026

Ali Khamenei walking next to an empty chair

The ‘Existential Anxiety’ of the Islamic Republic

February 20, 2026

At a political gathering in Iran, a woman holds up a phone showing photos of the reformist leaders Mohammad Khatami and Mirhossein Mousavi.

The Iranian Hedgehog vs. the American Fox

Karim Sadjadpour

January 31, 2026

Collage showing pictures of Khamenei and Trump

The Islamic Republic’s Predatory Contract With Its People

Karim Sadjadpour

January 27, 2026

A collage showing Iranians during an uprising and a photograph of a poster of Ayatollah Khomeini on the streets of Tehran

What I Saw in Mashhad

Davood Moradian

January 26, 2026

Protesters gather around a fire on a street in Mashhad the night f January 8

What Iranians Want From Trump

January 20, 2026

Protesters in New York City carry Iranian royalist flags and placards.

Trump’s Fateful Choice in Iran

Karim Sadjadpour

January 16, 2026

A frame grab from footage circulating on social media showing protesters dancing and cheering around a bonfire in Tehran, Iran

Is the Iranian Regime About to Collapse?

Karim Sadjadpour and Jack A. Goldstone

January 10, 2026

A photo of the protests in Iran

Change May Be Coming to Iran

January 8, 2026

A portrait of Khamenei hangs against a blue curtain.

Iranians Have Had Enough

January 1, 2026

‘Nobody Knows What to Do About the Future’

December 17, 2025

A distorted portrait of Khamenei with the reflection of overhead lights over one of his eyes

The Battle Iranian Women Are Winning

November 7, 2025

Two young Iranian women walk together along a shore of the Chitgar Lake in the recreational Chitgar complex in northwestern Tehran, Iran, on September 11, 2025.