"Since his election as president of Iran in June 2005, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has caused something of a sensation by, among other things, questioning the reality of the Holocaust and suggesting that Israel be moved in Europe or Alaska. His outrageous speeches have been good theatre for both his supporters and for foreign opponents who want to demonize him. However, his power is actually quite limited. For example, even with the support of the Iranian legislature, he cannot make law, and he is not the commander-in-chief of the Iranian armed forces. Above the elected government in Iran is an unelected twelve-man Guardian Council of mullahs, headed by Ayatollah Khamenei, who has ruled the nation since the death of Ayatollah Khomeini in 1989. Khamenei is the leader of the military, and the Guardian Council has the right to veto any law passed by the elected government. Since 2001, Khamenei has undone the reforms that had been gradually changing the face of Iran."
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David Wallechinsky, Tyrants: The World's 20 Worst Living Dictators (2006), p. 2
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Ali_Khamenei
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Ali Khamenei
Sayyid Ali Hosseini Khamenei [Persian: سید علی Øسینی خامنه‌ای] (19 April 1939 – 28 February 2026) was an Iranian politician and Shia cleric who served as the second supreme leader of Iran from 1989 until his assassination in the 2026 Iran war. He previously served as the third president of Iran from 1981 to 1989. His tenure as supreme leader, spanning 36 years and six months, made him the longest-serving head of state in West Asia at the time of his death. He held the title of Ayatollah and was
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