Khamenei family

Not to be confused with their predecessors, the Khomeini family.

Khamenei family
Javad Khamenei Ali Khamenei Mojtaba Khamenei
Parent family	Quraysh (claimed) Extended descent 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)
Country	Iran
Current region	Middle East
Place of origin	Khameneh, Guarded Domains of Iran
Founded	1895;131 years ago (1895)
Founder	Javad Khamenei
Current head	Mojtaba Khamenei
Titles	Honorific title: Imam Hujjat al-Islam Seyyed Ayatollah Grand Ayatollah Political titles: Member of Assembly of Experts for the Constitution Member of Islamic Consultative Assembly Deputy Chief of Staff for Political and Security Affairs Wakil of the Office of the Supreme Leader Head of the Supreme Defense Council Commander-in-Chief of the Iranian Armed Forces President Supreme Leader of Iran
Members	Javad Khamenei Mohammad Khamenei Hadi Khamenei Badri Khamenei Ali Tehrani Farideh Moradkhani Ali Khamenei Mansoureh Khojasteh Bagherzadeh Mostafa Khamenei Mojtaba Khamenei Zahra Haddad-Adel Masoud Khamenei
Connected members	Mohsen Kharazi Kamal Kharrazi Sadegh Kharazi Mohammad Bagher Kharazi Kamal Kharazi Gholam-Ali Haddad-Adel Mohammad Mohammadi Golpayegani Azizollah Khoshvaght
Distinctions	Husayn ibn Ali (claimed)
Traditions	Twelver Shia Islam

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]

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 ^{[15] [16]} was the most powerful member of the family ^[17] until his assassination. ^[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] 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
      • Fatemeh Sadaat Khamenei
      • Mohammad Amin Khamenei
    • Masoud Khamenei (b. 1974)
    • Meysam Khamenei (b. 1978)
    • Hoda Khamenei , 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

See also

• Iran portal
• Shia Islam portal
• Politics portal

• Khomeini family
• Larijani family
• Family tree of Ali
• Politics of Iran

Notes

1. Persian: خاندان خامنه‌ای, romanized: Xândân-e xâmene-i ^[1]
   Azerbaijani: خامنئی عایلسی, romanized: Xamenei ailəsi ^[2]
2. Maternal ancestry only.

References

1. "یکی از خامنه‎ای ها؛ نگاهی به خاطرات محمد خامنه‎ای برادر بزرگتر رهبر ایران". BBC News فارسی (in Persian). 3 June 2013. Retrieved 9 March 2026.
2. "Xamenei ailəsi ilə birlikdə sığınacaqdadır". Milli.Az (in Azerbaijani). 16 June 2025. Retrieved 9 March 2026.
3. "Who is Mojtaba Khamenei, son and successor to Iran's supreme leader?". France 24 . Associated Press; Reuters. 8 March 2026. Retrieved 9 March 2026.
4. "IRAN | Ayatollah Khomeini's family mostly absent from Iran politics". Macau Daily Times . Associated Press. 4 February 2019. Retrieved 10 March 2026.
5. Ganjineh-Daneshmandan (scientists' treasures). Vol. 127. Sharif-Razi. p. 7.
6. Biography of Ayatollah Khamenei radiofarda.com Retrieved 21 September 2019
7. MarkazeAsnade EnqelanEslami --Arshiv (Document Center Archive), No. 1225
8. Khamenei Family -- Ayatollah Khamenei ghadeer.org Retrieved 2 October 2019
9. "Descent and parents of Ayatollah Khamenei". basirat.ir. Retrieved 23 September 2019.
10. "Family of Khamenei -- Biography of Ayatollah Khamenei". leader.ir. Retrieved 23 September 2019.
11. "Family tree of Iran's supreme leader - Seyyed Ali Khamenei". nafee.ir. Retrieved 23 September 2019.
12. "Checking family-tree of the Supreme leader of Iran (Khamenei) -- Ma'aref Radio". rasanews.ir. Retrieved 22 September 2019.
13. "Family tree of Iran's supreme leader, Seyyed Ali Khamenei". aparat.com. Retrieved 22 September 2019.
14. Pure tree (al-Shajarah al-Tayebbah), Seyyed Fazel al-Mousavi al-Safavi (Khalkhali-Zadeh)
15. "Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei Fast Facts". cnn.com. 30 December 2012. Retrieved 21 September 2019.
16. "Ali Khamenei -- RAHBAR OF IRAN". britannica.com. Retrieved 21 September 2019.
17. "Khamenei -- Azeris media". yjc.ir. Retrieved 21 September 2019.
18. "Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is dead, state media says". BBC News. 1 March 2026. Retrieved 1 March 2026.
19. Who are Ayatollah Khamenei's relatives? bbc.com Retrieved 3 October 2019
20. Knowing dynasty of Seyyed Ali Khamenei (Iran's supreme leader) Archived 21 September 2019 at the Wayback Machine shabestan.ir Retrieved 21 September 2019
21. "About The Author -- Ayatollah Sayyid Ali Khamenei". al-islam.org. 15 October 2015. Retrieved 21 September 2019.
22. "Ancestors of Ayatollah Khamenei". hawzahnews.com. 5 July 2014. Retrieved 22 September 2019.
23. Aqa Buzurg Tihrani, al-Dhari'a, vol. 2, p. 640
24. "Knowing ancestors of Ayatollah Khamenei's parents". navideshahed.com. Retrieved 28 September 2019.
25. "Genealogy (family-tree) of Ayatollah Khamenei". cloob.com/. Retrieved 22 September 2019.^{[ permanent dead link ]}
26. "Ancestors of Ayatollah Khamenei". navideshahed.com. Retrieved 23 September 2019.
27. Institute of Contemporary History Studies of Iran
28. Izady 1989 , p. 45: "Mr. Khamenei was born to an Azeri clerical family living at the site of the holy Shi'ite shrine of Meshad, Khurasan. But his Azeri connections are undeniable, including his fluency in Azeri and his maintaining of the family's last name ascribing him to the town of Khameneh in Azerbaijan."
29. Miller & Aghajanian-Stewart 2017 , pp. 4, 106: "Alongside the headword for each entry, representing its word family, we also provide the pronunciation of the headword in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA), reflecting the common Iranian pronunciation of the word. [...] Rank: 4283; Headword: خامنه‌ای; Pronunciation: xɑmeneji; Gloss: Khamenei."
30. "How are Khomeini and Khamenei pronounced?". Encyclopædia Britannica (Online  ed.). Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. 2 March 2026. ISSN   1085-9721. OCLC   33663660 . Retrieved 5 March 2026.
31. Pear, Robert (5 June 1989). "Man in the News; Iran's New Supreme Leader; Ali Khamenei". The New York Times . ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 5 March 2026.
32. "Khamenei". The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (5th ed.). HarperCollins. Retrieved 5 March 2026.
33. "Khamenei". Collins English Dictionary . HarperCollins. OCLC   1120411289 . Retrieved 5 March 2026.
34. "Khamenei". Dictionary.com Unabridged (Online). n.d. Retrieved 5 March 2026.
35. "Khamenei". Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary . Merriam-Webster. OCLC   1032680871 . Retrieved 5 March 2026.
36. Bollard, John K., ed. (1998). "Khamenei". Pronouncing Dictionary of Proper Names. Detroit, MI: Omnigraphics. ISBN   978-0-7808-0098-4.
37. "KHAMENEI, AYATOLLAH ALI". pronounce.voanews.com. Retrieved 5 March 2025.

Bibliography

• Izady, Mehrdad (Fall 1989). "Persian Carrot and Turkish Stick: Contrasting Policies Targeted at Gaining State Loyalty from Azeris and Kurds". Kurdish Times . 3 (2): 31–47 – via ProQuest.
• Miller, Corey; Aghajanian-Stewart, Karineh (20 July 2017). A Frequency Dictionary of Persian: Core vocabulary for learners. Routledge. ISBN   978-1-317-56419-5.

External links

• The dictionary definition of Khamenei at Wiktionary
• Media related to Family of Ali Khamenei at Wikimedia Commons