Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the assassinated Supreme Leader of Iran, refused to leave his Tehran residence and move to a safer location or bunker despite repeated pleas from his associates, saying he would not seek safety unless there was a secure place for all 90 million people in Iran.
Speaking at the India Today Conclave in New Delhi, Abdul Majid Hakeem Ilahi, the representative of Iran’s Supreme Leader, said Khamenei, who had served as the country’s Supreme Leader for 37 years, decided to remain at his home even as tensions were escalating between Tehran, Washington and Tel Aviv.
“I asked his security team why they were not moving him to a safer place or another city, since his office and residence were well known. They said he refused and never agreed to do so. He said that if ‘you can provide safe shelters for the 90 million citizens of Tehran, then I am ready to leave my house and move to another place’.”
“I then asked the security officials, if he does not relocate to another city, at least build a bunker for him in the basement for safety. They said he does not allow them to do that. He told them, ‘If you can build 90 million bunkers for 90 million Iranians, only then will I be ready to build one for myself’,” Hakeem Ilahi said at the Conclave.
Iranian officials further said the same question was also put to Ali Khamenei’s family, who quoted the Supreme Leader as saying: “I am the leader of the country, and a leader must be equal to the marginalised and the poor. If I live a special life for myself, I can no longer be the leader of this country.”
‘KHAMENEI WANTED TO BE MARTYED’
Responding to a question about the significance of martyrdom in Islam, particularly during the holy month of Ramadan, Ilahi said martyrdom is regarded as one of the highest virtues in Islamic teachings and added that Khamenei had long aspired to attain martyrdom, which he described as the ultimate honour.
“I remember that a few months ago he repeatedly said, ‘I have become an old man now, I am 86, and I am afraid that I might die in a hospital, or due to an accident or fever. That would not be good for me. I would prefer to be martyred’,” the aide said.
According to Ilahi, Khamenei considers martyrdom more valuable than his own life.
He explained, “The martyrdom of Ayatollah Khamenei and the shedding of his blood are more valuable than his continued existence in life. His martyrdom first brought unity among Muslims, both Shia and Sunni.
“The second thing his martyrdom brought to society was the exposure of injustice in some countries that attack others without any reason. In this way, his martyrdom has brought significant benefits and achievements.”
Ilahi further said Khamenei’s martyrdom during Ramadan carried special meaning for believers.
“Because of the sincerity of Ayatollah Khamenei — because he devoted his life to Allah and to his people — Allah granted him the highest virtue, which is martyrdom, and that too in the month of Allah,” he said.
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed on February 28, in a joint US-Israeli airstrike that targeted his official compound in Tehran using bunker-buster bombs.
