Timeline

1. 1939 ۱۳۱۸ (29 Farvardin 1318)

   Ali Khamenei was born on April 19 in Mashhad, Iran. He rose through the ranks of the Islamic Revolutionary movement, served as President from 1981, and was appointed Supreme Leader in 1989 following Khomeini's death — a position he would hold for 37 years, wielding absolute authority over every arm of the Iranian state.

2. 1989 ۱۳۶۸ (1368 SH)

   Khamenei was appointed Supreme Leader following Khomeini's death, seizing absolute control over Iran's political, military, and judiciary systems. Within months he oversaw the mass execution of thousands of political prisoners and the systematic elimination of dissidents. His rule began where it would continue — in blood.

3. 1999 ۱۳۷۸ (18 Tir 1378)

   On July 8, plainclothes Basij and Ansar-e Hezbollah paramilitaries raided Tehran University's student dormitory at night, beating sleeping students and throwing at least one from a window. At least five students were killed, over 200 injured, and more than 70 subsequently disappeared. The attack — known as the Kuy-e Daneshgah attack — sparked six days of nationwide protests, Iran's largest since the 1979 revolution until the Green Movement.

4. 2004 ۱۳۸۲ (Bahman 1382)

   On February 18, an unmanned freight train carrying sulfur, cotton, and ammonium nitrate broke free from its siding near Neyshabur and rolled uncontrolled for hours before derailing and catching fire. When rescue workers and officials arrived to extinguish the blaze, the chemical cargo exploded with catastrophic force, killing 352 people — including the city's governor and emergency responders. The blast destroyed a nearby village and shattered windows 10 kilometers away, a direct result of government negligence in railway safety.

5. 2009 ۱۳۸۸ (1388 SH)

   Millions took to the streets after a fraudulent presidential election in the largest uprising since the 1979 revolution. Basij militia and IRGC responded with beatings, mass arrests, and live fire — killing between 70 and 200 people. Survivors reported systematic torture and rape in Evin and Kahrizak prisons; the killing of Neda Agha-Soltan, filmed and shared worldwide, became the movement's defining image.

6. 2017 ۱۳۹۵ (Dey 1395)

   Tehran's iconic Plasco Building — Iran's first high-rise, built in 1962 — caught fire on January 19 and collapsed while firefighters worked to contain the blaze. Twenty-two people died, including sixteen firefighters trapped inside when the structure fell without warning. A government report later confirmed the Mostazafan Foundation had repeatedly ignored safety warnings and that multiple ministries had failed to enforce 22 building regulations.

7. 2017 ۱۳۹۶ (Dey 1396)

   Protests sparked by economic hardship and corruption erupted in Mashhad on December 28 and spread to over 100 cities within days. Security forces killed at least 25 protesters and arrested more than 1,200 people. Several detainees were later sentenced to death on the basis of confessions extracted under torture.

8. 2018 ۱۳۹۶ (Dey 1396)

   On January 6, the Iranian-owned oil tanker Sanchi collided with a cargo ship 160 nautical miles off Shanghai and immediately caught fire. After burning and drifting for eight days it sank on January 14, killing all 32 crew members — 30 Iranians and 2 Bangladeshis. Families reported government indifference to rescue efforts; the disaster is considered one of the worst oil tanker accidents in decades.

9. 2019 ۱۳۹۸ (Shahrivar 1398)

   Sahar Khodayari — a devoted fan of Esteghlal FC — was arrested in March for attempting to enter Tehran's Azadi Stadium disguised as a man; women have been banned from football stadiums since 1981. On September 2, upon learning she faced six months in prison, she set herself on fire outside the courthouse and died nine days later from burns covering 90% of her body. Her death, known as the Blue Girl, sparked global outrage and forced the regime to partially lift the stadium ban for the first time in 40 years — a concession extracted only by her sacrifice.

10. 2019 ۱۳۹۸ (Aban 1398)

    A sudden 50–200% fuel price hike on November 15 triggered nationwide protests that security forces crushed with overwhelming lethal force within five days. Amnesty International documented at least 321 deaths; other estimates reach 1,500 to 3,000+. Khamenei personally ordered the use of deadly weapons; Iran imposed a near-total internet blackout to hide the massacre, and nearly 20,000 people were arrested.

11. 2020 ۱۳۹۸ (Dey 1398)

    Hours after Iran launched missile strikes on U.S. bases in Iraq, IRGC operators fired two surface-to-air missiles at Ukraine International Airlines Flight PS752 minutes after takeoff from Tehran. All 176 passengers and crew were killed, including 55 Canadian citizens. Iran denied responsibility for three days before admitting the strike, and a subsequent military trial issued only token sentences.

12. 2022 ۱۴۰۱ (Khordad 1401)

    On May 23, the 10-story Metropol building under construction in Abadan collapsed, killing at least 43 people. Engineers had formally warned of structural failures a full year before the disaster, but officials ignored the reports. Protests erupted across Khuzestan province as Iranians blamed state corruption and systemic negligence — a pattern of preventable tragedy that had become the regime's signature.

13. 2022 ۱۴۰۱ (1401 SH)

    The death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in morality police custody on September 16 ignited the "Woman, Life, Freedom" uprising — the most sustained challenge to the Islamic Republic in decades. Security forces killed hundreds of protesters including children, and arrested more than 15,000. Dozens were sentenced to death; several were executed, including individuals who were minors at the time of arrest.

14. 2025 ۱۴۰۴ (Ordibehesht 1404)

    On April 26, containers at the Port of Shahid Rajaee in Bandar Abbas exploded, killing at least 57 people and injuring over 1,000. Evidence pointed to improperly stored ammonium perchlorate — a rocket fuel oxidizer — as the cause. Opposition groups reported the actual death toll was closer to 250; the blast was widely seen as a symptom of the regime's decades-long institutional negligence over critical infrastructure.

15. 2026 ۱۴۰۴ (Dey 1404)

    Beginning December 28, 2025, an economic collapse driven by currency freefall and mass shortages ignited nationwide protests across more than 200 cities. On January 8–9 Khamenei personally ordered security forces to open fire; more than 40,000 Iranians were killed in what became the deadliest two-day crackdown on protesters in recorded history. The massacre is considered a direct catalyst for the fall of the Islamic Republic.

16. 2026 ۱۴۰۴ (9 Esfand 1404)

    Ali Khamenei was killed at 09:40 IRST on February 28, 2026, aged 86, in a joint US-Israeli airstrike targeting his compound in Tehran. His death was confirmed by the Iranian government the following day. After 37 years of absolute rule, his reign ended the same way it was sustained — by violence.