Not to be confused with Khomeini family.

Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei (left) and his brother Mohammad
Two of Ali Khamenei's sons Mostafa (left) and Mojtaba

The Khamenei family (Persian: خاندان خامنه‌ای) is among the Iranian Azerbaijani Sayyid families[1][2][3] who claim to be descendants of the Shia Imam Ali al-Sajjad[4][5][6][7] by the "Khamenei family tree".[8][9][10] Their dwelling places were/are in Iranian Azerbaijan, Najaf,[11] Tafresh,[12] and more.[clarification needed]

Ali Khamenei, the second Supreme Leader of Iran,[13][14] was the most powerful member of the Khamenei political family[15] until his assassination on 28 February 2026[16]. His descent, known as "Sadat-e Hosseini", is likewise connected to the third Imam, Husayn ibn Ali.[5][17]

Ali Khamenei's father was the cleric Javad Khamenei,[13][18][19][20][21] and his paternal grandfather was Hussein,[22] who was buried in Najaf, Iraq (in the Wadi-us-Salaam cemetery).[23] 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).[24]

Mohammad Hosseini Tafreshi Khamenei Tabrizi (Persian: سید محمد حسینی تفرشی خامنه‌ای تبریزی) 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.[25]

Family tree

  • Javad Khamenei (1895–1986)
    • Mohammad Khamenei (b. 1935)
    • Ali Khamenei (1939–2026), married Mansoureh Khojasteh Bagherzadeh (1947–2026)
      • Mostafa Khamenei (b. 1965)
      • Mojtaba Khamenei (b. 1969)
      • Masoud Khamenei (b. 1974)
    • Badri Khamenei (b. 1942/1943), married Ali Tehrani (1926–2022)
      • Farideh Moradkhani (b. 1971)
    • Hadi Khamenei (b. 1948)

Name

The name Khamenei is of Azerbaijani origin and derives from the city of Khamaneh in Iranian Azerbaijan.[26]

Pronunciation

In Persian, the name is pronounced [xɒːmæneɪˈiː], but English-language speakers vary in their pronunciation of the name.[27] A news report by The New York Times during the 1989 Iranian Supreme Leader election stated the name was pronounced "kha-meh-neh-ee".[28] Other English-language sources give the following pronunciations of the name:

  • American Heritage Dictionary: /kəˈmeɪniː, xɑː-, ˈxɑːmeɪˌneɪ/ kə-MAY-nee, kha-, KHA-may-NAY;[29]
  • Collins English Dictionary: /ˌxɑːməˈniː/ KHAH-mə-NEE;[30]
  • Dictionary.com: /ˌxɑːməˈneɪ, -ˈniː, ˌkɑː-/ K(H)AH-mə-NAY, -⁠NEE;[31]
  • Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary: /xɑːmeɪˈneɪ/ khah-MAY-nay;[32]
  • Pronouncing Dictionary of Proper Names: /xɑːˈmɛniː, hɑːˈmiːniː/ kha-MEH-nee, hah-MEE-nee;[33]
  • VOA Pronunciation Guide: /hɑːmɛneɪˈiː/ hah-meh-nay-EE.[34]

By contrast, "komonny" is considered by Max Fisher of The Washington Post to be an egregious mispronunciation.[35]

See also

  • Family tree of Ali
  • Wealth of the Khamenei family
  • Mohammad Khiabani
  • Politics of Iran

References

  1. ^ Ganjineh-Daneshmandan (scientists' treasures). Vol. 127. Sharif-Razi. p. 7.
  2. ^ Biography of Ayatollah Khamenei radiofarda.com Retrieved 21 September 2019
  3. ^ MarkazeAsnade EnqelanEslami --Arshiv (Document Center Archive), No. 1225
  4. ^ Khamenei Family -- Ayatollah Khamenei ghadeer.org Retrieved 2 October 2019
  5. ^ a b "Descent and parents of Ayatollah Khamenei". basirat.ir. Retrieved 23 September 2019.
  6. ^ "Family of Khamenei -- Biography of Ayatollah Khamenei". leader.ir. Retrieved 23 September 2019.
  7. ^ "Family tree of Iran's supreme leader - Seyyed Ali Khamenei". nafee.ir. Retrieved 23 September 2019.
  8. ^ "Checking family-tree of the Supreme leader of Iran (Khamenei) -- Ma'aref Radio". rasanews.ir. Retrieved 22 September 2019.
  9. ^ "Family tree of Iran's supreme leader, Seyyed Ali Khamenei". aparat.com. Retrieved 22 September 2019.
  10. ^ Pure tree (al-Shajarah al-Tayebbah), Seyyed Fazel al-Mousavi al-Safavi (Khalkhali-Zadeh)
  11. ^ "Dynasty -- Biography of Ayatollah Khamenei". khamenei.ir. Retrieved 22 September 2019.
  12. ^ "Parents of Iran's supreme leader". yjc.ir. Retrieved 21 September 2019.
  13. ^ a b "Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei Fast Facts". cnn.com. 30 December 2012. Retrieved 21 September 2019.
  14. ^ "Ali Khamenei -- RAHBAR OF IRAN". britannica.com. Retrieved 21 September 2019.
  15. ^ "Khamenei -- Azeris media". yjc.ir. Retrieved 21 September 2019.
  16. ^ "Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is dead, state media says". BBC News. 1 March 2026. Retrieved 1 March 2026.
  17. ^ Institute of Contemporary History Studies of Iran
  18. ^ Who are Ayatollah Khamenei's relatives? bbc.com Retrieved 3 October 2019
  19. ^ Knowing dynasty of Seyyed Ali Khamenei (Iran's supreme leader) Archived 21 September 2019 at the Wayback Machine shabestan.ir Retrieved 21 September 2019
  20. ^ "About The Author -- Ayatollah Sayyid Ali Khamenei". al-islam.org. 15 October 2015. Retrieved 21 September 2019.
  21. ^ "Ancestors of Ayatollah Khamenei". hawzahnews.com. 5 July 2014. Retrieved 22 September 2019.
  22. ^ Aqa Buzurg Tihrani, al-Dhari'a, vol. 2, p. 640
  23. ^ "Knowing ancestors of Ayatollah Khamenei's parents". navideshahed.com. Retrieved 28 September 2019.
  24. ^ "Genealogy (family-tree) of Ayatollah Khamenei". cloob.com/. Retrieved 22 September 2019.[permanent dead link]
  25. ^ "Ancestors of Ayatollah Khamenei". navideshahed.com. Retrieved 23 September 2019.
  26. ^ 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."
  27. ^ "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.
  28. ^ 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.
  29. ^ "Khamenei". The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (5th ed.). HarperCollins. Retrieved 5 March 2026.
  30. ^ "Khamenei". Collins English Dictionary. HarperCollins. OCLC 1120411289. Retrieved 5 March 2026.
  31. ^ "Khamenei". Dictionary.com Unabridged (Online). n.d. Retrieved 5 March 2026.
  32. ^ "Khamenei". Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary. Merriam-Webster. OCLC 1032680871. Retrieved 5 March 2026.
  33. ^ Bollard, John K., ed. (1998). "Khamenei". Pronouncing Dictionary of Proper Names. Detroit, MI: Omnigraphics. ISBN 978-0-7808-0098-4.
  34. ^ "KHAMENEI, AYATOLLAH ALI". pronounce.voanews.com. Retrieved 5 March 2025.
  35. ^ Fisher, Max (22 November 2013). "A guide to 26 foreign countries and names that Americans mispronounce". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 5 March 2026.

Bibliography

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