This page is subject to the extended confirmed restriction related to the Arab-Israeli conflict. The following Wikimedia Commons file used on this page or its Wikidata item has been nominated for deletion: Meeting of the families of the martyrs of the authority with the Leader of the Revolution on the birthday of Amir al-Mu'minin (peace be upon him) 58 (khamenei.ir, 2026) (cropped 3).jpg Participate in the deletion discussion at the nomination page. —Community Tech bot (talk) 00:51, 15 January 2026 (UTC) — Jamie Eilat (talk) 00:24, 1 March 2026 (UTC) I endorse this request (as extended-confirmed), which is changing a link in a live story from one to its live home-page to one to the specific article relevant to the claim. Departure– (talk) 00:44, 1 March 2026 (UTC) Thanks for the suggestion! One small detail, it doesn't mention Trump's announcement being on Truth Social (although the very next post in the chain does), is that okay? The citation is used in two places, once as a more general overview (for which this would work) and once to source the Truth Social announcement. Should it be split in two, or kept as suggested? Chaotic Enby (talk · contribs) 01:04, 1 March 2026 (UTC) Citation is now only being used once for the Truth Social announcement, so I have pointed that source to that specific post in the chain. Chessrat (talk, contributions) 22:12, 1 March 2026 (UTC) Put cause of death as "Assasination by airstrike" in the infobox Yessyesss (talk) 01:50, 1 March 2026 (UTC) Let's keep the cause blank for now until we know more details - non-zero chance of suicide. Rooves 13 (talk) 01:54, 1 March 2026 (UTC) Well someone's gone and added it in anyways. 🚂ThatTrainGuy1945 Peep peep! 02:11, 1 March 2026 (UTC) Given WP:ASSASSINATION, and the current crop of articles simply referring to his death or killing, I'm not convinced that the COMMONNAME criteria is met. Denotatively, this is an assassination, but the guidance for the use of the term in this case has not been satisfied. I'd move for "Killing of". GlitchyRijndael (talk) 15:30, 1 March 2026 (UTC) The term "assassination" carries significant negative imputation and should be avoided unless it is being widely used in reliable sources. This is well established over numerous discussions including the various debates over whether or not to refer to the multiple attempts on the life of Donald Trump as assassination attempts. Consensus has consistently come down against the use of the term in wiki-voice absent its widespread use by reliable independent sources. The subsection should be renamed using the neutral term "death." As of this comment I'm only seeing a handful of RS sources using that term. Most are referring to his death. -Ad Orientem (talk) 02:14, 1 March 2026 (UTC) Well I guess maaaaybe the discussion by some Wikipedians back in 2023-2024 over Qasem Soleimani might apply too. Depends on whether the strikes were secret (yes), targeted (regime change technically stated as cause), politically prominent (yes). Someone else is welcome to destroy my arguments. I welcome it. Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk:Assassination_of_Qasem_Soleimani#Change_article_name_to_%22Killing_of_Qasem_Soleimani%22 🚂ThatTrainGuy1945 Peep peep! 02:27, 1 March 2026 (UTC) Note: I have opened a discussion on the talk page of the main article over his killing. -Ad Orientem (talk) 02:32, 1 March 2026 (UTC) Thanks, 🚂ThatTrainGuy1945 Peep peep! I am editing to "killing" as per the present state of that discussion. If the weight of reportage in reliable sources changes over time then it can be changed to assassinated but for now it is too loaded. Emmentalist (talk) 06:43, 1 March 2026 (UTC) I have edited again to insert 'by US and Israeli forces'. That is stronger than 'death' or 'killing by itself but assassination not yet justifiable as per reliable reportage. Emmentalist (talk) 06:51, 1 March 2026 (UTC) "This is well established over numerous discussions including the various debates over whether or not to refer to the multiple attempts on the life of Donald Trump as assassination attempts." There weren't any debates, stop purposefully making things complicated for your own political ideology, it's selfish and embarrassing especially in a crowdfunded environment, you can do better. There weren't any 'debates', it was pretty widely agree'd upon. The only people saying otherwise were those that were trying to mock or downplay the attempts. Khamenei is dead and even got the confirmation from the president himself, this isn't even a discussion. T.E. Haverford (talk) 20:38, 1 March 2026 (UTC) I think the constant re-edits to reinsert "assassinated" without discussion (there is extensive discussion here and an associated article) amounts to edit-warring. I tried to insert a warning here but succeeded only in warning myself (!) - I've deleted that as it was clearly not my purpose. I'd appreciate it if more experienced editors took a view. Emmentalist (talk) 08:05, 1 March 2026 (UTC) Note I have opened a move discussion at Talk:Assassination of Ali Khamenei. -Ad Orientem (talk) 15:37, 1 March 2026 (UTC) Consensus has been, for several years now, to replace images of world leaders/notable people with older images of them to better represent them after they have died. Perhaps Khamenei's article should follow in this path? Cheers, atque supra! Fakescientist8000 02:06, 1 March 2026 (UTC) I don't think it's older images per se, so much so as official images of their reigns or times in office or whatever it is that might best represent them in the public consciousness. But, uh, yeah, we should get an official image like the one we have for his predecessor. — Javert2113 (Siarad.|¤) 02:11, 1 March 2026 (UTC) Very fair point. It just so happens to be that, in cases such as Khamenei where the reign lasts multiple generations, the (subjectively) more official portraits tend to be older. Cheers, atque supra! Fakescientist8000 16:34, 1 March 2026 (UTC) What do we think of this one? Semi-official, at least, from 2017. Large enough and high-quality photo. Going to need consensus to make changes, and I'll happily opt for an official portrait, if there is one. — Javert2113 (Siarad.|¤) — Javert2113 (Siarad.|¤) 02:18, 1 March 2026 (UTC) I would agree. It's similar to that of US Supreme Court Justices, most of their images are official ones from over a decade ago. UserMemer (chat) Tribs 02:22, 1 March 2026 (UTC) Acceptable image, we can use it. ―Howard • 🌽33 02:23, 1 March 2026 (UTC) Support. High-quality, semi-official. 🚂ThatTrainGuy1945 Peep peep! 02:28, 1 March 2026 (UTC) Support. I’m following WP:GOTFRYD now, he was ahead of state and the photo should be changed as it was for Elizabeth II and others. Thank you— wikipediahistorian3516 (talk) 02:31, 1 March 2026 (UTC) Support JimboGimmeJoe (talk) 02:36, 1 March 2026 (UTC) Support – always looks better to use a recognizable official portrait for deceased individuals. estar8806 (talk) ★ 02:46, 1 March 2026 (UTC) Support, definitely better than the current image. Chessrat (talk, contributions) 03:08, 1 March 2026 (UTC) Support. High-quality and possibly the best official-like image for infobox. PLATEL (talk) 08:14, 1 March 2026 (UTC) Support, basically the same appearance as present Sahib-e-Qiran, EasternShah 15:10, 1 March 2026 (UTC) I suppose now we have to invoke WP:GOTFRYD, my new name for this phenomenon. ―Howard • 🌽33 02:22, 1 March 2026 (UTC) @Howardcorn33: Agreed. Would love for my terrible explanation to be added to the essay, wink, wink. But, yeah, I'll wait a bit longer for consensus (it's only been a few minutes, anyway). — Javert2113 (Siarad.|¤) 02:26, 1 March 2026 (UTC) The essay is somewhat incomplete, I'll add a few details now. ―Howard • 🌽33 02:38, 1 March 2026 (UTC) if anything, I think it should be the picture the most people would recognize as that individual. In the given example of Elizabeth, except for people born before the Korean War era, most of us have known her as an "old lady" pretty much all our lives. If the picture of young her was shown to most people around the world with zero context or familiarity with the clothes, they'd have no clue who she was. Slowpoke1 (talk) 03:09, 1 March 2026 (UTC) Luckily, once the beard turned grey, he didn't change that much. 🚂ThatTrainGuy1945 Peep peep! 03:12, 1 March 2026 (UTC) The essay specifies a younger age than from their age at death, not a young age. ―Howard • 🌽33 03:17, 1 March 2026 (UTC) Joy, there is a essay for this... (Still annoyed we switched the Elizabeth picture from a recognizable one to an unrecognizable one.) --Super Goku V (talk) 04:08, 1 March 2026 (UTC) I am still trawling through our images on Commons for better photos of Khamenei in his prime. More than happy to offer a few choices in an RfC later. — Javert2113 (Siarad.|¤) 02:43, 1 March 2026 (UTC) Did some digging on Commons for some decent porraits of him from his time as Supreme Leader (so nothing pre-1989) for consideration: Most of the photos on Commons of his early tenure as Supreme Leader until the early 2000s or so aren't that good until they actually become more portrait quality Iostn (talk) 22:59, 1 March 2026 (UTC) Please change "Manner Of Death" in the infobox to "Cause of Death" for uniformity WikiSantaClaus (talk) 02:23, 1 March 2026 (UTC) I was going to change it, but manner is circumstances. Cause is direct. He could have "done a furher" during or right before/after the strikes. Once an autopsy or reporting comes in, then it can be changed. 🚂ThatTrainGuy1945 Peep peep! 02:35, 1 March 2026 (UTC) Agreed. Cause is very specific, as if on a coroner's report. Let's hold off on anything till the autopsy arrives. — Javert2113 (Siarad.|¤) 02:35, 1 March 2026 (UTC) Agreed. the cheerleaders can survive a couple weeks without the page supporting them crediting Trump with a big beautiful victory until its medically verified. Slowpoke1 (talk) 02:58, 1 March 2026 (UTC) Agreed WikiSantaClaus (talk) 03:09, 1 March 2026 (UTC) What photograph should we use for the subject? — Javert2113 (Siarad.|¤) 04:47, 1 March 2026 (UTC) After trawling through several hours' worth of photographs of the man, I've realized that basically all of the images on his website were uploaded onto Commons, and that he really liked blue and green as backgrounds. Huh. Anyway, feel free to choose. And thank you for your attention! Pings for the following editors from above: (Memer15151—Howardcorn33—ThatTrainGuy1945—Noah3500—JimboGimmeJoe—estar8806—Chessrat—Slowpoke1) — Javert2113 (Siarad.|¤) 04:29, 1 March 2026 (UTC) I don't think we need to debate on this, the images are barely different and the initial image proposed above already received much support. ―Howard • 🌽33 04:32, 1 March 2026 (UTC) G; or, failing that, C, then H: if I can open the voting with my own vote. — Javert2113 (Siarad.|¤) 04:32, 1 March 2026 (UTC) I honestly always meant that one to be a stopgap, Howard, pending a further RfC. — Javert2113 (Siarad.|¤) 04:33, 1 March 2026 (UTC) Option A. The subject is centered with the flag of Iran in the background, and there are no distractions in the background area. The timing of the photograph is not a big concern since all of the proposals are within around a decade of each other and his look didn't change much then. Option A is the only option that does not have any distracting elements, has an official feel to it, has lighting that would work well for a portrait, has the subject looking near the camera, and the overall composition fits for its purpose. UserMemer (chat) Tribs 04:36, 1 March 2026 (UTC) My secondary choice would be E because it also has a semi-official look to it with the flag in the background, and the lighting/positioning works well. UserMemer (chat) Tribs 04:39, 1 March 2026 (UTC) Comment - My views have not changed from above, and H seems to be slightly off center, with him not looking at the camera. 🚂ThatTrainGuy1945 Peep peep! 04:46, 1 March 2026 (UTC) I would not support that one. 🚂ThatTrainGuy1945 Peep peep! 04:46, 1 March 2026 (UTC) I agree, and the proximity of Khamenei to the camera in that photo makes it look really small. UserMemer (chat) Tribs 14:37, 1 March 2026 (UTC) Personally my pick's between option a or option e as they arent distracting from the main focus of the portrait, and they both have the Iran flag clearly visible. if that doesnt work then my third option would be f. JimboGimmeJoe (talk) 04:56, 1 March 2026 (UTC) A younger one of him in the 80s or 90s would be ideal but Option A is good. TDKR Chicago 101 (talk) 05:15, 1 March 2026 (UTC) The facial expression on Option A looks honestly silly.. I'd say F and B are really good. Maybe an older pic? I just wish we got something like all this but from the 1980s or 1990s. Nurken (talk) 05:24, 1 March 2026 (UTC) So, about that (TDKR Chicago 101—Nurken) This photo exists, as does this one. Not sure if either would work, necessarily, given the lower quality. — Javert2113 (Siarad.|¤) — Javert2113 (Siarad.|¤) 05:40, 1 March 2026 (UTC) I'm aware of the first one (I've used it on a Kazakh Wikipedia article back one day). I like the second one. I was thinking about something like this. Nurken (talk) 05:48, 1 March 2026 (UTC) A bit small, but I like it! I'm going to turn in, though—but I do like that one! — Javert2113 (Siarad.|¤) 05:51, 1 March 2026 (UTC) A or B, last resort C wikipediahistorian3516 (talk) 12:25, 1 March 2026 (UTC) C: C is neutral. no distractions in the background. GrandDukeMarcelo (talk) 12:36, 1 March 2026 (UTC) A then E Sahib-e-Qiran, EasternShah 15:13, 1 March 2026 (UTC) I don't think that 'I' should have been included in this discussion because Khamenei was most significant, or reached the prime of his life, after becoming leader. There is a guideline somewhere that encourages reducing options before a RFC Sahib-e-Qiran, EasternShah 17:52, 1 March 2026 (UTC) @EasternShah: I agree, and I wish to state for the record that option "I" was not one of my original choices. I tried my best to winnow the best choices of the subject during his prime, and the original eight were the best I could find. — Javert2113 (Siarad.|¤) 17:55, 1 March 2026 (UTC) None, retain current image An encyclopedia is neither a shrine to martyrdom nor a hagiography, we do not need to present the subject in a more flattering light just because he's dead. Osama bin Laden's current infobox has the same image as it did on 1 May 2011. Zaathras (talk) 15:25, 1 March 2026 (UTC) Right, but as is mentioned in the Gotfryd essay, some figures, even before death, do not use the newest available photographs. That's what happened with bin Laden, his photograph wasn't from a month before his death. For Khamenei, this is not the case; his photograph is one of the most recent available. We don't need to represent people after they die with the most recent image because it doesn't represent their current state anymore; instead, we should find a photograph that represents them most clearly and near the peak of their importance. UserMemer (chat) Tribs 15:34, 1 March 2026 (UTC) as is mentioned in the Gotfryd essay, I don't give a rat's flaming sphincter about some random essay that you and a friend concocted less than a week ago. It has no weight or bearing on how we edit biographies of the recently deceased. It's just an opinion, don't try to pass it off as something it ain't. Death should not alter the choosing of an infobox image. Zaathras (talk) 01:15, 2 March 2026 (UTC) After one's life is over, one can not become significant for any additional things (in most cases). Thus, it makes sense to think about when the subject (of the biography) in question was most significant, and to propose images that reflect that. Sahib-e-Qiran, EasternShah 01:23, 2 March 2026 (UTC) I cited the essay in the first because it was of legitimate relevance here in a logical manner. I was talking about how you mentioned "Osama bin Laden's current infobox has the same image as it did on 1 May 2011" as if it was a counterexample, but the essay itself already says it's not a strict rule, which is why we are trying to gain a consensus here. I wasn't citing the essay as an opinion, but rather to bring up a point about how some people's image don't change because the article therefor never fell accustomed to changing the lead image to the most recent, such as bin Laden's entry. UserMemer (chat) Tribs 01:42, 2 March 2026 (UTC) Additonally, we do see this happen in similar figures. Take Muamar Gaddafi, for example. UserMemer (chat) Tribs 16:22, 1 March 2026 (UTC) A is the best in my opinion, he's centered and it doesn't look staged like E. Theodore Christopher (talk) 16:17, 1 March 2026 (UTC) Either A or I fit into Khameini's infobox very well. Cheers, atque supra! Fakescientist8000 16:33, 1 March 2026 (UTC) Option A. High-quality, includes flag, centered, no background distractions. PLATEL (talk) 17:48, 1 March 2026 (UTC) Option A, as the facial expression is neutral and the presence of the flag is fitting. Although D would be fine, too. I is the only one that definitely isn't suitable, since the image should be from the time when he was a head of state. It definitely should not be the current one (as of here) or the one before it (as of here), both of which seem to have captured him at moments when he was frowning or perhaps looking disgusted. This sort of thing clearly has a non-neutral effect, making the subject of the photo look 'villainous'. The last more or less neutral-looking one was the one here.--Anonymous44 (talk) 18:26, 1 March 2026 (UTC) Option A per Memer15151 (talk · contribs). Sophocrat (talk) 18:48, 1 March 2026 (UTC) In the process of archiving the talk page, several pending edit requests were added to the archive, which is causing them to appear in the maintenance category WP:SPER. These will need to be cleaned up by closing them, removing them, or moving them back to this page, though I'm not sure what the correct course of action here is. Courtesy ping @Safiel who performed the archival. Umby 🌕🐶 (talk) 05:18, 1 March 2026 (UTC) @UmbyUmbreon Thank you for pointing that out. I've gone and marked all as "answered" with a note that I was doing so to remove the maintenance category from the archive page EvergreenFir (talk) 06:35, 1 March 2026 (UTC) Air strikes with the help of gulf nations and us air bases located there are not mentioned. Requesting for a change ASAP ~2026-13282-66 (talk) 12:52, 1 March 2026 (UTC) Description of suggested change: ORIGINAL_WIKITEXT |2= | birth_place = Mashhad, Iran CHANGED_WIKITEXT | birth_place = Mashhad, Iran }} KreamoNoBrainos/Kreamy/Fat Man (talk) 13:55, 1 March 2026 (UTC) @Kreamymate Not done: We don't need to link the country. See MOS:GEOLINK and MOS:OL. Strugglehouse (talk) 15:09, 1 March 2026 (UTC) That's fine, personally I thought since others had it linked in their articles I thought that would be fine. KreamoNoBrainos/Kreamy/Fat Man (talk) 15:31, 1 March 2026 (UTC) Ali Hosseini Khamenei[e] (19 April 1939 – 28 February 2026) was an Iranian politician and Shia imam, who was the supreme leader of Iran from 1989 until his death in 2026. He was killed in a military strike that was a consequence of his own decisions. LHe previously served as the 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 the Middle East at the time of his death and the longest-serving Iranian leader since Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. ~2026-13359-36 (talk) 15:14, 1 March 2026 (UTC) Not done It's unclear what changes you want to be made, and that is already the lead paragraph. UserMemer (chat) Tribs 15:18, 1 March 2026 (UTC) I do understand what changes you want to be made, but we would only put "He was killed in a military strike that was a consequence of his own decisions" in the lead, if we had lots of reliable sources stating this and no reliable sources denying this. And in absence of this, we cannot write this text. Lova Falk (talk) 15:53, 1 March 2026 (UTC) ~2026-13246-10 (talk) 16:04, 1 March 2026 (UTC) Not done: it's not clear what changes you want made. Please detail the specific changes in a "change X to Y" format and provide a reliable source if appropriate. Sahib-e-Qiran, EasternShah 16:44, 1 March 2026 (UTC) he is not dead. Still alive ~2026-13413-08 (talk) 18:13, 1 March 2026 (UTC) Any evidence to support this? ~2026-13386-88 (talk) 18:47, 1 March 2026 (UTC) Not done: It is not clear what changes you would like us to make. Please detail the specific changes in a "change X to Y" format and provide a reliable source if appropriate. — Javert2113 (Siarad.|¤) 18:15, 1 March 2026 (UTC) Seems to me that per our guidelines of WP:NPOV and WP:MOSLEAD, that the lead ought to include a summary of the number of Iranians killed by the Iranian regime during the years he was "supreme leader." If we don't have exact numbers, Wikipedia norms would ordinarily simply show the well-sourced range. But it seems not-neutral to fail to mention these regime killings at all during his long rein in the top spot. N2e (talk) 00:22, 2 March 2026 (UTC) I suspect its probably because of article WP:FOCUS; the human rights abuses of the regime should be mentioned but the exact number during the regime in the lead doesn't seem WP:DUE. Khamenei's critics viewed him as a repressive despot responsible for repression, mass murders and other acts of injustice is probably enough for the lead. Sahib-e-Qiran, EasternShah 00:43, 2 March 2026 (UTC)