The story

People in the crowd sang songs of tribute as they waited.

When he arrived, they stood and welcomed him in unison: "Praise be to God and to his prophet, Mohammed."

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran's supreme leader for two decades, took the stage during Friday prayers at Tehran University with a few notes on small pieces of paper in his left hand. He leaned on the lectern with his right arm, crippled in an 1981 assassination attempt.

He was ready to put an end to a week of unrest.

First, a sermon about the dangers of division and disunity, using the language of Islam. Then came secular sentences, decidedly direct. Read full article »

All About Ayatollah Ali KhameneiMahmoud AhmadinejadIran

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