Hadi Khamenei (; born 26 January 1948) is an Iranian politician, mujtahid and linguist.(14 February 1999) Reformist Kin of Iran Leader is Attacked by Militants The New York Times He is a key member of the reformist Association of Combatant Clerics, and a former deputy of the Majlis of Iran representing a district in Tehran.Three editors of banned daily arrested over controversial cartoon Payvand
Background Khamenei is the younger brother of Iran's former Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, with whom he disagreed and from whom he was allegedly estranged.Zahedi, Dariush. The Iranian Revolution Then and Now: Indicators of Regime Instability Westview Press: 2001. p. 50.News related to Iran, Iranians and Persians FarsiNet News February 1999
Born to Javad Khamenei, an Iranian Azerbaijani cleric, and an ethnic Persian mother from Yazd, Hadi Khamenei grew up in the 1950s, one of eight siblings, spending his free time raising birds and playing sports. He says that his father did not force him into religious studies.Schneider, Howard. "Iran's Supreme Leader May Have to Follow; Khamenei and Other Conservative Clerics Will Be Key to the Pace of Reforms." The Washington Post. 27 February 2000, p. A25.
Politics Hadi Khamenei became a leading reformer in the 1990s, putting him at odds with his older brother, whose official position he criticized as having too much power. Hadi Khamenei was an important adviser to reformist President Mohammad Khatami.frontline: terror and tehran: inside iran: by popular demand - iranian elections, 1997-2001 PBS He was a deputy minister in the 1980s.Ehteshami, Anoushiravan. After Khomeini: The Iranian Second Republic. Routledge: 1995 p. 63.
Aside from Association of Combatant Clerics, Hadi Khamenei is Secretary-general of the Assembly of the Forces of Imam's Line.Iran elections: Key people and parties BBC 17 February 2004
"The political right in this country say that the supreme leader is above the law, that he can change the law, that he can decree anything he feels is right. Those powers can cause a dictatorship," he told American author Robin Wright in a 2000 interview in Tehran. Khamenei argues that the Guardian Council's vetting of candidates threatens Iranian democracy. He believes that some reformist candidates are wrongly kept from running.Khamenei's brother attacks reformist purge BBC 12 January 2000 In 1998, the Guardian Council rejected Hadi Khamenei's candidacy for a seat in the Assembly of Experts,RFE/RL Iran Report. Candidates rejected and Guardians criticized Global Security allegedly for having "insufficient theological qualifications."
Attack In the 1990s, Hadi Khamenei spoke at seminaries across Iran and launched a reformist newspaper to provide alternative coverage to the state media. In late 1990s, hard-line opponents of the reform movement, organized a campaign targeted at him, by physically attacking him during lectures which were critical of the hard-line leadership, (he required hospitalization for head injuries suffered at a Qom mosque), banning his newspaper, disqualifying him from running for the Assembly of Experts.Wright, Robin, Sacred Rage, Simon and Schuster, (2001), p.283. On 11 February 1999, around one hundred people attacked Hadi Khamenei in Qom. The attackers fractured his skull.Arrests for political violence The New York Times The mob used "stones, sticks, iron rods and shoes" to attack Khamenei."Reformist Kin of Iran Leader Is Attacked by Militants The New York Times. (14 February 1999) The Iranian police arrested 45 people who were suspected to be involved in the attack.
The editors of the newspapers Salam, Khordad, Sobh-i Imruz, Hamshahri, Akhbar, Iran, Etelaat, Iran News, Zan, Arya, and Kar va Kargar signed a letter condemning the attack on Hadi Khamenei.RFE/RL Iran Report Global Security The Ministry of Islamic Guidance and Culture and the "Society of Lecturers and Researchers at Qom's Theological Seminary" also condemned the attack.
Some conservatives blamed Khamenei for the attack. The member of the Iranian Parliament Rajab Rahmani argued that Hadi Khamenei staged the attack to get attention and pity. Mohammad Mohajeri of the Kayhan newspaper suggested that Hadi Khamenei's comments were "the root cause of violence."
Newspapers Khamenei was the publisher of various newspapers, including Hayat-e-No. The Special Court for the Clergy, a tribunal appointed by the Supreme Leader, accused Hayat-e-No of "press offenses." Ayatollah's brother faces court summons BBC News The newspaper was accused of insulting Ruhollah Khomeini in a cartoon. In parliament, Hadi Khamenei said that he would have rather died than be accused of insulting the imam.Middle East | Cartoon sparks mass Iran protests BBC News The Special Court for Clergy temporarily banned Hayat-e No in January 2000.Three editors of banned daily arrested over controversial cartoon Payvand According to the Guardian, Hayat-e No is a reliable paper.Bin Laden's No 2 'captured in Iran' The Guardian Financial Times stated that Hayat-e No was a pro-reform daily.Dinmore, Guy (11 September 2000). "Blow to Iran pro-reform media": [London edition]. Financial Times, p. 08. The paper was banned in December 2009 by the Press Supervisory Board "for working outside the regulations".
Hadi Khamenei's other newspaper, Jahan-e Islam, was shut down in 1995. The newspaper was accused of insulting Islamic beliefs and publishing false information. According to The New York Times, Jahan-e Islam was a moderate daily. However, in 1995, The New York Times characterized Jahan-e Islam, as a "hard-line Islamic newspaper.""World News Briefs; Hard-Line Islamic Paper Is Banned by Iran.(Foreign Desk)." The New York Times. (13 February 1995).
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