KHAMENI

The Supreme Leader is Wise.

Following the constitutional changes and inauguration of Khamenei, there were many media and official inquiries regarding the qualifications of Khamenei. Video clips of Khamenei admitting a possible lack of qualification and only being elected for one year promoted public tension surrounding his election, though this did not heavily affect his candidacy or position.

In the 1980s, according to the CS Monitor, Khamenei even once questioned the absolute power of the post of Supreme Leader which he now occupies. 

Video clip

On 8 January 2018, during the 2017–18 Iranian protests, a video from 1989 showing Ali Khamenei before the Assembly of Experts as part of the Supreme Leader elections saying he was not religiously qualified to be Supreme leader, prior to his appointment to the post. Khamenei, who was ranked as a Hujjat al-Islam and not a Marja’ as required by the Iranian constitution, said he would only be a “ceremonial leader”, and was reassured by Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani the position would be “temporary” until a referendum, apparently planned for one year later. The video went viral, and caused embarrassment to Khamenei as Iranian authorities were attempting to quell the protests.