SAEDNEWS: Just weeks after their marriage, the young couple faced seismic political shifts. Imam Khomeini was exiled to Turkey, and Ayatollah Khamenei found himself at the heart of a brewing resistance. This account, drawn from the book Sharh-e Esm, offers a rare glimpse into the early family and revolutionary life of Iran’s Supreme Leader.
According to Saed News, the political news service quoting Mashregh News, the following is an excerpt from Sharh-e Esm ("Name Narrative")—a biographical work detailing the life of Iran’s Supreme Leader from 1939 to 1979, authored by Hedayatollah Behboodi and published by the Institute for Political Studies and Research. The book was first unveiled at the Tehran International Book Fair but was temporarily pulled from circulation due to historical inaccuracies. It has since been corrected and re-released to the public.
The following is Chapter 67 of that book.
Not long after returning to Mashhad, Lady Khadijeh, who had been contemplating marriage for her second son, took initiative. She proposed a young woman raised in a traditional, religious family. She personally initiated the matchmaking process—just as she had done four or five years earlier for Seyyed Mohammad, her older son.
The bride’s father, Haj Mohammad Esma’il Khojasteh Baqerzadeh, was a devout and educated merchant in Mashhad. He agreed to the marriage of his daughter to the young cleric who had just returned from Qom and intended to settle in Mashhad. Ayatollah Milani and other religious leaders of Mashhad knew the groom well, vouched for his character, and held him in high regard. The marriage expenses assigned to the groom, according to agreement, were covered by Ayatollah Haj Seyyed Javad Khamenei and amounted to a modest sum. The costs of the ceremony were handled by the bride’s family, who were relatively affluent. “They were well-off—they could, and they did.”
In early autumn of 1964, Seyyed Ali Khamenei and Ms. Khojasteh were wed. The marriage ceremony was officiated by Ayatollah Milani. At just seventeen, this new companion entered the life of Mr. Khamenei, becoming a confidant, partner, and source of warmth through the turbulent valleys—and occasional peaks—of his political life. Invitations were printed, and the wedding was scheduled to be held at the bride’s family home on Paein Street. That night, Mr. Khamenei stood at the entrance, personally welcoming guests. The event was held in the style customary to religious and traditional families of the time.
Between the formal marriage and the couple moving in together, the new bride learned that her 25-year-old husband was already engaged in political struggle. “It may have been in the very first days… or weeks of our union… when he himself shared details of his political activities with me. Perhaps I had known beforehand that he was involved in political matters, but I viewed him as a seminary student admired and respected by religious elders and professors.”
—Seyyed Ali Khamenei
Only a few weeks had passed since their wedding when, on November 4, 1964 (13 Aban 1343), Haj Agha Ruhollah Khomeini was exiled to Turkey. News of the Imam’s potential exile had reached Mashhad several days earlier and was already being discussed in politically inclined circles, especially among the clergy. The looming threat prompted a group of clerics to urge Ayatollah Milani to issue a statement opposing the revocation of diplomatic immunity for American military advisors—i.e., the capitulation law.
On the afternoon of November 4, Mashhad’s security commission convened to assess the situation and prepare for any clerical opposition. A highly significant meeting was scheduled for the following day at the home of Ayatollah Seyyed Hassan Qomi. Security forces were aware of the upcoming gathering.
From 3 PM, a committee of scholars representing Ayatollah Qomi and Ayatollah Milani convened at Qomi’s residence, ending at 8 PM. A SAVAK informant reported that among those invited was Mr. Khamenei. That day, he told his wife: “I must go… and it’s possible… I won’t return; I may be imprisoned, or we may be killed.” He then shared the political developments with her. “I saw she was solid and ready to face these challenges.”
Ms. Mansoureh Khojasteh later said that her husband expressed these fears precisely on the day Imam Khomeini was arrested again, transported from Qom to Tehran, and then exiled to Turkey. Mr. Khamenei and others in Mashhad had been preparing to express their opposition. She added, “From that very day, I mentally prepared myself for the dangers that would come with my husband’s political struggle.”
Ayatollah Qomi’s son had informed Mr. Khamenei of the meeting and urged him to attend. It was at Qomi’s residence that the news of the Imam’s arrest and exile was confirmed. “It was like a bereavement to us, hearing that Ayatollah Khomeini had been taken once again.”
Aside from Ayatollah Milani, nearly all of Mashhad’s prominent clerics—such as Sheikh Mojtaba Qazvini, Sheikh Kazem Damghani, and Sheikh Gholamhossein Tabrizi—were present. Ayatollah Qomi shared the news and said action must be taken. The discussions began. Sheikh Gholamhossein Tabrizi made a comment that came off as somewhat conciliatory. Sheikh Mojtaba Qazvini couldn’t tolerate it and spoke out with firmness and clarity, dispelling any notion of inaction. “He spoke decisively and resolutely about the need for action, leaving no room for silence. ‘Something must be done… Resistance is necessary… There must be a response. Today they’ve taken Ayatollah Khomeini—tomorrow it will be someone else.’”
Mr. Khamenei, Mr. Vaez-Tabasi, and others also spoke during Sheikh Mojtaba Qazvini’s remarks. They agreed to go to Goharshad Mosque the following day to deliver speeches and rally public resistance. Mr. Khamenei accepted to be the event’s speaker and said he would announce a sit-in at the end of his speech.
“At the time, the ideas were raw and fragile… I don’t think we had even determined a concrete demand—like the release of Ayatollah Khomeini or a promise to free him… There was no clear plan.”
This idea was put forward by younger clerics present at Ayatollah Qomi’s house and accepted by Sheikh Mojtaba Qazvini and Seyyed Hassan Qomi. However, Mashhad’s police force, acting under provincial security commission orders, sealed off Goharshad Mosque before dawn. Neither entry nor exit was allowed. It was clear someone—possibly the SAVAK informant who attended the meeting—had informed security forces of the plan.
“We got up to go to Goharshad Mosque. We had a guest in those days—one of the scholars from Tabriz, Mr. Nasrollah Shabestari—who was staying at my father’s home. He had gone to the shrine before dawn, but they wouldn’t let him in. It became clear that, even before sunrise, police and military had surrounded the entire shrine. I was suspicious but not certain. My father tried to stop me from going… I stepped outside and saw, yes—at the bazaar entrance, officers were standing, not allowing anyone through. And so our plan was neutralized.”
