Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was no Pope

The Iranian community in Australia and abroad have reacted with deep concern to claims presented before the Royal Commission on Antisemitism and Social Cohesion by Dr Ali Alsamail, that portrayed Ali Khamenei as merely a religious figure comparable to the Pope and inferred that he had no structural connection to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

The Iranian diaspora community seeks to ensure that these demonstrably inaccurate claims do not remain unchallenged in the official record of one of Australia’s most consequential inquiries, following the most devastating terrorist attack in Australia’s modern history.

This is not a personal disagreement with a witness. It is a matter of factual accuracy, institutional integrity and national security. Misrepresenting the ideological and command structure of the Islamic Republic risks distorting the Commission’s understanding of the regime, the IRGC and the threat they pose within Australia and abroad.

The constitutional framework of the Islamic Republic explicitly outlines the role of the Supreme Leader. Article 5 of the constitution provides that, during the occultation of the “Mahdi” (Twelfth Imam), all political and religious authority is vested in the Supreme Leader, entrusted in leading the global “Islamic Revolution”:

“During the Occultation of the Wali al-Asr [Mahdi], the wilayah and leadership of the Ummah devolve upon the just [the Supreme Leader] faqih, who is fully aware of the circumstances of his age; courageous, resourceful, and possessed of administrative ability, will assume the responsibilities of this office…”