Mohammad Rasoulof, the celebrated Iranian filmmaker whose work has put him in deep conflict with authorities in Tehran, called Ayatollah Ali Khamenei “the most hated figure in the contemporary history of Iran” following the supreme leader’s death in a U.S. and Israeli military strike.
Khamenei, 86, was killed Saturday in a joint assault by the United States and Israel that targeted senior Iranian leadership and military infrastructure. Iran’s state-run news agency reported that the country’s chief of army staff and defense minister were also killed in the strikes.
In an Instagram post, Rasoulof described Khamenei’s death as insufficient reckoning for decades of repression.
“Death was a cheap end,” Rasoulof wrote, adding that Khamenei embodied “the darkest possible dimensions of modern human existence under the shelter of fake religion and holiness.”
The comments marked the first public reaction by a prominent Iranian director to Khamenei’s death.
Khamenei, Iran’s second supreme leader, had ruled since 1989. In recent months, he faced mounting domestic unrest, with protests intensifying amid economic hardship, corruption allegations and the impact of international sanctions. Iranian authorities were widely accused of violently suppressing demonstrations.
Rasoulof is among Iran’s most internationally recognized filmmakers, though his films have long been banned in his home country. In 2011, after his censorship-themed film “Goodbye” won two prizes at the Cannes Film Festival, he and fellow director Jafar Panahi were sentenced to six years in prison and handed 20-year bans on filmmaking for what authorities described as anti-regime propaganda. Rasoulof’s prison term was later suspended, and he was released on bail.
In 2017, Iranian officials confiscated his passport upon his return from the Telluride Film Festival, where his film “A Man of Integrity,” about corruption and injustice in Iran, had screened.
In May 2024, Rasoulof fled Iran for Germany after receiving a sentence of jail time and flogging order in connection with his latest film, “The Seed of the Sacred Fig,” which went on to win a special jury prize at Cannes.
The U.S. and Israeli assault continued into Monday, with additional strikes reported across Iran. Iranian forces responded with missiles and drones targeting Israel and Gulf states that host U.S. military bases.
In Tehran and abroad, news of Khamenei’s death prompted mixed reactions. Some residents celebrated in the streets with fireworks and dancing, while supporters of the late leader also staged protests of the joint military operation.
