Posted on 03/01/2026 8:04:32 AM PST by DFG
In the wake of Iranian Supreme Leader Aylatollah Khamenei coming down with a killer headache after getting a U.S. warhead on his forehead, on Saturday, The Washington Post published one of their infamous glowing remembrances of Islamic terrorists. The paper fondly remembered the brutal Islamic dictator as a “avuncular figure” with an “easy smile” and love for “Persian poetry.”
Readers might remember when The Post fluffed up the former leader of ISIS as an “austere religious scholar”; well, they're back at it again with Khamenei in their obituary titled: “Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader, is dead at 86.”
The sub-headline brushed over Khamenei’s authoritarian rule: “He played a behind-the-scenes role in Iran’s Islamic revolution, served as president in the 1980s and dominated the country for more than three decades.”
“Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the Shiite Muslim cleric who played a behind-the-scenes role in Iran’s Islamic revolution, served two terms as president in the 1980s and dominated the country for more than three decades as supreme leader, was killed Saturday as Israel and the United States launched a joint attack on Iran. He was 86,” wrote William Branigin.
After noting the recent protests and the deadly crackdowns by the regime, The Post aided Khamenei’s framing that Trump was responsible for the death of the protesters:
He had previously called on Iranians to rise up and pledged U.S. backing after widespread anti-government demonstrations broke out in December.
(…)
Security forces responded by launching a bloody crackdown, killing more than 6,800 protesters and detaining tens of thousands. Ayatollah Khamenei blamed the carnage on Trump, denouncing him as a “criminal” who “openly encouraged” the protesters by promising U.S. military support.
Branigin waxed poetic about the brutal dictator by complimenting his smile and uncle like appearance and ridiculously pushed a claim that he was a secret moderate:
With his bushy white beard and easy smile, Ayatollah Khamenei cut a more avuncular figure in public than his perpetually scowling but much more revered mentor, and he was known to be fond of Persian poetry and classic Western novels, especially Victor Hugo’s “Les Misérables.”
(…)
Some Iranians who knew Ayatollah Khamenei before he became supreme leader described him as a “closet moderate,” Karim Sadjadpour, a leading researcher on Iran with the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, wrote in a 2008 study.
The Post seemed to take Khamenei at his word that he didn’t want nuclear weapons:
Ayatollah Khamenei embraced nuclear energy while insisting that Iran would not seek nuclear weapons, which he declared to be forbidden by Islam. But he adamantly refused to give up Iran’s uranium-enrichment program, which he regarded as a hallmark of scientific prowess, independence and national pride.
The “democracy dies in darkness” paper also lashed out at Trump for giving Khamenei ammunition to dismiss democracy:
After Trump lost the 2020 election, Ayatollah Khamenei said its chaotic aftermath, marked by Trump’s baseless fraud claims, illustrated “the ugly face of liberal democracy” in the United States and made clear the country’s “definite political, civil [and] moral decline.”
On the Iran-Iraq War, Branigin touted: “Ayatollah Khamenei helped guide the country through the brutal Iran-Iraq war of the 1980s.” Of course, he omitted all mention of Iran giving children plastic “keys to paradise” and sending them into Saddam Hussein’s minefields and poison gas.
As for The New York Times’ obituary for Khamenei, their language was rightly critical of the brutal leader throughout. Although, their headline had caused many to believe otherwise: “Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Hard-Line Cleric Who Made Iran a Regional Power, Is Dead at 86.”
Dear FRiends,
We need your continuing support to keep FR funded. Your donations are our sole source of funding. No sugar daddies, no advertisers, no paid memberships, no commercial sales, no gimmicks, no tax subsidies. No spam, no pop-ups, no ad trackers.
If you enjoy using FR and agree it's a worthwhile endeavor, please consider making a contribution today:
Click here: to donate by Credit Card
Or here: to donate by PayPal
Or by mail to: Free Republic, LLC - PO Box 9771 - Fresno, CA 93794
Thank you very much and God bless you,
Jim
And Hitler loved dogs.
He was just getting his life together by starting a rap career.
……..so kind of like Smiley Mamdani?
I swear, I have to look every time, because this sounds just like the Babylon Bee!
🤢 🤮
🤢 🤮
“But his Turban was perfect!”
There once was a Jew from Nantucket
So I killed him.
OK, it scans better in Persian.
Did they discuss his deep concern for the average Iranian’s struggle with ‘affordability’?
the psychopaths at the Washington Post write flattering obituaries about other psychopaths
Not the bee
Not the bee
Have they announced when they are having his Celebration of Life?
So this is a crap article. I was in the Army in West Germany when our embassy was overrun and our personnel were taken...
But here is the question I have regarding strike details: Did we formally break off and inform Iran that we were going to attack, or did we do what Japan did and attack as negotiations were ongoing. It is a serious question. I have no regard for the Iranian Government. I did have friends in college in the mid to late 70s that were very fearful of the Shah and SAVAK—although they were not supporters of the IR (Islamic Revolution)
So, if anyone can answer regarding the timing—I am just concerned that our country attacked ala “Pearl Harbor” Otherwise, our flyers and sailors have so far did a job well done.
Killing tens of thousands of his own citizens and forcing women to wear burlap bags head to toe brought such joy to his heart. His laughter was infectious. As was his lice.
“WashPost Touts Khamenei as Man With an ‘Easy Smile’ and Love of ‘Poetry’”
Follow the DAMN RULES here, PLEASE.
When you post something from Babylon Bee, you need to give them the attribution, not the Washington Post.
(just kidding)
Just when you thought the people at the Post couldn’t get more despicable.
Male in search of Male. Bottoms. Likes long walks on the beach, poetry, and rainy lazy Sundays at home with the weekend Times.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.