Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei stoked controversy over his claims that God once spoke through him, leading to sharp ridicule and criticism by Iranians on social media.
Iran's Leader Ali Khamenei, in his meeting with the family of slain IRGC-QF chief Qassem Soleimani, suggested that God speaks through his mouth.
"I delivered a very warm and eloquent speech, but I hadn't prepared it. God kept uttering the words. It was my mouth and God's words." pic.twitter.com/lnvJf4Z4L4— Iran International English (@IranIntl_En) January 2, 2024
The 84-year-old leader made these claims during a meeting with the family of slain IRGC operative and officer Qasem Soleimani on December 31st, just days before his 4th death anniversary on January 3rd.
He told a story about how God spoke through his mouth more than 20 years ago after he said his prayers while in the company of some 20 IRGC commanders in a yard, where he sat on the steps and delivered a speech there.
"I delivered a very warm and eloquent speech, but I hadn't prepared it. God kept uttering the words. It was my mouth and God's words," Khamenei said.
"The Almighty God was speaking! In fact, it was my tongue, but it was God's words; it was a very extraordinary session,” Khamenei claimed, adding, “It had a significant impact.”
His first miracle was to turn the Iranian currency into s**t.
— ATARI (@atari74930106) January 2, 2024
His claim that God spoke through him can be considered blasphemous in Islamic theology, which teaches that Allah only communicated exclusively with the Prophet Muhammad. Shia oral traditions also don’t mention any event where God spoke to Imam Ali, the revered figure in Shia Islam and the designated successor of the Prophet, as Shia Muslims believe, or to any other saint.
Many Iranians who are critical of the regime pointed this out on social media. Iranian literary critic in exile and political commentator Faraj Sarkouhi wrote on X that "Megalomania, self-centeredness, self-deification, claiming to be a prophet or the voice of God, a sense of exceptional wisdom, and extreme narcissism are considered characteristics of despots at the end of their reigns. Despots gradually fall into the trap of power, oblivious to the fragility of authoritarian power."
Other social media users also considered Khamenei’s assertions to be blasphemous and contradictory to Islamic teachings, with one Iranian social media user arguing that “According to the Islamic Penal Code, which is used to suppress anti-government dissent, Khamenei's statements are punishable.”
@OfArakis - These statements by Khamenei are deeply troubling.
— Sonu Bhaskar (@DrSonuBhaskar) January 4, 2024
Another Iranian social media user echoed these sentiments and even pointed at the hypocrisy of the regime, writing on X that "If an ordinary person had uttered the same statement, they would have been executed on charges of blasphemy, insulting sanctities, insulting the Supreme Leader, blasphemy against the Imams, and more."
The reactions to this scandal among Iranian clerics and officials were limited, with the IRGC-affiliated Tasnim news website writing a rebuttal last January 2nd. An official from the Imam Khomeini’s foundation wrote in Tasnim that foreign-based, Persian-language media networks orchestrated attacks against Khamenei.
One of Khamenei’s close associates, Mehdi Fazaeli, who also serves as a member of the office for the preservation and dissemination of Khamenei's works, dismissed reports about the Supreme Leader’s illness on January 1st, describing them as "psychological operations by the enemies.”
