Newspaper Takes Heat For It’s Bizarre Description Of Iran’s Ayatollah Khamenei

The Washington Post is under fire after its obituary for Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei described the longtime authoritarian ruler as having a “bushy white beard and an easy smile” — language that critics say softens the image of a man widely blamed for decades of repression, terror sponsorship, and bloodshed.

Khamenei was killed Saturday in Tehran during a sweeping U.S.-Israeli military campaign dubbed Operation Epic Fury. The coordinated offensive targeted top Iranian leadership and key military infrastructure. Israeli forces reportedly struck Khamenei’s compound directly, reducing it to rubble.

But it wasn’t just the historic nature of the strike that grabbed attention. It was how one of America’s most influential newspapers chose to remember the man who ruled Iran for more than three decades.

“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,” the Post wrote, noting his fondness for Persian poetry and even Victor Hugo’s Les Misérables. The obituary did acknowledge that he opposed political reforms and rapprochement with the United States and that he was responsible for thousands of deaths.

Still, the tone ignited a political firestorm.

Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, reacted bluntly: “This is sick.”

Others echoed that sentiment across social media. Jennifer Sey, founder of XX-XY Athletics, called the paragraph “peak TDS,” accusing the paper of bending over backward in its portrayal of a regime leader long viewed by U.S. officials as a central sponsor of terrorism.

Actor James Woods posted, “This is not satire,” quoting the description that many critics argued read more like a character sketch than the obituary of a hardline theocrat.

The backlash also revived memories of a 2019 controversy when the Post referred to ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi as an “austere religious scholar” after he was killed during President Donald Trump’s first term. Critics say the similarities are hard to ignore.