CAIRO (AP) — Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei crushed the protests that swept across the country last month, but only by unleashing the bloodiest crackdown of his nearly four decades in power.

Now, with an American flotilla nearby, the 86-year-old Khamenei is trying to avert a potential US attack. He has warned that if US President Donald Trump strikes, a regional war will ensue. At the same time, he is allowing Iran to enter negotiations with the US over its nuclear program, reversing his previous rejection of talks.

The ferocious suppression of the protests is a sign of how deep a threat Khamenei and Iran’s leadership see in the widespread popular anger. Years of sanctions, economic mismanagement and corruption have gutted Iran’s economy, hitting its once-large middle class hard. Chants of “Death to Khamenei!” during January’s protests underscored how economic woes have turned to resentment of clerical rule.

Popular discontent is not the only strain on the theocratic system that Khamenei heads. Israeli and US bombardment during last summer’s 12-day war heavily damaged Iran’s nuclear program, missile systems and military capabilities. And Iran’s network of regional proxy terror groups that includes Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon — dubbed the “Axis of Resistance” — has crumbled in recent years, setting back its ability to wield influence across the Middle East.

Still, Iran’s domestic crackdown displayed the iron grip that Khamenei and his Revolutionary Guard are capable of imposing. Thousands were killed, tens of thousands were arrested and the internet was shut down, largely cutting off Iranians from communicating with the outside world for weeks.

Here’s what to know about Khamenei:

When he rose to power in 1989, Khamenei had to overcome deep doubts about his authority. A low-level cleric at the time, Khamenei didn’t have the religious credentials of his predecessor, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the leader of the Islamic Revolution. With thick glasses and a plodding style, Khamenei also lacked Khomeini’s fiery charisma.

But........

© The Times of Israel