When bomber blew self up, Khamenei had paused Friday sermon for just 3 minutes

In 1985, Iran's Ali Khamenei, then President, had survived an assassination bid while he was giving a Friday sermon at Tehran University. Thirty-nine years later, Khamenei delivered a Friday sermon for the first time in five years.

In Short

• Ayatollah Ali Khamenei leads rare Friday prayers in Tehran
• Friday sermon comes days before 1-year anniversary of Israel-Hamas war
• Khamenei escaped unhurt in a 1985 suicide bombing while giving sermon

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei led Friday prayers and delivered a rare sermon, his first in five years, after Tehran launched around 200 missiles on Israel amid escalating tensions in the Middle East. But, not many know that Khamenei, then President, had survived a suicide attack while delivering a sermon in 1985 and resumed his speech after pausing for three minutes.

Khamenei, who wields the highest authority as the Supreme Leader in Iran, led Muslims in prayer at the Imam Khomeini Grand Mosalla mosque in central Tehran on Friday. The rare Friday sermon came three days before the one-year anniversary of the Israel-Hamas war, triggered by the Iran-backed group's attack on Israel on October 7 last year. The war has also given rise to regional conflicts, including the Israel-Hezbollah conflict and the Israel-Iran conflict.

Khamenei last led Friday prayers in January 2020 after Iran fired missiles at a US army base in Iraq, in response to a strike that killed Revolutionary Guards commander Qassem Soleimani at Baghdad International Airport.

Following an Israeli airstrike which killed Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah in Beirut on September 27, Khamenei was shifted to a secure place. He was not seen in public for a couple of days before he met students and scientists on Wednesday, his first public appearance after he ordered missile attacks on Israel in retaliation for the Jewish nation's strikes on the Iran-backed Hezbollah, The Guardian reported.

Despite warnings from Israel to attack Iran in response to Tehran's missile barrage, Khamenei appeared at the Imam Khomeini Grand Mosalla mosque and led the Friday prayers. The suicide bombing which had targeted him 39 years ago had not hurt him.

On March 15, 1985, a suicide bomber with explosives strapped on his waist exploded at a packed Friday prayer session at Tehran University when Khamenei, then President, was delivering a sermon. The explosion had killed the bomber and several people, but Khamenei did not suffer any injuries.

After pausing for three minutes, Khamenei resumed his sermon amid 'Allahu Akbar' (God is great) chants from the crowd. He then blamed Iraq for attempting to assassinate him and warned that Iran would "answer every fist with a harder fist".

"We declare here and now that we are capable of retaliation against every action. If Iraq uses chemical weapons, we will give a firmer reply and be sure that we will do it," Khamenei had said shortly, The Los Angeles Times reported.

According to state-run IRNA, anti-aircraft fire was heard in many parts of Tehran minutes before the explosion. The suicide bombing had happened during the height of the Iran-Iraq war that went on for eight years from 1980 to 1988.

Khamenei's assassination attempt coincided with fighting between Iranian and Iraqi forces around the Howeiza marshes east of the Tigris River, with both sides claiming the upper hand in the battles, according to The Los Angeles Times.

Fast-forward to October 4, 2024, Khamenei made a public appearance and delivered a sermon at the Friday prayer in front of thousands of people, apparently unshaken and undeterred about what had happened to him 39 years ago.