Ayatollah Khomeini’s residence in Paris

Khomeini was the first and only Iranian cleric to be addressed as “Imam”, a title hitherto reserved in Iran for the twelve infallible leaders of the early Shi’a. He was also associated with the Mahdi or 12th Imam of Shia belief in a number of ways. One of his titles was Na’eb-e Imam (Deputy to the Twelfth Imam).