The war dragged on for eight years and claimed over a million lives. In 1988, Khomeini reluctantly accepted a ceasefire, likening it to “drinking a chalice of poison.” That same year, he authorized the execution of thousands of political prisoners, many of them members of the Mujahedin-e Khalq (MEK), an opposition group that had collaborated with Iraq. This event remains one of the darkest stains on his legacy.
Fatwa Against Salman Rushdie and Anti-Western Rhetoric
Khomeini’s tenure was also marked by fierce hostility toward the West. He dubbed the United States “the Great Satan” and Israel “the Little Satan,” accusing both of corrupting Muslim societies. His rhetoric fueled anti-American sentiment, which climaxed during the 1979 hostage crisis when Iranian students stormed the U.S. Embassy in Tehran and held 52 diplomats hostage for 444 days. Khomeini praised the act, calling it “the second revolution.”
In 1989, he issued a fatwa against British Indian novelist Salman Rushdie for his novel The Satanic Verses, which he deemed blasphemous. The fatwa called for Rushdie’s assassination and sparked global outrage. It remains in effect to this day and exemplifies Khomeini’s uncompromising stance on perceived insults to Islam.