The death of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has left the entire world in shock, with some mourning and others questioning.
The East African region will also remember the fallen Supreme Leader for his visit and missions in the mid-1980s.
Khamenei once visited East Africa, though it was in 1986, and he particularly visited only Tanzania among the East African countries.
Khamenei visited Tanzania at the time when he was still the president of Iran and not yet the supreme leader.
He visited Tanzania as part of an official state tour of several African countries, including Mozambique and Zimbabwe.
During this trip he traveled to Dodoma and Dar es Salaam. The visit took place during the Iran‑Iraq War era (1980–1988).
At this specific moment, Iran was actively seeking to strengthen diplomatic ties with African states and build alliances outside the Western bloc during the Cold War period.
As part of these broader diplomatic efforts, Iran agreed in 1986 with Tanzania to establish formal diplomatic relations, and Tehran later opened an embassy in Dar es Salaam.
According to research on Iran–Africa relations, during his visit Khamenei took part in launching development projects associated with Iran’s Jihad‑e‑Sāzandegi (construction and development efforts).
He is quoted in historical documents as saying that “Tanzania is to Iran in Africa what Syria is to Iran in the Arab world,” emphasizing the strategic importance Iran placed on the relationship with Tanzania at that time.