From New York Times, I'm Michael Bobarro. This is the Daily.

We've got some breaking news out of Iran. We are hearing for the first time from the new supreme leader of Iran.

Today's statement dismissed any hope of Iran backing down.

He says, quote, avenging the blood of your martyrs is a top priority and that attacks on

Gulf Arab neighbors will continue.

At the heart of the Iranian regime's defiant stance toward the United States and Israel

in this war is its new supreme leader, Mushtaba Hamenei, the son of the

regime's long-time ruler.

He said that all U.S. bases should immediately be closed in the region, and he says that

those bases will be attacked as...

You went on to say that the Stit of Hormuz should remain closed.

Today, my colleague Farnas Fasihi on the extraordinary behind-the-scenes jockeying that led to his

selection and the growing consensus that the U.S. and Israeli strategy motivated Iran to replace one hardline leader with another.

It's Tuesday, March 17th.

Farnas, welcome back to the show. I just want to say at the outset that there are moments when our colleagues, because of their area of expertise, just become indispensable to the

daily. And you're one of those people now because you know Iran and its government inside and out.

So thank you for making time for us.

Thank you for having me, Michael.

Your latest line of reporting has been focused on Iran's new Supreme Leader, Mushabha Khomeini,

the son of the assassinated supreme leader.

And Mushtaba Hamenei is filling a job that is both essential for the regime's survival

and arguably now the most dangerous job in the world.

...