Iran has a new leader. How long will he last?
The Story
The Times
3.9 • 1.6K Ratings
🗓️ 10 March 2026
⏱️ 31 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Iran has appointed a new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei. He’s the son of the late Ali Khamenei and a shadowy figure with a history of orchestrating brutal crackdowns on dissenters. President Donald Trump is also not a fan. So what does his appointment mean for the conflict raging in the Middle East?
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Guests:
- Catherine Philp, world affairs editor, The Times.
- Negah Angha, former US State Department and National Security Council advisor.
Host: Darryl Morris.
Producer: Micaela Arneson, Sophie McNulty.
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Read more: Who is Mojtaba Khamenei, Iran’s new supreme leader?
Further listening: How AI helped Trump attack Iran
Clips: Sky News, Al Jazeera, NBC, Fox News, The Times, ABC News
Photo: Getty Images.
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Transcript
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| 0:31.4 | description of this episode. Thank you. |
| 0:36.4 | From the Times and the Sunday Times, this is the story. |
| 0:40.4 | I'm Daryl Morris. |
| 0:50.0 | It was a death which reverberated around the world. |
| 0:53.2 | On the first day of the Iran War, Israel and American strikes took out the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Hamenei. |
| 1:00.3 | Hamene, one of the most evil people in history, is dead, says the president. |
| 1:05.2 | This is not only justice for the people of Iran, but for all great Americans. |
| 1:09.9 | And those people from many countries |
| 1:11.9 | throughout the world that have been killed or mutilated by Khomeini and his gang of bloodthirsty |
| 1:18.0 | thugs. In the aftermath, questions swirled about who would replace him. There's always been |
| 1:24.1 | much speculation over who the next supreme leader might be. I have to ask you the big question on everyone's mind. |
| 1:31.1 | Who is in charge in Iran right now? |
| 1:33.6 | And President Trump says he must play a role in picking the next leader of Iran |
| 1:37.1 | as questions grow over the future of the country. |
| 1:39.8 | And then, on Sunday, an answer. |
| 1:52.5 | Moshabah Husseini Khomeini, Hefezhak Sunday, an answer. Moshabha Houssinai, hafazha Hamaayi, the second son of Ali Khamei, has been chosen as the new supreme leader of Iran, in a blow to President Trump. |
... |
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