I'm John Bachelor, Bill Rajo, Senior Fellow Foundation for Defense of Democracy, my colleague and friend and co-host,

and we welcome the former UK ambassador to Yemen, the former UN official diplomat at

charged with the whole of the Middle Eastern conflicts, and now Edmund Fitton Brown at the

Foundation for the Defense of Democracies to help us

understand the Iran War in many pieces.

Edmund, I begin with the funeral.

A very good evening to you.

The headline in the F.T.

Pink paper out of London.

Iran leadership shows unity at Ayatollah's funeral, comma, but successor absent. Sabed Moshtibai,

Khamani, does not join other top leaders and sons alongside coffin of slain supreme leader.

The estimate was a crowd in millions, very reminiscent of the original I had told his funeral back in the 20th

century. However, struck by the fact that the mullahs turned up in great number, as I've not

seen them for some time, genuine grief. And they mention of Mocdubae. Is that profound,

Edmund, that Moubai doesn't attend his own father's funeral? Does that call

into question whether he's with us or not? Good evening to you. Good evening, John. Great to be

with you. It does call that into question. He's yet to appear in public since the strike in which

his father was killed and in which we believe that he was injured.

So, you know, one of two things is happening.

He's either dead but being kept alive as a sort of a matter of convenience to prevent, you know,

an unseemly scramble for a second succession.

Or, of course, he is alive, but is in poor shape. Either is unwell and therefore,

...