Chosen by War: The Rise of Iran’s New Supreme Leader
The Daily
03/17/26
•33m
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At the heart of the Iranian regime’s defiant stance toward the United States and Israel in the war is Mojtaba Khamenei, the new supreme leader and a son of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the regime’s longtime ruler.
Farnaz Fassihi, who covers Iran for The New York Times, discusses the extraordinary jockeying that led to his selection and whether the United States and Israel helped motivate Iran to replace one hard-line leader with another.
Guest: Farnaz Fassihi, the United Nations bureau chief for The New York Times. She also covers Iran and how countries around the world deal with conflicts in the Middle East.
Background reading:
- Inside the deliberations, power plays and rivalries that led to the ascension of the younger Khamenei.
- Who is Iran’s new supreme leader?
Photo: Saeid Zareian/picture-alliance/dpa, via Associated Press Images
For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.
Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.
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Previous Episode
With the world’s attention on the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran, a second front in the conflict has opened in Lebanon.
Israel has pummeled an area in the southern outskirts of Beirut where Hezbollah holds sway, as well as southern Lebanon, with airstrikes, displacing almost one million people. Israel has also expanded its assault into other parts of Beirut, the capital.
Christina Goldbaum, The New York Times’s bureau chief in Beirut, explains how the crisis in Lebanon connects to the broader war, what Israel hopes to achieve and what people in Lebanon fear might come next.
Guest: Christina Goldbaum, The New York Times’s bureau chief in Beirut.
Background reading:
- Strikes are haunting displaced families in Lebanon.
- Displaced people in the country are facing cold streets and an uncertain future.
Photo: David Guttenfelder/The New York Times
For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.
Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.
Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Next Episode
Inside the Government’s Crackdown on TV
March 18
•40m
This past weekend, the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission threatened to revoke broadcasters’ licenses over their coverage of the war in Iran.
Last month, Stephen Colbert said he had to drop an interview with a Senate candidate because of F.C.C. guidance that targeted political interviews on late-night shows.
Jim Rutenberg, a writer at large for The New York Times, explains how the Trump administration is trying to shape media coverage to fit its agenda.
Guest: Jim Rutenberg, a writer at large for The New York Times and The New York Times Magazine.
Background reading:
- Under President Trump, the F.C.C. has used obscure regulatory powers to crack down on network TV.
- How a century-old rule is scrambling late-night TV.
Photo: Tierney L. Cross for The New York Times
For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.
Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.
Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
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