Iran's new leader in defiant first message

·29 min·2 clips

Iran's new leader vows to continue the war and block the Strait of Hormuz, but his message was read by an announcer.

The broadcast begins with Iran. State television reads a message from the newly appointed supreme leader, four days after he took the role, but he does not appear himself. That absence hangs over the item because the programme notes reports that he was injured in the attack that killed his father. The message is aimed straight at the armed forces. Keep defending the country, it says, and make the enemy regret what it has done. Then the programme shifts to America, where the US attack on Iran has split opinion. Around 41 percent agree with the decision, while petrol prices are climbing. Sarah Smith reports from Louisville, Kentucky, on Muhammad Ali Boulevard, a loaded place to ask people about war. Ali's past as a conscientious objector leads into David Worm, an anti-war activist who calls the conflict wholly unjust. On flag-draped coffins, he says the public reaction can cut both ways: some people turn against war, others want revenge. Nearby, Randy, Tim and Paul back the attacks and trust Donald Trump. The episode also flags a Chinese law that critics say could further weaken minority rights. It closes with Christie's Emily Walker on an auction of guitars from music icons and a Jack Kerouac artefact.

As heard by us

A tense Iran war briefing that pairs defiance in Tehran with divided voices on a Kentucky street.

Iran's newly appointed supreme leader gives this Global News Podcast its hard-news center: a first message read by an announcer on state television, defying the US and Israel, urging continued defense, and raising the Strait of Hormuz as a lever.

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Why you'd press play

Iran's new supreme leader, the war's fallout, and the U.S. reaction in one measured bulletin.

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