He’s leader for life, his word is final in the highly factionalised theocratic regime of Iran and his influence extends across the flashpoints of the Middle East. Yet we know almost nothing about the Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

And as you’ll hear, his loyalists defend him as stridently as his critics attack him.

Guests:

John Limbert – One of the 55 American hostages held in captivity in Iran in 1979
Arash Azizi - Iranian writer and Historian. Senior lecturer in political science and history at Clemson University
Fereshteh Sadeghi - Iranian journalist based in Tehran

Producers: Zoe Ferguson and Linda Lopresti

Executive Producer: Amruta Slee

Sound Engineer: John Jacobs

Dictators & Demagogues 05: Iran's Ali Khamenei