Podcast HackWho Is Ayatollah Khamenei?By Sky News, Tom Cheshire, Alex Vatanka
In a Nutshell
In this June 2025 episode of Sky's This Is Why podcast, host Tom Cheshire talks to Iran expert Alex Vatanka about Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei and how he maintained power for over three decades.
Favorite Quote
He has become the one single obstacle for Iran reforming its foreign policy. He's the one single obstacle that prevented any kind of serious normalization between the U.S. and Iran.
Alex Vatanka
Introduction
Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei ruled for 36 years, yet remains an enigma to many in the West — a mid-ranking cleric from a provincial city who consolidated power to become one of the world's most influential leaders.
In this June 2025 episode of Sky News podcast This Is Why, host Tom Cheshire speaks with Alex Vatanka, founding director of the Iran program at the Middle East Institute in Washington, DC, to explore the strategic choices that defined Khamenei's leadership.
From his alliance with the Revolutionary Guards to his championing of the Palestinian cause, Vatanka reveals how Khamenei's decisions reflect calculated political survival rather than religious fervor or ancient grievances.
Here are the 3 key insights from this Hack
- 1.Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's power consolidation relied on a strategic alliance with the Revolutionary Guards
- 2.Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Nunc volutpat, leo ut.
- 3.Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Nunc volutpat, leo ut.
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