:00:02. > :00:08.He is never rushed. He is careful, precise, and his word is absolute.
:00:08. > :00:13.Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is the Supreme Leader of Iran. Did you
:00:13. > :00:23.ever think that he would end up as the Supreme Leader of Iran? Never,
:00:23. > :00:30.
:00:31. > :00:38.never, never, never. Who is this man? I have spoken to those who
:00:39. > :00:43.have met and got to know the Ayatollah. He is clearly not stupid.
:00:44. > :00:53.He knew I was taunting him. He was not really smiling during the
:00:54. > :01:24.
:01:24. > :01:31.introductions. When I said that, he Ali Khamenei was born in 1939 in
:01:31. > :01:37.the northern city of Mashhad. It is the holiest city in Iran. He
:01:38. > :01:47.followed his father and became a cleric. The black turban shows that
:01:48. > :01:54.
:01:54. > :01:58.he is descended from the Prophet Muhammad. This person studied in
:01:58. > :02:08.Iran to become a cleric and is now writing a biography of the
:02:08. > :02:08.
:02:08. > :02:12.Ayatollah. He became a cleric when he was very young, at the age of 11.
:02:12. > :02:15.Immediately, he wore the turban and the clerical uniform which was very
:02:15. > :02:25.difficult for him when he was playing with children on the
:02:25. > :02:34.
:02:34. > :02:42.streets or at school. People were mocking him for this. Like his
:02:42. > :02:52.father, he remained a cleric. Here, he poses with his own sons. This is
:02:52. > :02:58.
:02:58. > :03:08.one of the only pictures we have of This man remembers his uncle as an
:03:08. > :03:40.
:03:40. > :03:45.He did stand out in one way. He liked to smoke. Not a great
:03:45. > :03:55.clerical habit. During the 1970s, he campaigned for the return of his
:03:55. > :03:57.
:03:57. > :04:07.mentor, the exiled cleric, Ayatollah Khomeini. For this he was
:04:07. > :04:08.
:04:08. > :04:18.jailed six times. His cellmate remembers that he had one
:04:18. > :04:23.
:04:23. > :04:33.particular concern. He joked about relations with sexuality. So no
:04:33. > :04:38.
:04:38. > :04:46.sexuality? No. I told him a lot of jokes. All the time, I was joking.
:04:46. > :04:52.He accepted it, he was laughing. But any time I wanted to talk about
:04:52. > :05:02.sexuality, he told me, this is time to stop. Please stop. You stopped?
:05:02. > :05:24.
:05:24. > :05:29.In 1979 came the Islamic revolution. He was reunited with somebody not
:05:29. > :05:39.known for risque jokes or indeed any jokes. Ayatollah Khomeini,
:05:39. > :05:43.
:05:43. > :05:46.Iran's new leader. For the first time in a photo, Ali Khamenei
:05:46. > :05:53.smiles as he tries to recapture the older man's eye. He was appointed
:05:53. > :06:03.leader of Friday prayers in Tehran. Note the gun below the lectern. His
:06:03. > :06:13.
:06:13. > :06:23.In the early days of the revolution, this person used to get a lift to
:06:23. > :06:23.
:06:23. > :07:09.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 45 seconds
:07:09. > :07:17.At times, society appeared to rise up by itself. Students in Tehran
:07:17. > :07:27.took more than 50 US diplomats hostage. In 1980, he was sent to
:07:27. > :07:35.
:07:35. > :07:45.play his part in the defining event John Limbert was 162 days into his
:07:45. > :07:46.
:07:46. > :07:50.captivity when he had an unexpected visitor. So what I wanted to do was
:07:50. > :07:54.to use what I knew of Iran and Iranians as a kind of leverage
:07:54. > :07:59.against him so when he said, for example, do you have any
:08:00. > :08:08.complaints? I said, well, my only complaint is that the students, I
:08:08. > :08:12.think, have overdone traditional Iranian hospitality. I know that
:08:12. > :08:21.Iranians do not want their guest to leave and they try to keep them as
:08:21. > :08:31.long as they can but this is really ridiculous. He knew exactly what I
:08:31. > :08:51.
:08:51. > :08:55.was talking about. He was not stupid. He knew I was taunting him.
:08:55. > :08:58.On a personal level, for what it's worth, he did not carry the
:08:58. > :09:08.personal complexes and resentments that perhaps other members, other
:09:08. > :09:12.
:09:12. > :09:16.people in the Islamic Republic carried against us. I would have no
:09:16. > :09:26.trouble, for example, if we met again, sitting down and speaking in
:09:26. > :09:52.
:09:52. > :09:56.a friendly and polite way. That was At the end of this television clip
:09:56. > :09:59.which showed him meeting me, and I believe meeting a few others, he
:09:59. > :10:04.went and said, all the hostages are very happy with their conditions
:10:04. > :10:10.and are comfortable. They even thanked the students for their
:10:10. > :10:20.kindness and hospitality. That is absolutely shameless, on my part.
:10:20. > :10:23.
:10:23. > :10:31.If we met again maybe I would His increasing prominence nearly
:10:31. > :10:36.cost him his life. An opposition group tried to kill him with a bomb
:10:36. > :10:45.hidden in a tape recorder. The cleric lost the use of his right
:10:45. > :10:53.arm. He later said, God saved him for a reason. He was not given much
:10:53. > :11:00.time to recover. Soon afterwards, he was elected President. It was a
:11:00. > :11:07.powerless and dangerous job. He survived a bomb attack during
:11:07. > :11:12.Friday prayers at Tehran University. He remained loyal to Ayatollah
:11:12. > :11:22.Khomeini. Here he attends a Cabinet meeting sitting at the feet of the
:11:22. > :11:35.
:11:35. > :11:41.older, dying man. Iran would soon In June 17989 Ayatollah Ali
:11:41. > :11:44.Khamenei faces a crucial moment. The clerics come together after
:11:44. > :11:54.Ayatollah Ali Khomeini's death to choose a new leader. No-one knows
:11:54. > :12:11.
:12:11. > :12:20.who to choose. Abolhassan Banisadr All those who agree are asked to
:12:20. > :12:30.stand up. This is what the assumption of absolute power looks
:12:30. > :12:35.
:12:35. > :12:39.For more than 20 years now Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has ruled
:12:39. > :12:49.Iran. He was chosen in order to preserve the Islamic revolution,
:12:49. > :12:50.
:12:50. > :13:00.not to overturn it. And to poll the ideas of Ayatollah Ali Khomeini and
:13:00. > :13:01.
:13:01. > :13:08.not to suggest his own. He is a very ordinary man. I think
:13:09. > :13:18.that is the key for him. He planned everything. He thought about
:13:19. > :13:24.
:13:24. > :13:30.everything. You know, when he became a leader, he had nothing.
:13:31. > :13:38.One of the main things that he did was a very precise and subtle plan
:13:38. > :13:45.to empower the revolutionary Guard after the Iran-Iraq war and by
:13:45. > :13:54.relying on that and empowering that, he consolidated his own power and
:13:54. > :14:04.became a very strong leader. (CHANTING)
:14:04. > :14:11.
:14:11. > :14:15.Because of this alliance, Ayatollah Khamenei can help manoeuvre other
:14:15. > :14:20.politicians like Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, here sworn-in for his
:14:20. > :14:28.first term as president. The Ahmadinejad leaves the stage... But
:14:28. > :14:32.Mahmoud Ahmadinejad stays to enjoy the crowd. A president needs the
:14:32. > :14:39.people, a supreme leader, the t
:14:39. > :14:46.of the revolution guard does not. Ayatollah Khamenei is well locked
:14:47. > :14:50.after. He has someone to help him into his chair. -- is well looked
:14:50. > :14:56.after. He has someone to help him into his chair... And out again. He
:14:56. > :15:06.may be frail, but he still has the power to imprison or set free
:15:06. > :15:14.
:15:14. > :15:24.Haleh Esfandiari was imprisoned in Evin Prison while visiting her
:15:24. > :15:30.mother in Iran. I used to see his picture every day. The picture was
:15:30. > :15:35.the interrogation room and when I was not blindfolded, I could see
:15:35. > :15:42.his picture. So, automatically, you know, when you live in a system
:15:42. > :15:51.like this, you think that the person who ultimately can release
:15:51. > :15:57.you from prison is this person. But with an exchange of letter between
:15:57. > :16:02.the then president of the Wilson Center Leem Hamilton and the
:16:02. > :16:09.supreme leader, Leem Hamilton asked him whether he could release me,
:16:09. > :16:19.they sent him a grant. I never saw the content of the
:16:19. > :16:22.
:16:22. > :16:28.letter, but a couple of weeks later, I was released. The Ahmadinejad
:16:28. > :16:34.chooses his pen pals and his visitors with great care. He
:16:34. > :16:44.receives world leaders, but not Americans. With one recent
:16:44. > :16:50.
:16:50. > :16:53.exception. John Bryson Chane met the Ahmadinejad in 2001 during a
:16:54. > :16:58.conference on religion. Will, I am sitting there going, "I don't know
:16:58. > :17:06.what I am doing here." I am simply a bishop, but when I said that to
:17:06. > :17:09.him. I said, "I am not a politician. I am a religious person. I am a
:17:09. > :17:12.bishop and a theologian and I am probably a bad bishop, I don't know.
:17:12. > :17:15.I have nothing prepared to say to you other than it is important to
:17:15. > :17:21.have this the time with you and it is important to have this
:17:21. > :17:25.conversation because of what we both know is ongoing between the
:17:25. > :17:31.West and Iran." When I said that, he was not really smiling during
:17:31. > :17:35.all of the introductions and when I said that, he smiled and in that
:17:35. > :17:44.really - that really cracked open the door for the invitation to
:17:44. > :17:50.continue conversation. I had a letter from him just before
:17:50. > :17:59.Christmas. I had written to him - the letter - this particular letter
:17:59. > :18:08.was a letter about the commonalitys that are two faith traditions share.
:18:08. > :18:12.They were part of the Abrahimic This is the Ahmadinejad's burden -
:18:12. > :18:22.guarding the memory of a revolution and then a war with Iraq and
:18:22. > :18:22.
:18:22. > :18:25.keeping it all safe from the outside world. Ham Ayatollah
:18:26. > :18:32.Khamenei hasn't left Iran's borders since he became supreme leader. If
:18:32. > :18:42.you met him now, what would you say to him? First I would say, "I don't
:18:42. > :18:45.
:18:45. > :18:53.know you. Who are you, Mr Ayatollah Khamenei?" Do you have time and
:18:53. > :19:03.suggest he go to television and asked the people to please forgive
:19:03. > :19:04.
:19:04. > :19:13.me. All I do is strange and society finds further frodom. Do you think
:19:13. > :19:20.this will happen? I think... (Laughs). No, I am talking that I
:19:20. > :19:28.don't know what will happen. I guess nothing will happen because
:19:28. > :19:38.your eyes are blind - you can't see anything or hear anything.
:19:38. > :19:43.
:19:43. > :19:48.So just the noise of his opponents in Tehran as the Ayatollah fears
:19:48. > :19:58.being Joe run lick many before him. Will he ever step aside. He Gai his
:19:58. > :19:58.
:19:58. > :20:42.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 45 seconds
:20:42. > :20:48.supporters his answer in an act of Betrayal of his people. Betrayal of
:20:48. > :20:54.people who pretend they are vulnerable to him. He has a dope
:20:54. > :21:04.feeling of mistrust towards -- a A deep feeling of mistrust towards
:21:04. > :21:29.
:21:29. > :21:36.If there is any conflict within the Ayatollah it is hidden well away.
:21:36. > :21:46.If he has any doubt, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei will not share it. In the
:21:46. > :22:15.
:22:15. > :22:23.end, it is to God alone that the It has been a nice weekend for many
:22:23. > :22:26.It has been a nice weekend for many of us. As far as tomorrow is
:22:26. > :22:29.concerned, nothing too dramatic. It will be a fine day for many, very
:22:29. > :22:33.warm when the sun comes out and that is most likely across the
:22:33. > :22:37.eastern half of the UK. Further west, a lot of cloud around as we
:22:37. > :22:42.re around about breakfast time. Bits
:22:42. > :22:47.and pieces of rain for Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. No
:22:47. > :22:55.great amounts at this stage. If you are journeying out around west
:22:55. > :22:58.Wales... For Northern Ireland, a lot of cloud, some dampness across
:22:58. > :23:02.eastern areas. Dryer and probably brighter further west. Scotland
:23:02. > :23:06.seeing a lot of cloud against some patchy rain across western areas.
:23:06. > :23:14.Some brightest developing around the coast, for example. A lot of
:23:14. > :23:19.cloud through north west England. breakfast time. It will be a nice
:23:19. > :23:24.day here warming up for the midlands and East Anglia. Sunshine
:23:24. > :23:30.from the word go go. It is set to be a hot day. Brightness further
:23:30. > :23:35.west, but as you get into Devon and Cornwall, a lot of cloud. Dribs and
:23:35. > :23:41.drabs of rain on and off during the day. Even across the cloud year
:23:41. > :23:44.parts, it might brighten up in east Wales. A good part of northern
:23:44. > :23:51.England cheering up. When the weather does happen, it will turn
:23:51. > :23:55.very warm. Widely up into the mid- 20s. Some places getting up at 28
:23:55. > :24:00.degrees. Midlands north of London. Further west, it will feel quite
:24:00. > :24:04.humid out there. Not far off 20 degrees anyway. Cricket continues,
:24:04. > :24:12.of course. Trent Bridge is set to be a fine day for the players.
:24:12. > :24:18.Don't expect any interruptions at all. Wear sunscreen if you are
:24:18. > :24:24.going to the game. Sunday sees a more meaningful chunk of wet
:24:24. > :24:30.weather. Cool west to the - cool weather to the west. Probably the
:24:30. > :24:34.hottest day. As the humidity builds we will see lively thunderstorms.
:24:35. > :24:38.Don't take it literally. It is indicttive of storms rumbling