Ruling Iran Our World

He is never rushed. He is careful, precise, and his word is absolute.

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is the Supreme Leader of Iran. Did you

ever think that he would end up as the Supreme Leader of Iran? Never,

never, never, never. Who is this man? I have spoken to those who

have met and got to know the Ayatollah. He is clearly not stupid.

He knew I was taunting him. He was not really smiling during the

introductions. When I said that, he Ali Khamenei was born in 1939 in

the northern city of Mashhad. It is the holiest city in Iran. He

followed his father and became a cleric. The black turban shows that

he is descended from the Prophet Muhammad. This person studied in

Iran to become a cleric and is now writing a biography of the

Ayatollah. He became a cleric when he was very young, at the age of 11.

Immediately, he wore the turban and the clerical uniform which was very

difficult for him when he was playing with children on the

streets or at school. People were mocking him for this. Like his

father, he remained a cleric. Here, he poses with his own sons. This is

one of the only pictures we have of This man remembers his uncle as an

He did stand out in one way. He liked to smoke. Not a great

clerical habit. During the 1970s, he campaigned for the return of his

mentor, the exiled cleric, Ayatollah Khomeini. For this he was

jailed six times. His cellmate remembers that he had one

particular concern. He joked about relations with sexuality. So no

sexuality? No. I told him a lot of jokes. All the time, I was joking.

He accepted it, he was laughing. But any time I wanted to talk about

sexuality, he told me, this is time to stop. Please stop. You stopped?

In 1979 came the Islamic revolution. He was reunited with somebody not

known for risque jokes or indeed any jokes. Ayatollah Khomeini,

Iran's new leader. For the first time in a photo, Ali Khamenei

smiles as he tries to recapture the older man's eye. He was appointed

leader of Friday prayers in Tehran. Note the gun below the lectern. His

In the early days of the revolution, this person used to get a lift to

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 45 seconds

At times, society appeared to rise up by itself. Students in Tehran

took more than 50 US diplomats hostage. In 1980, he was sent to

play his part in the defining event John Limbert was 162 days into his

captivity when he had an unexpected visitor. So what I wanted to do was

to use what I knew of Iran and Iranians as a kind of leverage

against him so when he said, for example, do you have any

complaints? I said, well, my only complaint is that the students, I

think, have overdone traditional Iranian hospitality. I know that

Iranians do not want their guest to leave and they try to keep them as

long as they can but this is really ridiculous. He knew exactly what I

was talking about. He was not stupid. He knew I was taunting him.

On a personal level, for what it's worth, he did not carry the

personal complexes and resentments that perhaps other members, other

people in the Islamic Republic carried against us. I would have no

trouble, for example, if we met again, sitting down and speaking in

a friendly and polite way. That was At the end of this television clip

which showed him meeting me, and I believe meeting a few others, he

went and said, all the hostages are very happy with their conditions

and are comfortable. They even thanked the students for their

kindness and hospitality. That is absolutely shameless, on my part.

If we met again maybe I would His increasing prominence nearly

cost him his life. An opposition group tried to kill him with a bomb

hidden in a tape recorder. The cleric lost the use of his right

arm. He later said, God saved him for a reason. He was not given much

time to recover. Soon afterwards, he was elected President. It was a

powerless and dangerous job. He survived a bomb attack during

Friday prayers at Tehran University. He remained loyal to Ayatollah

Khomeini. Here he attends a Cabinet meeting sitting at the feet of the

older, dying man. Iran would soon In June 17989 Ayatollah Ali

Khamenei faces a crucial moment. The clerics come together after

Ayatollah Ali Khomeini's death to choose a new leader. No-one knows

who to choose. Abolhassan Banisadr All those who agree are asked to

stand up. This is what the assumption of absolute power looks

For more than 20 years now Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has ruled

Iran. He was chosen in order to preserve the Islamic revolution,

not to overturn it. And to poll the ideas of Ayatollah Ali Khomeini and

not to suggest his own. He is a very ordinary man. I think

that is the key for him. He planned everything. He thought about

everything. You know, when he became a leader, he had nothing.

One of the main things that he did was a very precise and subtle plan

to empower the revolutionary Guard after the Iran-Iraq war and by

relying on that and empowering that, he consolidated his own power and

became a very strong leader. (CHANTING)

Because of this alliance, Ayatollah Khamenei can help manoeuvre other

politicians like Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, here sworn-in for his

first term as president. The Ahmadinejad leaves the stage... But

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad stays to enjoy the crowd. A president needs the

people, a supreme leader, the t

of the revolution guard does not. Ayatollah Khamenei is well locked

after. He has someone to help him into his chair. -- is well looked

after. He has someone to help him into his chair... And out again. He

may be frail, but he still has the power to imprison or set free

Haleh Esfandiari was imprisoned in Evin Prison while visiting her

mother in Iran. I used to see his picture every day. The picture was

the interrogation room and when I was not blindfolded, I could see

his picture. So, automatically, you know, when you live in a system

like this, you think that the person who ultimately can release

you from prison is this person. But with an exchange of letter between

the then president of the Wilson Center Leem Hamilton and the

supreme leader, Leem Hamilton asked him whether he could release me,

they sent him a grant. I never saw the content of the

letter, but a couple of weeks later, I was released. The Ahmadinejad

chooses his pen pals and his visitors with great care. He

receives world leaders, but not Americans. With one recent

exception. John Bryson Chane met the Ahmadinejad in 2001 during a

conference on religion. Will, I am sitting there going, "I don't know

what I am doing here." I am simply a bishop, but when I said that to

him. I said, "I am not a politician. I am a religious person. I am a

bishop and a theologian and I am probably a bad bishop, I don't know.

I have nothing prepared to say to you other than it is important to

have this the time with you and it is important to have this

conversation because of what we both know is ongoing between the

West and Iran." When I said that, he was not really smiling during

all of the introductions and when I said that, he smiled and in that

really - that really cracked open the door for the invitation to

continue conversation. I had a letter from him just before

Christmas. I had written to him - the letter - this particular letter

was a letter about the commonalitys that are two faith traditions share.

They were part of the Abrahimic This is the Ahmadinejad's burden -

guarding the memory of a revolution and then a war with Iraq and

keeping it all safe from the outside world. Ham Ayatollah

Khamenei hasn't left Iran's borders since he became supreme leader. If

you met him now, what would you say to him? First I would say, "I don't

know you. Who are you, Mr Ayatollah Khamenei?" Do you have time and

suggest he go to television and asked the people to please forgive

me. All I do is strange and society finds further frodom. Do you think

this will happen? I think... (Laughs). No, I am talking that I

don't know what will happen. I guess nothing will happen because

your eyes are blind - you can't see anything or hear anything.

So just the noise of his opponents in Tehran as the Ayatollah fears

being Joe run lick many before him. Will he ever step aside. He Gai his

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 45 seconds

supporters his answer in an act of Betrayal of his people. Betrayal of

people who pretend they are vulnerable to him. He has a dope

feeling of mistrust towards -- a A deep feeling of mistrust towards

If there is any conflict within the Ayatollah it is hidden well away.

If he has any doubt, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei will not share it. In the

end, it is to God alone that the It has been a nice weekend for many

It has been a nice weekend for many of us. As far as tomorrow is

concerned, nothing too dramatic. It will be a fine day for many, very

warm when the sun comes out and that is most likely across the

eastern half of the UK. Further west, a lot of cloud around as we

re around about breakfast time. Bits

and pieces of rain for Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. No

great amounts at this stage. If you are journeying out around west

Wales... For Northern Ireland, a lot of cloud, some dampness across

eastern areas. Dryer and probably brighter further west. Scotland

seeing a lot of cloud against some patchy rain across western areas.

Some brightest developing around the coast, for example. A lot of

cloud through north west England. breakfast time. It will be a nice

day here warming up for the midlands and East Anglia. Sunshine

from the word go go. It is set to be a hot day. Brightness further

west, but as you get into Devon and Cornwall, a lot of cloud. Dribs and

drabs of rain on and off during the day. Even across the cloud year

parts, it might brighten up in east Wales. A good part of northern

England cheering up. When the weather does happen, it will turn

very warm. Widely up into the mid- 20s. Some places getting up at 28

degrees. Midlands north of London. Further west, it will feel quite

humid out there. Not far off 20 degrees anyway. Cricket continues,

of course. Trent Bridge is set to be a fine day for the players.

Don't expect any interruptions at all. Wear sunscreen if you are

going to the game. Sunday sees a more meaningful chunk of wet

weather. Cool west to the - cool weather to the west. Probably the

hottest day. As the humidity builds we will see lively thunderstorms.

Don't take it literally. It is indicttive of storms rumbling