麻豆社

Today, the new Iranian Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, gave his first statement pledging to continue blocking the Strait of Hormuz.

This was delivered not by Khamenei himself, but by a newsreader on Iranian state TV speaking over a photo of him, sparking further speculation as to his health and whereabouts.

Alex and James are joined by Jane Corbin, Panorama film maker, and Baran Abbasi, reporter and presenter for 麻豆社 Persian, to discuss what to make of the new Supreme Leader鈥檚 statement.

Plus, diplomatic correspondent, James Landale, joins Alex and James from Kyiv to analyse what the US-Israeli war with Iran means for the war in Ukraine and how President Zelensky and President Putin have responded.

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You can join our Newscast online community here: https://bbc.in/newscastdiscord

Get in touch with Newscast by emailing newscast@bbc.co.uk or send us a WhatsApp on +44 0330 123 9480.

New episodes released every day. If you're in the UK, for more News and Current Affairs podcasts from the 麻豆社, listen on 麻豆社 Sounds: https://bbc.in/4guXgXd

Newscast brings you daily analysis of the latest political news stories from the 麻豆社. The presenters were James Cook and Alex Forsyth. It was made by Anna Harris with Shiler Mahmoudi and Harry Craig. The social producers were Joe Wilkinson and Gabriel Purcell-Davis. The technical producer was Rohan Madison. The assistant editor is Chris Gray. The senior news editor is Sam Bonham.

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