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Celebration and Mourning: Inside an Iran at War

March 2, 2026·35 min·3 clips

Iranians poured into the streets cheering freedom after the Supreme Leader's death, with diaspora families crying tears of relief on FaceTime.

New York Times correspondent Farnaz Fasihi joins host Michael Barbaro on The Daily to report from inside the Iranian crisis on the day after Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei was killed in a U.S.-Israeli strike on March 2nd. Fasihi describes Khamenei being found in his office at 9:30am on a workday, alongside a high-profile meeting of senior military commanders -- a gathering the regime appears to have misjudged would happen at night rather than mid-morning. The strikes also killed the IRGC commander-in-chief, the defense minister, and other senior officials. She reports two sharply divided responses: roughly 80% of Iranians, whom she estimates from low voter turnout data and the geographic breadth of January protests, were celebrating with fireworks, street gatherings, and chants of freedom; while the 20% core supporter bloc mourned in mosques and clung to photos of the deceased leader. Fasihi explains Khamenei's legacy: he built the Islamic Republic into a state with proxy networks, missile programs, and nuclear capabilities, and was known for never conceding to reform demands, ordering shoot-to-kill commands during the January protests that killed thousands. She notes he had prepared for this scenario by requiring every leadership role in the government to name four layers of succession. As of Sunday afternoon, the regime retains control: security checkpoints are operating, and the military is still launching ballistic missiles at U.S. targets and firing on Israel and Gulf Arab states. Trump has signaled openness to engaging with a cooperative successor from within the regime -- a prospect Fasihi notes would deeply disappoint the Iranian opposition, which regards any figure associated with the Islamic Republic as tainted by 47 years of repression. Names circulating for succession include Ali Larijani, General Mohammad Bagheri-Qalibaf, and former President Hassan Rouhani. Fasihi ends personally, saying she now has hope of returning to Iran and visiting her father's gravesite, a prospect that had seemed impossible the day before. The episode is measured, deeply reported, and carries the emotional weight of a correspondent covering her own country's history.

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