Up First from NPR
Iran War Expanding, Khamenei Successor, China Mediates Middle East War
05 Mar 2026
Transcript generated automatically by AI and may contain errors.
Chapter 1: What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
Good morning. Is Up First part of your routine?
Chapter 2: What are the latest developments in the Iran war?
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Chapter 3: Who are the potential successors to Khamenei?
Some Iranians are fleeing the war on their country. Our correspondent is meeting them as they reach Turkey. We'll hear what people are seeing and where they're going to escape the war that's spreading across the region.
Chapter 4: What role is China playing in the Middle East conflict?
I'm Steve Inskeep with Michelle Martin, and this is Up First from NPR News. Iran postponed the morning ceremony for its supreme leader as attacks continue on the capital Tehran. Clerics are choosing who will lead Iran in the middle of a war, and many eyes are on the former leader's son.
And China says it's sending a special envoy to the Middle East as Beijing opens its two sessions meeting where leaders set priorities for the year. Is China trying to position itself as a mediator or protecting its oil interests? Stay with us. We'll give you news you need to start your day.
Support for NPR comes from NPR member stations and Eric and Wendy Schmidt through the Schmidt Family Foundation, working toward a healthy, resilient, secure world for all. On the web at theschmidt.org.
Israel and the U.S.
Chapter 5: How is the Iranian public responding to the war?
are continuing to hit Iran on the sixth day of the war. Iran says the United States will, quote, bitterly regret torpedoing one of its warships yesterday in the Indian Ocean. an attack that killed at least 87 people.
Here's a few updates overnight. Israel has tracked multiple incoming missile attacks. Air sirens blared overnight and into this morning in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. All this as the war continues to spread across the region. Israeli attacks continue in Lebanon, and Iranian strikes are causing turmoil in numerous Gulf countries.
NPR's Ruth Sherlock is in Turkey, close to the border with Iran, where she's been speaking with Iranians coming across the border. And she's with us now. Ruth, hello.
Chapter 6: What are the implications of U.S. and Israeli actions in Iran?
Thanks so much for joining us.
Hi, good morning.
So as we said, you've been on the border with Iran.
Chapter 7: What challenges does the new supreme leader face?
Tell us what you're seeing.
Well, Michelle, people are coming out traumatized. You know, Iran isn't letting... Western journalists into the country, but speaking with Iranians here on the border, it really drives home the horror of this war for civilians. Everyone was too scared to give their name. As speaking with Western media has gotten people arrested in Iran, this man talked about his journey out.
Very dangerous nights, farming, very dangerous.
It's a little hard to hear, but he's saying there was bombing through the night as he traveled, children killed in Iran. He says he and his family have come to Turkey for shelter. I also spoke with a doctor from Tehran who described the terror of being engulfed in smoke and feeling the backblast of a strike that hit close to her car on the journey out.
She says she's also witnessing many, many civilian casualties from these strikes. You know, these are densely packed neighborhoods.
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Chapter 8: How is the ongoing war impacting Gulf economies?
And she says residential buildings are also getting hit. She's been treating civilians with horrific injuries, she says. The Iranian Ministry of Health records 926 people killed in just these few days. And despite all this, I saw a large number of people heading back into Iran.
Communications are largely down in the country and many people just said that they couldn't cope with not knowing if their families were okay and would rather be with them despite the danger.
Wow, that's interesting. So tell us more about what these people who are heading back are heading back into now.
Well, there's continued heavy bombardment by Israeli and US forces on Tehran and other cities. And another thing we're watching closely is Iran's western border with Iraq. Turkey and Iran are responding to reports that Iranian Kurdish militias have consulted with the United States in recent days about possible attacks against the Iranian regime. Turkey is saying it's watching closely.
Iran is saying it's targeting what it called separatist militias in that region that it said intended to act against security forces there.
Okay, what are called separatist militias, I see.
So beyond Iran, there are also still major concerns about the Gulf region being drawn into the conflict?
That's right. You know, Iran's saying to the Gulf countries that it strikes against them. They're actually aimed at hitting U.S. military bases and assets there. But the attacks are having this crippling effect on Gulf economies, and they've paralyzed the energy sector. Qatar's Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed Al Thani said,
told Iran's foreign minister yesterday Qatar prefers diplomacy, but this aggression, he said, cannot go unanswered. Meanwhile, there's also reports of a new attack off the coast of Kuwait, and this would mean an expansion of the area where commercial shipping is also in danger.
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