Khamenei is gone, but the real story is not his death. It is the dangerous vacuum now opening behind him.

In this urgent episode of The Diplomat, Joe Kawly, Washington Bureau Chief, sits down with Alex Vatanka, one of Washington’s most respected Iran analysts, to break down the power vacuum now opening inside Tehran. Who takes over after Khamenei? Does the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps tighten its grip, or does the system begin to fracture from within? And if the regime falls, is anyone actually ready for what comes after?

This is not just a conversation about Iran. It is about the future of the Middle East, the risks of state collapse, the danger of regional spillover, and the question no one can dodge anymore: can the Islamic Republic survive the moment that finally tested it from every direction at once?

A must-listen for anyone following Iran, regime change, Gulf security, U.S. foreign policy, and the next phase of the Middle East.