Why Persian speaking leaders turn to verse - The Global Jigsaw podcast - BBC World Service

Across Iran, Afghanistan, and Tajikistan, millions share a language and a passion for poetry. But with its abundance of lovers and wine, Persian poetry sits uneasily with Iran’s theocratic leaders. Click here to subscribe to our channel 👉🏽 https://bbc.in/3VyyriM We explore their complicated relationship with this facet of Persian identity, and how they occasionally turn to verse to secure popular appeal. 00:00 Introduction 02:38 The Persian language in Iran, Afghanistan and Tajikistan 09:47 Poetry in the Persian blood - Shahnameh, Ferdowsi, Rudaki, Rumi, Hafez 21:20 Poetry in politics - Khomeini, Khamenei 33:23 Poetry today Presenter: Krassi Ivanova Twigg Producer: Kriszta Satori Video producer: Suniti Singh Broadcast on 25 December 2025 Watch more episodes of The Global Jigsaw podcast here 👉🏽    • The Global Jigsaw   Find the whole back catalogue of The Global Jigsaw podcast here 👉🏽https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/w13x... Find out more about BBC Monitoring here 👉🏽 https://tinyurl.com/muutc8py ---------------- This is the official BBC World Service YouTube channel. If you like what we do, you can also find us here: Instagram 👉🏽   / bbcworldservice   Twitter 👉🏽   / bbcworldservice   Facebook 👉🏽   / bbcworldservice   BBC World Service website 👉🏽 https://www.bbc.co.uk/worldserviceradio Thanks for watching and subscribing! #BBCWorldService #WorldService #iran #shahnameh #afghanistan