Iran and the West Documentary

For the first time, the BBC tells the story of Iran's relationship with the West over the last 30 years - as seen by the key players and political insiders from both sides.

Marking the 30th anniversary of the Islamic Revolution in Iran, each programme focuses on a different decade in Iran's history.

Archive footage and interviews recreate the diplomatic tensions, false dawns and intricacies of political negotiations that have marked the relationship so far.
The inside story of the beginning of the Islamic Revolution in Iran.



In 1979, Iran was ruled by a monarchy in the guise of the Shah, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. But he was only just clinging to power following a succession of strikes and protests.

And waiting in exile was Ayatollah Khomeini, the spiritual leader with a long history of opposition to the Shah. When he returned to the country to be greeted by several million Iranians, the royal regime collapsed as guerrillas and rebel troops began to overwhelm the forces loyal to the Shah.

Not long afterwards, the US embassy in Iran was stormed by a group of students - triggering a hostage crisis that would dominate the last year in office of US President Jimmy Carter, ultimately ending in his downfall.

Iran and the West: From Khomeni to Ahmedinejad tells the inside story of all these dramatic events, from the people who were there at the time.
source:BBC

Episode 1: The Man who Changed the World
Key figures tell the inside story of Ayatollah Khomeini’s rise to power, the fall and exile of Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi and the events surrounding the Iran hostage crisis.




Episode 2: The Pariah State
Inside stories are told by two ex-presidents of Iran and leading westerners. Subjects covered in this edition include the Lebanon hostage crisis, the Iran-Iraq War, the death of Ayatollah Khomeini and the changing political climate of the Middle East following the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait and the 1991 Gulf War.



Episode 3:
The inside story of the West’s continuing nuclear confrontation with Iran. Subjects covered in this episode include the rise of the Taliban in Iran’s neighbor Afghanistan, the assassination of Ahmad Shah Massoud, the September 11 terrorist attacks, the Iraq War and Iran’s emerging nuclear program.