Iran and the West

BBC will start showing a three part series on the history of Iran and the West. I want to watch this! Here's the information about the show, taken from the BBC's website here.

Iran and the West: From Khomeni to Ahmedinejad

(click here to listen to excerpt from website)

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.

Programme one:

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.

First broadcast 20 July 2009