Iran and the West

Iran and the West
Produced byNorma Percy
Distributed byBBC
Release date
  • 7 February 2009 (2009-02-07)
Running time
60 min (3 parts)
CountryUK
LanguageEnglish

Iran and the West a three-part British documentary series shown in February 2009 on BBC Two to mark the 30th anniversary of the Iranian Revolution.[1] The first episode was shown at 9:00pm on Saturday 7 February with parts two and three shown on consecutive Saturdays. The documentary looks at the relationship between Iran and the countries of the west and features interviews with politicians who have played significant roles in events involving Iran, Europe and the United States since 1979.[2]

The series is produced by Norma Percy, whose previous series include The Death of Yugoslavia and Israel and the Arabs: Elusive Peace.[3] Like her previous series, Iran and the West relies extensively on interviews with key players involved in the issue.

It won a Peabody Award in 2009 "for its eminently watchable and historically invaluable examination of one of the world’s most intractable hotspots."[4]

Episodes

Number Title Original airdate Overview Contributors
1 "The Man Who Changed the World" 7 February 2009 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. Jimmy Carter
Walter Mondale
Warren Christopher
Mohsen Rafiqdoust
Farah Pahlavi
Fidel Castro
2 "The Pariah State" 14 February 2009 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. Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani
Mohammad Khatami
George Shultz
Warren Christopher
Madeleine Albright
3 "Nuclear Confrontation" 21 February 2009 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 neighbour Afghanistan, the assassination of Ahmad Shah Massoud, the September 11 terrorist attacks, the Iraq War and Iran's emerging nuclear program. Mohammad Khatami
Vladimir Putin
Jack Straw

See also

References

  1. ^ "Iran and the West: Saddam offered to "eliminate" Ayatollah". BBC Online. 6 February 2009. Retrieved 12 February 2009.
  2. ^ "Preview: Iran & The West". Sky UK.
  3. ^ "Iran and the West: Talking past each other". The Economist. 5 February 2009. Retrieved 12 February 2009.
  4. ^ 69th Annual Peabody Awards, May 2010.