Since we recorded this episode, the situation in and around Iran has shifted dramatically.

In the morning of Saturday the 28th of February, the US and Israel launched extensive air and missile

strikes on targets across Iran, resulting in significant damage, the death of the supreme leader

Aleh Khamenei and many of the Iranian leadership, and many civilian casualties as well.

Iran has responded with its own missile and drone attacks against Israeli and US positions in the region,

with the conflict broadening across the Gulf and beyond, with global political and economic repercussions.

Although Afwa and I recorded this episode just a few

hours before the attacks began, it provides context and underlines the importance of what is at stake.

Welcome to the second in our three-part series on Iran. We're going to carry on looking at the

history of one of the most important

countries in global histories, not just in southwestern Asia or even regionally, but to think

about why Iran is so misunderstood on the world stage. If there is one international news story that

you cannot get away from at the moment, it's what is happening in Iran, the buildup of military

action from the US, the pressure from allies and enemies in the region for the US and the UK,

the potential for a full-blown war between Iran and the US, or the potential for peace talks,

which have been going on really, as I see it, most of my life,

but are in a new phase right now with the Trump administration, whichever your position,

however you see it, there is no denying that Iran is a really important country right now,

that all eyes are on Iran. And I keep thinking that I wonder how possible it is to really understand

what's happening in Iran without going back to the origin of this regime in Iran, which all

stems back to the 1979 revolution. So we thought it would be a great idea to do a few episodes

about Iran, why it matters in history and what's going on today.

...