Is history repeating itself in Iran?
The Inquiry
BBC
4.6 • 1.7K Ratings
🗓️ 22 January 2026
⏱️ 24 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Iran has been shaken by protests on a scale not seen since its 1979 revolution.
Demonstrations that began in the country’s capital over the state of the economy have spread to multiple cities, with wider calls for political change.
The government has called the demonstrations "riots" backed by the nation’s enemies.
Thousands have been killed.
For some, the scenes bring back memories of the uprising that toppled the monarchy more than four decades ago.
Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi, the exiled son of Iran’s last monarch, has emerged as a figure that could challenge the existing order.
This week on The Inquiry, we’re asking ‘Is history repeating itself in Iran?’
Contributors: Naghmeh Sohrabi, modern Middle East historian, director for research at the Crown Center for Middle East Studies at Brandeis University, United States Azadeh Kian, author of ‘Rethinking Gender, Ethnicity and Religion in Iran’, emerita professor of sociology and gender studies at the University of Paris Cité, France Sara Bazoobandi, non-resident research fellow at the Institute for Security Policy of Kiel University, Germany Siavash Ardalan, BBC Persia senior reporter, United Kingdom
Presenter: Daniel Rosney Producer: Megan Lawton Technical producer: James Bradshaw Editor: Tom Bigwood Production Management: Phoebe Lomas and Liam Morrey
(Photo: Car on fire on a street in Iran. Credit: WANA/Reuters/BBC Images)
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | BBC Sounds, Music, radio, podcasts. |
| 0:09.0 | Welcome to the Inquiry from the BBC World Service with me, Daniel Rosny. |
| 0:14.3 | Each week, one question, four expert witnesses, and an answer. |
| 0:20.8 | December 2025. |
| 0:25.6 | The real Iran's currency suffers another sharp fall against the US dollar on the open market. |
| 0:31.6 | The value is recorded as the lowest in history. |
| 0:35.6 | Inflation in the country is at 40%. Everyday items like cooking |
| 0:40.4 | oil, bread and meat become unaffordable. Shopkeepers from the capital's Grand Bazaar, angry at the |
| 0:47.1 | nation's economic situation, stage a strike. Within days, there are demonstrations in multiple cities, |
| 0:53.4 | with wider calls for political change. |
| 0:57.5 | Crowds are heard demanding the removal of the country's supreme leader. |
| 1:01.8 | Cars are set on fire, and there are clashes between those on the streets and the security forces. |
| 1:07.6 | Within three weeks, thousands are killed. |
| 1:13.1 | It's the most serious challenge to the country's current leadership since the 1979 revolution, which overthrew the monarchy and an Islamic |
| 1:19.4 | republic, was born. Some are now calling for the son of the deposed Shah to return, and the world |
| 1:26.5 | awaits as the aftermath of the unrest unravels. |
| 1:30.7 | This week on the inquiry we're asking, is history repeating itself in Iran? |
| 1:40.1 | Part 1, The Fall of an Empire. |
| 1:50.7 | No. Part 1. The Fall of an Empire Long before the world came to know it as Iran, |
| 1:55.4 | historically the land of deserts and mountains was known as Persia. |
| 2:03.6 | Before the Romans dominated Europe, Persia was the world's first true superpower as an empire that spanned continents. |
| 2:10.4 | Eventually, the empire and the country's influence collapsed. Its armies defeated, its rulers gone. |
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