Dominic Sandbrook

Hi everybody, it is Dominic Sandbrook here from The Rest is History.

Now you have probably been watching the scenes on the streets of Iran.

You may be wondering where all this comes from.

So on The Rest is History, we have just recorded a four-part series on recent Iranian history.

So it kicks off with the Iranian revolution that brought down the Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi.

in 1978-1979.

And it's actually his son who is now leading opposition to the Ayatollahs from exile in the United States.

So in this series, we explore the history behind the Islamic Revolution in Iran at the end of the 70s.

Where did people like Ayatollah Khomeini come from?

Where did their ideas come from?

Why did they have so much support?

Why was the Shah driven out of Iran?

in the first place and what did it have to do with American intervention and indeed British intervention in the 1950s.

And we look at the unfolding story of the revolution and then the amazing story of the seizure of the US embassy in Tehran, the taking of initially 66 hostages by the Iranians.

This is probably the story that I most enjoyed researching and writing.

So please, if you're interested in Iranian history and what's going on,

Check it out.

And if you want a taster, we have a clip for you at the end of this episode.

Hi there, it's Dominic Sandbrook again from The Rest Is History.

Now, I mentioned during the break that we have a new series on recent Iranian history.