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Ruhollah Khomeini

A man holding a sign during a protest of the crisis in Washington, D.C., in 1979.

The US and Iran part III – the hostage crisis

Global Politics

The United States lost Iran as a regional ally when the Shah was overthrown in 1979. The same year, students took dozens of Americans hostage at the US Embassy in Tehran.

Protestors during Iran's 1979 revolution.

The US and Iran part II – the Shah and the revolution

Global Politics

Iran’s View of Syria

In new memoir, Salman Rushdie tells tale of life as hunted man

Arts, Culture & Media

Alleged Iranian terror plot has ‘B-movie’ quality

Global Politics

Clinton: Iran is becoming ‘military dictatorship’

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton used strong words to describe Iran’s government, and proposes tough, new sanctions.

Ahmadinejad’s foul mouth

The Iranian president raised eyebrows when he used a crude expression, but the Iranian leader has been known to use colorful language.

Salman Rushdie talks about The Enchantress of Florence

Arts, Culture & Media

Rushdie’s new book, “The Enchantress of Florence,” is a feast of storytelling, alternately set in 16th-century Italy and India.

1979: The Birth of the Modern Age

Historians often designate certain years as turning points. 1492: Columbus sails forth with the blessing of Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand, while the Spanish Inquisition expells Jews from Spain. 1517: Martin Luther nails the 95 theses to the doors of Castle Church in Wittenberg, Germany. 1848: liberal revolutions topple governments throughout Europe, as Karl Marx […]

1979 and the Birth of the 21st Century

Arts, Culture & Media

A new book argues that the year of Margaret Thatcher’s election, 1979, was one of those epic turning points in history; like 1789. The year of the French Revolution.