The history behind the Iranian Revolution and hostage crisis is long and complicated. The hostage crisis directly affected a presidential election, and it played into Cold War fears of a global crisis. Using video clips of an historian...

It's the world's second largest producer of oil, the largest producer of caviar, and home to numerous ancient and sacred landmarks. Iran—once the hotbed of Islamic conservatism—is also undergoing a cultural shift with a younger...

An emphasis on constant innovation, efficient administration, and excellent infrastructure was the hallmark of the Assyrian Empire. Introduce viewers to what was considered the first real empire that ruled the Middle East for over 300...

The 1979 Iranian Revolution changed the identity of Iran, and in many ways, the Middle East as a whole. High schoolers learn more about the Persian region, history, and government in a brief but explanatory video from Crash Course World...

Series of scholarly videos that correspond with student handouts traces the history of Iran and helps students understand the political and cultural conditions that led to the 1979 Revolution and its aftermath.

After being called one of the countries in the Axis of Evil, how is Iran doing with its reform movement? This site tracks Iran's political system and the state of its reform. Read interesting interviews from key people in Iran as well as...

Professor Malcolm Byrne of George Washington University discusses the policies of the United States overseas, the balance between idealism and reality, and why those in the Middle East do not like Americans. Byrne explains the importance...

PBS chronological resource listing landmarks in US-Iran relations between 1906 and 2002.

A three minute audio analysis examining the turbulent relationship between the U.S. and Iran by the highly esteemed veteran journalist, Daniel Schorr. (23 July 2007)

An April 2007 analysis of Iranian-Western relations and the future. [4:00 audio only] Also provides links to related stories.

This video focuses on world cinema including Africa: Egypt, Algeria, Senegal, and Nigeria; Latin America: Cuba and Brazil, and Iran in the Middle East. These countries used their movies to tell their own stories and establish new,...

Learn how Cyrus the Great overthrew the Medians to establish the Achaemenid Empire (Persian Empire). Follow the history of this empire in his video which includes a timeline. [13:53]

Metropolitan Museum of Art curator Fiona Kidd discusses portable wealth in Clasp with an eagle and its prey dating from the Parthian Empire, c. 1st-2nd century, C.E.

In this video [4:40] Venetia Porter, British Museum curator, explains different elements of a contemporary piece depicting Takhti, the modern day Iranian wrestler.

General Colin Powell discusses how the United States balanced the use of sanctions, diplomacy and military force during the First Gulf War. [10:37]

This is a preview of Desert One, a documentary about the 1979 Iranian Revolution and the Iran Hostage Crisis. (Video 2:29)