Persian Excursion

Iran says it needs nuclear power, so that all its exported oil and gas doesn't soon get burned at home. The West worries it wants the Bomb. Faced with sanctions, Iran insists nothing can "thwart the will of the Iranian nation to achieve the peaceful use of nuclear technology." Clearly it's time for us to make a Persian excursion, to fly over today's Iran.

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Ancient Iran: The Trilogy

Now, let's travel to ancient Persia, to see Iran's baby pictures. The way we see it, ancient Iranian history is basically a grand adventure story. So we've broken it down into three action-packed, ready-for-Hollywood episodes.

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How Iran Got Religion

In 330 BC, Alexander the Great married Greek and Persian culture in Iran. By the 16th century AD, Iran was a Shi'a theocracy wedded to a militant Islam. What happened?

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Getting to Modern Iran

If you want to get to modern Iran, you have to go through Safavids, Qajars, Russians, and Brits. Oh, and the CIA, too. Not to mention Ayatollah Khomeini.

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Who Really Rules Iran?

Iran's hardliner president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, says, "Our answer to those who are angry about Iran achieving the full nuclear fuel cycle is just one phrase. We say, 'Be angry at us and die of this anger.' We won't hold talks with anyone about the right of the Iranian nation to enrich uranium." But President Ahmadinejad doesn't have the last word. After all, Iran's president isn't really in charge in Iran.

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The Recipe for Enriched Uranium

Only about 30 nations operate nuclear power plants; fewer than 10 can make nuclear weapons. Those nations all share a secret recipe--the recipe for enriched uranium, which makes nuclear power plants go and nuclear weapons go boom. Pretty much the same recipe works for energy or for war, and that makes it very hard to know who's up to what.

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--Michael Himick and Steve Sampson