hello and welcome to press tv spotlight. i'm harsia hashemi. thanks so so much for being with us. oh, just few days after the victory of the islamic revolution in iran in 1979, palestinian leadership was welcomed to the country. they were handed the keys to what had been the israeli embassy in tehran during the previous regime. february 11th, 1979 was the day the islamic revolution in iran became victorious, and by february the 19th, the first palestinian embassy in the world was opened. in tehran. now, this was message to

the zionist regime and its supporters that iran would not ignore the suffering of the palestinian people, and would stand up against oppressors big and small. this set the stage for what we are witnessing today, a whole revolutionary front standing up against the zionist regime. stay with me as i take a look at all of this on the spotlight. i'd like to welcome my guests to the program. richard met her. journalist and commentator out of vienna, and jamal wakim, professor of international relations, lebanese university out of beirut. welcome both of you to the program, good to have you. richard, what's your assessment of the move that iran made 45 years ago as newly revolutionary nation and taking the stance that it did regarding palestine? thank you for having me on the

program and uh congratulations of course to all the iranians um on this day for for the anniversary of the revolution thank you um the step that iran took that day uh has had reverberations and um uh after effects and consequences for the entire region to to this moment you to this day um and it has benefited the region greatly because this war that we're seeing in gaza uh you know it it's "it it's a part of the palestinian struggle uh which which other countries have turned their backs on and iran has been really the the the truest and most steadfast supporter of the palestinians and this was actually a one of the pillars, one of the core beliefs of that revolution, and and and i was smiling when you just brought up the fact that you know they they uh they closed the israeli embassy and handed the keys to the palestinians, i i remember this and and i mean this this is so..." in terms of of not

just the the the real victory that that it was for the iranians and palestinians, but the symbolic value of it as well, it's it's truly remarkable. um, i also remember that that for example when bobby sands died during his hunger strike, the the islamic republic went and changed the the street that the british embassy was placed to bobby sands and then the british embassy had to change their letter head, so you can see in so many different ways how... iran has has supported anti-colonial uh anti-imperialist struggles really around the entire world um and and and in nowhere more importantly of course than in in the region itself and uh the fact that um you know you see syria for example or yemen or the palestinians or the iraqies or the lebanese getting support whether it's political support or military support um or moral support from the islamic republic this this not only. provides people with an

opportunity to liberate themselves, but it also uh, it sends a message to the entire world. um, we we should remember that that iran was controlled by the united states and the united kingdom when when they carried out a coup, and so that revolution in in of itself was a rejection of british and american imperialism in the region. okay, well let me get jamal in on this. what about that, jamal? you heard what richard said, um, as far as this revolution, being an anti-imperialist and made certain moves from the very beginning, i want to talk about the novelty of newly revolutionary country and prioritizing another nation. i mean, one of the first things that imam komeini, he talked lot about the the palestinian cause, and i said about this, the embassy that was open. we have to also understand the situation of the time of 1979, the united states was extremely powerful, not the united states of today, um, and the israeli regime as far as

support, we know what it has been, so so your your thoughts on that, and the novelty, if you agree with me, of newly revolutionary country taking on that task? well, i believe that what happened back then, first the the victory of the islamic revolution was not a nationalist movement per say calling for the takeover of power and the establishment of new regime. it was a part of a wider uh let's say or had a wider vision. for the struggle in this world between on one hand imperialist powers that were trying to impose their hegemony on other powers, weak powers, weak countries and weak people, and revolutionary

countries that were trying to not only free themselves from this imperialism, but also to help other people free themselves from this american imperialism and zionist imperialism and we should take into consideration also the early connections between the the iranian revolutionaries who were some of them were training for example in lebanon in the palestinian camps back then even before the the victory of the revolution all those elements. and people who were activists against the regime of the shah who was supported by israel and the united states by the way were seeking support and refuge sometimes some of them in in leban among the lebanese people and in the their way they

were trained in the palestinian camps that's that explains for example the integral relationship between the the islamic revolution and the palestinian cause not to forget about the religious dimension as for examplesk is regarded as a holy site not only for christians but also for muslims and of course some holy sites for jews not zionists in this sense so that's why there was this awareness of this integral relationship between the palestinian cause and the iranian revolution on the national level on the level of liberation as liberation movement and also on the religious level and this explains why

since the beginning the first step that was undertaken by the islamic revolution and by imam khumaini was to close down the israeli embassy and turn it into the first palestinian embassy in the world back then, and of course, iran had to pay a price for this choice, because it was dragged into a bloody war with iraq back then, we know very well that saddam hussein was pushed and encouraged by the united states to wage war on iran and it was part of the au. has planned to contain iran, what they call the dual containment to and to let both countries, iraq and iran drain of their resources and manpower in order to ensure the security of israel, and of course iran was also subjected to heavy burdens, to a

boycott, blockade, etc. for nearly five decades now, despite all this, iran kept on pursuing its cause. in supporting the weak people, mustadafin as they it's it's said or they as they are called by the iranians and until now we we see that the iranian revolution is supporting the palestinian resistance, the lebanese resistance, the yemani resistance and the iraqi resistance and against the american israeli occupation and aggression, stay with me jam, let me get richard back in and this uh this uh richard, islamic iran has never hidden the fact that it supports palestines and as jamal just said, the country has paid a price for standing up against the oppression of the hegemonic front, especially the zionist regime, but despite that in 45 years um the

leadership, whether it was imam komaini or ayatollah has never gone off course with that support. um for the palestinian cause, i'd like your thoughts to hear your thoughts about that, despite all the pressure it has state state the course, well that that shows you that that... 'um whether we are talking about um um homini or khamini, both of them are men of principles, they they have courage and they they stayed the course uh, they they stood up against imperialism no matter what, and they did it when when when other people would normally be scared, and we see most of the planet, they they they unfortunately the leaders don't have the courage to stand up against the united states against scinianism and and and britain, so that that that is huge cr'. to to iran's leaders after the revolution and and the leaders of the revolution and the fact that they have tried

so much to crush iran and punish it, i mean you people need to understand this that that when when iran was hijacked by america and and britain in 1953 until 1979, it was it was puppet and because iran broke free of that they have never forgiven iran and so that's why to this day i mean you can see in the press there's still you know making vicious cartoons about iran uh in pop culture and movies um uh in addition to politics of course they're always saying bad things about iran, this is very vicious, it's it's very vindictive and and it's it's because they have never gotten over the fact that iran uh decided to to liberate itself and help others liberate themselves and um the sanctions of course the sanctions regimes that have been imposed over and over again we you know the nuclear deal is a great example of this you had iran. sitting down at the table, iran agreed, iran followed, iran fulfilled its obligations 100%, and and all of this was

attested to by the international atomic energy agency, and what happened, the united states goes and rips up its own deal, so this shows that that that iran has has really done everything uh to to be a peaceful country, iran has never attacked another country or invaded another country, it only seeks diplomacy and it only seeks empower others and and and even 'when you know you sit down with the united states and you try to to to hash things out they they um you know they uh just rip up agreements and walk away because the their nature of the the nature of american leaders unfortunately is is imperialism and it is to to attack those who resist so you know it's it's no wonder that the access of resistance is vilified um there's a reason that yemen is bombed and syria is bombed and syria sanctioned and iran is also attacked it's it's precisely because of this because they have a common'. principle uh, they have uh, they're steadfast, they remain true to their cause

and to their course, and they they refuse to you, to to accept the the previous world order, and uh, this has this is proven to be very fruitful, because right now we're seeing a multiolar world uh begin to flourish, and who is at the helm of that? iran is one of the countries. so, when we saw iran acceeding to bricks for example, this made me very happy, it made people who are observing international affairs very happy because... because it it's the whole mark of new order that that is coming and one that is balanced and not hegemonic and based on just one country's rule. yes indeed, well jamal, um, over the years we've witnessed resistance leader after leader visiting iran and visiting the leader of iran, ayatollah khamenei, how do you assess the relationship between resistance factions and the leadership in iran and it's important? well, first of all we need to understand this relationship, it's a balanced relationship in the sense that these leaders and these these

leaders of resistance groups, they are not dominated or they are not tools of iran as they are portrayed sometimes by the west and western media, but they are true partners and brothers in one cause which is to resist the hegem. the imperialists and to free their people from this hegemony, this is on one hand, on the other hand, there is also this sense of let's say gratitude to iran, because iran and islamic revolution was the one to support these resistance groups in order to hold the the cause of their people, so if we take for example the... the case of lebanon, since 1982, for example, of course there were

other resistance groups before that, but afterwards after the israeli invasion of lebanon, hisbullah was able to become the most prominent. okay, we seem that we have the last jamal, let me just go back to you, richard, in general, you know, both you and jamal were talking about ' as far as how iran in general, especially in the media has been demonized, an important part of this, one of the things that they use is actually uh try to play the the persian arab card, the sunni. shia card are so many other cards against iran um, i want to look at it from the media perspective and what they have continued trying to demonize iran, but at the end of the day um action speaks louder than words and what we can see right now um as far as iran and its steadfast support for the palestinian cause and other causes in the region, your thoughts on that side of things,

well yeah uh oh this is for richard, sorry jamal bause i had lost you, i'm very very sorry. so i switch over to richard, i'll come back to you, let me have richard answer this question, be very brief, i'll be very brief, so jamal can go back on, um, you know, one thing that that really disappoints me is is how western education also uh perpetuates this myth that you know the the middle east has to be viewed in terms of sunni and shiah, this is colonial, this is colonial thinking, because they want to divide and conquer, um, you know, the fact that hamas a sunni and iran is predominant. shiah and and they are working together dispels this myth entirely and and if only people would just you know think for second instead of swallowing propaganda they would they would know this uh and realize this very well and and i think that's something that's to be uh celebrated and something uh uh that that is uh that shows that this is not about religion or something like that we shouldn't allow the

west to play this card this is about anti-colonial uh movements and national liberation and and the liberation of of this. region from centuries of western dominance, well jamal, what has happened over the decades, the uh western hegemonic front has tried to isolate iran in so many different ways, your assessment of where iran stands right now, um, from that perspective, do you see it as being a nation as isolated or how do you see it? well, i believe that iran was able to overcome all obstacles and blockades, that the west tried to impose on it, first it was able to reach out to the arabs through supporting the major arab cause which is that of palestine, and it was able to reach out to sunnis, shia, christians and other people who all believe in this palestinian cause. in addition to that, it was able to withstand

all pressures and to draw alliances especially with russia and china, and now we... that iran has become an integral part of shanghai cooperation organization and member of bricks in addition to its strong alliance with russia and china especially in imposing the stability in central asia which was a region that the united states tried to destabilize other than that we we see that china, russia and iran are complementing each other in terms of withstanding the... attempts of the united states to isolate them, also iran was able to get in contact and reach out to far away and distant countries such as venezuela and cuba in order to face and confront us hegemony and build brotherly relationships with non muslim and

let's say non arab. and non asian and african countries such as venezuela and cuba, other addition to brazil, bolivia and other countries, so i don't see that iran is isolated. i have, i had the opportunity to visit iran on two occasions and i saw that much of the needs of the people were provided by the state and by the iranian economy, so iran was able to develop its web. and its technology, its civil and its military technology to stand the west, so all these were achievements by iran. okay, stay with me, i just want to get richard in one minute here before we go, richard, 45th in anniversary of iran's revolution has been celebrated today in iran, do you think that it has been proven that this revolution was

not just for iranians, but for the oppressed around the world? yes, without question, and um my my guest just mentioned other countries also that are very far away like cuba and venezuela um that that are partners of iran um and iran would not engage with countries um uh you know had the revolution not been successful uh i i can tell you one thing without iran's islamic revolution uh the the region would be very very you know in a far worse condition the palestinian cause would have would have maybe been extinguished already uh it would not be the the core political issue of our time, without iran's support uh, syria would not have been able to survive, uh, lebanon would still be occupied by the israelis, yemen would would would maybe not have been able to survive, and of... of course i say this with with complete credit to you know the syrian army and the yemeny resistance and the and the lebanese resistance, but i i just want to underscore of course uh the important role that that

iran played in in uplifting them and helping them combat imperialism. it's an absolutely crucial role and it's not just from a military point of view, it's from moral point of view and a political point of view. and on that note, i think both of you for being with me on this spotlight. richard bedhurst, journalist and commentator out of vienna, jamal wakim, professor of international relations. lebanese university, out of beirot. thank you viewers for being with us on another spotlight. i'm marsia hashimi, hope to see you right here on another spotlight. goodbye.

this is the story of nation that lived here for centuries until an obscure foreign regime. emerged and began farming on their lands and brought in new people to replace the old nation. they picked the focal point

of attention of different religions in the region, a highly regarded place at the heart of this arabic, islamic setting. what would have happened if hizbullah had been vanquished? that's perhaps the most significant and upsetting question about the 2006 war. "much has been said about the 2006 war, about its motives, the behind the scenes and the circumstances around it, was shaped by the flames of war, bengaran present of vulnerabilities devised a strategic doctrine, yet on october 7th, seismic tremors shook the

foundation of this doctrine, facing unparalleled challenges, israel confronted economic appeaval. how did this mortal wound reverberate through the intricacies of its economy? who could imagine something could happen in in in iran? nobody begin of seven i decided to to try to go to iran, but then after my first trip i came back from iran everybody.

laugh at me because i was full to imagine something would happen in a country like iran. you know sometimes you never know you have something in your mind and um well when really everything started it was end at the end of august. my pictures were published everywhere. the rest of of the world started to think. something is going to happen. who is michelle? it's me. كثير على مرمى.

you got to let it burn baby, burn baby, this house is on fire.

وحوش وحوش. this week's episode of iran tech is our... coverage of the 14th annual nanotechnology exhibition of iran, iran nano 2023, where iran proves to the worldwide ranks fourth globally and first in west asia in nano science production. this is where 140 companies come together to showcase their latest achievements in nanotechnology, so join us as we take a look around and showcase the best that this exhibition has to offer.

your headlines on press tv: various countries sound the alarm about israel's looming operation in the southern gaza city of rafah, saying it would lead to a catastrophic humanitarian. crisis, the latest israely strikes on the gaza strip kill more than 100 palestinians raising the death toll from the onslot since early october to nearly 28,200, and the iranians hold rallies to mark the 45th anniversary of the islamic revolution's victory. president raisi says iran has been making grace tries despite all enemy threats and plots.