hello and welcome to press tv spotlight, i'm harshimi, thanks 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. for 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 على 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 metters, journalist and commentator out of vienna. and jamal wakim, professor of international relations, lebanese university out of beirot. 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. 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 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 it's a part of the palestinian struggle uh which which other countries have turned their backs. 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 um, they they uh, they closed the israeli embassy and handed the keys to the palestinians, i i remember this, and and uh, i mean, this, this is so powerful uh, in terms of of not just the the the real victory that that it was for the iranians. palestinians, but the symbolic

value of it as well, it it's it's truly remarkable. um, i, i also remember that that for example, when bobby sands died, um, during his hunger strike, uh, the the islamic republic went and changed the the street that the british embassy was placed to bobby sand, and then the british embasy had to change their letterhead, 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 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, you 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 and 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, 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 it support, we know what it has been, so so your your thoughts on that, and the novel. 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 let's say or had a wider vision for the struggle in this world between on one hand and 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... the 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 lebanon, 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 islamic revolution and the palestinian cause, not to forget about the religious dimension. as for example 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 the sense, so that's why there was this awareness of this integral relationship between the palestinian causes and 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, but 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 us plan to contain iran what they call the dual containment to and to let both countries, iraq and iran drain off their resources and manpower in order to ensure the security of israel and of course iran was also subjected to heavy burdens, to 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... 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. okay, stay with me jam, let me get richard back in on this discussion uh richard, islamic iran has never hidden the fact that it supports palestine. lines and uh, as jamal has just said, the country has paid a price for standing up against the oppression of the hegemonic front, especially the zionist regime. um, but despite that, in 45 years, um, the leadership, whether it was imam khumeini or ayatullah khamenei, 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, well, that that shows you that that um, whether we are talking about um, um, homini or khameini, both of them are. men of principles uh, 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 uh the united states, against sionism and and and britain, so you know that that that is huge credit uh uh to to iran's leaders after the revolution, the and the leaders of the revolution. "and the fact that the they have tried so much to crush iran and punish it, i mean, 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, in 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 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 obligation. is 100% and and all of this was attested to by the international atomic energy agency, and what happened, the

united states goes and rips off 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... they uh just rip up agreements and walk away because the their nature of the 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 axis 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 know 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 you know when we saw iran exceeding to bricks for example this made me very happy it made people who are observing um international affairs very happy 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 a relationship between resistance factions and the leadership in iran and its importance? 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 hegemony of 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 uh, 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 case of lebanon, since 1982. for example, of course there were other resistance groups before that, but afterwards, after the uh israeli

invasion of lebanon, hisbullah was able to become the most prominent. okay, we've seen that we have lost jamal. let me just go back to you, richard, in general, you know, both you and jamal were talking about, um, as far as how iran in general, especially in the media, has been demonized in... important part of this, one of the things that they use is actually uh try to play the the persian arab card, the sunni shiah card, are so many other cards against iran, um, i want to look at it from the media. a 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, go ahead, very brief, 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 that this is colonial, this is colonial thinking because they want to divide and conquer um you know uh the fact that uh hamas are sunni and iran is predominantly shia 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 um i think that's something that's to be uh celebrated and something that that is 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 see that iran has become an integral part of shanghai cooperation organization and member of... 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 in 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 weapons and it 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 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 uh, 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 uh of our time uh without iran's support uh syria would not have been able to to survive uh lebanon would still be occupied by the israelis, yemen would would would maybe not have been able to survive, and of course i i say this with with complete credit to you know the syrian army and the yemen resistance and the and the... resistance, but 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 metthurst, 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. st. louis ferguson, assassinations. "they don't have nothing, they can't lose nothing, and i think the most dangerous person in the world, person don't have nothing to lose.

black americans looking for justice. if this is a war, then we're going to have to deal with it with the strategies that people in war use. i saw his, i saw um, the never ending story وعره كثير على مرمى البصر في بشر مش عارفين يتحركوا من الطريق.

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

اهدي عليك محمد يارب الله يحفظك يا رب الله يحفظك يا رب عنده عنده عنده الله السلامه. وحوش وحوش,

after the occupation of palestinian lands and creation of the israeli regime, both sides came to realize the power of cinema in getting their message. is across. israeli regime used cinema to show the territory it had occupied as heaven on earth in order to entice jews from all over the world to migrate to the occupied territories. on the other hand, although belatedly, palestinians also learn to use the power of media and cinema to make their voice heard across the world. there was a new battlefield for both sides.

يقتل حيوانات بشريه تلك قضيه وتلك قضيه كيف تكون ملاكا ابيض يبقى ضميرك نص ض تنصف حركات الحريه وتنصف حركات التحرير. وتوزع عطفك وحنانك

المقتول حسب الجنسيه وتلك قضيه وتلك قضيه كيف تكون انسانا راقيا ومطابق للاشتراطات كل كلامك. بس سواقي وبتحضم كل الشجرات بتقول على البواب بالعرس جنبك جيش بيد مدارس واما بتقفش نفسك لابسه دم تقول الكل ضحيه وقت قديم وتلكه قضيه

كيف اصدق هذا العالم لما بيحكي عن الانسان شايف امه بتبكي ضنان علشان مات في الغرض جعان ويساوي المقتول بالادل في شرف ونزاه وحده وتلقى قضيق وتلك قضيه مش فر يتكلم وانت حرر وما تعيش مسلم انت اللي بجيل ورا جيل يتعلم كيف يعيش ويموت لقضيه بننادي على عالم مين علشان

مش هخف باروده الدار ولا قادر اترجع له صباح تلك قضيب هذا كفاه.

your headlines for this hour, israeli strikes claim more palestinian lives in southern gaza as death toll from the regime's genocidal war rises to nearly 28,200. various countries sound the alarm about israel's looming operation in the seventh gaza city of rafah saying you would. lead to a catastrophic humanitarian crisis. air volk says it has resumed talks with the united states to set up a timeline for the pullout of the us-let coalition forces from the country.