Beautiful aroma.

Yeah, those sort of purple alcoholic aromas.

Anyway, these were fairly new technologies in the early 1970s.

And so he distributed enormous numbers of his sermons on tape.

People were quite fascinated by this.

There were still quite high levels of illiteracy, so being able to listen to something was really quite profound.

And it got around the state-controlled media.

Iran was up there as one of the worst, wasn't it? But did it become actually worse than that once the Shah departed and Khomeini took over?

Okay, so it's not to say that the party caused the revolution, but how is the party indicative of the trends that would ultimately lead to the revolution in 79?

Well, a whole number of things sort of kick off in 1971.

And the first of those is early in the year.

And it's a failed effort by a group of... left-wing students to establish a guerrilla force in the mountains outside of Tehran, the capital.

This all goes woefully wrong.

I mean, they're a complete disaster, the whole thing.

They end up being taken sort of prisoner by a whole load of villagers that they had hoped to turn into this rural guerrilla army following the ethos of Mao and Che Guevara and other kind of luminaries of guerrilla warfare from the 1960s and early 70s.

But again, But basically, you know, as you were kind of thinking about this event and studying this event and doing the research for this book, how does that then affect how you think about what's going on in Iran today?

Okay, so, so it's, it's, it's, it's, it's not to say that, um, the, the party caused the revolution, but, but how is the party indicative of the trends that would ultimately lead to the revolution in '79?

Well, a whole number of things sort of kick off in 1971, and the first of those is early in the year, and it's, um, a failed effort by a group of left-wing students to establish a guerrilla force in the mountains outside of Tehran, the capital.

This all goes woefully wrong.

I mean, they're a complete disaster, uh, the whole thing.

They end up being, uh, taken sort of prisoner by a whole load of villagers that they had hoped to turn into this rural guerrilla army following the ethos of Mao and Che Guevara and other kind of luminaries of guerrilla warfare from the 1960s and early '70s.

But it all goes horribly wrong, but it inflames the Shah.

He's completely furious about this, and he launchesA major crackdown on these different leftist groups.

But, but basically, you know, as, as, as, as you were kind of thinking about this event and studying this event and doing the research for this book, how does that then affect how you think about what's going on in Iran today?

Okay, so it's not to say that the party caused the revolution, but how is the party indicative of the trends that would ultimately lead to the revolution in 79?

Well, a whole number of things sort of kick off in 1971.

And the first of those is early in the year.

And it's a failed effort by a group of... left-wing students to establish a guerrilla force in the mountains outside of Tehran, the capital.

This all goes woefully wrong.

I mean, they're a complete disaster, the whole thing.

They end up being taken sort of prisoner by a whole load of villagers that they had hoped to turn into this rural guerrilla army following the ethos of Mao and Che Guevara and other kind of luminaries of guerrilla warfare from the 1960s and early 70s.

But again, But basically, you know, as you were kind of thinking about this event and studying this event and doing the research for this book, how does that then affect how you think about what's going on in Iran today?

Okay, so it's not to say that the party caused the revolution, but how is the party indicative of the trends that would ultimately lead to the revolution in 79?

Well, a whole number of things sort of kick off in 1971.

And the first of those is early in the year.

And it's a failed effort by a group of... left-wing students to establish a gorilla force in the mountains outside of Tehran, the capital.

This all goes woefully wrong.

I mean, they're a complete disaster, the whole thing.

They ended up being taken sort of prisoner by a whole load of villagers that they had hoped to turn into this rural guerrilla army following the ethos of Mao and Che Guevara and other kind of luminaries of guerrilla warfare from the 1960s and early 70s.

But again, But basically, you know, as you were kind of thinking about this event and studying this event and doing the research for this book, how does that then affect how you think about what's going on in Iran today?