Tom Holland

It's one of two things about Jimmy Carter that we always mention, the tennis court bookings, and another thing that involves a swamp, which will also be...

which regular listeners to this podcast will be waiting for with bated breath.

So can I ask you, Dominic, is Carter naturally a dove or does his, say, his evangelical Christianity give him a bit of an edge that he can draw on when he feels he needs it?

I just ask because that sense of the world being divided into good and evil, which of course Reagan will make great play with, but this is also going to be part of the perspective that the Ayatollahs bring to their understanding of the world.

Thrilling stuff.

We will be back after the break to hear from the Ayatollah.

All our miseries are caused by the imperialists.

If they were not protected by the Iranian government, the people would skin them alive.

Everything in our treasury is emptied into the pockets of America.

And if there is anything left, it goes to the Shah and his gang.

They buy themselves foreign villas and stuff their bank accounts with the people's money while the nation starves.

So, brave sons of Islam, stand up.

Talk to the people.

Tell the truth to the masses.

Rouse the people in the streets and the bazaars.

Rouse our students.

Rouse our simple-hearted workers and peasants.

And let us become...

holy warriors so welcome back to the rest is history and what you heard there were the dulcet tones of the ayatollah rahola khomeini and he was speaking from exile in iraq in the city of najaf in february 1978 and dominic the ayatollah is one of the iconic figures of 20th century revolution isn't he he's up there with

Lenin with Mao.