Use BBC.com or the new BBC App to listen to BBC podcasts, Radio 4 and the World Service outside the UK.

Find out how to listen to other BBC stations

Episode details

Radio 4,09 Mar 2026,28 mins

48 Hours in Isfahan

Currently

Available for 29 days

Witnesses from a city in Iran describe seeing forces loyal to the Islamic regime kill countless demonstrators in a brutal crackdown on the massive street protests held in January. Seen through the eyes of people who were in Isfahan, this programme pieces together a snapshot of events from the 8th and 9th of January. That’s when huge numbers of people took to the streets to protest decades of oppression and call for an end to the Islamic Republic. Thousands of people across the country were killed by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's armed forces. The regime blamed the bloodshed on what it called rioters and street terrorists backed by the countries enemies. The UN has called for an independent investigation. However, any prospect of clarity about what happened is at risk of being overshadowed by the current conflict engulfing the country. The first waves of US and Israeli military strikes on Iran killed Ali Khamenei. There are reports of hundreds of civilian casualties too on a population that’s already paid a heavy human price for standing up to the regime.

Programme Website
More episodes
Trending Now