The History You Need to Understand The Iran War

Added: 2026-05-12

[00:00:00]If you are going to understand this war, you need to understand Iran as a country. Iran is massive. It's diverse and because of its isolation, almost North Koreaike, there is an enormous amount of confusion and misunderstanding surrounding it. Tahrron is the capital and largest city in Iran. It sits in the north central part of the country just south of the Caspian Sea along the slopes of the Alborus Mountains with the highest peak of Mount Damavand towering above it. Its location makes it one of the most important transportation hubs in the country, connecting Iran's north, south, east, and west through highways, railways, and air routes. And historically, Tron sits along the old silk road. So, it is a city shaped by trade, by movement, by strategy.

[00:00:47]Azadis have been part of Persian civilization for many hundreds of years.

[00:00:51]They are not Persians but are an important part of Persian and Iranian history and culture. They are very well respected in Iran. Contrary to Western propaganda, Azari identity is not suppressed by the Islamic Republic. In fact, most people in this region, as I mentioned earlier, speak Azari first, Farsy or Persian second, and some can't even speak Persian at all. To get a sense of how much mobility and respect Azeris have in Iranian society, all you have to do is look at the very top. The late supreme leader Ali Khame was Azari himself who was born in the eastern city of Kame in eastern Azerbaian province of northwestern Iran. So naturally Azaris are very proud of this fact. So despite having a distinct cultural identity, ethnicity and language, Azaris still view themselves as an important part of Iran. You can even describe them as being inseparable from Iran. So Azaris are respected, happy and loyal to Iran.

[00:01:48]Isvahan is the third most populous city in Iran. Located in the central parts of the country, but it's not just another major city. Isvahan was once the capital of Iran under the Sephavid dynasty, a period when Persia was at the height of its cultural, architectural, and political power. That legacy is still visible everywhere you look. Isvahan is one of the most historically and culturally rich cities in the region. At the center of it is Nakshi Square, one of the largest city squares in the entire world and a UNESCO World Heritage site. Geographically, it sits in a very unique position. Isvahan lies on a plateau in central Iran, surrounded by arid plains, but framed in the distance by the Zagros mountain range. These mountains historically acted as both a barrier and a shield, protecting the region while also shaping trade routes and movement across the country. Running through the city is the Xander Rude River. one of the most important lifelines in central Iran. In a region that is otherwise dry and unforgiving, this river made settlement, agriculture, and expansion possible. That is partly why Isvahan became what it is. It wasn't random. It was strategic. And culturally, it has always been diverse.

[00:02:59]Even during the time of Cyrus the Great, Isvahan was known for its religious and cultural tolerance. And that spirit still exists today. The city is home to Muslims, Christians, Jews, and many others with mosques, churches, cathedrals, and synagogues all coexisting within the same space. So when you look at Isvahan, you're not just looking at a city. You are looking at a place that has carried history, culture, religion, and power through nearly every era of human civilization.

[00:03:26]Before the Sephavids, Iran was largely Sunni. But when the Sephids came to power in the 16th century, they made a decisive move. They adopted 12ism as the official state's religion and forced its adoption across the population. This wasn't just a theological decision. It was a political one. The Sephavids were surrounded by powerful Sunni empires like the Ottomans to the west and adopting Shiism created a clear identity that separated them from their rivals and unified their territory under a distinct ideology. That shift reshaped Iran not just religiously but culturally. The Sephabed period did place a much stronger emphasis on visual storytelling, royal imagery, and historical scenes. They invested heavily in art as a way to project power, identity, and legitimacy. They even relocated entire communities of Armenian Christians to Isfahan, particularly to the district of New Ja, where they became central to trade, craftsmanship, and artistic production. Many of the techniques and styles you see in Sephovit era arts were influenced or developed through these communities and that cultural openness carried forward.

[00:04:36]Shiraz is one of the oldest cities in Iran. Its history goes back over 4,000 years mentioned in ancient tablets as far back as 200 BC, which means this isn't just another city. This is a place that has existed through almost every phase of Persian civilization.

[00:04:52]Geographically, Shiraz sits in the southwest of Iran in the province of Farce, the historical heartsland of Persia itself. This is the same region that gave rise to the Aimemended Empire to Cyrus the Great and to nearby sites like Procepilus. The city itself lies at an elevation of about 1,500 m above sea level surrounded by the Zagros mountains. These mountains matter.

[00:05:15]They've always acted as both a protection and isolation, shielding the region while also shaping how people, trade, and armies moved through it. And like many major Iranian cities, Shidas grew where survival was possible, where water, trade routes, and geography all intersected. That is why it has endured.

[00:05:32]And the elevation gives Shi a very different climate than what you might expect. When people think of Iran, they imagine heat, dryness, desert. But Shiraz, especially in the spring, is cold, wet, and unpredictable. Every day I was there, it rained consistently.

[00:05:48]Historically, Shiraz wasn't always the political capital, but it was often something just as important. It was a center of culture, of knowledge, of identity. After the Islamic conquest, it rose in importance and became a major regional capital. By the medieval period, it had earned a reputation as a center of art, scholarship, and literature. So much so that it was known as the house of knowledge. This is the city that produced some of the most important figures in Persian history like the poets Hafes and Sadi Shirozi.

[00:06:17]Their tombs are still here today not just as historical sites but as places people actively visit, reflect and connect with. In Shiro poetry isn't just literature. It's part of the culture the identity of the people the way that they understand their lives. And the city is also known for its gardens, not just for their beauty, but for what they represent, order in the middle of chaos.

[00:06:40]Life in the middle of dryness. That same Persian idea of paradise we discussed in a previous episode, an enclosed cultivated world. And at different points in history, Shid did become the capital, most notably under the Zen dynasty in the 18th century when it was rebuilt and expanded into a major political and economic center. But even when it wasn't the capital, it remained something else. Shiraid was a cultural capital, a city of poets, gardens, and ideas, a place that preserved Persian identity even as empires rose and fell all around it. Shiraz is famous for its sour orange trees known as Naren and Farsy. This isn't something recent. For centuries, Shiraz has been known as a city of gardens and fragrance. Narange trees were brought into the region through early trade routes and became deeply rooted in the identity of the city, especially during the Islamic and medieval periods when Persian garden culture was at its peak. These aren't just decorative, they are part of daily life. Their blossoms are used for fragrance, for cooking, for medicine.

[00:07:37]And during the springtime, you can smell them everywhere. I am not exaggerating when I say that the entire city carries the scent of the sour orange. Street after street, neighborhood after neighborhood. Almost every household plants and takes care of these trees.

[00:07:51]It's part of the culture here.

[00:07:56]But Bush isn't just important because of oil. It has a history of resistance as well. Over a hundred years ago during World War I, this city became a center of anti-colonial struggle against the British Empire. Led by Rais Ali Delvari, local fighters launched a resistance campaign against British forces that had occupied parts of southern Iran to control trade routes and oil access. He wasn't a general. He wasn't backed by a major army. He was just a local leader fighting with what he had. And for years, he resisted. Eventually, he was killed, but his legacy stayed. And in a place like this, that history matters.

[00:08:30]Because when you understand that Busher has already fought off foreign control once, you start to understand how people here see what's happening today.

[00:08:41]Bond Rabbas is a major coastal port city that sits along a natural bay formed by a chain of islands like Rasham Island and Larok Island, all positioned within the critically important straight of Hormuz. This waterway has effectively become a choke point, a clogged artery.

[00:08:58]The flow of Gulf oil and gas has slowed to a crawl with only limited ships passing through, often under very strict oversight from the IRGC Navy. That pressure has sent energy prices skyrocketing, putting massive economic and political strain on the US and its Gulf allies who rely heavily on the uninterrupted flow of energy through this strait. You see, in this war, everything comes down to the straight of Hormuz. Not how many buildings are destroyed, not how many people are killed or pilots or soldiers are captured, but control over this waterway. That is the real battlefield.

[00:09:32]And Iran understood this many decades ago. That's why they built their entire strategy around it and their ability to control the strait and to threaten and harass the US bases and energy infrastructure all across the region.

[00:09:44]They understood that the strait was a pressure point. Control of the strait doesn't just impact the region, it impacts the global economy. That is how important the straight of Hormuz is.