This documentary offers a crisp and lucid overview of America’s troubled relations with Iran since Ayatollah Khomeini led the Islamic Revolution in 1979, with commentary by top officials on both sides. A leader of that year’s student protestors talks about the occupation of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran. Jimmy Carter recalls the final hours of the hostage crisis, which ended minutes after his presidency. Former Secretary of State George Shultz describes “the low point of the Reagan presidency,” when 243 Marines in Lebanon died at the hands of an Iran-supported suicide bomber. The filmmakers also fill in the lesser-known story of Iran’s support for toppling the Taliban following the Sept. 11 attacks. Monday, June 22, at 9 p.m., National Geographic Channel
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