Christiane Amanpour on What Happened in Iran — and What's Next
Christiane Amanpour on What Happened in Iran — and What's Next
Tess Bonn, News and Politics Editor Wed, March 25, 2026 at 9:47 PM UTC
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Christiane Amanpour on What Happened in Iran — and What's Next
Few people are better positioned to weigh in on Iran’s modern history than CNN's chief international anchor Christiane Amanpour, who was raised in Tehran until she was 11 — and in a new conversation with Katie Couric, she brings that firsthand experience into sharp focus.
During the 1979 Iranian Revolution, a popular uprising against an authoritarian monarchy morphed into something else entirely, reshaping the country in the span of a year. Amanpour was back in the country at the time, watching as Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi — Iran’s U.S.-backed monarch — was forced to flee. A new system quickly took hold, one many Iranians hadn’t envisioned when they first took to the streets.
In this wide-ranging interview, she connects those early moments to what followed: decades of repression, cycles of protest, and a government that revealed itself to be something very different from the democratic future many had hoped for. All of that, Amanpour suggests, is essential context for understanding the current moment in international politics — and why today’s tensions feel less like a sudden escalation and more like a continuation of a long, unresolved story.
Watch Amanpour's full interview with Katie in the video above, and read on for some of the highlights.
On the Shah fleeing in 1979
Amanpour: “There was no freedom of expression or journalism, or political activism, or anything. We weren’t really aware of it — and it really woke me up overnight when I witnessed the year leading to the revolution. I happened to be in Iran on a kind of hiatus between high school and university. It was 1978, when people were rising up. A year later, in 1979, Ayatollah Khomeini returned, the Shah was deposed, and he left the country with his family.
And in the 47 years since we’ve had this Islamic theocracy, I would say most of the people who wanted change — certainly a large share of those who went into the streets in 1978 and 1979 against the Shah — were hoping for a civil society, a secular democracy, not a theocracy. Why they placed their hopes in the old, bearded, turbaned figure of a deeply religious cleric, Ayatollah Khomeini, is beyond me."
On what Iran's been like for the last 47 years
“It was incredibly restrictive, and there were periods of incredible brutality. The regime basically started by shedding blood up to their ankles. The theocracy was infiltrated by even more hardline elements of the revolutionary coalition. There were summary trials and executions. Many of the people I grew up believing were good people — friends of my father — whether they were heads of the Air Force or others, were suddenly executed, their bullet-riddled images shown to the public as a warning: This is what we will do with any opponents. Then my own uncle was taken into prison. He was head of a military hospital, a doctor by profession, and he died in prison.”
On the commencement of 2026's Operation Epic Fury
“I wasn’t surprised, because this had been telegraphed. I remember from the Iraq War — in 2003 — that the United States, Britain, and others had pre-positioned at least a hundred thousand troops in the region: in Kuwait, on aircraft carriers, and at offshore bases. There’s a dictum in the military that you either have to use them or lose them. You can’t keep troops endlessly prepared for battle and then not deploy them; they lose their edge.
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So I was sure that something was going to happen, and I was sure Israel was going to be involved, and I was sure the United States would be involved. And then when it did, and the initial act was the decapitation of the top, top level of the government, including the top religious leader, the Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and so many of his military and security and intelligence chiefs who happened to be meeting that very day, a Saturday morning. And I think [Iran] may not have expected it, because they believed negotiations were going pretty well.”
On whether the U.S. and Israel underestimated Iran’s response
“In the words of the former Saudi intelligence chief Prince Turki al-Faisal — who also served as ambassador to the United States — when I asked him why Trump seemed surprised, he told me: ‘I’m surprised that Trump is surprised — or that Netanyahu is surprised — because Iran came to us, traveled across the Gulf states, including Saudi Arabia, and told us to please tell the United States not to do this, because this is how they would be forced to respond.'
What they call it in war is an asymmetrical response, because clearly the United States is much stronger, and Israel is much stronger. Iran could only use the leverage it had — and that leverage was economic. That meant targeting economic interests, including U.S. bases and energy infrastructure in the Gulf states, and potentially restricting access to the Strait of Hormuz. This was always going to happen.”
On possible U.S.-Iran negotiations
“There aren’t any negotiations as we speak right now. But messages are being transmitted by the Trump administration to the Iranians — and some are being exchanged, but via third parties. Those third parties are Pakistan, Turkey, and Egypt. They’re trying to figure out an off-ramp, and they’ve offered to host direct talks between the United States and Iran. Israel doesn’t seem to be part of this, because they know they would have to stop attacking Iran if the United States does.
Right now, the Iranians are saying they need a guarantee of never having this kind of aggression against them again — that’s number one — and then a whole range of other issues.
The Americans, according to Trump, have put forward a 15-point proposal. We don’t know everything that’s in it, but obviously the nuclear file is part of it. What else is included isn’t quite clear — and not all of it will be accepted by both sides.
There’s also concern among some in the Iranian opposition that negotiations could ultimately leave the regime in place, even as many want to see it come to an end.”
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