UK PREMIERE Screening: Showdown With Iran

As the United States and Iran are locked in a battle for power and influence across the Middle East with the fear of an Iranian nuclear weapon looming in the background producer/director Greg Barker gains unprecedented access to the Iranian hard-liners shaping government policy. In Showdown With Iran Barker examines how U.S. efforts to install democracy in Iraq have served to strengthen Iran’s position as an emerging power in the Middle East. The documentary was produced as part of the acclaimed PBS FRONTLINE series in America and this will be its first showing in the UK.

Those who feature in the documentary include the deputy head of Iran’s National Security Council, Mohammed Jafri, former American UN Ambassador John Bolton and President Bush’s former deputy secretary of state, Richard Armitage. Interviews reveal that there are increasing signs that the Bush administration is seriously considering military action before it leaves office if Tehran continues to defy U.N. demands that it cease enriching uranium for its nuclear programme — a programme the Iranians insist is for peaceful purposes

Showdown with Iran also reveals that before invading Iraq, the Bush administration rebuffed a series of overtures from Iran’s reformist government — among them offers to help the U.S. stabilize Iran after the invasion — which culminated in a secret proposal for a grand bargain resolving all outstanding issues between the U.S. and Iran, including Iran’s support for terrorism and its nuclear programme.

Director/Producer: Greg Barker
Length: 56 Mins