Iran; Oil, Islam & the west

When I was seven years old, one of my friends moved to Tehran with his family. I do not know what his parents did, but I know that they returned in less than a year because of the revolution. I did not know what that meant, but I was glad to have my friend back. Iran felt like an excotic and dangerous place.

Since my childhood Iran has been in the news; for the revolution, the hostage crisis, its support of Hamas & Hezbollah. Why? Why is this the current representation of a civilization that can be traced back to the earliest empires of the world?

Let's try to shed some light...