Inside Iran: The proxy war on the brink of erupting

With the Middle East on the brink of war, Four Corners travels to Iran, Lebanon and Israel to investigate why a new regional war is looming.

Four Corners gains rare access to Iran. There they reveal the fault lines of a repressive regime, and how its power extends through proxy groups in the region – Hezbollah, Hamas, and the Houthis.

Global Affairs Editor John Lyons travels to Hezbollah’s heartland in Lebanon, then to Israel, now facing war on multiple fronts. He speaks with key figures, politicians and military insiders to unravel the challenge of defusing this geopolitical timebomb.

CHAPTERS
00:00 – Primed for war
02:00 - The most powerful man in Iran
02:35 – The Big War
03:55 – Supplying weapons
04:47 – The Ayatollahs and the Islamic Revolution
05:45 – The regime
06:40 – Run in with undercover police in Iran
09:22 – Taken for questioning
10:10 – Masha Amini protests
10:45 – Voices of youth of Iran
12:20 – Nuclear scientists
14:30 – Nuclear weapons
15:11 – Iran and Israel
16:00 – Brink of war in the Middle East
17:30 – Axis of Resistance
21:00 – Dahiyeh, Lebanon
22:40 – Speaking to Hezbollah
25:50 – Drones over the Iron Dome
29:45 – Amal militia
30:35 – Plane hijacking
34:18 – Northern Israel
35:34 – Attacks on the Lebanon-Israel border
37:50 – Iran’s proxies
38:20 – Israel’s occupation of Palestine
38:45 – Speaking to Mossad
39:40 – What would happen if Iran and Israel went to war?
44:57 – ‘Welcome to Armageddon’

This episode was originally broadcast as ‘The Big War’ on 26 August 2024 on ABC TV and ABC iview.