Inside Iran

Available for over a year

Pascale Harter introduces stories from Iran, the occupied West Bank, the Indian state of West Bengal and northern Ukraine. Iran's economic crisis has sharpened, with inflation soaring to 50 per cent and beyond. As the standoff in the Strait of Hormuz continues to disrupt trade, and an internet shutdown eases only slightly, people continue to struggle with rising prices and job losses. Lyse Doucet reflects on her recent encounters while reporting from Tehran. It's been many years since most Palestinians last voted for their representatives - but limited municipal elections were held last weekend in the occupied West Bank and Gaza. Hamas was officially excluded from participating, as the Palestinian Authority required political blocs and candidates taking part to recognise the state of Israel - something Hamas refuses to do. Jon Donnison was in Ramallah on polling day. In the Indian state of West Bengal, a fierce state election battle has been fought in recent weeks. PM Narendra Modi's BJP mounted an aggressive push to unseat the incumbent Trinamool Congress party, which was seeking a fourth consecutive term. But why did some candidates campaign while waving fresh fish? Soutik Biswas explains how culinary tradition became a hot-button issue for voters. And forty years after the Chernobyl nuclear disaster, Jordan Dunbar goes to northern Ukraine to uncover part of its hidden history. Pripyat, the town which housed the nuclear power plant's workforce, was once a place full of cultural energy - with one of the hippest nightclubs in the USSR, and a DJ unafraid to play "unauthorised" music from the West. Producer: Polly Hope Editor: Richard Fenton-Smith Production Co-ordinator: Katie Morrison (Image: People walking in spring sunshine in Tehran, mid April 2026 Credit: Fatemeh Bahrami/Anadolu via Getty Images)