[2][3] Axworthy visited Iran frequently during holidays as a teenager because his father, Ifor,[2] was involved in a project there with the Midland Bank.
He recalled leaving the capital, Tehran, around September 1978 soon after the first large demonstrations against the soon-to-be-deposed Shah of Iran, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, had taken place in the city.
[2][5] An inability to get a grant to study for a Ph.D. led Axworthy to apply for work at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO), a department of the UK government where he thought he would be able to indulge in his desire for a challenging job that involved living abroad.
He was uncertain of the reasons for this, having been variously told that it was because of general relationship issues involving Iran and the UK and that it was due to the content of his own writings.
[3] In 2006, Axworthy took part in The Doha Debates, successfully arguing against the motion that "This House believes that Iran poses the greatest threat to security in the region.
[8] 2013 saw publication of Axworthy's book titled Revolutionary Iran: A History of the Islamic Republic, which was described by James Buchan as a "calm and literary portrait".
"[3] Axworthy wrote articles for academic journals[10] and for publications such as The Guardian,[11] Prospect and The Independent, and appeared on broadcast programmes such as Start the Week, Sky News, Today and A History of the World in 100 Objects,[4] as well as on the Peterhouse team in the 2018 Christmas series of University Challenge.