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The Iranian Revolution

Modern Middle East

Fall 2002

Background

� The power of Persia was reduced during the rule of the Qajar Dynasty.

� To the extent that we know of Persia/Iran today.

� The Qajar�s made a little village near Elburz Mountains their capital � Teheran.

� Persia lagged behind the Ottomans in Westernization.

� Likewise the Persians could not stop the Russians.

� The end result was the Constitution in 1906 that reduced the Shah�s power.

Shortcoming of Political Reform in Persia

� Constitutionalism could not stop the slide of Persia.

� Too much tribalism, too many difficulties, too little taxes contributed to the internal problems in Persia.

� In 1907 Britain and Russia agreed to establish spheres of influence in Persia.

� The Russians controlled the Northern Third.

� The British then occupied the South protecting the oil wells and pipelines of the Anglo-Persian Oil Company in the British sphere.

Expansion of British Power

� The British were ready to absorb Persia into their expanding zone of control.

� The British controlled most of the Arab states as well as the Gulf Sultanates.

� As well as the Caucasus Republics.

� The British offered the Qajar�s a treaty that would have turned Persia into a British protectorate.

� The Bolsheviks proceeded to renounce all special perks in Persia in 1921.

The Coup of Reza Shah

� In 1921, the Persian Cossack Brigade overthrew the government of Teheran.

� The coup was led by Reza Khan who organized a secret society opposed to both the British and the Russians.

� In 1923, the Reza arrested the PM and forced Ahmad Shah to appoint as his replacement as PM.

� Ahmad Shah then fled to Europe.

� Reza then organized the construction of the Trans-Iranian Railroad.

� In 1925, the Parliament officially deposed Ahmad and made Reza, now Reza Pahlavi, as the new King.

Reza and Kemal

� Reza admired Kemal Atturk.

� He did roughly the same thing for Iran.

� But Reza was limited by the Islamic legacy of Persia.

� In 1935, he decreed that Iran was the new name for Persia.

� Which means the �land of the Aryans.�

� While symbolic, it indicated a break with the Arab and Muslim world.

The Goals of Reza�s Reforms

� Liberation from Foreign and Political Domination.

� Establishment of of internal security and centralized government.

� Administrative reforms and economic progress.

� Social and cultural progress.

Reforms of Reza

� Taking charge of banks and currency.

� Running their own telephones and telegraphs.

� Gaining the rights to try foreigners and run their own custom houses.

� He did have trouble gaining control of the Anglo-Persian (now the Anglo-Iranian) Oil Company.

� Improvements in road transportation.

� Likewise improvements in education, especially for girls and boys.

The Downfall of Reza

� Reza was an impatient man.

� He had difficulties in delegating authority.

� When the West did not flock to Iran to help; especially the United States, he looked elsewhere.

� Into the void came from Germany.

� First the Weimar Republic and then the Nazis.

� When World War II started, Britain installed a friendly government in Iraq.

� Thus when the Germans invaded the Soviet Union in 1941, the British and Soviets occupied Iran.

� Reza abdicated in favor of his son, Mohammad, and then went into exile.

� He died three years later.

The Two Pahlavis

� The Pahlavis ruled from 1925 until 1979.

� It consisted of two shahs � Reza Khan and his son Mohammad Reza.

� One can argue that they stole from Iran, taking over much of the land, houses, palaces, etc.

� The Pahlavi Foundation alone had assets of 3 Billion Dollars in 1977.

� Where Reza Khan wanted to be like Kemal Atturk, Mohammad Reza was more complex.

� He was ruthless and was willing to press his westernization regardless of the consequences.

Mohammad Reza�s Early Years

� Early in his reign he turned over to his ministers.

� Tribal leaders regained control that they lost to his father.

� Later he was eclipsed by a popular premier Mohammad Mosaddiq.

� Mosaddig then went on to nationalize Anglo-Iranian Oil in 1951.

� With the help of the CIA and MI6, the Shah was returned to power.

� Now he was overshadowed by his U.S. and Military advisers.

The Shah and the CIA

� During the Cold War Iran was of strategic interest to the U.S.

� Iran went on to join CENTO in 1955.

� In the 1960s the CIA and American intelligence advised the Shah to clap down on those groups that threatened the Shah�s efforts at modernization.

� The Shah then instituted the White Revolution, calling for:

Principal Opponent of the White Revolution

� Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, one of the key spiritual leaders in Qom.

� When the SAVAK could not silence him.

� He went into exile in Paris.

� Many of his followers influenced the students in the Madrasahs in Qom.

� This was the most effect way for Khomeini to mobilize the Ulama against the Shah.

� One key method of mobilizing the opposition to the Shah was the exemption from Iranian law of Americans.

� To many Iranians, this reminded them of the Capitulations.

The Shah�s Policies of Reforms

� The Shah wanted to change the lifestyles of the Iranian people.

� Bridges were built so were damns and other improvements programs.

� Oil revenues were up from $817 million in 1968 to $20 billion between 1975-76.

� Universities were constructed and turned out more graduates than the economy could absorb.

� The state had more trucks than drivers.

� The situation was only getting worse.

The SAVAK Watched and Listened

� Large numbers of unemployed were found in Tehran.

� The SAVAK watched them.

� Used torture to extract confessions.

� Corruption was rampant.

� The Shah�s opponents viewed him as dictator.

� They also saw him as a puppet of American imperialism.

The Shah�s Military Might

� The Shah massed tanks, heavy artillery, modern jets allegedly to stop a Soviet invasion.

� One that he could not really stop.

� But the arms-build up satisfied his officer corps and allowed for Iran to take over for Britain in policing the Gulf in 1971.

But the Shah Demonstrated a Serious Case of Megalomania

� When he and his wife were coronation in 1967 and honored the 2,500 years of the Iranian monarchy.

� The cost was $200 million.

Problems for Modernization

� Iran�s bureaucratic elite had less experience than those in Egypt and Turkey.

� Oil revenues created more wealth than the state could absorb.

� Elites became corrupt and lacked a sense of national purpose.

� Iranians were highly nationalistic but lacked a sense of patriotism, while relying on numerous foreign experts.

� Materialist values challenged traditionalist Islamic ideals.

What Did the West Know of Iran�s Problems?

� The West tended to overlook those shortcoming in Iran.

� U.S. Embassy officials were not allowed to meet with the opposition.

� But few paid attention to the religious opposition lead by the the Ayatollah Khomeini.

� Jimmy Carter�s concern for human rights abuses should have been a clarion call in the night, but it was overlooked.

The Fall of the Shah

� In 1978, Iran seemed stable, but it was misleading.

� Soon, a friendly Iranian official planted a story in the press attacking Khomeini students began a sit-in Qom.

� The police attack and several students were killed.

� All the Shah did was replace his SAVAK chief.

� In September 1978, the SAVAK fired into a major demonstration killing hundreds.

� Leading ayatollahs told the government that the demonstrations would continue until parliamentary democracy was restored.

� The Shah�s government asked Iraq to expel Khomeini, who then moved on to Paris.

Can�t Keep Down in Qom Once He Seen Paris

� The Shah�s government made a considerable blunder by forcing Iraq to expel Khomeini.

� Now he was in Paris and other Iranian exiles.

� He managed to spread his fundamentalist message via long distance telephone calls, tape recordings, and Western news services.

� When he called for a strike it nearly closed down Iran�s oil industry.

� Pro-Khomeini mobs attack all symbols of the West in Tehran, including theaters and liquor stores.

The Riots Continue

� The Americans urged the Shah to form a coalition government in late 1978.

� This coalition should be broadly based and include opposition leaders.

� On January 6, 1979, the Shah asked the National Front�s VP, Shapur Bakhtiar to form a coalition government.

� Ten days latter the Shah fled Iran.

The Crisis Continued

� Wild demonstrations continued throughout Iran.

� While in Paris, the Ayatollah called for his followers to topple the new government of Bakhtiar.

� Now Khomeini was taking charge of the Revolutionary Islamic Council.

� And refused to compromise with the secular leadership.

� The Iranian Army dissolved.

� Much like in Russia.

� Then the Imperial Guard.

� After that, Bakhtiar�s government.

� Khomeini returned to Iran on Feb. 11, 1979

The First Revolutionary Cabinet

� Was headed by Mehdi Bazargan, who was an engineer who managed Iran�s nationalized oil industry under Mosaddiq.

� He called for workers to return to work and most did.

� He organized a plebiscite and showed nearly unanimous support for an Islamic Republic.

� An assembly of lawyers and representatives of the Ulama went to work to write a new constitution.

� The new government would be headed by a Judicial Expert, who was none other than Khomeini himself.

Let the Purge Begin!

� All symbols of the Shah were destroyed.

� Prisons were liberated.

� The refilled with new enemies of the Islamic Republic.

� Streets were renamed.

� The officer corps was purged.

� Textbooks rewritten.

� All internal opposition was silenced.

� Then another crisis was emerging.

The Impact on U.S.-Iranian Relations

� The Iranian Revolution shocked the U.S.

� It clearly exposed the failures of the U.S. Middle East Policy since 1945.

� Both sides distrusted each other.

� Carter just help resolve differences between Egypt and Israel.

� Which angered all Muslims, not just Arabs.

� Iranians seized the Israeli Embassy and gave it to the PLO.

� Then they attacked the U.S. Embassy in February too and the authorities stopped the seizure.

Does History Repeat Itself?

� Remembering how the Shah fled Mosaddiq�s government in 1953.

� But only to return with the help of the CIA/MI6.

� Iranians were worried.

� When the Shah came to New York for medical treatment.

� The crisis erupted.

� Iranians stormed the U.S. Embassy.

� Taking sixty-three people Americans hostage.

Charges and Counter-Charges

� The Iranians demanded that the Shah be returned and be tried.

� Then the Iranians demanded an apology in the Shah�s crimes against the Iranian people.

� The U.S. was outraged.

� The U.S. had limited options available except for:

It Went On and On and On

� It lasted for 444 days.

� In the meantime other things happened.

� RR was elected president.

� Sunni Fundamentalists gained control of the Main Mosque in Mecca.

� The Soviets moved into Afghanistan.

� Iran cut off oil to the West.

� In April 1980, the U.S. attempted to rescue the hostages and failed.

Iran and Terrorism

� The Ayatollah established an auxiliary army named the Islamic Revolutionary Guard.

� Which trained Muslims, especially Shi�ia Muslims in the techniques of terrorism.

� And they left their mark in Lebanon and the Gulf States, especially Hezbollah.

� Even today.