Modern Iranian History Revolutions The Hostage Crisis The Iran-Contra Scandal “Axis of Evil”?

Middle East Map

Iran’s Geography Access to two important waterways: The Caspian Sea & The Persian Gulf Mountains: The Elburz & Zagros Population: 63 Million

Reza Shah the Great Came to power in 1921 Promoted Nationalism & Modernization Changed name from Persia to Iran Oil Reserves brought both Soviet & British interest (Anglo-Iranian Oil Company) Built Trans-Iranian RR Overthrown by Allies

Mohammed Reza Shah Pahlavi After overthrow of his father, the new Shah is permitted to ascend to the throne by Allies All Oil in Iran was foreign owned and Iranians began to voice displeasure Continued reforms

Dr. Mohammad Mosaddeq Prime Minister Mosaddeq supported Iranians Claim of Nationalization of Oil Shah fled country after failed removal of Mosaddeq Got caught in the Cold War labeling, was not communist but took their support against West CIA backed his overthrow, 1953 Became icon for anti- imperialism

The Shah Returns ( ) Returned after Mosaddeq was removed Instituted 4 years of martial law Centralized power and became a dictator event though there was a “democratic system” set

White Revolution Western reforms Banished Chadors (Veils) Women gained right to vote Land Reform Workers gained rights

Dark Side of the Shah Crowned himself King of Kings Repressed all opposition Instituted the SAVAK, Secret Police Discontent Grew Islamic leaders targeted Economic gap between elite and others

The U.S. Supports the Shah The U.S. & Iran under the Shah had a great relationship Iranian Oil was sold to the U.S. & Iran bought military items from the U.S. The Iranian public received next to nothing from the wealth flowing into Iran

The public makes its feelings known A common sight during the revolution was images of the Shah burned by protestors This discontent continued to grow with repressive responses by the military

Black Friday The military shoots its own citizens in what became known as Black Friday and doomed the Shah Hundreds are killed on this day as a turning point in the revolution

Multiple Protests Occur

Statues of the Shah are taken down Reminiscent of other dictatorial statues which have come down, all types of public depictions of the Shah were removed

The Coverage of the Events In the Iranian News their was a celebratory tone In the U.S. media there was uncertainty over the direction of the revolution

Former Oppressors are Targeted SAVAK Members are arrested Former Generals under the Shah face charges and are executed Radical Stage of Revolution

Ayatollah Khomeini leads the Islamic Revolution (1979) An Islamic Cleric who had been banished by the Shah years earlier returns to lead Iran Viewed as “Supreme Leader” above the secular government Establishes a theocracy (religious government)

Iranians demand return of the Shah Shah goes into exile in January 1979 spending time in NY and in Egypt Iranians demand that he be returned to face charges for his years of autocratic rule

Iranian Students Storm the U.S. Embassy The U.S. Embassy in Tehran was taken with the approval of Ayatollah Khomeini in November 1979 The students demanded that the Shah return The 52 hostages were held for 444 days This crisis led to late night news with the creation of Nightline with Ted Koppel

The Crisis affects the 1980 Election The Nation was severely affected by the hostage crisis. Carter was defeated in 1980 by Ronald Reagan, who truly began the current Conservative movement in the government. The hostages were released on the day Reagan was inaugurated.

The Iran-Iraq War Iraq invades Iran in September of 1980 The U.S. sells arms to both sides during this bloody conflict. Iran has three times Iraq’s population. It is estimated that 400, ,000 were killed. An estimated 800 billion was the eco. cost.

Iraq uses Chemical Warfare Used Mustard Gas and Tabun against Iran’s human waves in 1985 Saddam Hussein ordered chemical attacks against Kurds within Iraq in the village of Halabja in 1988

The U.S supports Iraq in the War In December of 1983 presidential envoy Donald Rumsfeld, visited Iraq. The U.S. supported Iraq as it feared an Iranian victory in the region.

Iran-Contra Affair In 1985 a secret arms deal between the U.S. and Iran took place through Israel. Monies from the arms sales was then used to support a counter- revolutionary group in Nicaragua Oliver North an NSC official is at the core of the scandal Congress investigates looking to find out how high the scandal reaches.

Iran Today Cleric Mohammad Khatami is currently the 5th President of Iran, elected in 1997 with 70%. Has great support from the youth of Iran, re-elected in 2001 with 78%. Is considered more moderate than previous leadership.

State of the Union Speech 2002 “Iran aggressively pursues these weapons and exports terror, while an unelected few repress the Iranian people's hope for freedom.” “States like these, and their terrorist allies, constitute an axis of evil”

Nuclear Threat? This is a nuclear facility in Natanz, Iran. Is Iran looking to build a nuclear weapon or is it trying to harness nuclear power? Will there be an escalation in the conflict?