In 1951, Iran nationalized its oil industry from BP. Prime Minister Mohammad Mossadegh action’s provoked outrage from the US and UK

UK and US officials used questionable methods to create anti-Mossadegh coalition and set up and alliance with Mohammed Reza Pahlavi.

In 1953 in a CIA orchestrated coup Mossadegh was ousted and The Pro-western Pahlavi was given increased power, money, and authority.

The Shah started a massive modernization program that anger many clerics. Accusations of torture and false imprisonment were common by his secret police SAVAK The Shah became bitter with the West for presuming superiority but still relied heavily on them for support.

By the late 1970s revolution was near. Religious forces led by Ayatollah Khomeini were about to overthrow and imprison the Shah in favor of an Islamic Republic. The shah was either inadequately prepared or unwilling to stop the revolution from occurring by force.

The Shah escaped to Egypt and then to the US where he remained for cancer treatment.

Iran had transitioned into an Islamic republic and began to eliminate all dissent. The Islamic Republic demand the Shah be returned for trial. In protest radicals storm the US embassy and take 52 hostages

The Hostage crisis lasted 444 days and took two US presidents before the release. The Shah died and Reagan negotiated the release in 1981.

Iraq had moved into a debated piece of Iranian territory thus beginning a brutal 8 year war between the Sunni and Shiite nations The war was tied closely with the success of the Islamic Republic by Khomeini. Success in this war would be seen as a confirmation of the spiritual legitimacy of the Republic The US armed and aided Hussein and the Iraqis against the radical Islamic government of Iran In 1982, he said: ''Even if the Security Council orders, we will not make peace. Even if the whole world gathers, we will not make peace.'' For ''peace with the criminal is a crime against Islam,'' he said.

Khomeini, after 8 years of a failed offensive and with public opinion wavering was forced to end the war without any acquisition of land. His dedicated religious forces (Revolutionary Guard) were becoming limited and no victory was in sight. “I had promised to fight to the last drop of my blood and to my last breath,'' Ayatollah Khomeini said. His decision was ''based only on the interest of the Islamic republic'' of Iran. ''To me, it would have been more bearable to accept death and martyrdom,'' Ayatollah Khomeini said. But he agreed to the cease-fire resolution at the urging of ''all the high-ranking political and military experts'' in Iran. ''Taking this decision was more deadly than taking poison. I submitted myself to God's will and drank this drink for his satisfaction.'‘

After the death of Khomeini in 1989, former president Ayatollah Ali Khamenei took over to serve as Supreme Leader, even though he did not have to previous religious credentials