A Short History of Iran and the West

2,500 years ago

Mohammad Reza replaced his father, Reza Shah on the throne in 1941, shortly before his 22nd birthday. He continued the reform policies of his father.

Shah of Iran Despite his vow to act as a constitutional monarch, controlled by the power of the parliamentary government, Mohammad Reza increasingly involved himself in governmental affairs and opposed or thwarted strong prime ministers. He concentrated on reviving the army and ensuring that it would remain under royal control as the monarchy's main power base.

In 1953, after a coup d’etat, (attempt to overthrow the government), the Shah ordered two of his senior officials to form a majority party and a loyal opposition as the basis for a two-party system. These officially sanctioned parties did not satisfy demands for wider political representation, however. There was much dissatisfaction among the people as they felt the government was too oppressive.

Reforms 1963, the shah submitted six measures to a national referendum or vote. In addition to land reform, these measures included profit-sharing for industrial workers in private sector enterprises, nationalization of forests and pastureland, sale of government factories to finance land reform, amendment of the electoral law to give more representation to workers and farmers, and establishment of a Literacy Corps to allow young men to satisfy their military service requirement by working as village literacy teachers. The Shah described the package as his White Revolution, and when the referendum votes were counted, the government announced a 99% majority in favor of the program. In addition to these other reforms, the Shah announced that he was extending the right to vote to women.

Absolute Monarch Once in power, the Shah used the revenues from an agreement between Iran and Western oil companies to solidify his authority. Though he maintained the trappings of a constitutional monarchy, he in fact ruled autocratically, relying on SAVAK, a dreaded secret police, to suppress all forms of opposition.

Shown here with JFK, the Shah was the first Muslim leader to recognize Israel as a state.

He solidified his power by building a powerful military.

In 1967 he crowned himself as King of the Kings (Emperor of Iran) and his wife, Farah Diba, as Shahbanoo (Empress), which caused discontentment amongst different levels of society. These actions and the increasing arbitrariness of the Shah's rule provoked both religious leaders who feared losing their traditional authority and students and intellectuals seeking democratic reforms. These opponents criticized the Shah for violation of the constitution, which placed limits on royal power and provided for a representative government. They also did not like his close relationship with the US. The Shah saw himself as heir to the kings of ancient Iran, and in 1971 he held an extravagant celebration of 2,500 years of Persian monarchy. In 1976 he replaced the Islamic calendar with an "imperial" calendar, which began with the foundation of the Persian empire more than 25 centuries earlier. These actions were viewed as anti-Islamic and resulted in religious opposition. The shah enforced his rule with the aid of the military and the intelligence organization (secret police).

Overthrow of the Shah By the mid-1970s the Shah reigned amidst widespread discontent caused by the continuing repressiveness of his regime, socioeconomic changes that benefited some classes at the expense of others, and the increasing gap between the ruling elite and the lower classes. Islamic leaders, particularly the exiled cleric Ayatollah Khomeini, were able to focus thisAyatollah Khomeini discontent with Islamic principles a call to the overthrow of the shah. The Shah's government collapsed following wide- spread uprisings in and consequently an Islamic Theocratic Republic succeeded his regime.

Suffering from cancer, the shah left Iran in January 1979 to begin a life in exile. He lived in Egypt, Morocco, the Bahamas, and Mexico before going to the United States for treatment of lymphatic cancer. His arrival in New York City led to the Iranian takeover of the American Embassy in Tehran by "Students of Imam's Line" and the taking hostage of more than 50 Americans for 444 days.

The Shah in his last months, exiled in the United States

Hostage Crisis During Carter Administration

This is a general view outside the U.S. Embassy in Tehran, on Nov. 27, 1979, showing demonstrators, including oil tank drivers with their vehicles. They supported the students who were holding 50 American hostages inside the embassy.

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Current President of Iran From his denial of the Holocaust and Israel's right to exist, to his staunch support for Iran's nuclear program, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, elected president of Iran in 2005 and pictured here in Tehran in May of 2007, has quickly become one of the most controversial figures on the international stage

The Current Ayatollah Three years ago, the country’s authorities interrupted internet connectivity after Iranians used social media to coordinate mass demonstrations and also to inform the world about the regime's crackdown on pro-reform protests after foreign media was expelled from the country.