the shah of iran= muhammad reza shah after wwii, u.s. took over as the leader in iranian politics...
TRANSCRIPT
The Shah of Iran= Muhammad Reza Shah
After WWII, U.S. took over as the leader in Iranian politics
why??? U.S. supported The Shah of Iran or
The Shah 1952=Prime Minister Muhammad Mossadeq tried to nationalize the oil industry and dethrone The Shah
U.S. reaction
CIA mobilized the best street thugs, booted Mossadeq, and restored the throne to The Shah (6 days later)
Grateful Shah opened up the oil valves to the West
The White Revolution
1963= The Shah attempted Demo./social reforms— meant to modernize the country (promotion of literacy)
Many of the reforms undermined the power of the mullahs (religious leaders)
The Shahs wanted to weaken the mullah—the clerics had contempt for him
Reforms
Women’s rights – liberation/vote/divorce/attire (Western/veil) Education- Secular/modern—lessened clergy’s influence Food-beef kabob (official national food)- McMama Land Reform-Snatched some of clergy’s land holdings
Mullahs criticized The Shah’s relationship with the U.S.
U.S./Israel helped The Shah est. the feared SAVAK1. most brutual secret security force 2. employed torture and murder as deterrents against the opposition
Wave of Anti-Americans swept over Iran Clerics exploited the situation
1. poor on religious grounds2. wealthy landowners/merchants on finiancial
grounds
The Shah’s Reaction
The Shah had many clerics arrested in Qom (spiritual center)
Riots erupted / mullahs fled the country- including
Ayatollah Khomeini-went into exile in neighboring Iraq 1964
The Shah’s days are numbered
Reform helped middle class but not the poor
Late 1970s the King became extremely unpopular
Sept. 1978 The Shah instituted martial law
Factors of unrest in Iran
recession/inflation plagued the country SAVAK cont. to repress dissidents The Shah had lymphatic cancer (weak) a wave of anti-American sentiment Shiite exile Ayatollah Khomeini seized the opportunity to convince the Iranian dissidents that all of the nation’s ills
Two sources of anti-Islamic contention:1. The Shah’s secular policies2. Influence of the “Great Satan” (U.S.)
Transfer of Power
Khomeini solution: Get rid of The Shah and give me the power!
Jan 1979-The Shah & Queen boarded a Boeing 707 “for vacation” and never returned
Khomeini flew from Paris into Tehran—welcomed by adoring fans
Khomeini est. the first modern Islamic State
He set up a theocracy
Purification of Iran came through the rigid enforcement of Iran’s Shiite version of Sharia (Islamic Law)
The Shah’s SAVAK was now at the Khomeini’s disposal
Implementing the following measures
Purging Iran of all un-Islamic & Western influences Enforcing the revolution’s new Islamic regulations Persecuting all non-Muslims, secular nationalists, and leftists Imposing strict regulations on women Taking adv. of the ensuing chaos to settle old scores in the name of the revolution
Iran- American Hostage Situation
1979 Nov.-U.S. Pres. Carter invited The Shah to N.Y. for medical attention Retaliation= approx. 500 students demonstrating outside of U.S. Embassy in Tehran demanded The Shah be extradited Carter refused=students stormed the compound & seized 67 Am. Hostages(15 were released/52 hostages in captivity 444 days)
Carter’s response/rescue
Didn’t work=breaking diplomatic ties & economic boycott Resort to military force=
1. 8 helicopters off the Iranian coast in the Persian Gulf
2. Rendezvous spot called Desert One3. Collision4. Killed 8 Americans/ mission aborted
In defiance—Khomeini released 52 hostages to Ronald Reagan
Iran-Iraq War
Saddam Hussein launched an air assault with on Sept 22nd 1980 Hussein hoped to regain the territory of the Shatt-al-Arab waterway that Hussein had conceded to Iran 5 years earlier in the Algiers Accord 1. capture the oil fields of Khuzestan 2. stem the growing Shiite extremist 3. incite a revolt against Khomeini
Iran-Iraq War
First 2 years-Hussein did well Iranian military rebounded & retook US support toward Hussein July 1987 Kuwaiti (US GB Fr) US Americans attacked US shot down Iran Air passenger Hussein thought war a few days lasted 8 years= $100 b Lives lost=500,000
Iran-Contra Affair
1,000 Pasadaran- SE Lebanon’s Beqaa Valley
Pasadaran-military training/religious instruct.
Hezbollah vowed to est. an Islamic state
Hezbollah turned to suicide bombing
most effective weapon was kidnappingEX-US Embassy in Beirut
Reign of Power
Khomeini died in 1989
Ali Akbar Rafsanjani President in 1989
1997 Muhammad Khatami
***Couldn’t carry out reform***