The Shah of Iran Muhammad Reza Shah o

The Shah of Iran= Muhammad Reza Shah o After WWII, U. S. took over as the leader in Iranian politics why? ? ? o U. S. supported The Shah of Iran or The Shah o 1952=Prime Minister Muhammad Mossadeq tried to nationalize the oil industry and dethrone The Shah

Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi 26 September 1941 – 11 February 1979

Mohammad Mosaddeq 28 April 1951 – 19 August 1953

U. S. reaction o CIA mobilized the best street thugs, booted Mossadeq, and restored the throne to The Shah (6 days later) o Grateful Shah opened up the oil valves to the West

The White Revolution o 1963= The Shah attempted Demo. /social reforms— meant to modernize the country (promotion of literacy) o Many of the reforms undermined the power of the mullahs (religious leaders) o The Shahs wanted to weaken the mullah—the clerics had contempt for him

Reforms o Women’s rights – liberation/vote/divorce/attire (Western/veil) o Education- Secular/modern—lessened clergy’s influence o Food- beef kabob (official national food)- Mc. Mama o Land Reform- Snatched some of clergy’s land holdings

Mullahs criticized The Shah’s relationship with the U. S. o U. S. /Israel helped The Shah est. the feared SAVAK 1. most brutual secret security force 2. employed torture and murder as deterrents against the opposition o o Wave of Anti-Americans swept over Iran Clerics exploited the situation 1. poor on religious grounds 2. wealthy landowners/merchants on finiancial grounds

The Shah’s Reaction o. The Shah had many clerics arrested in Qom (spiritual center) o Riots erupted / mullahs fled the country - including Ayatollah Khomeiniwent into exile in neighboring Iraq 1964

Ayatollah Ruhollah Mousavi Khomeini 3 December, 1979 – 3 June, 1989

The Shah’s days are numbered o Reform helped middle class but not the poor o Late 1970 s the King became extremely unpopular o Sept. 1978 The Shah instituted martial law

Factors of unrest in Iran o recession/inflation plagued the country o SAVAK cont. to repress dissidents o The Shah had lymphatic cancer (weak) o a wave of anti-American sentiment o 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 policies 2. Influence of the “Great Satan” (U. S. )

Transfer of Power Khomeini solution: Get rid of The Shah and give me the power! o o Jan 1979 -The Shah & Queen boarded a Boeing 707 “for vacation” and never returned o Khomeini flew from Paris into Tehran— welcomed by adoring fans

Khomeini est. the first modern Islamic State o He set up a theocracy o Purification of Iran came through the rigid enforcement of Iran’s Shiite version of Sharia (Islamic Law) o The Shah’s SAVAK was now at the Khomeini’s disposal

Implementing the following measures Purging Iran of all un-Islamic & Western influences o Enforcing the revolution’s new Islamic regulations o Persecuting all non-Muslims, secular nationalists, and leftists o Imposing strict regulations on women o Taking adv. of the ensuing chaos to settle old scores in the name of the revolution o

Iran- American Hostage Situation o 1979 Nov. -U. S. Pres. Carter invited The Shah to N. Y. for medical attention o Retaliation= approx. 500 students demonstrating outside of U. S. Embassy in Tehran demanded The Shah be extradited o Carter refused=students stormed the compound & seized 67 Am. Hostages (15 were released/52 hostages in captivity 444 days)

President Jimmy Carter (39 th President) January 20, 1977 – January 20, 1981

Iranian militants escort a blindfolded U. S. hostage to the media

Carter’s response/rescue o Didn’t work=breaking diplomatic ties & economic boycott o Resort to military force= 1. 8 helicopters off the Iranian coast in the Persian Gulf 2. Rendezvous spot called Desert One 3. Collision 4. Killed 8 Americans/ mission aborted o In defiance—Khomeini released 52 hostages to Ronald Reagan

Ronald Reagan 40 th President January 20, 1981 – January 20, 1989

Iran-Iraq War o Saddam Hussein launched an air assault with on Sept 22 nd 1980 o 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

Saddam Hussein 5 th President of Iraq 16 July 1979 – 9 April 2003

Shatt-al-Arab

Iran-Iraq War o First 2 years-Hussein did well o Iranian military rebounded & retook o US support toward Hussein o July 1987 Kuwaiti (US GB Fr) o US Americans attacked o US shot down Iran Air passenger o Hussein thought war a few days lasted o 8 years= $100 b Lives lost=500, 000

Iran-Contra Affair o 1, 000 Pasadaran- SE Lebanon’s Beqaa Valley o Pasadaran-military training/religious instruct. o Hezbollah vowed to est. an Islamic state o Hezbollah turned to suicide bombing o most effective weapon was kidnapping EX-US Embassy in Beirut

Pasadaran (Iranian Revolutionary Guards)

Beirut, Lebanon

Reign of Power o Khomeini died in 1989 o Ali Akbar Rafsanjani President in 1989 o 1997 Muhammad Khatami ***Couldn’t carry out reform***

Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani President of Iran 1989 to 1997

Mohammad Khatami 2 August 1997 – 3 August 2005

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad President of Iran August 2005