For any feedback please reach out to [email protected]
- The Ultimate Bucket List for Concert Lovers - July 11, 2025
- 25 Years Later: How Linkin Park’s ‘Hybrid Theory’ Changed Rock Forever - July 11, 2025
- Why Nirvana’s MTV Unplugged Still Resonates in 2025 - July 11, 2025
The Gathering Storm: A Kingdom on the Brink
What happens when a monarch pushes modernization too far, too fast? In Iran, it triggered one of the most dramatic revolutions of the 20th century. The Iranian Revolution was a popular uprising in 1978-79 that resulted in the fall of the Pahlavi dynasty and the establishment of an Islamic republic. The revolution didn’t happen overnight though. It came about as the culmination of decades of popular discontent mixed with economic turmoil and an increasingly repressive regime. By the late 1970s, Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi had ruled Iran for nearly four decades, but his grip on power was slipping fast. The autocratic monarchy of Mohammed Reza Shah Pahlavi faced a broad coalition of opposition forces, including Marxists and constitutional liberals, but the opposition ultimately became dominated by the mullahs of the country’s Shia hierarchy. The stage was set for a confrontation that would reshape the entire Middle East forever.
The Shah’s Iron Fist: SAVAK’s Reign of Terror
After the coup, the monarch, Mohammad Reza Shah, established an intelligence service with police powers. The Shah’s goal was to strengthen his regime by placing political opponents under surveillance and repressing dissident movements. SAVAK became the most feared institution in Iran, and for good reason. SAVAK had the power to censor the media, screen applicants for government jobs, and “according to a reliable Western source, use all means necessary, including torture, to hunt down dissidents”. The organization has been described as Iran’s “most hated and feared institution”, due to its practice of torturing and executing opponents of the Pahlavi regime. The Shah so beloved by some Iranians was an oppressive dictator. His secret police SAVAK kept an eye on the people. Hence, a famous proverb was born: divar mush dare, musham gush dare — the wall has a mouse, the mouse has ears. This climate of surveillance and terror would ultimately backfire, as Iranians grew increasingly desperate for freedom.
The Ayatollah in Exile: Building a Movement from Afar
On 5 September 1965, he moved to Najaf, Iraq and stayed there until Saddam Hussein deported him in 1978. In the holy city of Najaf, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini wasn’t just sitting idle. Khomeini began teaching Fiqh in the Sheikh Morteza Ansari Madrassah which captivated students mainly from Iran, Iraq, India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and the Persian Gulf states. Four years into his Iraqi exile, between 21 January and 8 February (1970), Khomeini gave lectures about Vilayat-e Faqīh ya Hukumat-i Islami, which in Shia Islam hold that Islam gives a faqīh (Islamic jurist) custodianship over the people. Khomeini settled in An Najaf, a Shiite holy city across the border in Iraq, and sent home recordings of his sermons that continued to incite his student followers. From his exile, he was essentially building the intellectual and organizational foundation for revolution. Finally, he was exiled by the pressure of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi to Neauphle-le-Château, Paris on 6 October 1978. He would end up in sleepy Neauphle-le-Chateau, west of Paris, where from October that year until his return to Tehran in February 1979, he quietly fomented unrest, nurturing the Islamist revolution that persists to this day.
The Powder Keg Explodes: Qom Protests Light the Fuse
Jan. 9 – Several thousand people protest in the city of Qom, a center of religious scholarship, and security forces attack, killing at least five people. Feb. 18 – Protests are held in a number of cities to commemorate the fortieth day after the death of the Qom protesters. The Qom incident in January 1978 wasn’t just another protest. It was the spark that ignited a nationwide revolution. January 9: Demonstration of 4,000 students and religious leaders in the city of Qom against the article. The armed police was provoked by the angry demonstrators which resulted in death of between 10 and 72 demonstrators. Protests credited with breaking the “barrier of fear” of security forces “at the popular level”. The protesters weren’t just angry about one newspaper article attacking Khomeini. They were furious about decades of oppression, westernization forced upon them, and the systematic dismantling of their traditional way of life. Protests surged after the 40 day customary mourning period in Shi’ite customs for the students. Deaths during protests served to fuel more demonstrations. What started as mourning turned into a cycle of protest and violence that would consume the entire country.
Cinema Rex: The Tragedy That Shocked a Nation
August 19: 477 die in arson fire at Cinema Rex in Abadan. Regime and opposition blame each other. The Cinema Rex fire was one of those moments that changes everything. Nearly 500 people died in this horrific blaze, and the question of who was responsible became a national obsession. In August 1978, the deaths of about 400 people in the Cinema Rex fire due to arson by Islamic militants—claimed by the opposition as having been orchestrated by Pahlavi’s SAVAK—served as a catalyst for a popular revolutionary movement across Iran, and large-scale strikes and demonstrations paralyzed the country for the remainder of that year. August 19 – Hundreds are killed in an arson fire at the Cinema Rex in Abadan in southern Iran. Protesters and officials exchange blame, sparking another round of violence. Whether SAVAK or Islamic militants were truly responsible, the tragedy became a symbol of everything wrong with the Shah’s Iran. People were dying while watching movies, and nobody trusted the government’s version of events anymore.
Black Friday: When Bullets Met Prayers
September 8: dubbed “Black Friday” Shah declares martial law in response to protests against Pahlavi dynasty. The military of Iran use force including tanks and helicopters to break up the largely peaceful demonstrators. September 8, 1978, became known as Black Friday for a reason that still haunts Iranian memory. On September 8, 1978, (Black Friday) troops fired on religious demonstrators in Zhaleh (or Jaleh) Square. The clerical leadership announced that “thousands have been massacred by Zionist troops” (i.e. rumored Israeli troops aiding the Shah), Michel Foucault reported 4000 had been killed, and another European journalist reported that the military left behind “carnage.” The exact death toll remains disputed, but what’s undeniable is that the Shah’s forces fired on unarmed protesters. Despite thousands of unarmed protesters being killed by the Shah’s forces, the protesters’ numbers increased, with as many as nine million Iranians taking to the streets in cities across the country in largely nonviolent protests. Instead of crushing the movement, Black Friday only made it stronger and more determined.
Strikes and Shutdowns: The Economy Grinds to a Halt
Despite severe repression against protestors, a series of demonstrations and strikes over the previous two years came to a peak in the fall of 1978, as millions of opponents of the Shah’s regime clogged the streets of Iran’s cities and work stoppages paralyzed the country. By late 1978, Iran was basically shut down. Oil workers went on strike, government employees stopped showing up, and even banks closed their doors. Between August and December 1978, strikes and demonstrations paralyzed Iran, so that the Shah left the country for exile on 16 January 1979, as the last Persian monarch, leaving his duties to a regency council and an opposition-based prime minister, Shapour Bakhtiar. The revolutionaries had figured out something important: you don’t need guns to bring down a government if you can shut down the economy. Dec. 10-11 – Timed with a religious holiday, millions of Iranians protest around the country calling for the ousting of the Shah. When millions of people refuse to work and take to the streets instead, even the most powerful monarch becomes powerless.
The Shah’s Last Gambit: Appointing Bakhtiar
The Shah appoints Shapour Bakhtiar as prime minister. A long-time nationalist politician and vocal critic of the Shah, he is confirmed by the parliament two weeks later. In a desperate attempt to save his throne, the Shah made a surprising choice. Dec. 29 – Shapour Bakhtiar, a long time opposition leader, is appointed prime minister by the Shah. Bakhtiar was no friend of the monarchy, but he represented the liberal opposition rather than the Islamic revolutionaries. The Regency Council established to run the country during the shah’s absence proved unable to function, and Prime Minister Shahpur Bakhtiar, hastily appointed by the shah before his departure, was incapable of effecting compromise with either his former National Front colleagues or Khomeini. It was originally planned that Ayatollah Khomeini would enter Iran on 26 January, but Prime Minister Shapour Bakhtiar announced that the airports would be closed. Bakhtiar was caught between a rock and a hard place, trying to negotiate with revolutionaries who had no interest in compromise.
The Royal Departure: When the Shah Said Goodbye
In January 1979, in what was officially described as a “vacation,” the shah and his family fled Iran. On January 16, 1979, history was made as the last Shah of Iran boarded a plane and left his kingdom forever. Shah and his family leave Iran for Egypt, ostensibly for “vacation.” As he departs, the Shah tells Prime Minister Bakhtiar “I give Iran into your care, yours and God’s.” On 16 January 1979, the Shah left the country for medical treatment (ostensibly “on vacation”), never to return. The official story was that he was going on vacation and would return, but everyone knew the truth. Reports say between five to 10 million people showed up for his arrival, coming just days after the shah abandoned his throne. He fled his then-tumultuous country, leaving the Iran-US alliance in tatters. The 2,500-year-old Persian monarchy was effectively over, though the revolution wasn’t complete yet.
The Ayatollah’s Triumph: Return from Exile
Ruhollah Khomeini’s return to Iran on 1 February 1979, after 14 years in exile, was an important event in the Iranian Revolution. It led to the collapse of the provisional government of Shapour Bakhtiar and the final overthrow of the Shah of Iran, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, on 11 February 1979. Two weeks later, on Thursday, 1 February 1979, Khomeini returned in triumph to Iran, welcomed by a joyous crowd reported to be of up to five million people. On his chartered Air France flight back to Tehran, he was accompanied by 120 journalists, including three women. Journalist Peter Jennings asked Ayatollah Khomeini how he felt about returning to Iran after fifteen years. Khomeini answered “Nothing” (Persian: Hichi). Khomeini’s statement attracted much attention, and its meaning has been heavily disputed. Millions of followers turned out in Tehran to greet Khomeini as he arrived from Paris, where he had spent 14 years in exile as an outlawed cleric. The man who had been forced out of Iran as a troublesome cleric was returning as the undisputed leader of a successful revolution.
The Final Countdown: Ten Days That Changed Everything
On 5 February Ayatollah Khomeini chose Mehdi Bazargan as Prime Minister of the interim government. On 8 February Iranian air force officers went to Khomeini’s home and promised their loyalty to the revolution. He appointed Mehdi Bazargan prime minister, thus establishing a parallel government to challenge the Shah’s appointed prime minister Shapur Bahktiar. With the loyalty of the vast majority clearly with the new Islamic government, Bahktiar resigned February 11. February 9: Fighting breaks out between pro-Khomeini technicians (Homafaran) of Iran Air Force and Iranian Imperial Guard. February 10: Bakhtiar announces martial law with an extended curfew. Khomeini orders followers to ignore it, and proclaims jihad against army units that do not surrender to revolutionaries. Bakhtiar’s government announced a curfew that Ruhollah Khomeini urged people to disregard. Revolutionaries subjugated police stations, prisons and governmental centers. The government was literally falling apart as people chose sides.
February 11: The Day the Monarchy Died
Ten days later, on February 11, Iran’s armed forces declared their neutrality, effectively ousting the shah’s regime. Bakhtiar went into hiding, eventually to find exile in France. February 11, 1979, marked the end of one of the world’s oldest monarchies. The next morning, the heads of the army finally declare neutrality to avoid disintegration and “further bloodshed”. February 11 : Regime collapses. Revolution victorious. Pahlavi dynasty ends. On 11 February senior military commanders announced that they were neutral in conflict between Bakhtiar’s government and revolutionaries. Because of this, they pulled their troops from the streets. Bakhtiar resigned and went to Paris. Revolutionaries gained a victory on this day. Feb. 11 – Iran’s general staff declares the neutrality of the armed forces and troops are ordered back to their barracks, guaranteeing the Islamic Revolution’s success. The military’s decision to remain neutral was the final nail in the monarchy’s coffin.
The Birth of the Islamic Republic
Following the March 1979 Islamic Republic referendum, in which 98% approved the shift to an Islamic republic, the new government began drafting the present-day constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran; Khomeini emerged as the Supreme Leader of Iran in December 1979. A referendum was held in April of 1979, and Iranians voted overwhelmingly to establish an Islamic Republic. A new constitution was adopted, and Ayatollah Khomeini became the Supreme Leader of the Republic. Iranians participate in a national referendum on whether Iran should become an “Islamic Republic;” the motion (which offered no alternatives) received near-unanimous support. While the revolution had the support of a broad cross-section of society (including Islamists, secularists, nationalists, laborers, and ethnic minorities), Khomeini and other leading Shi’a clerics—strengthened by a pre-existing network of social service and other parallel institutions—consolidated their hold and established an Islamic theocracy. The revolution that began with protests against the Shah had transformed Iran into something
Christian Wiedeck, all the way from Germany, loves music festivals, especially in the USA. His articles bring the excitement of these events to readers worldwide.
For any feedback please reach out to [email protected]
