Mohammad Mosaddegh
Mosaddegh envisioned an Iran that was independent, free and democratic. He believed no country could be politically independent and free unless it first achieved economic independence. He fought many large oil companies to assure that the Iranian people were being treated fairly and that their wealth from the oil taken from their land stayed with the Iranian people.
The United States and England did not like this as it impacted the ability for these countries to gain access to cheap oil and put in place companies which would exploit the Iranian people and give the profits from these companies back to the Western governments which oversaw them.
In 1953 Mosaddegh was overthrown by the American and British governments. Mosaddegh was tried for treason by the Shah's military court. On December 19, 1953, defending himself against the treason charge he said:“Yes, my sin — my greater sin and even my greatest sin is that I nationalized Iran's oil industry and discarded the system of political and economic exploitation by the world's greatest empire. This at the cost to myself, my family; and at the risk of losing my life, my honor and my property. With God's blessing and the will of the people, I fought this savage and dreadful system of international espionage and colonialism .... I am well aware that my fate must serve as an example in the future throughout the Middle East in breaking the chains of slavery and servitude to colonial interests.”On December 21, 1953 he was sentenced to death but his sentence was later changed to three years' solitary confinement in a military prison. He was kept under house arrest until his death, on March 5, 1967.
The United States and England did not like this as it impacted the ability for these countries to gain access to cheap oil and put in place companies which would exploit the Iranian people and give the profits from these companies back to the Western governments which oversaw them.
In 1953 Mosaddegh was overthrown by the American and British governments. Mosaddegh was tried for treason by the Shah's military court. On December 19, 1953, defending himself against the treason charge he said:“Yes, my sin — my greater sin and even my greatest sin is that I nationalized Iran's oil industry and discarded the system of political and economic exploitation by the world's greatest empire. This at the cost to myself, my family; and at the risk of losing my life, my honor and my property. With God's blessing and the will of the people, I fought this savage and dreadful system of international espionage and colonialism .... I am well aware that my fate must serve as an example in the future throughout the Middle East in breaking the chains of slavery and servitude to colonial interests.”On December 21, 1953 he was sentenced to death but his sentence was later changed to three years' solitary confinement in a military prison. He was kept under house arrest until his death, on March 5, 1967.
Mohammad Reza Pahlavi
On October 27, 1967, his forty-eighth birthday, and after twenty-six years as shah, Pahlavi was crowned as His Imperial Majesty Mohammad Reza Pahlavi Aryamehr, Shahanshah of Iran. What made this crowning unique in Persian history was that his third wife, Farah, was crowned as empress, the first since the coming of Islam in the seventh century. Their six-year-old son, Reza, was declared crown prince.
During the 1970s, oil-rich countries such as Iran exercised much world power. It was also the strongest military country in the Middle East. However, the shah ruled with brutality and unlimited authority and his popularity began to decrease, especially among Muslims who were followers of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. The Ayatollah led a revolution in 1979, forcing the shah and his family into exile. Mohammed Reza Pahlavi died in Cairo, Egypt, on July 27, 1980.
inflicted with advanced 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.
During the 1970s, oil-rich countries such as Iran exercised much world power. It was also the strongest military country in the Middle East. However, the shah ruled with brutality and unlimited authority and his popularity began to decrease, especially among Muslims who were followers of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. The Ayatollah led a revolution in 1979, forcing the shah and his family into exile. Mohammed Reza Pahlavi died in Cairo, Egypt, on July 27, 1980.
inflicted with advanced 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.
Iranian Revolutionists
The Iranian people grew weary of living in fear and poverty imposed by The Shah. The people also began a backlash against the westernization of their country. They did not like the United States involvement in their resources (oil) and their government. In 1977 revolution began across the land. People came together and demonstrated against the cruel practice of the Shah and his regiem and the United States involvement. The movement gained momentum and the Iranian people drove Mohammad Reza Pahlavi out of power in 1979.
The Iranian Revolutionists then turned to Ayatolla Khomeini to lead their country.
The Iranian Revolutionists then turned to Ayatolla Khomeini to lead their country.
Ayatolla Khomeini
Khomeini was an Iranian religious and political leader, who in 1979 made Iran the world's first Islamic republic.
Ruhollah Khomeini was born in Kohmeyn in central Iran. He became a religious scholar and in the early 1920s rose to become an 'ayatollah', a term for a person who studied and followed a high standard of ethics and was a scholar of Islam.
In 1962, Khomeini was arrested by the Shah's security service for his outspoken opposition to the pro-Western regime of the Shah. His arrest elevated him to the status of national hero. In 1964, he was exiled, living in Turkey, Iraq and then France, from where he urged his supporters to overthrow the Shah. By the late 1970s, the Shah had become deeply unpopular and there were riots, strikes and mass demonstrations across the country.
In January 1979, the Shah's government collapsed and he and his family fled into exile. On 1 February, Khomeini returned to Iran in triumph. There was a national referendum and Khomeini won a landslide victory. He declared an Islamic republic and was appointed Iran's political and religious leader for life. Islamic law was introduced across the country. His denunciation of American influence led to militant Islamic students storming the US Embassy in Teheran in November 1979. Some of the American hostages were held captive for more than a year.
Ruhollah Khomeini was born in Kohmeyn in central Iran. He became a religious scholar and in the early 1920s rose to become an 'ayatollah', a term for a person who studied and followed a high standard of ethics and was a scholar of Islam.
In 1962, Khomeini was arrested by the Shah's security service for his outspoken opposition to the pro-Western regime of the Shah. His arrest elevated him to the status of national hero. In 1964, he was exiled, living in Turkey, Iraq and then France, from where he urged his supporters to overthrow the Shah. By the late 1970s, the Shah had become deeply unpopular and there were riots, strikes and mass demonstrations across the country.
In January 1979, the Shah's government collapsed and he and his family fled into exile. On 1 February, Khomeini returned to Iran in triumph. There was a national referendum and Khomeini won a landslide victory. He declared an Islamic republic and was appointed Iran's political and religious leader for life. Islamic law was introduced across the country. His denunciation of American influence led to militant Islamic students storming the US Embassy in Teheran in November 1979. Some of the American hostages were held captive for more than a year.
Jimmy Carter
Jimmy Carter was the president of the United States from 1977-1981. On October 22, 1979 President Jimmy Carter reluctantly allowed the Shah into the United States to Undergo a surgical treatment at a hospital in New York. It was anticipated that the Shah's stay in the United States would be short but during surgery there were complications which extended his time in the country. The Shah's stay in the United States was extremely unpopular with the revolutionary movement in Iran, which still resented the United States' overthrow of Prime Minister Mosaddegh and the years of support for the Shah's rule. The Iranian government demanded his return to Iran to be tried for treason, but Carter would not comply and the Shah stayed in the United States.