Le Chef D ' Etat

The complexity of America’s relationship with Iran increased steadily beginning in 1908, when Iran struck oil. The Shah, the king or emperor of Iran, after taking the place of his young predecessor Reza Shah Pahlavi with the help of the CIA, led Iran into a period of extreme wealth and prosperity, the likes of which the Iranian people had never experienced. However, with the growth of wealth in Iran came the growth of Iranian resentment towards the West, specifically the United States. The Iranian’s resented the uneven distribution of wealth that they felt existed and the United State’s influence in “westernizing” their society. In 1963, this growing hatred led to a conflict with the Islamic clergy. The conflict was quickly settled by the Shah, but he was unaware that this dispute was the beginning

Thesis: Iran, because of these events, is in worse condition because of the cultural revolution, poisoned from within, and is the victim of the actions of the western powers.

“ The Islamic Revolution of 1979: The Downfall of American- Iranian Relations” analyzes American- Iranian diplomacy from 1953- 1979. It is an explanation of the causes and developments of the Iranian revolution, Ayatollah Khomeini’s rise to power and

President George W. Bush’s “axis of evil” speech undermined support of Iranians who argued for better relations with the United States. When Bush made that speech in 2002, Mohammad Khatami, a reformer, was the president of Iran (Freedman 473). The United States sanctions against Iran have helped to further the Abadgaran regime’s agenda by giving justification to a group that is desperate for it; the sanctions have allowed them to consolidate their power and further oppress Iranians who go against the government’s policies. Iran’s current state is best described in Lawrence Freeman’s A Choice of Enemies:

Allotayah Khomeini (1902-1989) came into power after the Iranian Revolution of 1979 replacing the Shah as the supreme religious leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran and was later named the political and religious leader of Iran for the rest of his life. Khomeini was able to take over due to his strong belief that Iran’s government should be returned to its traditional Islamic ways, returning it to its secular government. In the following essay I will discuss the extent of cultural and religious changes he brought to Iran during and after his reign, proving whether or not he was an effective ruler and how he changed Iran in the long run.

The Iranian Revolution, also known as the Islamic Revolution of 1979 took place in Iran. It is when Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi the emperor of Iran during that time, was overthrown by the revolutionary forces led by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini and thereafter established the Islamic National Republic of Iran. The Iranian Revolution brought a big change into the international community and how it viewed revolutions. As Iran’s revolution lacked many of the fundamental causes that were though to give rise to revolutions. It was unusual in the sense that it had no ‘agrarian’ pattern. As the traditional social structure was maintained after the revolution and it reinstated old structure as the Muslim clergy came into power. To understand what led to the Iranian Revolution of 1979, we need to look back into the Iranian history and the timeline leading up to the revolution. In doing so, we can use the psychological theories of revolution and structural- functionalist theories of revolution in order to analyses and explain the cause of the Iranian Revolution.

Former President Ahmadinejad set Iran back years by putting Iran into extreme isolation from the international community. His continued badgering with the international community, eventually lead to a nuclear stand-off with world powers. With what seems to be the Ayatollah’s blessing, President Rouhani has so far shown promise to ease the country’s relations and assume a solution on the nuclear issue. “For Washington, meanwhile, the election offered stark confirmation that its strategy is working, at least to a point. The outcome confirmed that political will for a nuclear deal exists within the Islamic Republic. In other words, the path out of isolation and economic crisis is perilous, but Iran’s new president, who has sometimes been dubbed “the sheikh of diplomacy,” may just be the right man at the right moment to walk it.” (Maloney, 2013)

Iran has always, it seems, been the breeding ground for some kind of political upheaval or another. In recent times, back in 1979, there was a major revolution which was, in some ways, similar to the revolution we are seeing today. The people were angry and they were tired of being controlled by the government that was in power. They had concrete ideals and were incredibly passionate about their revolution. The revolution Iran is experiencing today does not appear to be quite as passionate and does not appear to maintain a belief in any real solid political system. They just know they want something different. In the following paper we present an illustration of the current revolution that is taking

The 1979 Revolution in Iran was the substantial end of the cooperative long-term relations between the United States and the Shah of Iran. In spite of Shah’s disagreement with the United States over his ambitious plans for Iran’s development since early 1970s, both parties conceded to each other in order to sustain their common political and economic interests in the Persian Gulf region.

The origin of this source is valuable because Abrahamian is a well written author on the history of Iran and has published multiple other books on the political system of Iran. Additionally, Abrahamian teaches at the City University of New York as Professor Emeritus of Iranian and Middle Eastern history and politics. This source is also limited in the fact that this book is written by a Persian author and this brings in a possibility of Bias as there were many views the Persian people had on the coup. The purpose of this source is to outline CIA's involvement in overthrowing the Shah and the beginning of the Modern U.S.-Iranian Relations. This book provides a valuable insight into how the U.S. was a cause of the revolution and how they instituted a weak Shah to create a more controllable country and a puppet government. This was also in the favor of the U.S. because of Iran had an auspicous oil industry. Abrahamian challenges conventional interpretations of the events that fail to highlight how the coupling of oil and Iranian nationalism motivated the CIAs

Just months after a radical revolution upset the regime of the Iranian Shah and shook up the balance of power in Iran, Iraq invaded Iran and sparked an eight year long war that would set the tone for future relations within the region. Yet, why did this war begin? Overall, the Iranian Revolution was an unprecedented upheaval that catastrophically changed the environment of the Arab Gulf region. Unsatisfied and displeased with the pro-Western Iranian Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi, the population of Iran began widespread anti -Western demonstrations and strikes against the Shah’s government. Advocating for an independent culture from Western ‘colonial’ influence, an escape from the tyranny of the Shah, independence from non-believers, and a legal and societal union with Sharia Law, the Iranian Revolutionaries sought to make Iran a dominant force and cultural leader among its neighbors. Reaching its peak in the late 1970’s, the Shah was exiled at the end of the Iranian Revolution and in his place the Supreme Ruler, Grand Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini became the head of the new Iranian Islamic Republic in December of 1979.

The 1979 Islamic Revolution in Iran changed the geo-political landscape of the Middle East and ushered in more than three decades of hostility with the United States. In the aftermath, the leaders of the revolution proclaimed their intent to export their vision of political Islam to the rest of the region and help Iran take its rightful place as a regional hegemon. In 1979, the US was embroiled in the Cold War and in the minds of the American public, the Middle East was little more than a Cold War sideshow. For those who paid attention, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict was the dominant issue in the region. The overthrow of Mohammed Reza Shah, and the events that followed, forced Iran into the US national consciousness. A little known Shi’a

Iran is, most unfortunately, viewed as a country of tyranny and Iranians as terrorists. The problem that generates such farfetched view and conceptions, which are, in fact far from actuality. The sad residuals of the Iranian Revolution is a direct result from the effects of the Iranian Revolution of 1979. Yet, there is more to Iranian’s than exoticism. The year 1979 changed the lives of many Iranians. The Iranian Revolution not only impacted the lives of those in Iran but also impacted the perception of the world concerning Iran. Many misconceptions grew regarding Iranian people as the new Islamic administration took complete control of the civilians.

The Research Paper would deal with the question of the legitimacy of the theocratic regime in Iran and explain why the clerics are not the true representatives of the Iranian people and that in their urge to get rid of the Shah, the Iranian people imposed upon themselves a regime, which has proved to be far worse than the reign of Reza Shah Pahlavi, the last king of Iran. It would be argued that not only the people of Iran but the entire region would be better-off with a secular, liberal peoples’ government in Tehran; the solution to the conundrum of a strife ridden Persian Gulf and Middle East. And for this to be achieved, rigorous diplomacy is needed to bring reforms in Iran.

Henry Kissinger and George Shultz warned that, “Iran’s representatives (including its Su-preme Leader) continue to profess a revolutionary anti-Western concept of international order” (Beinart)