Overview of Iran 1979-present

PA RT O N E

IRAN

PAHLAVI DYNASTY1925-1979

• Not sure why they call it a dynasty – they only had two family members ruling …..

• Shah #1: tried to modernize Iran by modeling Iran after the West.• Reforms he made that stuck:• Militarism, nationalism, strict censorship, and

state propaganda.• Reforms that did NOT stick:• Secularizing and liberalizing

MUHAMMAD REZA PAHLAVI

• Ruler of Iran from 1941-1979

IRAN AND WWII

• World War Two essentially forces the first Shah out and puts his pro-British son in – Shah #2.

• Why the Shah change?

• The British and the Soviets occupied Iran during WWII to secure the oil there. • Shah #1 was not to thrilled about this so the

British convinced Shah #1 to step down in favor of the pro-western Shah #2.

IRAN AND WWII

• After WWII :• the British left only after getting oil concessions from

Iran. 50/50 profit sharing of all oil revenue (but the British are in charge of the accounting ….. Pretty shady because the Iranians don’t get to see the books)

• Soviets just won’t leave – kind of like a bad, uninvited house guest.

• The Soviets are trying to spark a couple communist revolutions in Northern Iran – but they didn’t take.

• They eventually give up and leave too.• After this Shah #2 really not a fan of USSR!

1947-1957

• Once Britain and the USSR leave, Shah #2 takes a real hands off approach to ruling Iran but wants things to be pro-Western and anti- USSR.

• Gives Parliamentary Monarchy a shot – but it was an absolute mess. The democracy experiment almost cost the Shah his position.

• Newly elected Prime Minister took over power democratically in Iran. Britain and the USA didn’t like that – because Shah #2 was anti-USSR and pro- West. New guy, not so much.

• So we launched a counter coup. Thanks to USA and Britain the Shah regains power and things change.

1957-1978

• The Shah transitioned Iran into an autocracy.• Not all bad – he did institute several modernizing

measures – often referred to as his White Revolution.• However he also created a secret police network

that took care of anyone who was “trouble” for the Shah.

• His biggest critic has a cleric named Ayatollah Khomeini. He was arrested and then exiled to Turkey, Iraq, and eventually France.

SUMMARIZE

• 1. In a formal paragraph, summarize Iran’s history from World War II to 1978?• 2. In a second paragraph, give me a formal

reflection on what you think about this time in Iran’s history.

PA RT T W O

IRAN

THE ISLAMIC REVOLUTION

• Protests and strikes break out against the Shah – kicking off the Islamic Revolution in Iran.• The protests intensified and shut down the

country.• Shah left the country• Ayatollah came back.• Fighting breaks out and lasted for about 10 days

before rebel forces defeated the Shah’s loyalist troops.

THE ISLAMIC REPUBLIC

• Elections were held and the people approved a theocratic constitution and declared the Ayatollah the Supreme Leader of Iran.• Officially begins the Islamic Republic of Iran.

• Side note: founding of the Republic also included a purge of competing political groups. Kind of hard to have a democracy without political discussion.

ALI KHAMENEI

US EMBASSY

• During the revolution the US embassy was seized by Islamic students and US workers there were held hostage.• As you can imagine – this caused things to go a

bit sour between US and the Iranians.

• Don’t worry – they only held our people hostage for 444 days.• Carter did a lot of leg work, but they weren’t

released untilthe Reagan presidency.

SUMMARIZE

• 3. Summarize the Islamic Revolution era of Iran’s history in a formal paragraph.

IRAQ – IRAN WAR

• Saddam Hussein thought this would be a great time to invade Iran because he thought Iran had descended into chaos.

• Saddam had desires to create an empire in the Middle East. He would of course be its ruler …

• Not only was Iran able to hold off his invasion but they succeeded in driving the invading Iraqis back.

• The Ayatollah saw this war as an opportunity to spread the Islamic Revolution – figured the Shiites of Iraq would help him. They didn’t; but the Kurds in the Northern Iraq did. The Kurds hoped to break away and form their own country.

• War ended in a draw eight years later. Many died and world oil supplies were disrupted.

SINCE THE WAR

• After the war, Iran had two Presidents who focused on rebuilding Iran’s infrastructure and economy.• They also created diplomatic and economic ties

with Europe and Asia. • They opened the country to foreign investment

and started Iran towards a free market economy.

• They also attempted to grant a few more civil liberties – but Iran runs a pretty tight ship …..

IRAN FOREIGN POLICY

• Iran is a strong advocate of removing all foreign influence from the Middle East – including the state of Israel. • Deny the Holocaust ever happened – they see it

as Western justification for putting Israel back on the map.• They support groups in the region who have

similar beliefs with military and monetary aid.

• They have been tied to sponsoring terrorism – especially in acts against Iraq and Israel.

MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD

CONCERNS OVER IRAN

• President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad • He’s out there and he’s a vocal fist shaker!• Very assertive at expanding Iranian influence in

the Middle East.

• This makes our allies nervous. USA is heavily allied with Sunni Arabs and the Sunni Arabs aren’t real comfortable with a strong Shiite Persian country.

SUMMARIZE

• 4. Use a graphic organizer to illustrate the Iran-Iraq War (before, during, and after).

NUKES?

• Iran and the Middle East’s modern history has shown heavy interference by foreign powers.

• From Iran’s perspective the only effective way to protect their sovereignty is to have a nuclear deterrent?

• Would they Nuke Israel? Europe? USA?

STRAIGHT OF HORMUZ

• Sanctions placed on Iran to halt their nuclear program have recently been enacted.• This has had a crippling effect on Iran’s economy.• To retaliate, Iran has threatened to shut down the

Straight of Hormuz?

VIDEOS

• Iraq-Iran War:• Part One• Part Two• Part Three

• The Gulf of Hormuz

SUMMARIZE

• 5. In paragraph form, summarize Iran’s ability to fight a war and disrupt the Straight of Hormuz.

TIMELINE

• Using your summaries, make a timeline of Iranian history from World War II to present.

OVERALL

• What is your overall opinion about a possible US – Iran War?• Support your stance with details …