Since last year's October 7th attack on Israel I've wanted to write (and learn/refresh myself) more about the Middle East. Finding the time has been a struggle but time's come to at least try and address Iran.
There's few events more vital to understanding the current dynamics of the Middle East, involving the people groups, religions and nations involved, than the Iranian Revolution of 1979. Iran prior to the Revolution was a western aligned nation under the Shah (their king), who opposed both Communism from the USSR and the more extremist factions within Islam at home. Since the Revolution the country is a strict theocracy ruled by a cleric, the Supreme Leader (currently Ayatollah Ali Khamenei), that oppresses its own people and widely supports terror abroad. One of the stated goals of the Revolution was the destruction of the state of Israel and the two nations have not had formal diplomatic relations ever since.
Let's work toward the revolution.
Persian (Iranian) history is exceptionally long, it's one of the oldest human civilizations, dating to about 4000 BC, and it's been a world (or at least regional) power much of that time. The massive Persian (Achaemenid) Empire famously invaded Greece twice in 492 and 480 BC. Alexander the Great ended that dynasty in 331 BC. The next Iranian (non-Macedonian) rulers, the Parthian Empire, lasted nearly 500 years (248 BC-224 AD) and was the primary eastern rival to Rome. The Parthians were succeeded by the Sasanians (224-651 AD), a cultural high point. They continued to war with the Eastern Roman Empire (or Byzantines), making the Roman-Persian Wars last more than 600 years. After the rise of Islam and the Caliphate, Islamic culture absorbed much from the Sasanians that's still seen today. A key point here is that Persian influence was so strong that, even amidst the rising tide of a new religion, much of their culture was retained. See: Persianization. (This is akin to how eastern Mediterranean Greek culture remained following political defeat by the Romans.) The Seljuk Turks (1037-1194), who conquered the vast historically Persian territory and more, including Jerusalem starting the Crusades, themselves became culturally Persian. Next came the Mongols and wanton destruction, yet Persian culture persisted and even these foreign invaders eventually converted. A more recognizable Iran emerged with the Safavids (1501-1736), a new line of Persian kings, or Shahs. Under this dynasty the Persians became Shi'a Muslims, a significant change, and began to trade with European commercial interests like the Dutch East India Company. The country's borders at the time were similar to current day Iran, though bigger. Plenty more happened over the next couple centuries, with borders ebbing and flowing (this is central Asia we're talking about), and large-scale migration etc, but consistent aspects were the rule of the Shahs and increased meddling from foreign powers. If you take nothing else from this lengthy diversion, remember that throughout recorded history Iran has consistently been a power base in this part of the world and that Persian culture has lasted even when its political power has not.
Iran in the 20th century was a bit of a mess. Early on there was a constitutional revolution and the Shah allowed the creation of a parliament, called the Majlis, with the first in 1906. Discovery of oil in 1908 made the country a competing ground for the United Kingdom and Russia. Occupation during WWI created British, Russian and Ottoman spheres. In 1921 a coup put a military man, Reza Shah Pahlavi, on the throne, whose dynasty lasted until 1979. During WWII the Allies invaded and forced Reza to abdicate in favor of his son, seeing the national parliament assuming a greater role. You might know 1943 included the Tehran conference, where FDR, Churchill and Stalin met in person for the first time together during the war. Postwar the attempts at a constitutional monarchy devolved amid corruption in parliament and a rapid succession of prime ministers, essentially forcing the Shah to become more active again. After one of these prime ministers oversaw the nationalization of the oil industry, up to then owned by the British, the Shah went into exile, but not for long. In 1953 another coup, this time planned by the American CIA and British MI6, ousted the up-til-then popular prime minister through a propaganda campaign. The Shah, Mohammed Reza Pahlavi, came back as an autocrat who was friendly to the west, returned the oil industry to private (i.e. foreign) hands and pushed through a series of modernizing reforms with the intent to once more make Iran a world power. (MIGA?) But, obviously, he received a great deal of external help and his efforts made considerable enemies, such as the Islamic clerics, over his nearly 40 year reign.
The Revolution appeared to mostly be a reaction to overt imperialism, the Shah's ambitious programs and his onerous (or even brutal) rule, combined with economic downturn in the late 1970s. Opponents of the west were inherently Communists, naturally, so that was one factor. Another was Ruhollah Khomeini, and his Islamist adherents, who'd long opposed the Shah's modernizing reforms from a religious perspective and had been out of Iran since 1963. For a quick rundown of the Revolution itself, mass protests through 1977-78, in addition to the street fighting that develops from such large scale demonstrations, rocked the country and forced the Shah to flee in January 1979. Khomeini returned within weeks, to a cheering throng, and immediately took over. The remaining supporters of the Shah's regime were defeated in February and a referendum was held in March, with 98% voting to proclaim an Islamic republic. It's quite clear Khomeini was severely underestimated by secular opponents of the Shah in all this. He became Supreme Leader in December and consolidated power over the next few years, next defeating the other revolutionary factions.
A summation of Khomeini's ideology and the government of Iran is in order, and in that I'll do my best. First of all, Khomeinism is fundamentally Islamist, that the state and its government must be Islamic. See: sharia law. Khomeini pushed major changes in Shi'a Islam, most importantly that Islamic scholars are the ultimate arbiter of all religious and political power. (Prior to Khomeini the branch was generally withdrawn from politics.) This class, the clerics, rules Iran in all aspects of life, saying that literally all people, Muslims and otherwise, require their guardianship. There was also an overhaul to their end of the world philosophy. Instead of simply waiting for the Twelfth Imam, a messianic figure, the way must be prepared for global Islamic domination. This combination of doctrine results in a real sense of urgency and a frequent desire for extreme measures. Since the Revolution, Iran's theocracy is nationalistic (Persia!), vehemently anti-western (both politically and economically, because we're powerful and not Islamic) and anti-Israel. Throughout the Middle East Iran widely supports Shi'a militant groups (such as Hezbollah in Lebanon), desiring to weaken Sunni (85+% of the world's Muslims) leadership in other countries, place itself at the forefront of the Islamic world and annihilate the Jewish homeland state.
Make no mistake, the leadership of Iran then and to this day hates the United States. Khomeini himself even referred to us as the 'Great Satan' during the Iranian hostage crisis. That's another piece that needs to be included here and was a watershed event in the relationship between our two countries.
In November 1979, after Khomeini had returned and the referendum was held, but before the revolutionary factions finished fighting, a large group of Khomeini-supporting college students attacked the US Embassy in Tehran and took 53 hostages. As embassies are considered territory of their home country, this effectively was an act of war. The supposed justification was that Shah was in the US, seeking cancer treatment (he'd later die in Egypt in 1980). The crisis played out in the lead-up up to the 1980 Presidential election, with Jimmy Carter running for re-election vs former California Governor Ronald Reagan. Initial negotiations failed, as did a military rescue mission (the Secretary of State resigned afterward), and in the end the hostages were held for 444 days, getting released just as Reagan was sworn into office on January 20, 1981. All that time the fervor at home over the Americans hostages built and built, it was a daily story in the news and became a permanent stain on the Carter Administration (for good reason!). In Iran the kidnapping was wildly popular and helped Khomeini's ascendency. The two countries have been at odds ever since.
One of the reasons to write this now is the current day hostage situation. When Hamas attacked Israel on Oct 7, 2023, they took forcefully hundreds of people back to Gaza after murdering a 1000 more. Some of these hostages were American citizens, and they're still being held over a year later(!), though several (all?) must no longer be alive. Did you know this? It's shameful it's been such a minor part of the narrative regarding the war in Israel, at least from an American perspective. There doesn't appear, on the part of the Administration or national media, to be great interest in bringing any remaining hostages home when it should've, once again, be a wall-to-wall story. Our priorities are all kinds of messed up if we aren't united in opposition to the capture and murder of our citizenry.
Alright that's more than enough for today, and hopefully this was instructive. I learned quite a few details to fill out the general outline as understood previously. Iran as it operates (that means the theocracy not the Persian people) is not our friend, and neither are the various groups it supports. We best not forget it.
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