Turmoil in Iran
The modern country of Iran fell under foreign domination in the late 19th century. Britain and Russia fought to control the area. The competition grew even keener when oil was discovered in Iran in the early 20th century.
Foreign Influence Early in World War II, the leader of Iran considered supporting Hitler’s Nazi regime. Determined not to let that happen, Russia and Britain invaded Iran. They forced the leader to abdicate power to his young son, Shah Muhammad Reza Pahlavi. They kept their forces in Iran until the end of the war.
Iranian nationalists objected to the new shah as a puppet of Western powers. In 1951, they forced him to flee the country. Two years later, Iran selected Mohammad Mosaddegh as prime minister. He vowed to nationalize the oil companies. The United States and Great Britain engineered an overthrow of the democratically chosen Mosaddegh and returned the shah to power. The shah ran an authoritarian regime that relied on a ruthless secret police force.
Land Reform in the White Revolution Despite his harsh rule, the shah instituted several progressive reforms, known as the White Revolution because they came without bloodshed. They included recognizing women’s right to vote, creating a social welfare system, and funding literacy programs in villages.
The most important reform dealt with land ownership. The shah wanted to undercut the power of traditional landowners and increase his popularity among peasants. Under his plan, the government bought land from landlords and resold it at a lower price to peasants. The program helped many peasants become first-time landowners, but it failed to reach a majority of peasants.
Many Iranians—both landowners who had been forced to sell their land and frustrated peasants who received nothing—opposed the land reforms. Religious conservatives opposed modernizing the country, particularly changing the relationship between men and women. Advocates for greater democracy opposed the shah’s harsh rule.
The Iranian Revolution In 1979, a revolution toppled the shah. Many Iranians supported the revolution because they vividly remembered the overthrow of the Mosaddegh government in 1953. The leaders to emerge from the revolution, though, were ones who rejected the shah’s secular worldview for one that viewed Islam as a key part of the individual-state relationship. The new government was a theocracy, a form of government in which religion is the supreme authority. The new government was headed by a cleric and a Guardian Council, a body of civil and religious legal experts who were responsible for interpreting the constitution and making sure all laws complied with shariah (Islamic law). The clergy had the right to approve or disapprove anyone who ran for office. Iran opposed Western policies in the Middle East and the state of Israel.