ARAB STATEHOOD- IRAN

iran size

3x size of Iraq

difficulty of geography

mountains and arid, unpopulated terrain separating tribal groups make it very difficult to have a centralised government

language of Iran

farsi

% of Iran who are Shia

90%

dynasty running Iran until 1925

Qajar

impact of WWI on Iran

weakened monarchy in Iran, led to a military coup

military leader who named himself shah in 1925

Reza Khan

government under Reza shah

- Pursues westernisation

- Reorganised education

- Compelled western dress, got rid of the traditional veil

- Roads and railways built

- Textile and steel industries established

problems with Reza shah's government

actually quite weak, easily overthrown by anglo-soviet invasion and replaced by his son

anglo-soviet invasion of Iran

1941

Mossadeq

Prime Minister of Iran, overthrown by CIA coup in 1953

mossadeq coup

1953, joint Anglo-American attempt to overthrow Mohammed Mossadeq (PM of Iran) in order to prevent Iranian oil being nationalised

oil discovered in Iran

1908

impact of mossadeq coup

major setback for democracy in Iran

western intervention unpopular and led to demonstrations across the country

Iranian government 1953-1978

weak, upheld by secret police and the army, unpopular

Shah leaves Iran

1978, seeking medical aid in USA

1979, flees iran for Egypt

Iranian revolution

(1978-1979) a revolution against the shah of Iran led by the Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini

changes after the Iranian revolution

sharia law put in place

hijab made mandatory

alcohol banned

western films and music banned

first non-clerical president of Iran

Ahmadinejad, elected in 2005

top oil producing states 1930

USA

Venezuela

USSR

Iran

iran join baghdad pact

1955

impact of Baghdad pact on Iran

unpopular with other middle eastern countries like Egypt

'islam is politics or'...

'islam is nothing'- Khomeini

Tehran Hostage Crisis

A diplomatic crisis between Iran and the U.S. a group of Islamist students and militants took over the American Embassy in Tehran in support of the Iranian Revolution and held some American ambassadors hostage for over a year

how many days were Americans held hostage in Tehran 1978

444

number of Americans held hostage in Tehran 1978

66

significance of the Tehran hostage crisis

admired by other middle easter states for standing up to the west, however, detrimental to US-Iranian relations

iran vs. Saddam Hussein

Khomeini called on Iraqis to topple Hussein, starting the Iran-iraq war

Hussein worried islamic revolution would cross the border

number of Iranians dead in Iran-iraq war

200k-600k

US sanctions on Iran

under Carter following Tehran hostages froze about billions in Iranian assets, including bank deposits, gold and other properties

under Reagan during the Iran-Iraq war, placed an arms embargo in 1983 and an Iranian goods and services embargo in 1987

under Bush jr. because of Iran's nuclear program, banking sanctions prevented any dealings between US institutions and Bank Sederat of Iran in 2006

reasons for US sanctions on Iran

support for Hezbollah, Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad

nuclear program

support for Houthis in Yemen civil war

islamic revolution

how much did Carter freeze out of Iran in 1978

$8.1 billion of gold and other assets

modernisation under Reza Shah

textile and steel industries established

roads and railways built

Iranian oil nationalised (though don't control all oil in Iran)

white revolution

Policy of reforms enacted by Reza Shah, beginning in 1963, to rapidly modernise and Westernise Iran

limitation of white revolution

mostly enjoyed by the elite

islamic criticisms of shah

Imams and Mullahs criticise shah of being a weak leader and having to employ secret police against his own people

number of people present at demonstrations in Tehran 1978

1 million

number of people killed in demonstrations in Tehran in 1978

500, by troops

failure to protect minorities in Iran

Constitution provides equal rights for 'all people of Iran' but does not include minorities

Kurds systemically discriminated against in basic services such as housing employment and education

Converts away from Islam (particularly to Christianity) are persecuted

Baluch minority ill-treated and sometimes arbitrarily arrested

Kurdish rebellion for autonomy

1979, suppressed by government and thousands of Kurds killed

example of Iranian failure to protect Baluch

government failed to provide disaster support to the province following widespread flooding in 2007

success of Iran in protecting Baluch

though in 2004, a law introduced to try and protect girls living in the most eastern province from trafficking into Afghanistan and Pakistan

iran literacy rate 1975

36.5

iran literacy rate 1985

52.3