IB HL History - Iran

Mohammad Reza Shah’s rule

• Alignment with West: Iran signed bilateral defence agreement with USA. Shah spent millions of dollars on US weapons and with the weapons came American advisers and business interests. Presence of Americans angered Iranians who blamed US for coup d’etat of Mossadegh. In order to vouch for security of Americans, Majils passed a law offering Americans immunity from Iranian laws.

• Land redistribution: gov redistributed land to help peasants

• Nationalization of forests and pastures

• Privatization of government-owned factories - to speed up industrialization

• Profit sharing for the industrial workers - forced private owners of industry to share 20% of profits with employees and workers.

• Reforms in electoral laws: extended voting rights to women, universal suffrage

• Formation of literacy corps: as part of military service, young men and later women were sent to villages to teach, to improve literacy rates (approx 2/3 of country illiterate)

Reasons MRS’s policies were ineffectual

• Land was insufficient for peasants, they continued in poverty in cities

• Infrastructure in villages where literacy/health corps were sent was inadequate - thus they could not teach

• Religious authorities criticized land reform and women’s rights

• Despite petrol boom of 1970s, which improved Iran’s economy, oil prices eventually stopped rising and fell. inflation rose.

• Shah’s projects were too grandiose and didn’t take into account the country’s real needs. Huge quantities of good were imported, but the country lacked infrastructure for them. Importing so many foreign good undermined local industries and many of the smaller producers suffered.

• Shah allocated lots of resources to military, but there wasn’t really a need for it.

• SAVAK founded 1957 - arrested and executed dissenters, spread fear, no freedom of speech

• Women’s reforms (eg right to vote and the 1967 family law, which protected women’s right to divorce & be a guardian of their children) mainly affected upper and middle classes of women

• Gov blamed inflation from 1970-76 on bazaaris (shopkeepers) which stirred resentment

Khomeini’s consolidation of power

Vision for the future of Iran: an Islamic state led by a spiritual leader who had final say in major political matters

K’s supporters formed 3 new groups to challenge the authority of Bazargon’s government: “Committees” - vigilante groups, wanted to prevent counter-revolution and enforce their idea of Islam on others. Arrested men, women, children arbitrarily, invaded private homes and destroyed Western music recordings and alcohol.

• Revolutionary Guard - formed after the assasination of a powerful cleric, task was to protect the council from the army and militant leftist groups. Drawing from ranks of the poor, this was an army of the clergy loyal to Khomeini.

• Revolutionary Tribunals - execute former members of the Shah’s government, army, and SAVAK

Khomeini’s supporters helped give him supreme authority over the state as the Guardian Jurist (of the Guardianship of the Islamic Jurist)

Khomeini used the US hostage crisis to gain poower:

• Nov 1979, a group of Iranian students led by militant clerics seized the American embassy in Tehran. They were worried the US would plot another coup in Iran to overturn the revolution and reinstate the Shah. They demanded the Shah be returned to Iran for trial, and the US apologize for its role in coup against Mossadegh. Khomeini took advantage of the mass resentment of the US - rallied masses against the “Great Satan.” Khomeini also released documents capturing his opponents meeting with the US government. Bazargan (PM) ordered students to evacuate embassy, and when they ignored him, he resigned. Then only the Revolutionary Council. K’s gov, was left to govern Iran.

• Final Constitution: The Guardianship of the Islamic Jurist - Khomeini given the position of Supreme Islamic Jurist with final say over all matters. He allowed active participation of clergy in political institutions and decision making… clergy played a newly powerful political role.

dates

1925-41 Reza Khan in power

1941-1979 - MRS in power

1979 - Iranian revolution

1979 - Hostage Crisis

1980 - Iran-Iraq War