Iranian Crisis and Birth of Islam

Iranian Crisis

Birth of Islam

• Mohammad born in 570 AD within the Quraish Cult.
• Married Khadija, who became his first follower.
• Received revelations from the angel Gabriel at Mount Hira near Mecca.
• 622 AD: Marks the birth of Islam with Prophet Mohammad's shift to Madina (Hijra) due to protests.
• Mohammad died in 632 AD.

Succession of Mohammad

• Abu Bakr: Father-in-law and first Khalifa (632-634).
• Umar: Khalifa from 634-644.
• Usman: Khalifa from 644-656.
• Ali: Son-in-law, made liberal changes; capital in Kufa, Iraq (656-661).
• Hasan: Successor.
• Umayyad Dynasty: Founded by Muawiya.
• Husain: Descendant of Mohammad.
• Yazid: Killed Husain's family in Karabala (680).

Crusades

• The Crusades took place from approximately 1096-1204, involving various European powers and the Byzantine Empire against Muslim lands in the Mediterranean and Middle East.

Islamic World to 1500

• Expansion of the Islamic world up to 1500 AD, covering regions from Spain to parts of India and Southeast Asia.

Iranian History

• Safavid Dynasty (1501-1736): Shia Islam became the official religion.
• Qajar Dynasty (1785-1921): Ulema (religious scholars) held political power.
• Pahalavi Dynasty (1921-1979):
  • Reza Shah's coup, supported by the British due to oil interests.
  • Secular state opposed by Ulema.
  • During World War II, Reza Shah was replaced by his son Mohammad Reza Shah (22 years in power) because of his non-alignment with the British.

Iran 1941 to 1979

• 1941: Mohammad Reza Pahalavi in power.
• 1951: Prime Minister Mohammad Mossadaq nationalized Anglo-Iran Oil.
• 1953: Coup by MI6 and CIA restored power to the Shah.
• 1955: Mohammad Reza Shah initiated the White Revolution for modernization, urbanization, and westernization.
• 1955: USA started Iran’s Nuclear Program.
• 1963 to 1970s: Monetary instability, disparities, and rise of Western culture led to the rise of Ulama, including Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini (expelled to Iraq and then to the UK).
• 1978-79: Iranian Revolution with the help of Ulama, intellectuals, and Revolutionary Guards (religious militia).

1979 Onwards

• 1979: Constitution approved with 98% vote, establishing the Supreme Leader over the President and Parliament.
• Islamic Republic established: Ayatollah Khomeini as Supreme Leader and Abolhasan as President.
• 1979: Creation of Islamic Revolutionary Guards.
• 1979 to 1981: US embassy seized; rise of Quds Forces (444 days until Shah's death and peace brokered by Algeria).
• 1979 to 2003: Theocracy under Vilayet-e Faqih (Guardianship of the Islamic Jurist).

Theocracy & Wars

• 1980-88: Iran-Iraq War under Saddam Hussein (Sunni leader fearing Shia revolution in Iraq, which had a Shia majority).
• 1989: Sayyed Ali Khamenei succeeds Khomeini.
• 1989-91: Saddam attacks Kuwait (1st Gulf War).
• 1991-2003: Iraq-USA conflict (2nd Gulf War).
• 2003: Saddam captured; Shia majority puppet government established in Iraq by Iran.
• Bush's Axis of Evil: Iran, Iraq, Libya, Syria, North Korea, Cuba.

Regional Conflicts

• Turkey: Kurdistan Issue.
• Iraq: Puppet Government influenced by Iran.
• Lebanon: Support to Hezbollah.
• Syria: Support to Bashar al-Assad.
• Israel-Gaza: Support to Hamas.
• Yemen: Support to Houthis to destabilize Saudi Arabia.
• Increasing stockpile of enriched uranium, heavy water, and centrifuges from 2003 to 2013, marking an offensive stance with proxy wars.

Diplomacy and Nuclear Deal

• 2013: First talks between USA and Iran in 30 years (Hasan Rouhani).
• 2014: USA-Iran military co-operation.
• 2015: JCPOA (Iran Nuclear Deal) agreed upon by UNSC + Germany + Iran.
• 2016: USA election and the coming of Donald Trump.
• 2018: USA withdraws from JCPOA (2013 to 2018).

Escalation Post-2018

• 2018 onwards: Iran restarts proxy war with the help of Quds Forces.
• Strait of Hormuz: Oil tankers sabotaged (Japan and Norway).
• Saudi Arabia: Saudi Aramco attacked by drone.
• Iran restarts nuclear enrichment.
• Iran shoots down USA drone over the Strait of Hormuz.
• USA imposes sanctions on Iran, impacting the global economy.
• USA kills General of Quds Forces, Qasim Suleimani, in Baghdad.

Raisi & Biden Era (2020 Onwards)

• Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi died in a helicopter crash on May 19, along with Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian and six others.
• Raisi played a crucial role in repressing the Iranian Green Movement Protests (Persian Spring) in 2009-10.
• 2017: Hassan Rouhani.
• 2019: Khamenei appointed Raisi as Iran's chief justice.
• He was elected president in 2021.
• Raisi maintained an ultraconservative and uncompromising position during his tenure.
• ‘Axis of Resistance’: An informal, Iran-led political-military coalition including Islamic resistance in Iraq, the Syrian government, Lebanese Hezbollah, Yemeni Houthis, and Palestinian groups including Hamas.

Raisi Era: Protests and Policies

• September 2022: Nationwide protests in Iran over the death of Mahsa Amini, detained for improper hijab; Raisi brutally crushed the protests.
• Protests lasted three months, with slogans