The Geography of Iran

Iranian Oil Resources

Reza Shah (1925 1941)
Hoped to build a modern state and modern
economy like the west
Through the construction of roads,
railroads, factories, hospitals, and ports

Weakened the power of the Islamic Clergy
Expanded public education
Required men to dress in western clothing
Prohibited hijab (veiling) of women
Reza Shah (1925 1941)
Tolerated no opposition (crushed with force)

Encouraged the education of women
Religiously observant families kept girls out of
school

Wanted a strong national identity

Changed the name from Persia to Iran

Attempted to reduce the role of foreign powers in Iran
Particularly Great Britain
Britain had a monopolistic control over Iranian Oil
Reza Shah (1925- 1941)
During the 1930s the shah allowed Nazi
Germany to gain influence in Iran
become its leading trading partner
German agents used Iran as a base of operations

After WWII British and Soviets demanded all
Germans be expelled from Iran
The shah did not give in

British and Russian forces invaded Iran in
1941

Reza Shah, relinquished his throne to his son
Mohammad Reza in 1941
Mohammad Reza Pahlavi
Was unable to exercise the political power of
his father
Unemployment was high
University graduates unsatisfied

All Iranians desired an end to foreign
involvement in Iran

British oil interests were at stake

Mohammad Reza Pahlavi

Mohammad Reza Pahlavi owed his position to
the British and in turn he served their
interests

In order to do so he had to bribe and fix
elections to make British support into law

Opposition was led by a politician named
Mohammad Mossadegh

Formed the National Front which fought
to free Iran from Foreign Influence
Elected Prime Minister
Dr. Mohammad Mossadegh,
Prime Minister of Iran
Became Prime Minister
in 1951.
Nationalized the
foreign oil companies.
Got rid of corrupt
military officials.
Was toppled in a coup
aided by the America
CIA in 1953.
The Shah of Iran
returns to power.
Q4
(r. 1941 1977)
Institutes Western
reforms & ties with
the West .
But, the majority of
his people live in
poverty.
Brutal suppression of
dissidents SAVAK
Q5
Iranian elite/upper- and
intellectual classes: very
pro-Western.
The Shah and
His Wife, Farah
The Shahs Reform Program
(1963)
1. Land reform 90% of Irans peasants became land
owners.
2. Massive government-financed heavy industry
projects.
3. Granted women more political power the right to
vote.
4. Poured government money into education
especially in rural areas where illiteracy was very
high.
5. Profit-sharing for industrial workers.
6. Nationalization of forests and pasture lands.
The Shah at George
Washingtons Home, 1950s
The Shah with Several
American Presidents
The Shah with President
Jimmy Carter
Reasons for the
Fall of the Shah
The Shah spent the oil profits for top of the line
American military hardware.

Little money to reinvest back into the Iranian economy.

Religious leaders angry with the Shah for too much
Westernization.

Government corruption.

The Shahs constitutional violations of the basic human
rights of his citizens.
The Shahs Chief
Opponents?
1. Oil field workers.

2. Students and other
intellectuals.

3. Middle class businessmen.

4. Iranian nationalists.

5. Muslim clerics.
Q6
(1960s)
Iranian Students
Protest in USA
The Shah leaves Iran on 1/16/79.
(r. 1979-1989)
1902 1989.
Became an Islamic scholar
(studied in Qom).
Began to speak out against
the Shah in the 1960s.
Arrested and imprisoned
several times by the Shah.
Deported in 1978 & went
to France.
Khomeini returns to Iran
on February 11, 1979.
Q7
Triumphant Muslim Clerics
& Iranian Soldiers
Q8
A theocracy is created!
SAVAK Suspects Taken
Iran Revolutionary
Poster
When the devil leaves, the angel
returns!
American Embassy in
Tehran Taken Over
Q9
52 Americans Held
Hostage for 444 Days!
President Carter
Becomes a Hostage, Too
Hostage Rescue Disaster
52 American Hostages
Released in Jan., 1981
The Khomeini Revolution
A womans hijab
represents her Islamic
and moral values.
Political Cartoon
Commentary
The dictatorship is gone!
Bring on the dictatorship!
The Ayatollah with
Yasir Arafat.
Funds Hamas and
Hezbollah.
(1980-1988)
Q10
1983
375,000 Iraqi casualties & 60,000 POWs!
Q11
Over 1,000,000
Iranian casualties!
Khomeinis Death
(June, 1989)
Iranian Supreme Leader
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei
The Ayatollah represents the
fundamentalist Mullahs.
The Ayatollah is considered a
political moderate.
Q12
Moqtada al-Sadr, radical Shiite
leader in Fallujah, Iraq
US satellite photo of
Iranian nuclear facility
near Arak.
An American view of
Iranian nuclear power
PINOCCHIAYATOLLAH

A view of Irans nuclear
power from Al-Jazeerah
Nobody else (particularly Iran and Arab countries) should
have nuclear weapons except Israel, says Bush.
-- Hassan Bleybel 10/23/03
Reza Pahlavi (III?),
43 year-old son of the deposed Shah.
23 Year Pictorial History of Iran.
http://home.att.net/~iranshahr/
Iranian.com.
www.iranian.com/Revolution/war.html.
Iran Hostage Anniversary. CBS News.
www.cbsnews.com/stories/2001/01/18/
iran/main265244.shtml.