Name:​Cristal Guerrero

Hypotheses about Iran

Background: ​In December 1978, two million people marched in Iran’s capital city, Tehran, demanding the
resignation of their king, or shah. The shah’s army refused to put down the protests. The shah left the country,
and a religious leader, Ayatollah Khomeini, assumed leadership.

Instructions:​ Use this doc to record and refine your hypothesis about the Iranian Revolution. First, consider
these two questions and then list all your ideas below about why this revolution might have occurred.
1. What do you think were the issues or events that led to the Iranian Revolution?
2. Why do you think Iranian people protested the shah?

Hypotheses: What caused the Iranian Revolution?

Initial Hypotheses: If the oppression was caused by the Shah, then the people were tired of living under
his reign, because he introduced the veil, which enraged the women who took a
stand.

Hypotheses: Card #1 If an issue was the Shah refusing to drive the German people, which caused his
country to be occupied by the Soviets and the Allies, then when his son became
Shah and he swore allegiance to the Allies, this most likely angered the Iranians,
because they only got a small profit from their oil and the Shah had given into the
Allies, who were occupying them, too easily.

Hypotheses: Card #2 If another issue with the Shah is that he didn’t support a bill that postponed all new
oil contracts with the Soviets and British who were occupying them at the time, then
the Shah rejecting the bill made them angrier, because he did it to strengthen his
own power and the Iranians were in favor of this bill as they wouldn’t like been
occupied

Hypotheses: Card #3 If the Iranian people were angry that the British own an Anglo-Iranian Oil Company,
which they resensted and it represented the weakness of Iran, then they would’ve
blamed the Shah for this, because he rejected the bill offered by Mohammad
Mossadegh, who the public actually liked.

Hypotheses: Card #4 If the Iranian people would’ve been more angry when the Shah worked with the
British and CIA to remove Mossadegh, someone they actually liked and approved
of, from prower to increase his own power, then they would’ve resented the CIA,
British and the Shah for removing an representative elected by the people, because
the Iranian people would’ve felt betrayed that the Shah overthrow Mossadegh was
the Shah appointed him prime minister, granted he only did it via public pressure,
and he worked with foreign countries to get more power.

Hypotheses: Card #5 If the people had limited public expression of political ideas due to fear of the
SAVAK, a secret police that would take down political opponents created by the
Shah, then the Iranians would’ve become angrier with the Shah, because what they
had heard what happened to the political prisoners, mistreatment, torture and
execution and also when the Shah negotiated a new contract with the british and
U.S to get 50% of the oil profit, the people might’ve been hopeful, until the Shah
used most of the money on himself.

Hypotheses: Card #6 If the new laws the Shah implemented may have angered some Iranians, namly the
Name:​Cristal Guerrero

wealthy and the religious leaders, then these groups would be more angry with the
Shah that before because the wealthy got their land taken away to give to the
peasants, which didn’t even provide enough land for them to support them, and the
religious leaders were angry that these new laws challenged tradition interpretation
of Islamic law and replaced them with ‘western values’.

Hypotheses: Card #7 If the people admired Ayatollah Khomeini for speaking out against the Shah and
they admired his ideas then they would’ve been angry when the Shah arrested and
exile him because Khomeini considered the Shah an enemy of Islam and someone
who was unconcerned with the people’s welfare and spoke out against him which
many Iranians admired and connected with his ideas.

Hypotheses: Card #8 If the Iranian was caused by Shah’s decisions that the people didn’t agree with and
how the Shah acted towards other countries, then his relationships with the Soviets
and Allies would’ve been a major factor because the Shah refused to kick the
German agents out, so he got his country occupied by the Soviet and Allies, and
later signed a contracted with them that made it so they only got 16% of their oil
profits, and rejected a bill that postponed any new contracts with the Soviets and
Allies, and even arrested and exiled two men who the Iranian public liked and
instituted new laws that many groups of the public didn’t agree with.