The Iranian-Iraqi-American History Americans Dont Bother Learning In 1921 Reza Khan, Prime Minister of Iran and former

general of the Persian Cossack Brigade, overthrew the incompetent and corrupt Qajar Dynasty and became Shah. An ardent nationalist, Reza Shah initiated policies of military, administrative and financial modernisation and centralization. He quickly persuaded the Russians to withdraw [78] from Iran. Industrialization, the construction of the Trans-Iranian Railway and the establishment of a national education system can be named as some of his reforms. However, in 1941 he had been forced to abdicate in favour of his son, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, by Britain and the USSR, who were both fearful of Reza Shah's nascent ties to Germany and in need of supply lines for the Allied war effort in the form of the new Trans-Iranian Railway. During World War II, Iran was once again subject to British and Russian occupation.

Mosaddegh, Iranian democracy advocate and deposed PM in Pahlavi dynasty

In 1951, after the assassination of prime minister Ali Razmara, Dr. Mohammad Mosaddegh was elected prime minister by a parliamentary vote which was then ratified by the Shah. As prime minister, Mosaddegh became enormously popular in Iran after he nationalized Iran's petroleum industry and oil reserves. In response, the British government, headed by Winston Churchill, embargoed Iranian oil and successfully enlisted the United States to join in a plot to depose the democratically elected government of Mosaddegh. In 1953 US President Dwight D. Eisenhowerauthorized Operation Ajax. The operation, supported by the Shah, was successful, and Mosaddegh was arrested on 19 August 1953. The coup was the first time the US had openly overthrown an elected, civilian government of another sovereign state. After Operation Ajax, Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi favoured American and British oil interests and his rule became increasingly autocratic. With American support, the Shah was able to rapidly modernize the Iranian infrastructure and military. However, his rule was also corrupt and repressive. Arbitrary arrests and torture by his secret police, SAVAK, were used to crush all forms of political opposition. Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini became an active critic of the Shah's White Revolution and publicly denounced the government. Khomeini was arrested and imprisoned for 18 months. After his release in 1964, Khomeini publicly criticized the United States government. The Shah sent him into exile. He went first to Turkey, then to Iraq and finally to France. While in exile, Khomeini continued to denounce the Shah. By the mid-1970s, there was growing unrest with the Shah's repressive regime. The Iranian Revolution, also known as the Islamic Revolution, began in January 1978 with the first major demonstrations against the Shah. Minor political reforms and the release of some political prisoners in 1978 failed to satisfy the growing opposition. In November 1978, the Shah imposed martial law and implemented a new crackdown in an attempt to crush opposition. After strikes and demonstrations paralyzed the country and its economy, the Shah fled the country in January 1979 and Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini returned from exile to Tehran. His departure was tantamount to abdication. The Pahlavi dynasty collapsed ten days later, on 11 February, when Iran's military declared itself "neutral". Armed civilians and rebel troops overwhelmed troops loyal to the Shah in a climactic 3-days of street fighting. Iran officially became an Islamic Republic on 1 April 1979, when Iranians overwhelmingly approved a national referendum to make it so. In

parallel nation wide uprisings against the new regime erupted in Kordestan, Khuzestan, Balochistan and other areas, though were eventually subdued, with some lasting until late 1980. In December 1979, the country approved a theocratic constitution, whereby Khomeini became Supreme Leader of the country. The speed and success of the revolution surprised many throughout the world, as it had not been precipitated [91] by a military defeat, a financial crisis, or a peasant rebellion. Although both nationalists and Marxists joined with Islamic traditionalists to overthrow the Shah, tens of thousands were killed and executed by the Islamic regime afterward.

Ayatollah Khomeini, founder of the Islamic Republic of Iran

As a beneficiary of the exploitation of Iran's oil reserves, the USA had always been a strong supporter of the Shah's regime. Therefore, Iran United States relations deteriorated rapidly as a result of the revolution. On 4 November 1979, a group of Iranian students seized US embassy personnel, labeling the embassy a "den of spies". They accused its personnel of being CIA agents plotting to overthrow the revolutionary government, as the CIA had done to Mosaddegh in 1953. While the student ringleaders had not asked for permission from Khomeini to seize the embassy, [94] Khomeini nonetheless supported the embassy takeover after hearing of its success. Thirteen (being female and/or [94] African American) of the 66 hostages were released after a couple of weeks. The remaining hostages were held for 444 days. Attempts by the Jimmy Carter administration to negotiate for their release or rescue them were unsuccessful. In January 1981 the hostages were finally set free according to the Algiers Accords. Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein decided to take advantage of what he perceived to be disorder in the wake of the Iranian Revolution and its unpopularity with Western governments. The once-strong Iranian military had been disbanded during the revolution. Saddam sought to expand Iraq's access to the Persian Gulf by acquiring territories that Iraq had claimed earlier from Iran during the Shah's rule. Of chief importance to Iraq was Khuzestan, which not only has a substantial Arab population, but boasted rich oil fields as well. On the unilateral behalf of the United Arab Emirates, the islands of Abu Musa and the Greater and Lesser Tunbs became objectives as well. At this stage Saddam Hussein enjoyed the support of the USA, the Gulf States and many leading states in the West who were hostile to the Iranian Revolution. On 22 September 1980 the Iraqi army invaded Iran at Khuzestan, precipitating the IranIraq War. Although Saddam Hussein's forces made several early advances, by 1982, and after bitter fighting, the Iranian forces managed to drive the Iraqi army back into Iraq. Despite receiving large amounts of foreign financial and military aid (including chemical weapons), all of Saddam's subsequent offensives were thrown back. The war continued until 1988, when Khomeini, in his words, "drank the cup of poison" and accepted a truce mediated by the UN. The total [95] Iranian casualties in the war were estimated to be between 500,000 and 1,000,000; with more than 100,000 Iranians being victims of Iraq's chemical weapons. Almost all relevant international agencies have confirmed that Saddam engaged in chemical warfare to blunt the Iranian counter-attacks. These agencies also unanimously confirmed that Iran never used chemical weapons during the war. An estimated 95,000 Iranian child soldiers were killed during the IranIraq War.