Iran in the 20 th Century

1. Formerly . . . Persia Iran in the 20th Century 1935 become Iran “land of the Aryans”

3. We have a long history with Iran • Iran took an American embassy hostage. It may have had a hand in the bombing of the American marine barracks in Lebanon in 1983 and it stands accused now of helping to kill American soldiers in Iraq. It is not surprising that many Americans consider Iran a bitter foe. • Nor is it surprising that Iranians return the favour. America organised the coup against Mossadegh, supported the shah, helped Saddam in the Iran-Iraq war, invaded two of Iran's neighbours and imposes sanctions on Iran. The Iranian regime considers America an implacable foe and routinely denounces it, in political speeches and organised rituals such as those fiery Friday prayers, as the Great Satan or “the Global Arrogance”. • And yet, as this special report has already noted, many of the smartly dressed young people of Tehran seem quite unmoved (some are amused) by the official hate-mongering. They do not admire George Bush. But to judge by dress, behaviour, viewing and consumption habits—and even more by the regime's terror of a creeping “Westoxification”—they do admire at least some of America's ways.

4. 'The greatest obstacle to this future is that your rulers have chosen to deny you liberty and to use your nation's resources to fund terrorism, and fuel extremism, and pursue nuclear weapons.'- President Bush UN Address

5. Iran’s President Criticizes Bush in Letter to American People President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran, seated, discussed Iraq and Israel in an open letter to Americans 11/30/2007

6. Iran’s president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, told the American people on Wednesday that he was certain they detested President Bush’s policies — his support for Israel, war in Iraq and curtailed civil liberties — and he offered to work with them to reverse those policies. The call came in the form of a six-page letter in English, published online and addressed to “noble Americans” that discussed “the many wars and calamities caused by the U.S. administration.” It suggested that Americans had been fooled into accepting their government’s policies, especially toward Israel.

7. Relatively large country in SW Asia • Strategic position along Persian Gulf • Most is mountain or desert so uneven demographic distribution (70% of Iranians live in 30% of land in north and nw and in major cities); • Climate: scarce precipitation and extreme temperature differences • 10% of world total oil reserves2nd largest exporter of oil in OPEC and 4th largest producer in the world; oil reserves concentrated along Persian gulf in south and Caspian Sea in north—areas of instability Geography

8. Nov 15 2006 News Conference in Tehran

9. Split soon after Islam begins over question of who should be caliph—Shiites think only heirs of prophet. They have a messianic belief that a “hidden Imam” will return at the end of time and restore a just order Shi’a SunniSplit

10. RELIGIOUS FERVOR: An Iranian Shiite prays for the return of the Mahdi in Jamkaran Mosque. Shiites have always been more critical of the monarch and extend only provisional legitimacy to rulers who will let Islamic institutions flourish Clergy stand in collectively for the hidden Imam

11. FYI . . . Ethnic groups in Iran

12. Central principle is: velayat-e faqih, or rule by Islamic jurists. As with Russian Revolution of 1917, the new Iranian system was seen as a temporary set of institutions, to serve until the return of the Hidden Imam or true descendent of the Prophet (some Iranians in fact saw initially Khomeini as this figure). . The rule of law is heresy, as it is God’s law, or sharia that should reign supreme. As such, the Iranian constitution and political institutions are (at least in theory) an attempt to express God’s will rather than instruments of human will - THEOCRACY Shiite Clergy have a divine right to rule since they interpret god’s will Shiite tradition shapes Iranian state

13. Shiite Muslims make up about 60 percent of Iraq's population. They were brutally repressed by Saddam Hussein's Sunni-dominated government. Their leader, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, is rarely seen in public. FYI because inquiring minds always want to know

14. 20th Century • 1925 Army Officer Reza Khan abolishes the Quajar dynasty and declares himself Shah. The Pavli Dynasty begins. During WWII, he is considered to favor the Axis powers (Germany, Italy, Turkey), and the British and Soviets force him into exile and install his son Mohammad Reza who becomes the new shah • 1953 Iranian Parliament nationalizes the oil industry and the Shah, who disagrees, flees the country. CIA helps the shah back into power. Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi

15. “Rev” in name only Attempt to modernize and increase shah’s power Clergy were target (peasants got their land) Last straw for Khomeini—he protests, is arrested Brutal suppression; 2 unarmed students killed White Revolution: 1963

16. After WWI, Shah wanted to westernize Iran and turn into Middle East version of Japan, so to make Iran less ”backward” both Shahs cultivated a Western image and focused on pre-Islamic Persian Nationalism. For example women are forbidden to wear the head shawl. Uses oil revenues to establish relationships which were based an exchange of loyalty for public goods. • Both were authoritarian and involved in all significant decisions, demanding absolute loyalty and using oil revenues to establish to cultivate loyal supporters. Shah’s Modernization program

17. 1979 Revolution Background In the early 1970's, as the price of oil continued its upward climb, a rising gap forms between the rich and the poor. Many of them wanted the basic Shi'a Islamic lifestyle to return, and opposite to the Shah's efforts for modernism and progress, which they believed to be western dominated, imperialism. They see the Shah's reforms as self-serving and his promise of providing "progress" to be false Even many of the pro-western middle class became increasingly angered by the regime's cronyism, internal corruption, and repressive nature and use of the secret police.

18. An Example The internal decadence is well illustrated by the 2,500th anniversary of the founding of the Persian Empire. These celebrations consisted of a three-day party held at the site of Persepolis in October, 1971, to which only foreign dignitaries had been invited to attend. Officially, the celebrations cost $40 million, but unofficial estimates were more in the range of $100-120 million.[1] The party included extravagances, such as over a ton of caviar, prepared by some of the two hundred chefs flown in from Paris. Meanwhile, many within Iran had insufficient food and shelter of their own.

19. revolutionary coalition starts to emerge • urban poor—especially recent rural urban migrants who were confronted with cultural chasm b/w traditional and modernity • moderate middle class (want political freedoms) • leftist opposition—includes communists (most in West thought would win) • bazaar merchants (had established networks and could bring economy to a stop) • clergy: moral focus point—they had solid centralized organization, communication networks, good orators, financial independence, mobilizing networks (mosques, Islmaic foundations etc), popular slogans, legit from years of opposition to Shah—they were the “vanguard party”

20. Shah turns to the US Iran occupied a strategic place in U.S. foreign policy toward the Middle East, acting as an island of stability, and a buffer against Soviet penetration into the region Offends many in Iran The Iranian Shah meeting with Alfred Atherton, William Sullivan, Cyrus Vance, President Carter, and Zbigniew Brzezinski, 1977

21. Massive Street Demonstrations in 1978 and 1979 Ayatollah Khomeni returns from exile and urges mass demonstration Many cities were placed under martial law. It was too late. People poured to the streets to defy the Shah. Soldiers were ordered to shoot. They did, and according to the opposition, more than 600 people were killed in Zhaleh Square alone. This day (September 8 1978) became known as the Black Friday and that square's name was changed to the Square of Martyrs. Only incites more to rebel.

22. REGIME CHANGE Soon the army refuses to support the shah and he falls • The Iranian Revolution transformed Iran from a pro-western constitutional monarchy, under Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, to an Islamic, populist theocratic republic under the rule of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini • Iran’s Islamic Republic rests its legitimacy in part on popular sovereignty and in part on its conformity to a revealed body of religious law • Most policymakers are elected by the people, but they are overseen by clerics who are not themselves fully accountable to anything except their own religious conscious and one another • Iran’s government is a theocracy, organized around the Shiite clergy, and infused with democratic elements

23. The US Embassy Hostage Crisis On February 14 1979 a group of Iranian students associated with a Marxist political group temporarily seized control of the US Embassy in Tehran. From the perspective of many Iranians, the Embassy literally represented the power behind the throne, which propped up the Shah’s rule and acquiesced in his despotic ways. Khomeini denounced the takeover, and forced their retreat. On November 4 the embassy was stormed a second time, taking sixty six hostage. However, on this occasion the students were followers of Khomeini, and inspired by the belief that the US was preparing a counter-revolution that would restore the monarchy. Most believed that their seizure would not be a prolonged affair. However, within a matter of days Khomeini formally endorsed the takeover, which helped project the new regime’s staunch anti-Americanism and sideline more moderate forces who sought better relations with the US. The hostage crisis would continue on for 444 days, generating frustration and a deep animosity in the US toward Iran, while serving as a source of revolutionary pride for many Iranians. In April 1980 President Carter approved a military operation to rescue the hostages, only to have the mission scuttled after an air crash en route to Tehran that killed eight servicemen. Only after Carter had been defeated by Reagan in the 1980 elections did Khomeini agree to allow the hostages to leave. To this day, the US does not have formal diplomatic relations with Iran.

24. Q&A: Iran election crisisWhat lies behind this decision? • This move is generally seen as part of the power struggle in Iran between the conservatives who want to maintain a strict Islamic approach and reformers, backed by the elected government, who want greater liberalization. • Reformers control the parliament, the Majlis, but under Iran's constitution, a series of appointed supervisory bodies have the ultimate say and these are in the hands of the conservatives. • Who has been disqualified? • In its first ruling on 11 January 2004 , the Guardian Council disqualified 3,600 of about 8,000 candidates overall. • It reinstated about a third of these after pressure from the reformist President Mohammad Khatami and the intervention of the conservative spiritual leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. • The banned list includes more than 80 sitting members of the Majlis, all of them reformers Guardian Council

25. Ahmadindjad? Iran victor 'kidnap role' probe

26. Importance of the 1979 Revolution First revolution in which which the dominate ideology was religion, and the leadership cadres were clergy instead of secular, lay individuals (a revolution led by religion, financed by the bazaar merchants and fought by the urban poor)

27. At the bazaar. A president who came to power as a sort of Robin Hood is blamed for many troubles.

28. Importance of the 1979 Revolution it is the most popular since China, in terms of the masses But in contrast, it is the only modern one in which peasants and guerrilla warfare were marginal—by and large it was an urban event

29. Importance of the 1979 Revolution first to create a theocracy—and combine it with democracy most revolutions are directed against church and state-the Iranian revolution was directed only against the state

30. Importance of the Revolution/ Anti-Western sentiment continues • Rather than focusing so much attention on the president, the West needs to learn that in Iran, what matters is ideology — Islamic revolutionary ideology, according to politicians and political analysts here. • Nearly 30 years after the shah fell in a popular revolt, Iran’s supreme leader also holds title of guardian of the revolution. • Mr. Ahmadinejad’s power stems not from his office per se, but from the refusal of his patron, Ayatollah Khamenei, and some hard-line leaders, to move beyond Iran’s revolutionary identity, which makes full relations with the West impossible

31. Effect: “Brain Drain” in the heart of "Tehrangeles," as Iranians everywhere call their largest exile community.

32. Effect on Women the revolution's impact on women has been contradictory and often unintended. Contradictory because the revolution has both --Opened up new possibilities for women & --instituted repressive controls over women Unintended because a different kind of woman has emerged in Iran than was anticipated by the revolution

33. Women in the revolution Khomeni cultivated the "Ideal Revolutionary Woman" who was supposed to be pious and trained in tradition to pass that on to children, deferent to fathers, husbands or brothers, pious He also called the chador (cape) the "flag of the revolution“ urged women to participate in the masses: to fight and to vote in elections in the new regime

34. So the effect of the Rev on women . . . On the one hand . To ensure they wouldn't tempt men, the regime ordered women to cover all but face & hands and to segregate themselves from men in public places (no soccer games) Hezbollah (party of god) harass women for their attire (vigilante groups who serve as unofficial watch dogs and storm troopers of the clerics and are hardly ever prosecuted) Sharia law means can stone for adultery, restrictions on women leaving country without consent of male relatives. .  women barred from running for president (about 90 applied to in 2005 but were denied) Women are 27% of the work force As mayor of Tehran, Ahmadinejad,(current president) , instituted policies of gender segregation, calling for women and men to take separate elevators in government buildings.

35. On the other hand Women can vote A narrowing education gap between women & men means equal numbers of boys and girls in school women now outnumber men at universities Decreasing family size leads to more demand of education and employment—”democratization of family” A worsening economy has forced women into the labor market to help support their families The regime has opened up job opportunities in government, professions, & universities for women: higher percent work than other Muslim Countries Globalization brought information & images of women's gains elsewhere Dress codes relaxed, esp. under Pres. Khatami Shirin Ebadi Women vote in 2005 election

36. After President Mohammad Khatami came to power in 1997, Islamic dress started shrinking and finally became a simple head scarf and tunic. (The tighter or more slit the better, and preferably pink this year.) Iran was looking for ways to take part in international women's events without abandoning Islamic dress.

37. On October 11, 2003, the Nobel Committee announced that it was awarding the 2003 Nobel Peace Prize to Shirin Ebadi, an Iranian activist who has worked for women's rights and children's rights. This is the tenth year in Nobel history that the prize has been awarded to women, and Shirin Ebadi is the 11th woman, the first Muslim woman, and first Iranian to be so honored. (http://womenshistory.about.com/b/a/034540.htm) Nobel Peace Prize to Iranian Woman

38. Unlike in the United States, in Iran the president is not the head of state nor the commander in chief. That status is held by Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the supreme leader, whose role combines civil and religious authority. At the moment, this president’s power comes from two sources, they say: the unqualified support of the supreme leader, and the international condemnation he manages to generate when he speaks up. • “The United States pays too much attention to Ahmadinejad,” said an Iranian political scientist who spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of reprisal. “He is not that consequential.”

39. Supreme Leader Iran has had two "Supreme Leaders"Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, 1979–1989,and Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, 1989–present.

40. Iran’s Supreme leader taking a salute from Iranian Air Force NYT Feb 9 2007

41. A candy shop in Qum featured a poster of Ayatollah Khamenei and his predecessor, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the father of the revolution.

42. The image of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the supreme leader of Iran, looking down on a street in Tehran

43. May 2006 Iran women sports ruling vetoed The supreme leader of Iran has vetoed a ruling by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad that would have allowed women to attend major sporting events.

44. Present and Past Presidents Iranian President Mohammad Khatami, right, smiles as Iran's president-electMahmoud Ahmadinjead, looks on during a meeting in Tehran on Wednesday June 29, 2005. Iran's non-elected constitutional watchdog Wednesday approved the result of the presidential runoff election that gave ultraconservative Ahmadinjead a landslide victory. (AP Photo/Hasan Sarbakhshian

45. President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, at a speech in Iran, again called the Holocaust a "myth" that was promoted by Europeans. NYT DEC 20, 2005 October 27, 2005 Iran's New President Says Israel 'Must Be Wiped Off the Map' TEHRAN, Oct. 26 - Iran's new president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, told a group of students at an anti-Israel event on Wednesday that Israel "must be wiped off the map" and that attacks by Palestinians would destroy it, the ISNA news agency reported. He was speaking to about 4,000 students at a program called "The World Without Zionism," in preparation for an annual anti-Israel demonstration held on the last Friday of the holy month of Ramadan.

46. Electoral system for president What other country that we study has this electoral system for president?