 Hello and welcome to our video summarizing all you need to know about the Iranian Revolution. My name is Barbara and in this video we'll examine this revolution, its beginnings, its evolution, how it panned out and its impact on Iran today. So let's get started. So now let's begin with the main question, what was the Iranian Revolution? Now the Iranian Revolution, which is also called the Islamic Revolution, occurred in 1978 and 1979 and it resulted in the toppling of the monarchy and the downfall of the Pahlavi dynasty on February 2 1979 and it ultimately led to the establishment of an Islamic Republic. The revolution is seen as a key watershed event and it impacted not only Iranian society and politics but it had lasting consequences for the wider geopolitical order as well, especially in the Middle East. The 1979 revolution was a characteristically Iranian revolution, a revolution in other words, but the whole society against the state in which various ideologies were represented, the most dominant being those with Islamic tendencies, Islamist, Marxist Islamist and democratic Islamic and Marxist Lenin tendencies, so the Fadai, Tuday, Maoist, Trotskyist and others. Now it's really important to understand the context in which this revolution happened. So this 1979 revolution which brought together Iranians across many different social groups has roots in Iran's long history. These groups included the clergy, landowners, intellectuals and merchants who had previously come together in the constitutional revolution of 1905. Foreign intervention in Russia, UK and later the US really influenced this. The UK helped Reza Shah Pahlavi establish a monarchy in 1921 even in Iran and along with Russia the UK then pushed Reza Shah into exile in 1941 and his son Mohammed Reza Pahlavi took the throne. In 1953, as prime minister, Mohammed Masadek nationalised British-owned Anglo-Iranian oil and his supporters ousted Mohammed Reza Shah. The US CIA and the UK's MI6 orchestrated a coup against Masadek's government and restored the Shah. Years later, Mohammed Reza Shah dismissed the parliament and launched the white revolution. This was a very aggressive modernisation programme that upended the wealth and influence of landowners and clerics, disrupted rural economies and it led to rapid urbanisations. In his efforts to modernise, the Shah overreached, making lots of people really angry within Iran. He outlawed the headscarf, also known as the hijab, from being worn in public. And not only did the Shah and his wife adopt western dress, he also insisted that all government employees do the same. And although the efforts were successful economically, the benefits were uneven. Now this affected Iran in the 1970s, so a position to the Shah's policies were heightened during this period as there were lots of financial crises when serious fluctuations in western consumption of oil threatened Iran's economic stability. In addition to mounting economic difficulties, social-political repression by the Shah's regime increased throughout the 70s. Outlets for political participation were minimal and opposition parties such as the National Front, which is a loose coalition of nationalists, clerics and non-communist left-wing parties and the pro-Soviet today, also known as Mass' party, were marginalised or forbidden. Now a key figure that had a role in the success of the Iranian revolution was known as Ayatollah Rahullah Khomeini. Now an increasing number of unemployed and working poor Iranians may see new migrants from the countryside who were disenchanted by the cultural vacuum of modern urban Iran, threatened to the olama, the religious scholars for guidance or rather they turned to them for guidance. The Shah was criticised due to his subservience to foreign powers, irreligion and close ties with Israel which ended fueling pervasive opposition to his rule. Intellectuals in Iran were fascinated by the appeal of Ayatollah Khomeini, a former professor of philosophy who had been exiled in 1964 after his sharp criticism of the Shah's reform programme. He ultimately played a significant role in the eruption of revolution. Now when you're thinking about the unfolding of the Iranian revolution, let's look at key events and how this broke down. So on 6 January 1978 the Iranian newspaper Etelat published a front page editorial dispelaging Ayatollah reportedly written by the royal court and directed by the Shah and you can see a clip of it right here. Following this publication thousands of students took to the streets that were joined by the wider Iranian youth who were mostly unemployed recent immigrants from the countryside and they began protesting the regime's excesses. The Shah who was weakened by cancer and stunned by the sudden outpouring of hostility against him juggled between concession and repression. Many people were killed as a result of the government's repressive reaction to the protests. Fatalities were followed by demonstrations to commemorate the customary 40-day milestone of mourning in Shiite tradition and further casualties occurred during these protests and mortality and protests propelling one after another. Thus in spite of all government efforts a cycle of violence began in which death each death filled further protests and all protests from the secular left to the religious right were subsumed under the cloak of Shiite Islam and crowned by the revolutionary rallying Khray ala akbar which means God is great. Clearing himself Allah's own messenger Ayatollah Khomeini's vision for Iran was a return to conservative Islamic values and a purge of Western influences which really appealed to a lot of people who were very angry with the Shah at this stage. On August 27 1978 Prime Minister Jamzid Muzaga resigned after which his successor Jafar Sharif Emami undertook reforms intended intended to assuage the public. On 8th September 1978 the government imposed martial law and troops opened fire against demonstrators in Tehran killing hundreds and this event became known as Black Friday. On 3rd October 1978 at the Shah's behest the Iraqi government deported Khomeini. After he was denied entry to Kuwait Khomeini travelled to France and settled in the chateau in a Parisian suburb where he benefited from greater media access and attention. This was followed by workers including oil workers who went on strike bringing the oil industry in Iran to a standstill. In December 1978 US President Jimmy Carter publicly reaffirmed his support for the Shah declaring that we which is the US personally prefers that the Shah maintain a major role but it is a decision for the Iranian people to make. Millions of Iranians protested all over the country demanding the removal of the Shah and the return of the Ayatollah Khomeini. The Shah hastily appointed Shahpur Bakhtia as prime minister and in January 1979 and what was officially described as a vacation the Shah and his family essentially fled from Iran. The Regency Council established to what was established to run the country during his absence and it proved unable to function and Prime Minister Bakhtia proved incapable. In the meantime Khomeini formed the revolutionary council to coordinate the transition and on 1 February 1979 Khomeini returned to Iran and was greeted by wild rejoicing crowds in Tehran. Bakhtia the prime minister announced countrywide curfew and martial law but 10 days later Iran's armed forces declared the neutrality effectively outsting the Shah's regime. On 1 April 1979 following overwhelming support in a national referendum Khomeini declared Iran an Islamic republic. Intellectual left-wing elements were purged both from the clergy and from positions of power in the new regime and there was a massive return to conservative social values. The Family Protection Act which essentially provided guarantees and rights to women in marriage was declared null and void. On 5 May 1979 Islamic revolutionary guard courts were established by Khomeini. They patrolled the streets enforcing Islamic codes of dressing and behaviour and moral policing of crowds. Now throughout the majority of 1979 the revolutionary guards then an informal religious militia formed by Khomeini to forestall another CIA-backed coup as in the days of Masadec. Engaged in similar activity aimed at intimidating and repressing political groups not under the ruling revolutionary council and sister Islamic republican party both clerical organizations loyal to Khomeini. There was then a really important event a massive crisis known as the Iran hostage crisis and this was in October 1979. So an assembly of experts approved a draft constitution enshrining Khomeini's doctrine which accorded ultimate authority to a religious leader. Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi was allowed to enter the US for military medical treatment however Khomeini condemned the US for allowing this deposed Shah to enter the country. This contributed to strong anti-western sentiment throughout Iran which ultimately manifested in the November 1979 hostage situation wherein Iranian protesters seized personnel of the US embassy as hostages demanding the extradition of the Shah. This crisis signalled the start of major hostilities between the US, its allies and Iran resulting in among other things decades of sanctions and these sanctions really brought Iran's economies to its knee. Now in November US freezed all the property and interests of the government of Iran and the central bank of Iran and in December the assembly of experts put a new constitution to vote and Iran's new constitution overwhelmingly approved a popular referendum that drew participation from 75% of the electorate. Another important event and this happened in 1980 of April was the Iraqi invasion of Iran. So in April 1980 USA had effectively severed diplomatic ties to Iran. In the same year in July Iranian authorities discovered a coup plot and they launched a new purge of the military and on 22nd December or September rather Iraq under the leadership of Saddam Hussein invaded Iran unleashing an eight-year conflict that resulted in numerous casualties on both sides. The Arab world's support of Saddam all the way through and Saddam's attack and the spread of that war through the Persian Gulf and oil lines in particular gradually drew the US into the Middle East. So that's all if you found this video useful do subscribe and give our channel a thumbs up but equally make sure you visit our website which is www.firstreaches.com there you will find lots of educational materials to support you in your studies as well as model answers and information. Thank you so much for listening