Transcript Iranian History - Saint Francis High School

Iranian History
1945-1979
Reza Shah Pahlavi (r. 1925-1941)
Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi
(r. 1941-1979)
Mohammad Mossadegh
(PM, 1951-1953)
Time Man of the Year, 7 Jan. 1952
Ayatollah Khomeini
(Supreme Leader, 1979-1989)
1951 – Iran nationalizes the oil
industry + Mossadegh becomes PM
• 1901: Britain gained its oil concession
• 1909: Anglo-Iranian Oil Company formed (BP today)
• 1933: Britain renegotiated concession terms, securing
rights to oil through 1993 and at a fixed rate of royalty
payments to Iran. Royalties paid only on crude oil;
Britain alone gained from the AIOC’s oil refining
operation. Iranians excluded from skilled jobs at the
AIOC and any say in running the company.
• late 1940s: Iran = world’s 4th largest oil
exporter; producer of 90% of Europe’s oil
“My countrymen lack the bare necessities of
existence. Their standard of living is probably one
of the lowest in the world. Our greatest national
asset is oil. This should be the source of work and
food for the population of Iran. Its exploitation
should properly be our national industry, and the
revenue from it should go to improve our
conditions of life. As now organized, however, the
petroleum industry has contributed practically
nothing to the well being of the people or to the
technical progress or industrial development of my
country.”
- Mossadegh, speech to the UN, Oct. 1951
“Persian oil is of vital importance to our
economy and we regard it as essential to
do everything possible to prevent the
Persians from getting away with a breach
of their contractual obligations.”
- British PM Clement Atlee, 1951
1953 – CIA overthrow of Mossadegh
• Why: Mossadegh kicked the Brits out of Iran in
1952. US worried about the Soviets filling the
vacuum.
“ … the British are so obstructive and determined
on a rule-or-ruin policy in Iran that we must strike
out on an independent policy or run the risk of
having Iran disappear behind the Iron Curtain.”
- Dean Acheson, secretary of state for Truman, 1951
• Mohammad Reza returns from Rome in 1953
after the coup, and incorrectly thinks that his
people love him: “I knew it! I knew it! They love
me!”
• He then sought to modernize Iran and to
consolidate his power:
– Renegotiated oil concession (Iran got more $$)
– Disbanded National Front (Mossadegh’s group) and
imprisoned its leaders
– Banned the Tudeh Party
– Est. secret police, SAVAK
1961 – shah imposes White Revolution
1979 – Iranian Revolution
•
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•
•
Protests against the shah begin in 1978
Jan. 1979: Shah goes into exile
Feb.: Khomeini returns
March: Iranians vote for an Islamic Republic
Dec.: Iranians approve new constitution
Ayatollah Khamenei
(Supreme Leader, 1989-present)
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
(President, 2005-present)