ABSTRACT
Virtually all of the explanations for the Iranian revolution touch at least to some degree on the subject of change resulting from the rapid modernization process the Muhammad Reza Shah had embarked upon in earnest in the early 1960s. The Shah’s actions in the realm of foreign policy also created a great deal of opprobrium from those sectors of the Iranian population who had already aligned themselves against the Pahlavi regime. The tireless shuttle diplomacy, which resulted in the disengagement agreement between Israel and Egypt in January 1974, was, in effect, the first step toward the Egyptian-Israeli peace treaty of 1979. The Egyptian president had grown impatient with a process that never seemed to get going—it needed a kick-start. Events in Afghanistan began to unravel soon after Taraki returned from a trip to Moscow to consult with Kremlin leaders in September 1979.
