ABSTRACT

Mass protests resulted in the fall of the Pahlavi dynasty and the end of the Imperial State of Iran; the political situation got completely out of control and the state fell into chaos. Mohammad Reza Pahlavi and Empress Farah left Iran for Egypt on 16 January 1979. Ruhollah Khomeini was the biggest political winner in 1979. He cleverly took advantage of social discontent and an economic downturn in Iran. The new Iranian constitution was adopted in a referendum in December 1979. Shi’ism forms the ideological base of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Some analysts claim that political Shi’ism is advantageous for society, while others say that it blocks social and political development. Khomeinism is a doctrine within the Shi’a ideology. The main sources of Khomeinism are political thought and legacy of Grand Ayatollah and first Supreme Leader, Khomeini. Ayatollah Khomeini formulated one of the main concepts related to the Iranian foreign policy, namely “neither East nor West policy”.