ABSTRACT
Chapter 7 presents the Iranian Revolution and its causes and impacts. The chapter describes the unique characteristics of Iran’s Shia Islam and the roles religious leaders have played in politics and social conflict. Britain’s interest and involvement in Iran, including its role in helping to create the Pahlavi dynasty are described. The chapter portrays the impact of World War II along with the post-war conflict that developed between the country’s parliament and monarchy. The British role helping the shah defeat the parliament’s leader is explained as well as the relationship between Britain, the United States and Iran in the following decades. Factors contributing to the build-up of mass discontent are presented as well as the development of the country’s several revolutionary movements and their distinctive ideologies. The chapter reveals the revolutionary events of the 1970s as well as indicating how the fundamentalist religious leadership overcame other elements of the revolutionary coalition. The post-revolution Iranian political system, the reasons for the American hostage crisis, and the Iran-Iraq War are explained. The Iranian Revolution’s contribution to the spread of Islamic fundamentalist movements globally is described. The Iranian nuclear agreement as well as its abandonment by the Trump administration, and the resulting consequences, are depicted.
