• Historically known as Persia
• Persia derived from ancient Greek name
for Iran, Persis
– Name comes from a region in southern Iran
called Pars
• 1935, the Shah, Reza Shah Pahlavi,
asked for the country to be called by its
native name
– Iran means “Land of the Aryans”
• Known as the Islamic Republic of Iran
since 1979
o Tehran is the capital of Iran
• The economy is heavily energy based,
with oil exports comprising 85% of all
export revenues and up to 70% of
government income.
o World’s second largest oil producer behind Saudi
Arabia
o World’s second largest natural gas producer behind
Russia
• Has maintained its own distinct cultural
identity in the Islamic world
o Most of the population are not descendants of
Arabs
o Own language—Persian (called Farsi)
o Abides by the Shia interpretation of Islam
Believe that Mohammad’s son-in-law Ali and his son
Hussein are the rightful heirs of Mohammad.
Believe that the Koran and the Prophet’s intentions
may be interpreted by special clerics who derive their
legitimacy from divine appointment, lifelong study, and
prayer.
• Being a Muslim country, women suffer
legal and cultural discrimination, but differ
in treatment from the women in other
Muslim countries
• 94% of all Iranian women attend school
and 60% of college graduates are women
• Segregation of the sexes from educational
institutions is still widely practiced
• Some Iranian women who are Muslim
wear the chador.
o The chador is the black, full-body covering.
o It satisfies the requirements of a strict
interpretation of hajib or Islamic dress where
a woman’s hair and skin must be concealed in
public, with the exception of her hands and
face.
• Others adhere to a minimalist version of
hajib, covering only their hair with veils of
different color and lengths
• Despite their education and relatively good
health, women in Iran experience
significant discrimination in employment.
o Husbands can prevent wives from working
o Cannot hold public office above the municipal
level and traditionally earn less than their
male counterparts in similar jobs.
o Only 15% of women are in the working
population despite the high rate of them being
educated
• Iranian women also face discrimination in family
matters.
– Not only can women be compelled into marriage at
age 13, but they also have few rights in the areas of
divorce, custody, and inheritance.
– Domestic violence generally goes unpunished. A
woman’s testimony in court is technically worth just
half of a man’s, and a woman may still be stoned for
adultery.
– Women cannot obtain a passport without the
permission of a husband or male relative.
• Ta’arof is a system of politeness that includes
both verbal and non-verbal communication.
o It stems from the cultural obligation to put others,
especially guests, if not above all else, at least before
oneself.
o it is of utmost importance to make the guests feel
welcomed. Drastic measures are taken to ensure
company's comfort: Saving the best room in the house,
delicacies, the most ornate dishes and even fancy
beddings for that accidental guest.
o For the sake of Ta'arof, a lie is no longer considered a sin when
hospitality is the intention. In fact, when an Iranian offers
something, they may assure the guest by adding, 'Honestly, I'm
not Ta'arofing!' which insinuates that there is some dishonesty in
ta'arof?
• Mohammad Reza
Pahlavi came to power
during WWII after an
Anglo-Soviet invasion
forced the abdication of
his father Reza Shah.
• After WWII, United
States took over
Britain’s role as leading
foreign player in Iranian
politics.
• Muhammad Mossadeq became
Prime Minister in 1951.
• Nationalized the foreign oil
companies.
• Got rid of corrupt military
officials.
• Instills distrust and animosity
toward Americans (and the west)
• Was toppled in a coup aided by
the America CIA in 1953.
• The Shah of Iran returns to
power and the oil once again
flowed westward
I’m
backkk…
• In 1963, the Shah attempted to modernize
Iran by promoting some democratic and
social reforms that became known as The
White Revolution.



Women’s rights- right to vote, more freedom in
divorce, and allowed to wear Western attire.
Education- more modern and secular
Land- took some of the clergy’s land holdings
• The above reforms and undermined the
religious leaders authority and were
greatly criticized by them.
• The United States helped the Shah establish a
brutal secret security force (SAVAK) that
employed torture and murder to any opponents
• Because of the United States involvement with
the SAVAK and the Shah, a wave of antiAmericanism spread throughout Iran.
 The clerics exploited the situation, rallying
support from the poor on religious grounds
and the wealthy land owners and merchants
for financial reasons
• The Shah had a number
of clerics arrested, while
a number of them fled
including the Ayatollah
Khomeini.
• Fled to Iraq and
remained there until…
• In the late 1970’s, the Shah became
extremely unpopular in his own kingdom.
 Reforms did very little to help the poor.
• In September 1978, The Shah instituted
martial law because of the widespread
unrest in the country.
 Recession and inflation plaguing the country.
 SAVAK continued to repress dissidents
 Shah was fighting a losing bout with
lymphatic cancer and was not focused on
resolving the issues
• Ayatollah Khomeini (in exile) seized the
moment to convince Iranians that all the
nation’s ill could be traced to sources
 The Shah’s secular practices and policies
 Influence of the “ Great Satan” ( the United
States)
• Khomeini’s solution was to kick the Shah
to the curb and give him the power
• The Shah knew his days were numbered,
so he boarded a plane with his wife and
never returned home.
• With the Shah gone, Khomeini flew
home to Tehran to throngs of adoring
fans.
• He announced that he would
establish the Islamic Republic of Iran
• First truly Islamic state in modern history
• Reinstitute pure Islam as it was in the golden
days of the Prophet Muhammad
I’m a ROCK
STAR!!!
…Wait! I hate
the West!
• Khomeini set up a theocracy (a
government ruled by or subject to religious
authority)
• Stated that the rest of the regimes in the
Muslim world were corrupt because of
their relations with the “Great Satan”
• He established this Islamic state by rigid
enforcement of Iran’s Shiite version of
Sharia (Islamic law)
• The following measures were implemented:
•
•
•
•
•
Purged Iran of all un-Islamic influences ( ex. Bankinginterest is forbidden)
Purged Iran of all Western influences ( ex. Prohibited
music and dancing)
Enforced the revolution’s new Islamic regulations
(streets policed to watch for cultural violations)
Persecuted all non-Muslims and secular nationalists
Imposed strict regulations on women including the
mandatory use of the veil and covered from head to
toe
• For Westerners, he earned the reputation as an
evil Islamic madman that wouldn’t be matched
until Osama bin Laden
• Khomeini’s regime wanted to put the Shah
on trial.
• In November 1979, President Jimmy
Carter invited the Shah to New York for
medical attention.
• With Khomeini’s blessing a group of
approximately 500 students demonstrated
outside the U.S. embassy in Tehran and
demanded that the U.S. extradite The
Shah.
• Your are a CIA agent and your job today is
going to examine primary source
documents from throughout the crisis in an
attempt to reconstruct the event.
• In essence you will be working backwards,
trying to decipher what documents are
more important than others as you
construct a debriefing of the event.