The United States Overthrows Iran’s Government
On the behest of the British, the CIA backed a coup in 1953 which led to the arrest and trial of
democratically elected Prime Minister Mohammed Mosaddegh. The British wanted to regain control
of the oil supply in Iran after Mosaddeqh, an outspoken advocate of nationalism, reclaimed the oil
companies for Iran. He was replaced by Fazlollah Zahedi, picked by the U.S. and Britain (Iranian
Revolution of 1978-79, 2011). This upset the secular well educated segment of Iranian society. This
anger led these intellectuals to no longer try to reduce the influence of religious scholars who
continually built influence leading up to the Islamic revolution.
Forced Modernization of Iran
Another factor that contributed to the hostage crisis and revolution was forced modernization by the
Shah's government. With funding from U.S. foreign aid and oil revenue, built a huge military
complex, and pushed for technological advances in agriculture and industry. This transformed the
Iranian society and left the population with a "sense that in both agriculture and industry too much
had been attempted too soon and that the government, either through corruption or incompetence,
had failed to deliver all that was promised and was manifested in demonstrations against the regime
in 1978 (Iranian Revolution of 1978-79, 2011)."
Economic Growth Crushes the Lower Class
Iranian society in the decade leading up to the hostage
crisis experienced "a decade of extraordinary economic
growth, heavy government spending, and a boom in oil
prices that led to high rates of inflation and the stagnation
of Iranians’ buying power and standard of living (Iranian
Revolution of 1978-79, 2011)." The shah and the royal
family took a disproportionate amount of the oil profits,
and frequently displayed conspicuous opulence while the
working class and farmers spiraled deeper into poverty.
This caused discontent amongst the population towards
the government of the shah, who had established himself
as a fervent ally of the West and the United States.
Contemporary Causes
Rhetoric from Ayatollah Khomeini
Social and political repression by the shah's government further fueled the people’s discontent.
"Social and political protest as often met with censorship, surveillance, or harassment, and illegal
detention and torture were common (Iranian Revolution of 1978-79, 2011)." This repression by the
shah's government only served to alienate his people and drive them towards the radical religious
clerics like Ayatollah Khomeini, who despite in exile, "continued his outspoken denunciations,
developing a strong religious and political following (Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, 2011)" which
would eventually overthrow the shah's government and start the Iran Hostage Crisis.
Islamic Revolution
Social unrest and disapproval of the shah’s regime came to a head in 1978, when protesters flooded
the streets of nearly every major city in Iran and shut the country down. The shah fled in exile in
January of 1979. Ayatollah Khomeini was allowed to return to Iran from exile and quickly assumed
control of the interim government, leading them to create an Islamic republic with Khomeini himself
as the Supreme Leader.
U.S. Treatment of Deposed Shah
Due to the close relation that the deposed Shah had with United States, this "had produced a deep
suspicion among Iran's revolutionary leaders, from both the left and right of the political spectrum
(Iran Hostage Crisis, 2011)." This suspicion grew to anger when the shah traveled to the United
States for medical care because Iran wanted to bring the shah back to stand trial but the United
States refused to extradite him. This anger was unleashed on the U.S. embassy when on
"November 4 the embassy was attacked by a mob of perhaps 3,000, some of whom were armed
and who, after a short siege, took 63 American men and women hostage(Iran Hostage Crisis,
2011)."