Blackwell Reference Online

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In 1953, a CIA-sponsored coup d'état overthrew the nationalist government of Mohammad Mossadegh and firmly installed Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi as the dictatorial ruler of Iran. The era of martial law (1953–7) and the Baghdad Pact brought Iran closer to the West, particularly the US and its military and economic aid. The elite-based modernization program of the government, known as the White Revolution, and the increasing arbitrariness of the Shah had alienated not only certain Islamic religious and political groups but also a number of intellectuals seeking democratic reforms. Both denounced the Shah's subservience to the United States. Throughout the late 1970s there were widespread religion-led protests, supported by and involving as participants a vast majority of the disaffected population. The Shah's regime suppressed all opposition from the working class and the left, jailing and torturing some 20,000 political prisoners with the help of Iran's security and intelligence organization, the SAVAK. Relying solely on oil revenues, especially from 1973, the Shah's pursuit of developing Iran as a mighty Gulf power within the US hegemony ultimately increased poverty for the masses and destroyed political freedom. Growing oil profits helped Iran to become the world's largest arms importer in the 1970s and to acquire a huge army – with an air force rivaling that of France – which ... log in or subscribe to read full text