17 1979 Flashcards
Flashpoint #1 of 1979
Iranian Revolution
When did Persia become Iran?
1935
Who was its shah?
Pahlavi’s father in 1925 when still Persia
What happened in 1941?
Britain and Russia invaded Iran and forces the switch to the son.
Why did Britain/Russian do this?
Germany was Iran’s largest trading partner.
They were afraid of the father’s Nazi sympathies.
How did Iran do under the son’s rule?
Economically well with oil money and industrial development.
What did the Shia clergy think about this?
That the Shah was too close to the West.
In the 1901 agreement between Persia and foreignors, how much of the profits did Persia get?
16%
What changed in 1951?
Iran’s PM nationalized the oil industry
Mohammed Mossadegh
How did western nations respond?
2 years later they helped remove Mossadegh from power with an edict by the shah.
What was the lasting effect of this?
The shah’s opponents never forgave him
What did the Shah do in 1963?
A domestic investment policy called
The White Revolution.
What social reforms did it include?
Vote for women, free education, break up of large farms
Who did this anger?
Big landowners and clerics who considered it westernization
What did Shia leader Khomeni call the shah?
Musavi Khomeni
A “wretched miserable man.”
What happened to him?
He was arrested.
What happened next to Khomeni?
He went into exile in Iraq for 14 years
What provoked a problem in early 1978?
An Iranian newspaper called Khomeni a British agent.
What did this trigger?
Riots supporting Khomeni.
What did the Shah do?
Promised free elections next year.
What happened?
Eventually protests got larger and the Shah called for martial law.
What was Black Friday?
Sept. 8, 1978
The army shot at protesters killing nearly 90.
What did Iran pressure Iraq to do?
Expel Khomeni.
Where did he go?
To Paris, giving him better communications
What did the Shah do?
He replaced the PM with the military
What did the Shah finally do?
He left Iran for good.
What did Khomeni’s return mean?
The Iranian Revolution became an Islamic Revolution
Was Khomeni universally popular in Iran?
No
What were they hoping for?
That Khomeni would turn it over to a more democratic state.
What did Khomeni think about democracy?
It was bad because it was Western.
What was the second big event of 1979?
THe signing of the Israel / Egypt peace treaty
How many wars had Egypt and Israel fought since 1948?
4
Egypt lost every one.
What had those losses done to Egypt?
Hurt them economically.
Why did Egypt finally make peace with Israel?
To improve its economy by engaging in international trade.
Why did Israel make peace with Egypt?
They were tired of fighting for their survival.
How did Israelis take the agreement?
They generally supported it.
How did other Arab nations take it?
Not so well.
Sadat was seen as a traitor.
THey were expelled from the Arab League.
Who saw it as an an opportunity?
Iraq’s President Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr
How had he come to power?
In a coup with the Ba’ath party 10 years before.
What was the 3rd event of 1979?
Iraq and Syria entered into a treaty.
What was their history?
From 1958-1961 Iraq/Syria were a united country called the United Arab Republic.
In 1979, what went wrong with the union?
Iraq Deputy Saddam Hussein felt sidelined.
What did Hussein do?
Pressured al-Bakr into resigning.
What was the 4th event of 1979?
The siege of the mosque at Mecca
What were the circumstances?
There were nearly 100,000 people there and 500 insurgents had smuggled in guns.
What did they do?
They locked the doors.
What was their primary demand?
The overthrow of the Saudi royal family.
What else?
The end of oil exports to the US
What else?
The expulsion of all non-Muslim foreignors from Arabia
What was their religion?
Sunni, like most Saudi Arabians
What inspired them?
The Iranian Revolution
What did they believe?
That the judgement day was near.
What did the Saudi government do?
Attacked the mob.
How long did it take to end it?
2 weeks
How many died?
380 or higher
What did the US do that year?
Let the former Shah of Iran come for cancer treatments
What happened next?
The takeover of the US Embassy in Tehran
How many hostages did they take?
52
What was the long-term impact of this?
It destroyed US-Iran relations to this day.
What happened to Sadat?
He was assassinated in 1981
What happened to the Saudi family after the siege?
Became even more conservative.
