Political developments in Iran (1925 –1979)

Iran, which is one of the most important strategic regions of the world, continued to be the scene of high-intensity conflicts of interest and rivalries of colonialist countries in the early part of 20th century. In the 20th century; the prominence of petroleum as the most important raw material of energy had increased the geopolitical value of regions with rich oil deposits, such as Iran. the imperialist countries' view of Iran from this perspective paved the way for the political developments to be experienced in the region. The political developments that took place in Iran at the turn of the 20th century had a direct impact on Iran's state structure in the modern period. The political situation of Iran in the 20th century is a reflection of the political developments inherited from the past to the current period. In this historical process, the point of view of the imperialist countries towards Iran had a direct impact on events to be experienced in the region. Iran, which witnessed the World War I and the collapse of the Qajar Dynasty, has entered a new era with the establishment of the Pahlavi Dynasty since 1925. New state structure based on Persian nationalism under the leadership of Riza Khan was designed as Iran's new point of resistance to colonialism. In this context, relations with Western countries and Iran's development program continued until the occupation of Iran in World War II. Reza Pahlavi, who remained in power until 1941, developed relations in many fields- especially military and economic- with England which carried out colonial activities in Iran and Germany which were rivals to Russia. with the start of World War II, Iran which continued its relations with Germany by declaring its neutrality in the war, was formally impartial within this framework.; however, in practice it had put forward a pro-German policy. The success of this policy followed by Iran depended on the German victory in World War II. This risky policy followed by Shah Reza Pahlavi during the war ended with the defeat of the Germans in World War II. Iran was occupied by the allies and Reza Pahlavi was dethroned and exiled. Mohammad Reza, the 2nd Shah of the Pahlavi Dynasty, who got to power in the shadow of the devastating effect of the World War II. had to adopt a pro-Western foreign policy in accordance with the invasion of Iran in war and the lessons he learned from the exile of his father, Reza Pahlavi. II. After World War II, the fact that the USSR's continued occupation of Iran while the Western countries led by the USA supported Iran against the USSR, forced the USSR to leave Iranian territory. This attitude of Western countries in favor of Iran caused Mohammad Reza Pahlavi to be under the protection of Western countries led by the USA. In this context, the USSR pressure on Pahlavi Dynasty forced Iran to cooperate with the USA and Western countries in many fields, especially in military and economic fields. Shah Mohammad Reza had given economic concessions to the USA and its Western allies in many fields, especially oil, to protect his dynasty and to neutralize the current USSR activities in Iran since World War II. These relations between Shah, the United States and Western countries by disregarding Iran's national and economic interests increased the opposition of the Iranian people to the Shah and the Pahlavi Dynasty. The political events that developed in this framework were evaluated as the reflection of Iran's interstate relations to its domestic polic. Prime Minister Mossadegh became the first strong leader of the country-wide opposition to Shah Mohammad Reza and nationalized Iranian oil and nationalized all foreign oil businesses in the country. Prime Minister Mossadegh's anti-imperial nationalist policies had increased the support of the Iranian people for him. Thus, Mossadegh became the symbol of the rising opposition to the Shah in his own time. In this context, Mossadegh, who developed a national oil policy against the US and British interests, was targeted by Britain and the US. As a result of this, Mossadegh was removed from the prime minister position and arrested in the operation called Ajax, which was carried out jointly by the UK and the USA. After Prime Minister Mossadegh, the opposition, which concentrate on the Shah and the Pahlavi Dynasty, had matured into a political culture. This anti-government political movement in Iran brought all opposition groups in the country together in consequence , Opposition groups with different ideologies that developed against the regime have influenced the political events that have taken place since 1953. The opposition, which developed against Shah Mohammad Reza with the intense support of the USSR, was organizing major social events, demonstrations and protest rallies throughout the country. These activities, whose influence reached a level that threatened the political existence of the Pahlavi Dynasty, assumed a religious character under the leadership of Khomeini. Khomeini, who did not hesitate to use the religious sensitivities of the Iranian people as an element of propaganda in opposition to the Shah, was exiled by Shah in order to placate the aforementioned events. Khomeini, who continued his opposition to the Shah during his exile years, also continued to direct the opposition demonstrations and rallies in Iran. In this context, Khomeini, who was the new leader of the opposition against the Shah, was widely accepted by the people with his religious discourses. For this reason, all the demonstrations and myths he promoted resonated internationally. The events that took place against the regime in Iran under the leadership of Khomeini shook the public authority and lawlessness throughout the country had reached its peak. The use of weapons by the government forces in stopping these events caused the death of many demonstrators. The fact that the aforementioned events resulted in the deaths of many demonstrators in Iran made the ongoing demonstrations and protests unavoidable. Since the on going events in Iran have reached unavoidable dimensions, Western countries with important interests in the region mobilized. In this context, a conference was held on the island of Guadealupe, a French colony in the Caribbean Sea, with the participation of the USA, England, France and Germany. In this conference held on 4-7 January 1979, the events in Iran were discussed. At the end of the conference, it was decided to with draw the western support given to Mohammed Reza Shah and the Pahlavi Dynasty. After the Guadealupe Conference, Shah Mohammad Reza was advised by the USA to leave the country. Eventually, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi left Iran. Thus, The Pahlavi Dynasty, which came to power in 1925, ended when Mohammad Reza Shah left Iran in 1979.