Iran

toc Extreme Authority: Controlling Iran and it's Resources = Economic: = In World War II Iran signed a nonaggression treaty, a treaty which declared their neutrality in the war. Although they supported Axis powers, they refused to align themselves with many countries such as Germany, Great Britain, Turkey and the Soviet Union. Britain and the Soviet Union occupied Iran making their shah, Reza Khan, leave. After he left his son took over and allied with the allies who then gave them financial and military aid, resulting in many foreign troops leaving Iran. (ABC-CLIO/Iran) The Declaration of Iran was created in the year 1943. This Declaration allowed the Iranian people to govern themselves and gain territory. Two years after the declaration they were accepted into the United Nations, who took interest in Iran’s massive amount of resources- particularly oil. The UN wanted to have foreign oil concessions and was trying to achieve this goal for many years, but the Iranian Legislative Majles decided on nationalizing their oil Company in 1951.This made Iran's economy and their oil companies expand and grow (Country Studies/Mossadeq and Oil Nationalization). This caused many domestic and foreign conflicts because everyone wanted exploit a portion of the mass amount of oil supply that Iran possessed(ABC-CLIO/Iran). Britain then put an embargo and a blockade to halt oil exports, which in turn destroyed Iran's economy(BBC/Iran Profile).The CIA eventually removed Iran’s current leader, Mohammad Mosaddeq, in a coup in order to gain access to their resources. In order to fill the newly vacant leadership role the CIA placed the exiled shah, Pahlavi, back in power. The US then maintained influence over the shah, and in turn, Iran. In 1958 Iran received 75% of oil profits from the US, bolstering their formerly failing economy.(ABC-CLIO/Iran)

= Political: = The US coup let the Shah Pahlavi return from exile. In 1961 he proclaimed himself dictator and dismissed his senate. With the US supporting and protecting him, he created the White Revolution, a plan to westernize Iran. It was put to action in 1963. Unfortunately, the White Revolution caused revolts by the conservative Shiite clergy, who disagreed with the ideas of westernization. These revolts were at first quelled by his secret police the Savak, which the Shah became increasingly dependent on as more revolts began to happen later in the 1960’s.The Shiite Clergy leader was Ayatollah Khomeini. He believed that “[the White Revolution] garnered more power for the shah and would destroy traditional Muslim family values”(ABC CLIO/White Revolution). Khomeini was exiled to Turkey, in 1964 but in his exile he gained followers and formed the Islamic Revolution (ABC CLIO/White Revolution).

The Islamic Revolution; ran by the ulema began as a counter revolution to the White Revolution. This was a religious Revolution based on the muslim religion. In 1978, religious Iranian students were shot by police. This was the start of many riots. These riots demanded the return of media type="custom" key="25869226" width="64" height="64" align="left"the the Clergy’s exiled leader Khomeini. The shah prevented this return by forcing Khomeini to flee to Paris, where he proceeded to bring attention to the events in Iran. The Shah was then forced to flee and his vice president Shapur Bakhtiar rose to power on January 6, 1979. Khomeini was in the process of creating the Islamic Revolution council when Bakhtiar allowed him to come back to Iran due to the pressure he was receiving from the muslim followers. The Shah's Government fell on February 11, 1979, and Ayatollah Khomeini became the new leader of Iran and proclaimed it a Republic (ABC-CLIO/Islamic Revolution).

After the Islamic Revolution was over, the Shiite Party stormed the US embassy and took 66 hostages to punish Washington D.C for allowing the removal of Reza into the US medical care in 1979. The hostages were released in 1981. Meanwhile a Political disputes about the switch of cultures between the Clergy and the westernized Prime minister Abolhassan Bani-Sadr disrupted the peace in Iran. This conflict between leaders didn’t end until Sadr was exiled in 1981. Ayatollah Ali Khomeini replaced Sadr and became president (ABC-CLIO/Iran).

While this was happening the Iran-Iraq War began. This war brought major stress on the Iranian economy and on the citizens. In 1998, after the war and after Khomeini had died, President Khamenai made himself an absolute ruler in 1989. Although one month later a new president, Hashemi Rafsanjani, was elected. The relationship between Iraq and Iran was recovered in 1990 by Rafsanjani (ABC-CLIO/Iran) = Social: = Even before the White Revolution many European nations were involved in Iran. In World War I there was a broad program of westernizing and improving Iran. This program forced the muslim population to wear western styled hats. The Shah Pahlavi at the time even had his wife and daughters walk in public without their veils, and many women followed in their footsteps. This made Iranians have many Westernized ideas and interest. The White revolution had sped up the process of a more westernized state. This Revolution was created by the Shah Pahlavi who was influenced by US advisors. This gave the right to vote for women, sold government shares, nationalized forest, reformed land use, modernized worker and employer regulations, and ended illiteracy. Almost 100% of the Iranians voted for these reforms. The US had tried to make Shah Pahlavi a democratic leader, but it failed when he used his power to become an authoritarian leader. (ABC-CLIO/Iran)

The US involvement in creating the White Revolution brought revolts from the opposition group that was led by Khomeini. Khomeini led the Islamic Revolution, making a switch from a westernized Iran to an Islamic Iran. The Clergy exiled the Shah Pahlavi and his Government fell. The party enforced strict Islamic behavior. This forced woman to wear chador. Western cultural elements, such as movie theaters were closed and radios couldn’t play music. Segregation between men and women at social events was forced. This change in the Iranian culture had a large impact on the citizens. They began to change their ways of life to match the muslim culture. (ABC-CLIO/Iran) Some even began to evade the change, such as women refusing to wear their veil (Historical Newspaper/Iran's 'New' Women Rebel At Returning to the Veil)

= Conclusion: = Globalization affected the social, economic and political outcomes for Iran.The British embargo and blockade on Iran caused a great decline in their economy, as they were preventing them from trading their most valuable resource. This embargo was because Britain lost their control on the Iran Oil companies that they had owned. Iran was trying to improve their economy by taking back their most valued trade item and the opposite had happened. The US and United Nations involvement in Iran had created an authoritarian government by influencing the Iran’s Shah with money and advisers. Their protection and influence over the shah had been for their benefit to gain access to Iran’s mass oil supply. It brought violence on themselves and on Iran's citizens. Both shah Pahlavi and Khomeini ended up being corrupt and harsh leaders. The profits that America was receiving from Iran's oil supply was not worth the destruction and deaths that took place. The globalization of the world help and destroys Iran, for even though they can gain by trading with vast amounts of countries, they also get the involvement of those countries trying to manipulate Iran to gain access to their oil by either negotiation or by force.