The overthrow of the monarchy in Iran in 1979 is universally known as the Islamic Revolution, noted for its sweeping changes to the country’s political, social, and economic order. In reality, it was a counterrevolution against half a century of rapid modernization that had moved Iran from an agrarian, semi-feudal society toward modernity. The result, however, was that reactionary upheaval established a religious theocracy defined by political repression, suffocating social restrictions and an inefficient economic system.
The most significant and far-reaching change was Iran’s turn to an anti-Western and anti-Israel foreign policy after decades of friendly relations and even a Cold War alliance with the United States. This shift not only helped ignite Islamic radicalism worldwide but also isolated the new counter-revolutionary regime in Tehran, paving the way for the economic failures it faces today.
The most significant and far-reaching change was Iran’s turn to an anti-Western and anti-Israel foreign policy after decades of friendly relations.
When Reza Shah, the founder of the Pahlavi Dynasty, rose to power in the early 1920s, Iran was plagued by weak governance, the absence of a capable national army to defend its borders, law and order, widespread illiteracy, poverty, and disease. Determined to transform the country, he embarked on building a modern state that would educate its people and move Iran closer to Western socioeconomic standards—a nation-building effort comparable to Atatürk’s reforms in Turkey.
The introduction of a secular education system inspired by Western models, the creation of largely secular laws and courts, and efforts to free women from religious and traditional restrictions were far from universally welcomed. Clerics and traditionalists either voiced open hostility or quietly resisted these reforms.
However, Western orientalists often fail to grasp the depth of frustration and anguish felt by many peoples in the developing world as they confronted the contrast between their own socioeconomic backwardness and the industrial and technological power of the West. For many, the future of their children—and their nations—seemed impossible without adopting Western-style modern education and efficient governance.
The Pahlavi government made substantial investments in infrastructure, building roads, railways, and ports to boost trade and stimulate economic growth. Among the most significant projects were the Trans-Iranian Railway, linking the Caspian Sea to the Persian Gulf; the construction of modern ports, including Shahpur Port; and the development of an extensive road network with new highways and bridges. At the same time, the government promoted industrialization by offering incentives to entrepreneurs and investors, leading to the growth of key industries such as textiles, steel, and manufacturing.
The oil industry, Iran’s financial lifeline for economic development, grew exponentially between 1950 and 1978, with production rising from a few hundred thousand barrels to nearly six million per day.
In 1977, the last “normal” year before the revolution, Iran’s economy was 26 percent larger than Turkey’s and 65 percent higher than South Korea’s.
Gross National Product increased 700-fold from 1925 to 1978. In 1977, the last “normal” year before the revolution, Iran’s economy was 26 percent larger than Turkey’s and 65 percent higher than South Korea’s. In 2017, Turkey’s nominal gross domestic product became 2.4 times and Korea’s 7.2 times larger than Iran’s. This is before the sharp setbacks Iran experienced after the U.S. withdrawal from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action nuclear deal and imposition of sanctions. The national currency has lost more than 90 percent of its value since 1979.
Reza Shah and his son Mohammad Reza Shah founded dozens of universities and institutes of higher learning to train the professionals needed for Iran’s modernization. Women gained the right to vote, and legal protections long denied under Islamic law. These changes angered the Shi’ite clergy, which opposed rapid Westernization, while leftist and Marxist groups, sharing the clergy’s anti-Western outlook, continued to organize and expand their influence. The role of the Soviet Union and its allies in the region should not be underestimated in supporting these groups to threaten Iran’s rising power and its alliance with the United States.
The Islamic government established in 1979 quickly moved to dismantle many of the Pahlavi-era modernization efforts. In its first decade, it overhauled the education system to promote religious teachings and anti-Western ideology. The new regime compelled women to wear the strict hijab, placed courts under Islamic law, and the relatively free-market economy gave way to state ownership and government control.
Political restrictions and violent repression quickly surpassed the authoritarian limitations under the monarchy, as Supreme Leader Ruhollah Khomeini’s regime eliminated thousands of opponents, many belonging to the 1979 revolutionary groups. The clerics established their own dictatorship and embarked on a mission to stymie, if not eliminate, the United States and Israel.
Pro-Soviet elements, Western leftists, and anti-Israel Arab groups played a significant role in this counterrevolution.
The Islamic Republic did not emerge as a revolutionary force to replace a decaying or irrelevant system; it rose to halt modernization, reverse Westernization, and end Iran’s role as a Western ally. Pro-Soviet elements, Western leftists, and anti-Israel Arab groups played a significant role in this counterrevolution. Palestine Liberation Organization Chairman Yasser Arafat quickly traveled to Tehran in 1979, smiling broadly as he celebrated the triumph of forces he had helped train in Lebanon’s Palestinian camps.
The real problem today is that generations of students and diplomats have viewed the Islamic Revolution as the natural step in Iranian political evolution. They do not recognize it for what it was: an anomaly and a deliberate step backwards. If Iran is ever to return to her rightful place as a leader among nation-states, of industry, and as a first-world country, it is necessary to recognize that the Islamic Revolution was a counterrevolution meant to hobble Iran’s growth and prosperity and not enable it.
