February 11, 1979 (Bahman 22, 1357 Solar Hijri), is the day of the end and beginning of two governments in Iran. The end of the monarchical rule and the beginning of the revolutionary one of which people voted in favour and was called the Islamic Republic. The speed of the occurrence of the events of the Islamic Revolution in the second half of 1979 was such that the political experts could not give a clear prediction about the future of Iran’s situation. The course of events at this historical point was changing rapidly. The change of three prime ministers (Jafar Sharif-Emami, Gholamreza Azhari and Shapour Bakhtiar) by the Shah, the brutal killing of people throughout the country, etc. were clear signs of the confusion of the ruling power. On the other hand, the formation of the Committee for Organizing Strikes, the Oil Affairs Board, the Islamic Revolutionary Council and the appointment of the Prime Minister of the Provisional Government indicated the serious determination of the opponents of the monarchical regime to destroy the monarchy. In addition, the escape of the officials of the Shah regime, including Mohammad-Reza Pahlavi and his family, and the arrival of Imam Khomeini (ra) in Iran, paved the way for the collapse of the imperial system.
Imam Khomeini’s arrival in Iran on February 1, 1979, practically made the regime face something that was a fait accompli so that Bakhtiar and the Army chiefs were desperately seeking to contain the spreading flow of the Revolution to preserve the monarchical system. Even Bakhtiar wanted to declare the formation of a republican system in order to get ahead of the revolutionaries; something that never happened. The commanders of the army of the monarchical regime became increasingly powerless day by day because they were facing the masses of people who chanted in the streets against Mohammad-Reza and his foreign supporters such as the United States, England, Israel and the Soviet Union.
On January 8, 1979, Iranian TV broadcasted photos of Imam Khomeini’s arrival in the country. A group of Imperial Guard forces got involved and clashed with Air Force personnel who were sending salutations to Imam Khomeini (ra) while watching this program. The news of these clashes soon spread in the city. Despite the imposition of martial law, the people came to the streets to express their support for the Air Force personnel. A group of armoured units of the Imperial Guard were sent to suppress the Air Force personnel. This action caused the people to help the Air Force personnel and as a result, they could get weapons from the Shah’s Army thereby starting to defend against the guard forces. On February 10, these conflicts were spread into other barracks and military centres in Tehran. In such a situation, the military headquarters of Tehran, on the order of the Prime Minister, announced that martial law would be imposed from 4 PM to 7 AM the next day. In response, Imam Khomeini (ra) ordered that people, despite martial law, should come to the streets and hold demonstrations against the regime.
Gradually, the conflicts between the two sides were exacerbated and throughout the night, people did not leave the streets, and their attacks on the military and government centres did not decrease either. As the sun rose on February 11, 1979, many military centres, barracks and police stations were occupied by the people. On this day, the remnants of the imperial regime collapsed one after another and its last military strongholds also were conquered by the people.
In the morning of that day, the Supreme Council of the Army, in an emergency meeting with the presence of senior military commanders, decided to declare the neutrality of the Army announcing that “to prevent further chaos and bloodshed, the Army declares its neutrality in the current political disputes thereby ordering the military units to return to their barracks.” This act provoked Bakhtiar, but it was too late to respond. The Speaker of the National Consultative Assembly also announced that the Assembly is practically dissolved due to the resignation of most of the representatives.
From the early hours of the morning, the garrisons of Jamshidiyeh, Eshratabad, Bagh-Shah, Lavasan, J, Saltanatabad, Heshmatiyyeh, Abbasabad, Mehrabad, etc., one after another fell into the hands of the people and they took control of the armoury of the garrisons. Moreover, people managed to take control of the Qasr and Evin prisons, police stations, ministries, and government organizations and finally, the National Radio and Television Organization of Iran fell into the hands of the revolutionary forces and broadcasted its first message: “This is Tehran, the true voice of the Iranian people, the voice of the Revolution....” Then, Imam Khomeini’s message was broadcasted immediately addressing the events of this day and the neutrality of the Army in addition to warning the people to stay alert against “possible conspiracies of the agents of the regime.”
Among the military commanders and the officials of the regime, some escaped and others were arrested by people and handed over to the Islamic Revolution Committee the main base of which was Imam Khomeini’s place of residence in Refah School. The rest of the political prisoners were also released from the prisons. Some of the officials of the regime, who had been imprisoned nominally during the last months of Mohammad-Reza’s rule, were transferred to another place. Bakhtiar was there until the last moment when people rushed to the Prime Minister’s Palace, but he managed to escape with a helicopter.
The same events occurred in other big and small cities of the country, and the headline of newspapers on this day was: “The regime collapsed.” “The end of the 2,500-year rule of the imperial regime in Iran.”
And in this way, the Islamic Revolution of Iran led by Imam Khomeini (ra) achieved victory with thousands of martyrs and wounded, and the Provisional Government of the Islamic Revolution, which had been established by Imam Khomeini (ra) on February 4, 1979, officially started its activities on February 12, 1979. Every year, Iranian people celebrate the 11th of February as the day of victory of the Islamic Revolution.
Reference: The Encyclopedia of the Islamic Revolution
Archive of The History of the Islamic Revolution
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