A Behavioural Study of the United States Concerning the Pahlavi Regime and Islamic Revolution

The Enemies of the Islamic Revolution
A Behavioural Study of the United States Concerning the Pahlavi Regime and Islamic Revolution

Since the Second World War, the United States has been intervening in the political, economical and cultural affairs of Iran. In this study, it is argued that the United States’ superior hegemony and Iran’s strategic situation, oil resources, consumption market and its state of being the centre of the movement of the Islamic Revolution in the Middle East, have made these two countries become the centre of attention.

 

During the Pahlavi regime, affecting the political elite, propagating the American culture and supporting the regime with military and economic assistance, the United States prepared the ground for exploiting and penetrating Iran. Since the victory of the Islamic Revolution in Iran, the United States has used three approaches of hard, semi-hard and soft threatening in an attempt to eliminate the revolution. This paper studies the United States’ behaviour during the two periods of the Islamic Revolution and the Pahlavi regime.

 

Backgrounds and Causes of United States Attention Toward Iran

 

The relationship between Iran and the United States began in 1829, and from then on, it continued through the Protestant religious missionaries who travelled to Iran.

 

In 1911, Morgan Shuster came to Iran as a head of a financial board. Schuster oversaw all financial matters, such as replacing the staff of the Customs and Tax organizations of Iran, but he was expelled from the country that year due to some reasons like the inability to resolve financial problems and pressures exerted by other powers.

 

The United States was well aware that it has to intervene in other countries to become a hegemonic power, use their vast resources and prevent any ideology or movement that oppose its power. Meanwhile, the Iranian government decided to hire United States advisers to develop and expand the Imperial Armed Forces. Therefore, there was an American general in each of the Iranian Army Ground Forces and the Air and Navy forces, as well as a United States colonel and a number of United States officers who were responsible for technical matters related to the weapons and equipment that had been purchased from the United States.

 

As far as the United States policy after World War II is concerned, the Americans succeeded in consolidating their political, military, economic, and cultural position in Iran. Consequently, this phenomenon led to the formation of the idea of being the superior hegemon in the region in the mind of American officials.

 

By the time of the 15-19 August 1953 coup, the United States government gained full influence in Iran in order to compete with Russia and the United Kingdom. After the coup, the Pahlavi regime was completely serving the United States interests, and since Iranian oil was particularly attractive to Western and American industries, the largest military and commercial contracts were signed between the United States and Iran.

 

The United States paid attention to Iran for the following reasons:

1) Its consumer market

2) Its strategic position

3) Its oil resources

4) The Persian Gulf region

5) To fight against Islamism in the Middle East

 

Studying the behaviour of the United States regarding the Pahlavi regime

With the end of the Second World War and the formation of nationalist and pro-independence movements, the imperialist governments had to abandon the old colonialist method which had been based on fierce warfare and military invasions adopting a neocolonialist strategy so that they could maintain and expand their colonialism and spheres of influence within the dominated countries.

 

The United States’ presence in Iran dates back to the end of World War II when the Allied forces had to leave Iran. Not only did the Soviet Union refused to withdraw its troops from Iran, but also it created despotic regimes in Azerbaijan and Kordestan. In the meantime, the United States envoy to the United Nations gave the Soviets an ultimatum that if the Russians do not set an exit date to quit Iran, the Third World War will be set off. The Soviet’s concern about the military confrontation with the United States eventually made them leave Iran.

 

Mohammad Reza Pahlavi saw the Americans as the saviour of Azerbaijan and for this reason, the Pahlavi regime turned to the stronger power, the United States, but at the same time maintained its good relations with the United Kingdom. At the time, the government faced a financial crisis and failed to pay the wages, hence it turned to the Americans. Subsequently, they began to lend money to the Iranian government which marked the onset of the presence of financial, military, medical, and agricultural United States advisors in Iran.

 

As far as the foreign policy was concerned, the United States government, by showing the weakness of Iran vis-à-vis the Soviet Union and strengthening the Iranian army through sending advisers, paved the way for the Soviet withdrawal from the country. On the other hand, the United States chose the strategy of conciliation in its cooperation with the United Kingdom over the issue of Iran. furthermore, while using its favourable position within the Pahlavi regime and the influence of the United Kingdom, the United States sought to plunder the country’s resources. Likewise, by planning and launching coups, the United States government would provide the conditions for the election of the prime minister and cabinet at any time.

 

The ways the United States used to influence Iran:

 

1) Promoting the American culture and outlook

2) Influencing the country’s political elite and training some individuals to take on sensitive positions in the future

3) Providing the country with military and economic assistance

 

Reflecting on the American Behaviour Concerning the Islamic Revolution of Iran

 

As noted, the United States has responded to any revolutionary activity and lured the Shah in order to keep the country as a proper consumer market for American products as well as a bridge to trade with the East and the West and to have easier access to cheap oil and gas resources. Likewise, the United States, from the very beginning, was taking a clear and sharp stance against Imam Khomeini, for example by exiling him from the country and killing people. Furthermore, through an organized force called SAVAK and appointing non-Muslims like Baha’is as the head of this organization, the United States would nip any opposition in the bud and monitor all kinds of activities.

 

The Islamic revolution of Iran was going to become a powerful and challenging force opposing the United States government considering the failure of American behavioural policies, the victory of Islamic Revolution, endangering the United States interests in Iran and the Middle East, the revival of the Islamist struggle and the influence of Islamic Revolution on the liberation movements, particularly Lebanon, Palestine, and Yemen and its refusal to recognize the Zionist regime while firmly supporting the Palestinian people in achieving their rights. On the other hand, the collapse of the United States sphere of influence in Iran and the loss of major oil resources, as well as the Persian Gulf region along with the loss of the investment opportunities for United States investors in Iran all in all, have caused the United States government to oppose and stand up against the Islamic Revolution. Therefore, from the very beginning and during the revolutionary activities of the people, the American position was clear since the parties that participated in the Guadeloupe Conference, agreed upon the act of assassinating the influential people in the Islamic Revolution, a decision that showed the hostile attitude of the Americans regarding the Islamic Revolution.

 

Such attitude was put into action in three phases to each a different reaction was showed:

 

“After the Islamic Revolution and before the imposed Iran-Iraq War, during the imposed war and after the war.”

 

One of the most important causes of the United States’ enmity toward Iran is the occurrence of the Islamic Revolution and the seizure of the United States’ embassy in Tehran (known as the Den of Spies).

 

With the outbreak of the Islamic Revolution, the United States used the political, security, legal, and economic apparatus of the West, and in particular the Zionist regime, against the Islamic Revolution. Also, the United States’ Embassy in Tehran became the headquarters for coordinating the anti-revolution forces. The first destructive movements in Iran were carried out through creating the separatist movements in Kordestan, Gonbad, the Turkmensahra and Khuzestan. The Muslim Student Followers of the Imams Line occupied the United States Embassy on November 4, 1979, and took its staff hostages. This was the most important event of the Islamic Revolution such that it caused the conflict between Iran and the United States to enter a new phase.

 

The United States government decided to use economic pressures to undermine Iran’s revolutionary government. This began with the decision to discontinue purchasing Iranian oil. Soon after, all Iranian government assets in banks and their branches overseas were confiscated, embargoes were established on the export to and import from Iran, all military equipment and supplies that Shah had paid for were seized and the United States called upon its European allies to embark on new economic sanctions against Iran.

 

In addition to the economic pressures, the United States government tried to use plots and coups as a supplementary lever to eliminate the seedling of the Islamic Revolution. The Tabas military attack and the Nojeh coup détat are among the most important plots before the war of Iran-Iraq. In the early 1980s, the United States government, due to its inadequate military capability, tried to use other countries to overthrow the Islamic Republic of Iran. Hence, Americans provided Iraq with political, strategic and military supports and assets and therefore the war between Iraq and Iran was started.

 

During the Iran-Iraq war, the United States tried to degrade Iran’s defence capabilities and weaken its economy through various means including the implementation of unilateral sanctions in an attempt to put restrictions on sales of dual-use items, reduce Iran’s oil exports to other countries and prevent them from trading with Iran.

 

Moreover, to show the insecurity of the Iranian airliner, the United States government shot down an Iranian passenger flight by a surface-to-air missile fired from a United States missile cruiser killing 290 innocent people.

 

The American attitude towards the Islamic Revolution of Iran has been put into action through three main ways to overthrow the Islamic Republic of Iran:

 

1) Hard threat

2) Semi-hard threat

3) Soft threat.

 

The United States’ Strategies to Confront the Islamic Revolution of Iran:

 

1) Hard threat

2) Semi-hard threat

3) Soft threat

 

Iran’s Strategies for Confronting the United States Threats:

 

1) The imposed Iran-Iraq war

2) Seizure of United States embassy in Tehran (the Den of Spies)

3) Tabas military attack

4) Ethnic conflicts

5) The Peoples Mojahedin Organization of Iran (Munafiqin)

6) Nojeh coup détat

 

Now we should address the strategies adopted by the Islamic Republic of Iran to confront the soft war.

 

These Strategies are as Follows:

 

1) Cultural solutions

2) Exporting the revolution

3) Nurturing the committed elites

 

Conclusion

 

The arrogant powers entered Iran during the period of the Pahlavi regime and the Islamic Revolution taking into account their interests and tried in various ways to make Iran a thriving market for themselves. They have been training various groups and individuals to fulfill their desires, but with the formation of the people’s movement against the tyrannical system of the Pahlavi regime and despite the explicit United States supports of the Shah, the Islamic Revolution achieved victory in Iran. Henceforth, the United States began to confront the revolution working with its allies in the region and around the world to destroy the Islamic system of Iran in the field of hard, semi-hard and soft wars. The Islamic community has been able to resist these threats and continue on its path due to the following reasons through which it would be able to achieve the ultimate goal of eliminating the arrogant powers:

 

1) Having faith in God and seeking His help in all stages of life, especially in the face of the enemy, and believing in this Quranic teaching that, ultimately those who were oppressed in the land will govern the world under the leadership of Imam al-Mahdi (a).

 

2- The unity and integrity of the Muslim nation of Iran against the enemy’s conspiracies.

 

3) Relying on a single authority led by Imam Khamenei and following his instructions regarding the struggle and resistance against the arrogant powers. Because the history of the revolution has proven that if it were not for Imam Khomeini and Imam Khamenei’s charismatic powers, people would not have been encouraged to fight internal and foreign enemies. Also, the officials, like people, while taking his words and ideas into consideration should not be deceived by the international system.

 

4) To confront the enemy, the authorities should address the livelihood of people especially the issue of youth unemployment, fight against corruption and allow students in universities to engage in scientific and research activities as well as critical discourses through organizing free-thinking seats so that elites and university students will choose to stay in their own country over going abroad.

 

5) The authorities should keep in contact with people and try to resolve their problems to gain trust in society. If that happens, then people, in the face of dangers, will not give up.

 

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