The UN found that the Islamic Republic of Iran used genocidal tactics after the revolution

Iraq invaded Iran in 1980, drawing the new Islamic Republic into a devastating eight-year war

Just a year after the revolution, Saddam Hussein invaded Iran, hoping to exploit its post-revolutionary instability. The brutal conflict killed hundreds of thousands in one of the century's deadliest conflicts and forced Khomeini's government to consolidate power.

Iranians voted overwhelmingly to establish an Islamic Republic in March 1979

Just weeks after Khomeini's return, Iran held a national referendum to replace the monarchy with an Islamic Republic, and over 98% voted in favor (though the vote was criticized). The vote formalized the revolution's outcome, laying the foundation for a theocratic government that remains in place today.

The Iranian Revolution relied largely on nonviolent tactics

Despite thousands of unarmed protesters killed by the Shah's forces, the revolution relied overwhelmingly on nonviolent tactics, including strikes, demonstrations, and civil disobedience, with up to 9 million Iranians peacefully taking to the streets, making it one of history's largest protest movements by population percentage.

The Shah used torture and other human rights abuses to maintain power before the revolution

A declassified 1976 US Embassy telegram acknowledged that the Shah held 3,400-3,500 political prisoners, documented torture allegations against the SAVAK secret police, and confirmed press censorship, even as American diplomats sought to minimize human rights concerns for Congress.

Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps became one of the most powerful forces in the Middle East

Created after the 1979 revolution to protect the new Islamic Republic, the IRGC grew into a force that controls Iran's ballistic missile arsenal, funds, and arms regional proxy groups such as Hezbollah and Hamas, and answers directly to the supreme leader.

Ayatollah Khamenei ruled Iran for 36 years after succeeding Khomeini as Supreme Leader

When Khomeini died in 1989, Ali Khamenei was appointed acting supreme leader on the same day. He served in this position until his death in February 2026, shaping Iran for nearly four decades.

Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps is independent of Iran's regular army and is one of the most powerful and influential military-political organizations in the Middle East.

Watch contemporary footage covering the US-backed Shah of Iran fleeing the country in the face of the 1979 Iranian Revolution

Oil nationalization triggered the CIA‑backed 1953 coup in Iran

NPR's Four Days in August podcast recounts the four days of covert CIA‑UK operations in Iran that toppled Prime Minister Mossadegh in August 1953. Threats of Iranian oil nationalization were a major driver of the decision to facilitate regime change.

Air pollution in war-torn Iran unleashes invisible toxic threats

Burning oil depots and bombed buildings are endangering the health of millions of people during the 2026 attacks. Heavy metals from munitions and other damaged materials are going airborne, but the exact health implications depends on dose, wind currents, and other factors including preexisting health conditions.

A report found that the 2026 Iran war is the largest oil supply disruption in history

Oil flow through the Strait of Hormuz—responsible for roughly 20% of the world's oil supply—plummeted from 20 million barrels a day to "a trickle" during the initial weeks of the conflict between Iran, Israel, and the United States.

The UN’s 1990s peacekeeping mission in Rwanda failed to prevent a genocide

During a 100-day period in 1994, nearly 1 million Tutsi and moderate Hutu civilians were murdered, a tragedy that exemplified the limitations of the UN’s ability to protect populations from mass killing.

Japan committed mass war crimes during its invasion of China

During the 1937 invasion, Japanese forces carried out systematic atrocities—including mass executions, rape, torture, forced labor, and chemical warfare. The Nanjing Massacre alone killed tens of thousands over a span of six weeks, with some estimates claiming 300,000.

Stalin's policies intentionally caused a devastating famine in Ukraine

The Holodomor of 1932-33 was a human-made famine resulting from Stalin's grain requisition policies, killing an estimated 3 million to 4 million Ukrainians—considered by many to be an act of genocide.

Salman Rushdie's 1988 satire led to a government-sponsored death threat

Rushdie's novel "The Satanic Verses" mocked religious dogma, including an extended sequence about the Prophet Muhammad. The book was accused of blasphemy and was banned in Pakistan and India. In 1989, Iran's Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini issued a fatwa calling for the death of Rushdie and his publisher.

Why did the Ottoman Empire violently target Armenians during WWI?

In anticipation of threatened Allied landings at the strategically important Gallipoli peninsula, Ottoman authorities arrested 240 Armenian leaders in Constantinople on April 24, 1915, and deported them east. This roundup is commemorated today by Armenians as the beginning of the genocide, according to this article.

How many people died in the atomic bombings remains disputed

Nearly 80 years after Hiroshima and Nagasaki, historians still disagree on the death toll from the atomic bombings. Estimates vary by up to 100,000, reflecting differences in methodology, sources, and the method used to count later radiation-related deaths.

What is the International Criminal Court?

The International Criminal Court (ICC) investigates and tries individuals charged with genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity and the crime of aggression. The ICC’s website provides facts, figures, and key elements defining how the court...

A summary of human rights violations in North Korea

North Korea severely restricts the rights of its citizens. Read Amnesty International’s summary of the current state of human rights in North Korea. Malnutrition was widespread in North Korea in 2022—more than 40% of the population required...

US intelligence allegedly pursued more than 600 schemes to assassinate Cuban revolutionary Fidel Castro.

A majority in surveyed countries approve of the UN

A 2024 Pew Research Center survey found that a median of 58% across 35 countries viewed the UN favorably, while 31% held unfavorable views. Notably, younger adults tended to view the UN more positively than older generations. The report offers a detailed, country-by-country analysis of global perceptions of the UN.

Learn how governments around the world restrict internet access for their citizens

Various countries around the world, including China, Russia, and Iran, control their local DNS infrastructure, allowing them to block access to online content by preventing the internet "phone book" from finding the IP addresses for specific URLs. Government-controlled internet service providers can also cut off access entirely or throttle specific traffic.

An independent research team believes musician Kurt Cobain's death was not a suicide

Conspiracy theorists have long argued that the Nirvana frontman's 1994 death was a homicide. In 2026, an independent research team reached a similar conclusion. The Seattle Police Department, however, revisited the case in 2014 and maintained that it was a suicide.

Revolutionary leader Che Guevara has a complicated historical legacy

Revolutionary icon or ruthless enforcer? This animated courtroom-style video weighs Che Guevara’s life and actions—tracing his rise alongside Castro, his role in revolutionary violence, and his global symbolism—before leaving viewers to render their own verdict.

Who died during the French Revolution of 1789?

This article examines the human cost of the 1789 French Revolution, during which up to 17,000 people were guillotined and many more were killed by other means. A majority of the guillotine deaths were meted out during the Reign of Terror, a...

Syrians in their own words

The conflict in Syria is still alive after 10 years. Thousands of Syrians have been reported missing, hundreds of thousands reported dead, and millions have been displaced. The ICRC (International Committee of the Red Cross) asked 1,400 Syrians...

Indigenous women are murdered at 10 times the rate of all other ethnicities in the US

Murder is the third-leading cause of death among Indigenous women, who are also 2.5 times more likely to experience violence than any other group. More than 4 in 5 Indigenous women have experienced violence in their lifetime.

Scholars allege the CIA funded the prestigious Iowa Writers' Workshop

The graduate program—which instructed legendary writers like Flannery O'Connor, Raymond Carver, and John Berryman—received funding from several CIA fronts. Some academics suggest this was in the service of promoting a realist American literature as a counterpoint to Soviet fiction.

One of the most famous portraits ever taken is 'Afghan Girl' (1984) by Steve McCurry, yet the subject Sharbat Gula went much of her life without being identified or benefitting from the image's success.

Sunflowers have long been a symbol of nuclear disarmament because they can extract large amounts of radioactive cesium from soil.

A researcher recently discovered an interview from 1967 between groundbreaking journalist Joan Didion and the Grateful Dead, years before the band became an institution.

The Russia-Ukraine conflict is the largest ground war in Europe since World War II in terms of casualties, forces mobilized, and displacement of civilians.

In 1984, Operation Smash Hit intentionally crashed a 239-ton train into a nuclear waste canister at 100 miles per hour to prove the canister's safety, which remained completely intact and lost just 0.29 of its 100 pounds of pressure.

The first line of 'immortal' human cells, which can divide indefinitely and are used in scientific research, was nonconsensually taken from a Black woman.

In 1963, a basement renovation in Turkey revealed a passageway to a hidden, multilevel underground city that once housed as many as 20,000 people

The US Constitution is widely regarded as the longest-standing written national constitution still in force—see how it has influenced rights worldwide.

See a ranking of the best (and worst) Federal Reserve Chairs since 1914 out of the 16 men and women who have held the office since.

In 2026, Finland was named the world's happiest country for the ninth consecutive year based on its wealth, social safety network, and high life expectancy, among other factors.

In 2018, 26-year-old missionary John Allen Chau was killed by tribesmen after attempting to reach and evangelize on India's isolated North Sentinel Island

Volcanic activity may have triggered the Black Death by spewing gases that led to crop failures in Europe, thus forcing the import of grain ships with plague-infested fleas.

View the ten deadliest tornadoes in US history.

Famed poet TS Eliot rejected the manuscript for George Orwell's political fable 'Animal Farm,' writing that its criticism of authoritarianism was not 'the right point of view.'

Jimmy Carter signed a 1978 bill that legalized home brewing, a move credited with kick-starting the craft beer industry.

Fast-casual restaurant Chili's is experiencing a resurgence, with its parent company recently reporting a nearly 32% increase in sales, thanks to passionate Gen Z fans on TikTok.

A 2019 Facebook event called on attendees to "Storm Area 51, They Can't Stop All of Us," resulting in countless memes, the creation of a music festival, and eventually the arrests of those who did try to approach the area.

Electrical grids worldwide must double their power delivery capacity by 2050 to meet surging demand from AI and electric vehicles.

An initial public offering or 'IPO' is the process of a private company becoming public by putting shares of the company on the stock market for purchase.

Poison ivy can cause rashes year-round since all parts of the plant contain urushiol, the oil that triggers our allergic response.

The first horror movie is believed to be George Méliès' 1986 short 'The Haunted Castle,' which pioneered the use of special effects

Art theft is the third-largest source of criminal revenues worldwide, thanks in part to the subjective nature of valuing a work of art.