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

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.

See a timeline of the events that shaped the Iranian Revolution

From a defamatory newspaper editorial that sparked protests in January 1978 to Khomeini's return from exile and the Shah's flight from Iran in 1979, this timeline traces the rapidly escalating chain of events—protests, crackdowns, and political collapses—that toppled one of the Middle East's most powerful monarchies.

Iran-Iraq war drained over $1T from the combined economies of Iran and Iraq

Across eight years (1980-88), Iran and Iraq each lost about $500 B in GDP, infrastructure destruction, military expenses, disrupted oil exports, and mounting debt—totaling over $1 T in economic damage.

The 1979 Iranian Revolution inspired other Islamist movements and alarmed Sunni governments

By establishing the world's first modern Islamic theocracy, the revolution inspired Islamist movements across the region and alarmed Sunni Arab governments. The resulting rivalry between Shia Iran and Sunni Saudi Arabia has since fueled proxy conflicts in Lebanon, Iraq, Syria, and Yemen that persist today.

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

A 2024 report classified Iran's mass executions of political prisoners in the 1980s as genocide and crimes against humanity, finding that thousands were arbitrarily killed under Khomeini's orders by "death committees" targeting perceived religious and political enemies.

Hear how the US and Iran went from close allies to bitter adversaries after the 1979 revolution

Covering five decades of conflict and diplomacy, this podcast examines key flashpoints—from the Iran-Iraq War and the 1983 Beirut bombings to Iran's use of proxy forces and cyberattacks—offering insight into one of the most consequential and complex rivalries in modern geopolitics.

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.

Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait to seize its oil amid Iraq’s debt crisis

This video explores how economic pressures—like rising debt and oil disputes—combined with political ambitions pushed Iraq, under Saddam Hussein, to invade Kuwait on August 2, 1990, triggering the Gulf War.

Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi ruled Iran for nearly four decades before being ousted by the revolution

The last Shah of Iran came to power in 1941 and pursued rapid Westernization through his controversial reforms. His authoritarian rule, backed by the US, and his feared secret police, SAVAK, fueled mass resentment that ultimately drove him from power in 1979.

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.

Ayatollah Khomeini led the ideological opposition to the Shah from exile

Exiled in 1964 for opposing a law that granted diplomatic immunity to US military personnel in Iran, Khomeini built a large following by smuggling recorded sermons into Iran on cassette tapes. He aimed to replace the monarchy with an Islamic republic governed by religious law.

Iran’s 1979 revolution sparked a second oil shock—and reconfigured global energy markets

Widespread strikes in Iran’s oil sector during the 1978-79 revolution slashed production and triggered panic buying, flooding oil markets with fear.

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

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.

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.

In 1979, Iranian students seized the US Embassy in Tehran, holding 52 Americans hostage for 444 days

Outraged by the US decision to allow the exiled Shah to enter the United States for medical treatment, student protesters stormed the embassy in November 1979. The crisis paralyzed the Carter presidency and ended with a negotiated release on the day of Ronald Reagan's inauguration.

The Iraq War, in photos

2023 marked the 20th anniversary of the start of the Iraq War. The U.S. carried out its first airstrikes in Iraq on March 20, 2003 – during a phase of ‘shock and awe’. Fires burning in and around Baghdad; U.S. soldiers on patrol; Iraqi...

The primary language in Iran is Persian, also called Farsi

Spoken by the majority of Iran's 90 million people, Persian is one of the world's oldest continuously spoken languages, with a literary tradition stretching back over a thousand years. It is also widely spoken in Afghanistan and Tajikistan.

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.

Israel’s swift victory in the Six-Day War redrew the map of the Middle East

Learn more about the June 1967 conflict which shifted territorial lines across Israel and its neighbors—Egypt, Jordan, Syria, and Iraq—reshaping the Middle East’s political landscape with long-lasting geopolitical ramifications.

The rise of ISIS, explained in 6 minutes

The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) is incredibly powerful, and has seemingly done the impossible. The group has seized vast areas of the Middle East to form a mini-state it calls a reincarnation of the ancient Caliphate. Since forming, ISIS has waged war with all of its neighbors and has launched deadly terror attacks all over the world. This six-minute video, by Vox, outlines the history and rise of ISIS.

The US and the USSR each boycotted Olympic Games during the Cold War

The US led a boycott of the 1980 Moscow Olympics over the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. In retaliation, the USSR and its allies skipped the 1984 Los Angeles Games.

The final war between the Persian and Byzantine empires

The Arab conquests of the seventh century, which swept over Egypt, Syria, and Mesopotamia, were made possible by a catastrophic generation-long war between the Byzantine and Persian Empires. That war, in turn, was the last act in a struggle that had gone on for centuries, and shaped the whole subsequent history of the Middle East.

Congress has unsuccessfully voted on war powers resolutions over Trump's military operations in Venezuela and Iran

After Trump ordered unilateral military operations in both Venezuela and Iran without congressional authorization, lawmakers from both parties introduced war powers resolutions to block further action. Each effort failed, with Republican majorities largely supporting the president.

The United States has had a tumultuous relationship with Cuba since its 1959 revolution, highlighted by a nuclear crisis and a decades-long trade embargo.

Okinawa’s ferocity convinced the US atomic bombs was necessary

The brutal 82-day Battle of Okinawa—where US forces suffered nearly 50,000 casualties and Japanese military and civilians lost over 200,000 lives—clinched the grim reality that a full invasion of Japan would be even bloodier. This stark lesson directly shaped American decisions to deploy atomic weapons, aiming to avoid a potentially catastrophic ground war on the Japanese mainland.

Fighting in eastern Ukraine killed thousands in the years before Russia's full invasion

From 2014 to 2022, fighting between pro-Russian separatists and Ukrainian forces in the Donbas region killed roughly 14,000 people and left many cities in ruins, setting the stage for Russia's 2022 invasion.

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

'Shogun,' a 1980s TV series, helped popularize sushi in the US by stimulating an American interest in Japanese culture.

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.

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

The power and influence of the American presidency have expanded significantly over time—far beyond what the founders envisioned.

Explore an interactive map of battles from the American Revolution, along with detailed summaries of each engagement

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.

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.

Urushiol, the oily toxin in poison ivy, can remain allergenic on clothing for years.

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

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.

Abraham Lincoln was almost assassinated weeks before his inauguration as he traveled from Illinois to DC through Baltimore in 1861; it took two independent claims for Lincoln to be convinced the threat was real

Take a 3D tour of the Hajj, Islam's annual pilgrimage to Mecca, undertaken by over 1.5 million Muslims.

The name 'Silicon Valley' arose from the founding of Shockley Semiconductor Laboratory in Fairchild Semiconductor in 1956-57, founded near Stanford University in Palo Alto

In preparation for this weekend's Eurovision finale, which is something like the World Cup of pop music, here's a young Céline Dion performing (for Switzerland?) at the 1988 competition.

View the ten deadliest tornadoes in US history.

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

Salvador Dalí believed he was his own dead brother, who had died nine months before he was born

Explore the known asteroids, comets, and spacecraft involved in asteroid studies within our solar system with 'Eyes on Asteroids,' a 3D visualization from NASA.

The term 'algorithm' originated from the Latinized name of al-Khwārizmī, a 9th-century mathematician whose works introduced Arabic numerals and the decimal-based numeral system to Europe and whose treatise 'Al-Jabr' gave algebra its name.

Volcanoes 'die' when their supply of magma runs out, if they are shifted away from their underlying magma reservoir, or if they get clogged by collapsing or their magma cooling back into rock.

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.'