The Iranian Revolution was a popular uprising that overthrew Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi in 1979, ending millennia of monarchical rule in Iran. Mass protests, strikes, and demonstrations swept the country in 1978, culminating in the Shah's flight from Iran in January 1979. Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, a cleric who led resistance against the Shah's rule from exile, returned to Iran and quickly consolidated power. Within months, Iranians voted to establish an Islamic Republic, replacing the monarchy with a theocratic system of government based on Muslim clerical rule.
The Shah was unpopular for his harsh authoritarian rule and rapid Westernization, which many Iranians saw as a betrayal of their culture and religion. Resentment had been growing for decades—particularly since a 1953 CIA-backed coup removed Iran's constitutionally appointed prime minister and restored the Shah's absolute power.
The revolution established the world's first modern Islamic theocracy and intensified the rivalry between Shia Iran and Sunni Arab states, leading to proxy conflicts in Lebanon, Iraq, Syria, and Yemen that continue today. It also permanently severed relations with the United States, most notably during the 1979 hostage crisis. The regime has faced multiple phases of nationwide protests against what observers often call brutal crackdowns on dissent.
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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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
The critically acclaimed film, based on Marjane Satrapi's graphic memoir, traces Iran's transformation from the Shah's rule through the revolution and its turbulent aftermath, showing how seismic political change shapes ordinary lives.
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.
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.
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.
Before nationalization, British companies controlled most of Iran's oil wealth, with little revenue returned to Iranians. Mosaddegh's decision made him a national hero at home but triggered a Western-led embargo and ultimately contributed to the coup that removed him from power.
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