I
ranians have had the unique distinction of having never been colonized and of overcoming the trials of history while maintaining their national identity. At the beginning of the 20th century, taking advantage of the rivalry between Russia and Britain, the Iranian people secured a minimum of democratic rights, a parliament and a constitution. But the new agreement between London and Saint Petersburg, along with the occupation of Iran by belligerent troops from 1914 to 1918, dashed hopes for reform.
After a British-backed coup d'état in 1921, the new Pahlavi dynasty presented a modern, secularized façade for the Iranian state, and numerous administrative reforms unified the country. This survival came at a price, as the British maintained control over oil resources until 1951. The nationalization of this strategic wealth after the end of the Anglo-Soviet occupation during World War II restored national pride to Iranians.
The fear of communism mobilized the Shiite clergy, with American support, to overthrow the government of Mohammed Mossadegh [prime minister from 1951 to 1953], a leader comparable to Gandhi and Nasser. The young Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, who despised Mossadegh, acted as a bulwark against the USSR by leveraging Washington's support and by ruling Iran despotically. Aside from the enormous wealth he derived from oil, his main concern was to equip an oversized, ultramodern army. The 1979 revolution, which was directed against him and the Westernized elites as much as against US tutelage, gave Iranians hope of realizing Mossadegh's dream.
