Iran
Iran is a pluralistic society. Persians are the largest predominant
ethnic and cultural group in this country, though many are actually
of mixed ancestry. The population of the country has important
Turkic elements (e.g., Azeris) and Arabs predominate in the
southwest. In addition, Iranian citizens include Kurds, Balochi,
Bakhtyari, Lurs, and other smaller minorities, such as Armenians,
Assyrians, Jews, and Brahuis (or Brohi).
The 1979 Islamic revolution and the 1980-88 war with Iraq
transformed Iran's class structure politically, socially, and
economically. During this period, Shia clerics took a more dominant
position in politics and nearly all aspects of Iranian life, both
urban and rural. After the fall of the Pahlavi regime in 1979, much
of the urban upper class of prominent merchants, industrialists, and
professionals, favored by the former monarch, the shah, lost
standing and influence to the senior clergy and their supporters.
Bazaar merchants, who were allied with the clergy against the
Pahlavi shahs, also have gained political and economic power since
the revolution. The urban working class has enjoyed somewhat
enhanced status and economic mobility, spurred in part by
opportunities provided by revolutionary organizations and the
government bureaucracy. Though the number of clergy holding senior
positions in the parliament and elsewhere in government has declined
since the 1979 revolution, Iran has nevertheless witnessed the rise
of a post-revolutionary elite among lay people who are strongly
committed to the preservation of the Islamic Republic.
Most Iranians are Muslims; 89% belong to the Shi'a branch of Islam,
the official state religion, and about 9% belong to the Sunni
branch. Non-Muslim minorities include Zoroastrians, Jews, Baha'is,
and Christians. |
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The ancient nation of Iran, historically known to the West as Persia
and once a major empire in its own right, has been overrun
frequently and has had its territory altered throughout the
centuries. Invaded by Arabs, Seljuk Turks, Mongols, and others--and
often caught up in the affairs of larger powers--Iran has always
reasserted its national identity and has developed as a distinct
political and cultural entity.
Archeological findings indicate human activity in Iran during the
middle Paleolithic era, about 100,000 years ago. The sixth
millennium B.C. saw a fairly sophisticated agricultural society and
proto-urban population centers. Many dynasties have ruled Iran
starting with the Achaemenid (559-330 B.C.) founded by Cyrus the
Great. After the conquest of Persia by Alexander the Great and the
Hellenistic period (300-250 B.C.) came the Parthian (250 B.C.-226
A.D.) and the Sassanian (226-651) dynasties.
The seventh century Arab-Muslim conquest of Iran was followed with
invasions by the Seljuk Turks and the Mongols. Iran underwent
something of a revival under the Safavid dynasty (1502-1736), the
most prominent figure of which was Shah Abbas, who expelled the
Uzbeks and Ottomans from Persia. The conqueror Nadir Shah and his
successors were followed by the Zand dynasty, founded by Karim Khan,
and later the Qajar (1795-1925) and the Pahlavi dynasties
(1925-1979).
Modern Iranian history began with a nationalist uprising against the
Shah in 1905 and the establishment of a limited constitutional
monarchy in 1906. The discovery of oil in 1908 would later become a
key factor in Iranian history and development.
In 1921, Reza Khan, an Iranian officer of the Persian Cossack
Brigade, seized control of the government. In 1925, having ousted
the Qajar dynasty, he made himself Shah and established the Pahlavi
dynasty, ruling as Reza Shah for almost 16 years.
Reza Shah forcibly enacted policies of modernization and
secularization in Iran, and the central government reasserted its
authority over the tribes and provinces. During World War Two the
Allies feared the monarch's close relations with Nazi Germany. In
September 1941, following the occupation of western Iran by the
Soviet Union and the United Kingdom, Reza Shah was forced to
abdicate. His son, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, became Shah and would rule
until 1979.
During World War Two, Iran had been a vital link in the Allied
supply line for lend-lease supplies to the Soviet Union. After the
war, Soviet troops stationed in northwestern Iran not only refused
to withdraw but backed revolts that established short-lived,
pro-Soviet separatist regimes in the northern regions of Azerbaijan
and Kurdistan. These ended in 1946. The Azerbaijani revolt crumbled
after U.S. and United Nations (UN) pressure forced a Soviet
withdrawal. Iranian forces also suppressed the Kurdish uprising.
In 1951, the government of nationalist Prime Minister Mohammed
Mossadeq (sometimes spelled Mossadegh) nationalized the
British-owned Anglo-Iranian Oil Company (AIOC). In the face of
strong public support for Mossadeq, the Shah fled to Rome. In August
1953, the U.S. and U.K. engineered a coup against Mossadeq, during
which pro-Shah army forces arrested the Prime Minister. The Shah
returned soon thereafter.
In 1961, Iran administered a series of economic, social, and
administrative reforms--pushed by the Kennedy administration--that
became known as the Shah's White Revolution. The core of this
program was land reform. Modernization and economic growth proceeded
at an unprecedented rate, fueled by Iran's vast petroleum reserves,
the third-largest in the world. However, his autocratic method of
rule and pro-western policies alienated large sectors of the
population, including the Shia clergy.
In 1978, domestic turmoil turned to revolution as a result of
religious and political opposition to the Shah's rule, including
abuses committed by SAVAK, the hated internal security and
intelligence service. The revolution was comprised of several
groups, including nationalists, Islamists, Marxists, and others who
came together to oppose the Shah. In January 1979, the Shah left
Iran; he died abroad several years after.
On February 1, 1979, exiled religious leader Ayatollah Ruhollah
Khomeini returned from France to assume control of the revolution
and established himself as Supreme Leader of a new, theocratic
republic guided by Islamic principles. Following Khomeini's death on
June 3, 1989, the Assembly of Experts chose the outgoing president
of the republic, Ali Khamenei, to be his successor as Supreme Leader
in what proved to be a smooth transition externally. There was
debate amongst senior clerics regarding Khamenei's relative lack of
religious credentials.
In August 1989, Akbar Hashemi-Rafsanjani, the speaker of the Majles,
was elected President by an overwhelming majority. He was re-elected
June 1993, with a more modest majority. Some Western observers
attributed the reduced voter turnout to disenchantment with the
deteriorating economy. An overwhelming majority of Iranians elected
reformist cleric Mohammad Khatami as President in August 1997,
hoping he would usher in a new era of freedom and reform. Khatami
had modest successes in broadening the participation of Iranians in
government and politics through initiating popular elections for
local government councils and encouraging the development of civil
society. Many liberal-minded Iranians were disappointed that Khatami
did not support student protesters in 1999, but he was nevertheless
re-elected in June 2001.
In February 2004 flawed elections were held for the Seventh Majles
in which many reformists were prohibited from running, meaning that
a much more conservative group of parliamentarians easily retook
control of the Majles in May 2004. The first round of elections for
the Eighth Majles took place on March 14, 2008, but final results
will not be available until after April 25.
None of the seven candidates in the presidential vote on June 17,
2005 received a majority, resulting in a two-candidate runoff
between Tehran mayor Mahmud Ahmadi-Nejad and former President Akbar
Hashemi Rafsanjani on June 24. Following the first round, some
Iranian politicians alleged voter fraud and electoral interference
by the Basij militia forces. Ahmadi-Nejad, winning in the second
round with almost 62% of the vote according to Iranian Government
figures, took office in August 2005. The next presidential elections
are scheduled for 2009. |
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