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Wasn't it little less direct than this? I thought that the US/UK installed the Shah to replace the democratic Iranian government. He was overthrown by the revol
by JupiterMoon 11y ago
Wasn't it little less direct than this? I thought that the US/UK installed the Shah to replace the democratic Iranian government. He was overthrown by the revolution in 1979 and it was following this revolution (which included elements of secularists as well as islamists) that the ayatollahs took control? The US/UK never backed the ayatollahs and started supporting Saddam in the Iran/Iraq war.
I.e. standard western fiddling about going catastrophically wrong for everyone.
- obrero 11y agoThe ayatollahs got into control because the Shah used them to overthrow the parliament (Behbahani and Falsafi and finally Kashani), used them to attack the left etc. In fact, as I mentioned in another post, one of their first acts (1955) were the Shah and Falsafi conspiring to start an anti-Bahai campaign which caused riots which killed Bahai. The US and shah and Savak did too well stamping out secularism, left-wing ideas, even liberal ideas about parliament, democracy etc. Eventually the ayatollahs and Bazaari etc. amassed great power, and turned on the Shah. Mossadegh was never in the pocket of the ayatollahs, but he did try to qualm moderates like Kashani. But Kashani eventually turned on him (the hard-line preachers had far before).