"A Brief History of Iran" The Imperial System Is Dead, the Republic Is Established – The Fall of the Pahlavi Dynasty (XXI)

The Invasion of Iran by the British and Soviet Armies and the expulsion of their King Reza Khan shocked the Iranian populace at the time. It turned out that the modernization reforms implemented by the Pahlavi dynasty for more than 30 years were like a magnificent paper house. On the outside, it looks like a beautiful scenery, but this carefully created paper house wind blows and falls down.

In the final analysis, Reza Khan's state reforms were cloaked in a constitutional monarchy, still wrapped in the old model of imperial power concentration, and did not touch the core of feudal absolutism and the interests of the European powers in Iran.

For example, in 1900 AD, the British paid the Iranian government a small price of 200,000 pounds in exchange for 60 years of Iranian oil exploitation rights, a privilege that was not taken away by Reza Khan, but instead acquiesced to the British to exploit oil in Iran at a very low labor cost. Although Iran ranks first in the world in terms of oil extraction, the profits from oil are much lower than those of neighboring Arab countries.

During the Allied occupation from 1941 to 1945 AD, Iran's economy suffered great damage, the output of cotton, tobacco and other crops fell, industrial production showed negative growth, and the fiscal deficit became more and more serious; on the other hand, the parliamentary politics that was elevated during the reign of Reza Khan, as well as the suppression of religious forces, released a very destructive political energy after his abdication, and the multi-political culture was highlighted.

In 1949, Mossadei created the "National Front", the basic purpose of which was to strive for the nationalization of national resources, realize domestic democratic politics, and promote domestic economic development. These measures were quickly endorsed by Iranian intellectuals and religious figures.

In 1951 AD, the "National Front" led by Mosadei united with the Shiite Ayatollah (the name of the great Shiite intellectual) to gather the people. It is demanding that Iran's oil resources be nationalized.

King Pahlavi's "White Revolution"

In the face of high popular demand, King Pahlavi hired Mossade as prime minister and then passed the oil nationalization bill in Parliament.

In 1964, the Iranian government basically nationalized all british oil exploitation rights in Iran, laying a firm economic foundation for Iran's future state reforms.

Although the oil nationalization campaign has achieved a stage victory, Iran has never shed its dependence on the smallholder economy. Large domestic landowners dominate most of Iran's land resources, and small farmers can only rely on the land of large landowners to cultivate.

In order to change this deformed economic mentality in China, Pahlavi promulgated 12 reform programs in 1963, known in history as the "White Revolution". These reform programs include the following:

1． Sharecropping was abolished, and all land occupied by large landowners should be redistributed to peasants.

2． All forests are owned by the State.

3． Sell all government-run industrial enterprises to cooperatives and individuals.

4． The profits from these sale of enterprises shall be shared between labor and management.

(5) Amend the Electoral Law to prepare for universal suffrage, especially for women to participate in universal suffrage.

6． To build an army of intellectuals, all senior high school graduates who should serve in the military can serve as teachers.

7. It is necessary to establish an army of health workers composed of various doctors to go to the countryside to carry out free medical work.

8． It is necessary to build a large army to promote agricultural development.

(9) In all rural areas, impartial courts must be established.

10． All water conservancy resources are owned by the state.

11． Formulate a national plan for urban and rural construction.

12． Restructuring of all government agencies, decentralization of executive power, and overall improvement of national education.

These reformist measures of Pahlavi were the first step in a grand plan he had long had, namely, to guide Iran out of its medieval backwardness and make it a modern nation.

Pahlavi watched as his reforms led to a significant increase in Iran's GDP, well above the world average. Under the king's knowledge, his people were already incomparably rich, and his dream of reviving the "Persian Empire" was about to be completed.

Authoritarian rule of the Pahlavi dynasty

In 1971, Pahlavi celebrated a grand celebration in Persepolis on the occasion of the 2500th anniversary of the founding of the Persian Empire. Standing in front of the mausoleum of Cyrus the Great, Pahlavi, who called himself Cyrus ii, re-established the great Persian Empire above West Asia.

Apparently, this costly celebration revealed that the "White Revolution" was nothing more than the amusement of the upper echelons.

Pahlavi wielded absolute power to rule the country, above the Constitution and Parliament. The constitutional system has no form, and if the constitution is a blank piece of paper, the parliament is useless. During the reign of King Pahlavi, the term of office of the deputies was extended from 2 years to 4 years, and the selection of the deputies was determined by the King. From 1953 to 1977, 8 people served as prime ministers, 6 of whom were the favorites of king Pahlavi, and Prime Minister Huveda even called himself "the king's slave". King Pahlavi is like the embodiment of state power; the Iranian people have no citizenship rights and are regarded as subjects of the monarch. The occurrence of the White Revolution was both the inevitable result of the strengthening of the monarchy and the concentrated embodiment of the extreme expansion of the monarchy.

Pahlavi's close surveillance of Iranian society led to discontent among the political forces of society, which came together in 1977 and a nationwide march against the king's dictatorship erupted.

Iran's powder keg was already stuffed with gunpowder, just waiting for a little spark to ignite. The Iranian people are tired of repeated feudal rule and long for the birth of a truly republican society.