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History of Iran  Empires of Persia · Kings of Persia BCE Proto-Elamite civilization 3200–2800 Elamite dynasties 2800–550 Mitanni 16th–14th cent. Kassites 16th–12th cent. Kingdom of Mannai 10th–7th cent. Median Empire 728–550 Achaemenid Empire 550–330 Seleucid Empire 330–150 Parthian Empire 248–CE 224 CE Sassanid Empire 224–651 Patriarchal Caliphate 637–651 Umayyad Caliphate 661–750 Abbasid Caliphate 750–1258 Tahirid dynasty 821–873 Alavid dynasty 864–928 Sajid dynasty 889/890–929 Saffarid dynasty 861–1003 Samanid dynasty 875–999 Ziyarid dynasty 928–1043 Buwayhid dynasty 934–1055 Sallarids 942–979 Ghaznavid Empire 963–1187 Ghori dynasty 1149–1212 Seljukid Empire 1037–1194 Khwarezmid dynasty 1077–1231 Ilkhanate 1256–1353 Muzaffarid dynasty 1314–1393 Chupanid dyansty 1337–1357 Jalayerid dynasty 1339–1432 Timurid Empire 1370–1506 Qara Qoyunlu Turcomans 1407–1468 Aq Qoyunlu Turcomans 1378–1508 Safavid dynasty 1501–1722* Hotaki Ghilzai dynasty 1722–1729 Afsharid dynasty 1736–1802 Zand dynasty 1750–1794 Qajar dynasty 1781–1925 Pahlavi dynasty 1925–1979 Islamic Revolution 1979 Provisional Government 1979–1980 Islamic Republic of Iran since 1980 * or 1736 Timeline edit

The Islamic republic of Iran originated from Islamic revolution of Iran which resulted in transforming Iran from a monarchy under the Shah (king) Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, to an Islamic republic under Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the leader of the revolution and founder of the Islamic Republic.^[1]

Contents 1 Islamic revolution of Iran 2 Hostage crisis 3 Iran-Iraq War 4 Post-Khomeini era 4.1 Foreign policy 4.2 Economy and human development 4.3 Society 4.4 Scientific development 5 President Khatami's reforms 5.1 The reforms 6 President Ahmadinejad 6.1 Foreign policy 6.1.1 Controversy concerning remarks about Israel 6.1.2 Controversy about Iran's nuclear program 6.2 Resolving the Management and Planning Organisation of Iran 6.3 Family planning and population policy 6.4 2007 Gas Rationing Plan in Iran 7 See also 8 References

The demonstrations began in January 1978^[2] and on January 16, 1979 Mohammad Reza Pahlavi fled. On February 1 Ayatollah Khomeini returned to Tehran from France where he resided, to rapturous greeting by several million Iranians^[3] and on February 11 the Pahlavi dynasty collapsed. A revolutionary council and The Provisional Revolutionary Government had governed the country until the new government was established. On April 1, after a landslide victory in a national referendum about 98 percent of Iranians chose the Islamic republic as the form of new government. This new government is based upon the Constitution that was approved in a national referendum in December 1979.^[4]

Iranian students seized the U.S. embassy in Tehran on November 4, 1979, holding 52 embassy employees hostage for a 444 days (see Iran hostage crisis). The Carter administration severed diplomatic relations and imposed economic sanctions on April 7, 1980 and later that month attempted a rescue. A commando mission was aborted on April 25 after mechanical problems grounded rescue helicopters and eight American troops were killed in a mid-air collision. On May 24 the International Court of Justice called for the hostages to be released. Finally the hostages were released 20 January 1981, by Agreement of the Carter Administration, see Algiers Accords Jan. 19, 1981.

Main article: Iran-Iraq War

On September 22, 1980 Iraq invaded Iran. Official U.S. policy sought to isolate Iran, and the U.S. and its allies supplied Iraq with weapons and technology to maintain a balance in the war, as policy of dual containment. Iraq obtained most of its weaponry from the Soviets, China, and France. Members of the Reagan Administration covertly sold anti-tank missiles and spare parts to Iran in what became known as the Iran-Contra affair.

On the 14th of April, 1988, an American guided missile frigate, the Samuel B. Roberts, was damaged after Iran had mined parts of the Persian Gulf. On the 18th of April, the US responded in Operation Praying Mantis by attacking two Iranian oil platforms. In the ensuing battle, two Iranian warships and several armed speedboats were sunk.

On July 3, 1988 the USS Vincennes shot down Iran Air Flight 655 en route to Dubai killing all 290 people on board. Eight years later, the United States agreed to pay Iran US$61.8 million in compensation, but denied any responsibility or liability for the incident. See Iran Air Flight 655.

After eight years of war with great losses on each side (including bombing of civilians and use of chemical weapons by Iraq) Iran finally agreed to UN Security Council Resolution 598 in 1988 to end the war. Nonetheless, severe fighting continued into the 1990s (and even to the present on a smaller scale^[5]) as Kurdish, nationalist, and communist forces fought the Iranian government.

The Soviet invasion of Afghanistan (1980) had brought some 3 million Afghan refugees to Iran. In 1989 Khomeini died and was succeeded by Iran's president, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The presidency was soon filled by Ali Akbar Rafsanjani, who sought improved relations and with Western nations while somewhat diminishing the influence of revolutionary factions and embarking on a military buildup. A major earthquake hit N Iran on June 21, 1990, killing nearly 40,000 people. When Iraq invaded Kuwait in Aug., 1990, Iran adhered to international sanctions against Iraq. However, Iran condemned the use of U.S.-led coalition forces against Iraq during the Persian Gulf War (1991). As a result of the war and its aftermath, more than one million Kurds crossed the Iraqi border into Iran as refugees.

Rafsanjani was reelected president in 1993. The United States suspended all trade with Iran in 1995, accusing Iran of supporting terrorist groups and attempting to develop nuclear weapons. In 1997, Mohammad Khatami, a moderately liberal Muslim cleric, was elected president. Also in 1997, several European Union countries began renewing economic ties with Iran in the late 1990s; the United States, however, continued to block more normalized relations, arguing that the country had been implicated in international terrorism and was developing a nuclear weapons capacity. In 1999, as new curbs were put on a free press, prodemocracy student demonstrations erupted at Tehran University and other urban campuses. These were followed by a wave of counter demonstrations by conservative factions.

Reformers won a substantial victory in the Feb., 2000, parliamentary elections, capturing about two thirds of the seats, but conservative elements in the government forced the closure of the reformist press. Attempts by parliament to repeal restrictive press laws were forbidden by Khamenei. Despite these conditions, President Khatami was overwhelming reelected in June, 2001. Tensions between reformers in parliament and conservatives in the judiciary and the Guardian Council, over both social and economic changes, increased after Khatami's reelection.

On January 29, 2002 in his State of the Union Address United States President George W. Bush labeled Iran, along with Iraq, and North Korea as an "Axis of evil" The speech sparked widespread demonstrations all across Iran.

Tensions with the United States increased after the Anglo-American invasion of Iraq in March, 2003, as U.S. officials increasingly denounced Iran for pursuing the alleged development of nuclear weapons. In October, however, Iran agreed, in negotiations with several W European nations, to toughen international inspections of its nuclear installations. Concern over Iran's nuclear program nonetheless continued. Meanwhile, an earthquake, centered on Bam in SE Iran, killed more than 26,000 people in Dec 2003.

In the Feb., 2004, elections, conservatives won control of parliament, securing some two thirds of the seats. Many Iranians, however, were unhappy with the failure of the current parliament to achieve any significant reforms or diminish the influence of the hardliners. In mid-2004 Iran began resuming the processing of nuclear fuel as part of its plan to achieve self-sufficiency in civilian nuclear power production, stating that the negotiations with European Union nations had failed to bring access to the advanced nuclear technology that was promised. The action was denounced by the United States as one which would give Iran the capability to develop nuclear weapons. The IAEA said that there was no evidence that Iran was seeking to develop such arms. However, the IAEA also called for Iran to abandon its plans to produce enriched uranium. In Nov., 2004, Iran agreed to suspend uranium enrichment, but subsequently indicated that it would not be held to the suspension if the negotiations the EU nations failed.

Main article: Iran's foreign policy

The Islamic Republic's sponsorhip of Hezbollah in Lebanon has been a major success, however in other areas it has seen setbacks. Author Olivier Roy describes the Islamic Republic's as having "lost most of its allure among non-Iranian Shia's," giving as examples the 1995 house arrest in Qom of the two sons of Grand Ayatollah Shirazi, spiritual leader of the Bahraini Shia; and the close cooperation between the Afghan Shia party Wahdat and the U.S. Army after November 2001.^[6]

Main article: Economy of Iran

Iran's Human Development Index rating (including life expectancy, literacy, education, and standard of living) improved significantly in the years after the revolution, climbing from 0.569 in 1980 to 0.732 in 2002.^[7] This is approximately the same rate, at a slightly lower absolute level, than neighbouring Turkey.^[8] For example the literacy rates "among Iranian women rose from 28% to 80% between 1976 and 1996."^[9]

Economic prosperity, however, has not been a high point of the post-revolutionary era. According to international economic consultant Jahangir Amuzegar, as of 2003:

Despite a 100 percent rise in average annual oil income since the revolution, most indicators of economic welfare have steadily deteriorated. …Average inflation in the years after the revolution has been at least twice as high as during the 1970s, unemployment has been three times higher, and economic growth is two-thirds lower. As a result, Iran's per capita income has declined by at least 30 percent since 1979. By official admission, more than 15 percent of the population now lives below the absolute poverty line, and private estimates run as high as 40 percent.^[10]

Hardship has compelled some children to take odd jobs rather than go to school.^[11]

A 2002 study "leaked from Iran's Interior Ministry," reported nearly 90% of respondents dissatisfied with the present government according to Amuzegar. Of this total, 28% wanted "fundamental" changes, 66% "gradual reforms." 10% expressed satisfaction with the status quo.

While the revolution brought about some "re-Islamisation" of Iran, particularly in terms of personal appearance -- beards, hijab -- it has not prompted a reversal of some modernizing trends or a "reversion to traditional patterns of family life," (such as polygamy and the extended family with numerous children).

Despite the lowering of the legal age of marriage for women fell to 9,^[12] and the Ayatollah Khomeini's support for early marriage for females,

It is recommended that one hurries in giving husband to a daughter who has attained puberty, meaning that she is of the age of religious accountability. His Holiness, Sadegh [the 6th Imam] salutations to him, bade that it is one of a man's good fortunes that his daughter does not see menses in his own house.^[13]

the actual average age of marriage for women rose to 22 by 1996. Thus the age difference between husbands and wives in Iran actually fell between 1980 and 2000, from 7 to 2.1 years.^[14] (The man's average age at marriage has remained around 24.4 over the past 20 years, which means greater educational equality between spouses.)

Nor has Islamisation of family law lead to an increase in the number of polygamous families or more frequent divorces. Polygamy has remained at about 2% of permanent marriages during the past 40 years and the divorce rate has decreased slightly since the 1970s.^[15]

After Iranian revolution, Iranian women have continued to occupy high positions in political system. In late 1990s, Iranians sent more women to Iranian parliament than Americans sent to U.S. senate.^[16]

Main article: Science in Iran

Iran's scientific progress is subject to many problems including funding, international sanctions and management. However in some areas such as medicine, surgery, pharmacology, stem cell research and theoretical physics (e.g. string theory), Iranian scientists have found international reputation since the Iranian revolution. Perhaps, nuclear technology and stem cell research were the two fields that have enjoyed special support from the central government and Iranian leadership since the revolution.^[17]

Iran has some of the most liberal laws on stem cell research.^[18] This has helped Iran to place itself among leaders of stem cell technology. However, the United States, followed by Germany, is by far the world’s leader in the total number of stem cell articles published.^[19] In terms of articles per capita basis, Israel is the leading state. Iran with one paper per capita has been ranked 16th along with Czech Republic, Spain, Romania, Switzerland and Turkey. Except for 21 countries, all other states produced no published research in this field till 2007.^[20]

Iran had some significant successes in nuclear technology during last few decades, especially in nuclear medicine. However, there is hardly any connection between Iran's scientific society and that of the Iran's nuclear program.^[21]

Iran's national science budget is about $900 million and it has not been subject to any significant increase since 15 years ago.^[22] United States federal budget for 2007 was $25 billion, more than 25 time above Iran's budget.

See also: Iranian reform movement

Mohammad Khatami was elected as the President of Iran in 1997 after having based his campaign on a reform program promising implemention of a democratic and more tolerant society, the rule of law and improvement of social rights. After taking office, Khatami faced fierce opposition from his powerful opponents within the unelected institutions of the state which he had no legal power over, and this led to repeated clashed between his government and these institutions (including the Guardian Council, the state radio and television, the police, the armed forces, the judiciary, the prisons, etc.).

See also: Mohammad Khatami's reforms

The promotion of civil society and the rule of law are the key elements in Khatami's reform program.^[23][24]

• Initiating Iran's city council elections
• Voicing the idea of civil society and the rule of law
• Full commitment to Iranian constitution of the time (any revision in the law must be done through legal routes)
• Calling people to criticize high ranking authorities; (the supreme leader is not a holy personality)
• Giving permission to newspapers by people of a wide range of political views
• Reopening the embassies of all European countries
• Reorganizing the ministry of intelligence of Iran; after the Iran's Chain Murders of Intellectuals
• Initiating a dialogue between people of different faith inside and outside Iran

Main article: Mahmoud Ahmadinejad

The presidential elections in June, 2005, were won by the hardline conservative mayor of Tehran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who ran on a populist, anticorruption platform. Ahmadinejad and former president Rafsanjani were the leaders after the first round, but in the runoff Ahmadinejad's populist economic policies combined with Rafsanjani's inability to pick up sufficient reformist support assured the former's win. Ahmadinejad's victory gave conservatives control of all branches of Iran's government.

Main article: Iran's foreign policy

See also: Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Israel

President Mahmoud Ahmedinejad also made several controversial statements about the Holocaust and Israel. However his remarks did not enjoy support from Iranian leaders. Iran’s foreign minister denied that Tehran wanted to see Israel "wiped off the map," as has widely been reported in the Western press, saying "Ahmadinejad had been misunderstood." It was asserted that the correct translation of Ahmadinejad's remark was, "the regime currently occupying Jerusalem will be erased from the pages of time," as was the case in the downfall of the Communist government of the USSR, which fell due to its own structural failures, not to outside military force. Iran's stated policy on Israel is to urge a one-state solution through a countrywide referendum in which a government would be elected that all Palestinians and all Israelis would jointly vote for; which would normally be an end to the "Zionist state". Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Khamenei, rejecting any attack on Israel, called for a referendum in Palestine. Ahmadinejad himself has also repeatedly called for such solution.^{[25][26][27][28]} Moreover Khamenei’s main advisor in foreign policy, Ali Akbar Velayati, said that Holocaust was a genocide and a historical reality.^[29]

See also: Iran's nuclear program  and United Nations Security Council Resolution 1747

After, in Aug., 2005, Iran resumed converting raw uranium into gas, a necessary step for enrichment, the IAEA passed a resolution that accused Iran of failing to comply with the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty and called for the agency to report Iran to the UN Security Council. The timetable for the reporting, however, was left undetermined. Iran's stated position is that it is in full compliance with the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, that it has allowed the IAEA inspections beyond what is required, and that it has no ambitions to build atomic weapons.

In July 2007, the Management and Planning Organisation of Iran was dissolved after a direct order of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. The organization was a 60 years old, scientific planning body that had a supervisory role in addition to its responsibility to allocate the national budget. Although the MPO was a state body whose head was appointed by the president, it was relatively independent organisation.^[30]

President Ahmadinejad, however, established a new budget planning body directly under his control, a move that may give him a freer hand to implement populist policies blamed for driving up prices.^[31]

Economist Fariborz Raiis-Dana said that the decision dealt the coup de grace to the structure of the national management organization. Iranian MP Esmaeil Gramimoqaddam said that the president's directive is illegal and the parliament opposes his decision. "The president is not authorized to order an alteration or merger of an organization. This is the parliament's job," he added.^[32]

See also: Family planning in Iran

In October 2006, President Ahmadinejad opposed encouraging families to limit themselves to just two children, stating that Iran could cope with 50 million more people than the current 70 million. In remarks that have drawn criticism, he told MPs he wanted to scrap existing birth control policies which discouraged Iranian couples from having more than two children. Critics reacted with alarm and said the president’s call was ill-judged at a time when Iran was struggling with surging inflation and rising unemployment, estimated at around 11%. Mr Ahmadinejad’s call for an increased birth rate is reminiscent of a demand Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini 1979. The policy was effective in increasing population growth, but was eventually reversed in response to the resultant economic strain.^[33]

See main article: 2007 Gas Rationing Plan in Iran

2007 Gas Rationing Plan in Iran was launched by president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's cabinet to reduce that country's fuel consumption. Although Iran is one of the world's largest producers of petroleum, kleptocracy, rapid increases in demand and limited refining capacity has forced the country to import about 40% of its gasoline, at an annual cost of up to $7 billion.^[34][35]

• History of Iran
• Foreign relations of Iran
• History of political Islam in Iran
• Iran's Nuclear Program

1. ^ Encyclopædia Britannica.
2. ^ The Iranian Revolution.
3. ^ Ruhollah Khomeini, Encyclopedia Britannica.
4. ^ Iran Islamic Republic, Encyclopedia Britannica.
5. ^ Iran News.
6. ^ Roy, Olivier, Globalized Islam, Columbia University Press, 2004, p.67-8
7. ^ Iran: Human Development Index
8. ^ Turkey: Human Development Index
9. ^ Roy, Olivier, Globalized Islam : the Search for a New Ummah, Columbia University Press, 2004, p.14
10. ^ "Iran's Crumbling Revolution", Jahangir Amuzegar. Foreign Affairs. Jan/Feb 2003., V.82, N.1
11. ^ [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZVJgeSOHW6k&mode=related&search= video of "Labour children in Iran" بچه های کار در ايران ]
12. ^ Council Of Guardians Rules 9 Years Is Girls' Marriage Age accessed 7-26-2007
13. ^ Fatwa #2459 from A Clarification of Questions : An Unabridged Translation of Resaleh Towzih al-Masael by Ayatollah Sayyed Ruhollah Mousavi Khomeini; Translated by J. Borujerdi, with a Foreword by Michael M. J. Fischer and Mehdi Abedi; Westview Press/ Boulder and London, c1984)
14. ^ see Marie Ladier-Fouladi, Population et politique en Iran, Paris: Institut national d'etudes demographiques, 2003.
15. ^ Marie Ladier-Fouladi, cited in Azadeh Kian-Thiebaut, Femmes iranieenes entre islam, Etat, famille, Paris: Maisonneuve et Larose, 2000, pp.128, 149.
16. ^ [1]
17. ^ [2]
18. ^ [3]
19. ^ [4]
20. ^ [5]
21. ^ Nature: Prof Reza Mansouri comments on Nuclear issue and existing hostilities toward Iranian scientists
22. ^ [6]
23. ^ [7]
24. ^ [8]
25. ^ http://www.president.ir/eng/ahmadinejad/cronicnews/1385/05/12/#b2
26. ^ http://www.president.ir/eng/ahmadinejad/cronicnews/1385/04/12/index-e.htm#b1
27. ^ 1385-03-22 AH. News. Iranian Presidency.
28. ^ 1385-03-12 AH. News.
29. ^ Ali Akbar Velayati, Advisor. Iran Press Service.
30. ^ Iran, BBC, 2007-07.
31. ^ Gulf News, 2007-07-12.
32. ^ 2006-10
33. ^ Tait, Robert (October 23, 2006). Ahmadinejad urges Iranian baby boom to challenge west. Guardian Unlimited. The Guardian. Retrieved on 2007-05-03. “Iran’s president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, has called for a baby boom to almost double the country’s population to 120 million and enable it to threaten the west. In remarks that have drawn criticism, he told MPs he wanted to scrap existing birth control policies which discouraged Iranian couples from having more than two children. Women should work less and devote more time to their “main mission” of raising children, Mr Ahmadinejad said. …Mr Ahmadinejad’s call for a higher birth rate echoes a similar demand by the late Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini after the triumph of Iran’s Islamic revolution in 1979.”
34. ^ "Q&A: Petrol rationing in Iran", BBC News, 2007-06-27. Retrieved on 2007-07-02. 
35. ^ "Iran bans negative petrol stories", BBC News, 2007-06-28. Retrieved on 2007-07-02.