In Pictures: Iran's 1979 Islamic Revolution
- By Lucie Steinzova and
- Stuart Greer
Forty years ago, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini spearheaded an Islamic Revolution that deposed Iran's shah. The country's authoritarian monarchy was replaced by a repressive theocracy, and almost overnight, Iran was transformed from a crucial U.S. ally to bitter foe.
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Tehran was crippled by strikes and mass protest against the Shah on September 7, 1978. The day became known as Black Friday and saw demonstrations spread across the country with protesters accusing the Shah of being a U.S. puppet. Martial law was imposed four days later.
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Despite the declaration of martial law, thousands of defiant demonstrators continued to flood the streets of Tehran on October 9, 1978, to protest against Iran's Shah, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi.
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Protesters set fires on the streets of the Iranian capital during antigovernment demonstrations on November 5, 1978. Protests turned deadly later that month when armed soldiers clashed with students at the University of Tehran.
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Iranian students shout "Death to the Shah" amid protests in Tehran on November 28, 1978. Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi had ruled Iran since 1941. While he modernized the country, he forcefully suppressed dissent and political freedoms.
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Demonstrators hold up a poster of exiled Islamic leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini as protests in Tehran grow larger. This anti-Shah demonstration on December 10, 1978 took place near the Shayah monument which was built to commemorate the monarch's rule and power.
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A mullah and others in Tehran's bazaar on December 16, 1978, reading the latest words from exiled Islamic leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.
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An overturned truck with a Pepsi logo burns in the center of Tehran during riots which paralyzed the city on December 27, 1978.
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Anti-Shah protests continue to grow as demonstrators hold a poster of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini during mass protests on January 1, 1979. Khomeini had spent 14 years in exile. Cassette tapes of speeches by the 76-year-old Khomeini were smuggled into the country, fueling the unrest.
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A demonstrator lifted from the ground by a soldier after being clubbed by a stick-wielding army officer (left) during a skirmish in Tehran on January 14, 1979.
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More than 100,000 people gathered outside Tehran's Bazaar Mosque on January 15, 1979. Troops stood by as demonstrators showered them with flowers and kisses while chanting "Long Live Khomeini" and "Death to the Shah."
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Iran's Shah, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, and his wife, Empress Farah, walk on the tarmac at Mehrabad Airport in Tehran to board a plane on January 16, 1979. The Shah left Iran for what was officially a vacation. Many Iranians rejoiced with chants of "The Shah is gone!" The man who had ruled the country for 37 years would never return from exile, dying some 13 months later.
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A toppled statue of the Shah in a Tehran traffic circle on January 18, 1979.
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An Iranian army tank and soldiers on a road leading to Tehran's airport. The army prevented an Iranian Airlines jet from taking off for Paris to pick up exiled Islamic leader Ayatollah Khomeini for his return to Iran.
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Days after the Shah's departure, hundreds of people, including many foreigners, were desperate to leave Iran. People packed into the departure hall of Tehran's Mehrabad Airport on January 25, 1979, with the hopes of catching a flight out of the country.
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Severe clashes erupt on January 26, 1979 amid Iran's political instability and leadership vacuum. Antigovernment demonstrators dive for cover as Iranian army soldiers fire live rounds in Tehran.
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Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini leaves his villa in Neauphle-le-Chateau, near Paris, on January 31, 1979, to board an Air France jet bound for Tehran.
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Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini arrives in Tehran on February 1, 1979. Some 120 journalists accompanied him on the flight from Paris. Although Iran's U.S.-backed Shah had already fled the country, Khomeini's return from exile is often seen as the true start of Iran's Islamic revolution.
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Khomeini was heavily guarded as he tried to leave the airport for his ride through Tehran to visit Behesht-e Zahra cemetery.
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Supporters lined the streets for Khomeini's motorcade to Behesht-e Zahra cemetery.
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Khomeini delivers a speech at the Behesht-e Zahra cemetery after his return from exile.
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Khomeini with his son, Ahmad, addressing crowds on February 4, 1979.
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Heavily guarded by security, Mehdi Bazargan makes a speech at Tehran University on February 9, 1979. Bazargan was Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini's choice to take over Iran's government. Bazargan declared he would introduce Allah to all phases of Iranian life, revamp the economy, and hold free elections before resigning to make way for an Islamic regime.
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An ambulance passes sandbag roadblocks in Tehran to pick up the wounded from street clashes on February 10, 1979. A shootout between the army, air force cadets, and Khomeini followers left more than 60 people dead and hundreds injured.
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Armed men loyal to the Ayatollah stand in front of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran on February 15, 1979, a day after the compound was stormed. The embassy was briefly held for a few hours before being handed back to the United States. A second attempt to seize the U.S. Embassy would be made in November, leading to a 444-day hostage crisis.
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A shooting victim is carried away from the U.S. Embassy by armed men loyal to Ayatollah Khomeini after they had stormed the compound.
