The Story of Iran

Iran and its people have been prominent in the news lately. Iran is the inheritor of one of the world’s oldest civilizations, a culture that has contributed enormously to poetry, philosophy, architecture, mathematics, and science. This proud people have endured difficult decades recently and reside in a country many in the West may know little about.

In today’s blog, we will give a brief overview of the country and where things stand today. The description below covers a lot of ground and we hope no matter how much or little you know about this region, that you will feel you learned something from what is below. In addition, if you want to know more, there are some books and podcasts we will recommend throughout and at the end.

Source: Canva.com

A quick note: The Greeks called the region “Persia” while locals have long used some version of the word “Aryan” which is where “Iran” comes from. Both terms are used below.

Background: Persia and Islam

Persia became the world’s largest empire after it was launched by King Cyrus in 550 BCE. The empire left an enormous impact first by showing how to administer a vast area. They built a massive road and postal system that facilitated troop movement, information sharing and, most importantly, trade (helped along by also standarding weights and measures).

Another key factor was that Cyrus had an explicit policy of religious tolerance that allowed integrating diverse peoples. This idea would be copied by others. And the empire’s Zoroastrian religion may have contributed several concepts to Judaism including a devil figure, angels, the idea of an apocalypse, and possibly of a coming messiah.

The empire was temporarily destroyed by Alexander the Great but it reconstituted and cumulatively lasted for about 1100 years. Persia’s fall came in the 7th century of the common era when the exhausted empire – depleted both financially and militarily from a 25-year war with the Byzantines – confronted fresh new forces pouring out of the Arabian peninsula. 

Image: Map of Persia, Source: Canva.com

Islam and Becoming Shia

Muhammad united many of the previously divided Arab tribes into a new religious and political community. After his death, his successors took this newly cohesive people and launched wars on the neighbouring Persians, where the unimaginable happened: they wiped out the mighty thousand-year empire in just 18 years. From this point forward, the local population began to convert to Islam. 

An important further development that influences our modern politics is that Islam had two sects, Sunni and Shia, stemming from a succession dispute after Muhammad died. In 1501, Iran had a new ruler (Shah Ismail I) who launched the Safavid dynasty, and who decided his people would switch from being Sunni to becoming Shia, partly to distinguish them from the neighboring and rival Ottoman empire that was Sunni. 

Image: Shah Ismail I portrait, Source: Wikimedia Commons, Public Domain

This conversion was done somewhat forcibly but after a couple of generations, it worked. Ever since, this has distinguished Iran (or Persia) from the vast majority of its Muslim neighbours who are Sunni. This often impacts politics today as Iran is often viewed as a strategic rival by Sunni-majority powers such as Saudi Arabia. Neighbouring states like Iraq, Syria and Lebanon all have large Shia populations who somewhat look to Iran as the heart of Shia Islam on earth. Iran often supports these communities, including establishing armed paramilitaries within them. 

One further note: the form of Shia Islam in Iran differs from Sunni Islam in that it has a very hierarchical system of clergy and its most senior members wield a lot of clout socially and sometimes politically. This will come to matter in time.

The Shah and Foreign Powers

In the nineteenth and early 20th century, Europe’s great powers were carving up the globe and Iran was caught between two of them – Russia, which wanted to expand southwards, and Britain which feared Russia’s expansion would threaten their empire in India. Both nations were quite happy to interfere in Iran’s national politics, a theme that modern Iranians are very aware of. The discovery of oil in Iran further heightened interest and Britain especially became heavily involved in extracting the oil (through the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company) and in further interfering in the country’s governance. 

By 1921, the existing monarchy was weak and Reza Khan, a military leader, organized a coup and took over the country, later having himself proclaimed as the Shah (“king”). However, he later became sympathetic to Nazi Germany and, as a result, during WWII, the British and Russians (now WWII allies) deposed him for his son, Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi. This new Shah was young and would rule for almost 40 years. 

But this new Shah had been put there by foreign powers and would always be seen as bit of a foreign pawn. As decades passed, the people became increasingly tired of this new Shah and his alliance with the British which seemed to enrich him and the British but not Iran’s ordinary citizens. 

The Coup

Iran’s monarchy was a constitutional one that had both a monarch and a prime minister (a bit like Britain). The people elected a leader named Mohammad Mosaddegh in 1951 who began trying to curtail the Shah’s power while also nationalizing the oil industry, wresting it away from the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company. The British did not like this and worked with the United States to support efforts to overthrow Mosaddegh, culminating in the successful 1953 coup. The Shah was back in charge and unchallenged.

Image: (left) Mohammad Mosaddeq, and (right) the Iranian flag, Source: Wikimedia Commons – Public Domain, and Canva.com

You may have never heard of this coup but Iranians all know about it. It is a vital part of the story they tell of Western interference, of national humiliation, and of the people losing control of their country and their lives to interfering outsiders. Many Iranians came to see their country’s modern history as a story of subversion, of having their sovereignty stolen by foreigners.

The Powder Keg

The Shah is a conflicting figure. In his excellent book King of Kings, Scott Anderson gives a clear portrait of the Shah’s strengths and crippling errors. On one hand, he helped modernize the country. He improved literacy, opened universities, and expanded infrastructure. He also elevated women’s rights, giving them access to the vote, to education, and to jobs. A professional middle class developed and Tehran became quite cosmopolitan. 

Image: King of Kings book cover, and Author Scott Anderson. Source: Amazon, and Maimi Book Club

On the other hand, he had a secret service that tortured dissidents. And he surrounded himself with sycophants whose skill was telling him what he wanted to hear. This meant he was completely out of touch with his people who had no legitimate way to be heard or to protest. Some of his reforms offended conservative religious voices as well. And overseeing all this was a government run by people chosen for their ability to flatter and not for competence. 

An unhappy people with no vehicle to voice their concerns is trouble. When the government overseeing them is both oppressive and inept, and the leader is largely clueless because he has no one around him who tells him hard truths, well, you are courting trouble.

The Iranian Revolution

The Shah’s secret police could crush some opponents (like the communists) but you cannot shut down the mosques. Recall that Shia clerics have long wielded considerable influence in Iran and among them at this time was an idiosyncratic cleric with unorthodox theological views named Ruhollah Khomeini.

Khomeini launched scathing criticisms of the Shah which no one else would dare to do. Many of these resonated with people but the Shah had to be careful dealing with an ayatollah, the highest level of clergy for Shias. Khomeini’s arrest led to mass uprisings and eventually the Shah decided to deport Khomeini, thinking that would rid him of the problem. 

Image: Ruhollah Khomeini speaking to his followers against capitulation day 1964, Source: Wikimedia.com, Public Domain

But exiled from his homeland, Khomeini strengthened his networks, attracted fundraising, and produced sermons smuggled into the country on cassette tapes. People were furious and with no political parties able to express dissent, Khomeini was the one person giving voice to their anger. 

A series of crises were badly handled by the Shah in 1978 and early in 1979 he was overthrown. The forces overthrowing him were plural but the Ayatollah was far craftier than the other revolutionary factions. He managed to grab key reins of power, to establish his own paramilitary force, and managed to first sideline and eventually eliminate his rivals. Many revolutionaries would come to regret the revolution and their underestimation of Khomeini’s ambitions and political savvy. 

The Theocracy: How Have Things Gone?

The Islamic Republic has not been a time of national prospering. Some of this is due to external issues – Iraq launched a devastating war during the 1980s and American sanctions have hurt the economy. But part of it has been the combination of repression and economic mismanagement. 

Khomeini established a paramilitary force called the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) that would be loyal to him. This force has grown into the power in Iran. It is a combination of a military force, an intelligence agency, and the biggest player in the economy. One estimate says the IRGC controls between 10 and 50% of the economy while another says between one-third and two-thirds.

All of this means corruption, kickbacks, and an economy that enriches the few with connections while creating little growth or opportunity for ordinary people. There is also a constant brain-drain as Iranians who have options often flee the country for places with more prospects and more freedom. 

Image: Military parade in Qom, Iran, commemorating Sacred Defence Week, Source: Wikimedia.org, CC BY 4.0

Public Protest…and Secular Stirrings?

The Islamic Republic seems to have become more and more unpopular over time. The first major uprising was in 1999 when a reformist newspaper was closed. That uprising began with university students but spread. In 2009, the Green Movement arose as a reformist political candidate was believed by many to have lost the presidential election due to government-orchestrated fraud. Uprisings this time were larger and led to massive state violence and a powerful image of a young woman dying in the street from a gunshot wound. Since then, the protests have continued to become larger, more widespread, and have gained more support from broader segments of the public including the working class and smaller cities and towns.

In 2022, particularly large protests emerged after Mahsa Amini, a 22 year old woman died in police custody after being arrested for not wearing a hijab. Women, chanting “Women, Life, Freedom” were at the forefront of this protest, publicly removing and burning their hijabs. While the 1999 protests sought more limited gains – greater freedoms within the regime – protests now call for the government’s downfall.

Source: Canva.com

The most recent uprising in 2025/2026 was spurred by the poor economy and was much larger than any before it, spreading to 200 cities and towns. The regime’s crackdown was on an unprecedented level, with estimates of those killed numbering from 5,000 to over 30,000. For comparison, previous crackdowns had death totals in the tens or hundreds. 

The regime appears to be immensely unpopular today. Polls are difficult in authoritarian regimes but one shows it has under 30% support, another only 20% support and another puts support in the single digits. 

Unfortunately, the I.R.G.C. supports the regime and given the immense wealth and power the I.R.G.C. has amassed under the theocracy, there is little incentive for that support to ever wane. Any reform would be bad for it. 

Ironically, the theocracy may be failing on what matters most to it: in preserving Iran’s Shia devotion. One poll shows the country becoming more and more secular although that poll is contested. But a leaked government report and anecdotal data from statements by clerics seem to indicate an awareness that religiosity is waning somewhat. There is some sociological research that when religion is joined to government coercion, over time many will find the religion unattractive. 

Looking Forward

Iran has 90 million people. They are well educated, the country has oil reserves and in a functioning economy, Iran and its people could experience substantial growth. Its people however are suffering. They have been humiliated by foreign imperialism, oppressed by the Shah’s heavy hand, and now crushed by a much-heavier handed theocracy that takes their freedom and hampers their economy. The recent war has caused further devastation.

In addition, Iran’s government continues to be a destabilizing force in the wider region, funding entities like Hezbollah, Hamas and others. Many neighbors (especially Lebanon) feel Iran undermines their own sovereignty, a matter explored very well in a book we reviewed called The Black Wave by Kim Ghattas.

For now the regime seems quite ensconced and it is difficult to see how it can be challenged. But regimes do crumble, sometimes suddenly. The recent military conflict has devastated the country but some believe the peace terms may lead to big infusions into government coffers. Whether the regime emerges strengthened or weakened remains unclear. What is certain is that ordinary Iranians continue to bear much of the economic and human cost of both internal repression and regional conflict.

To Learn More

If you’d like to know more, in addition to the books above, two great podcast options are:

• The Rest is History, episodes 636-639 covers the 1979 Iranian revolution with a bonus episode in there on Iranian nationalism and connections to the glorious Persian past.
• Empire: World History. Episode 96 starts a series on the ancient Persian dynasties, episode 115 covers the coversion to Shia and 118 starts a few episodes on the 20th century up to today.