Conspiracy Theories About The Iranian Revolution
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Conspiracy Theories About The Iranian Revolution
The Iranian revolution of 1979, in which Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi was overthrown and replaced by an Islamist government led by Ruhollah Khomeini, has been the subject of conspiracy theories alleging Western involvement, in particular, that the United States and the United Kingdom secretly opposed the Shah because his White Revolution and Iran's growing independence was unfavorable to their interests in Iranian petroleum. In his own memoirs, '' Answer to History'', the Shah alleges that Western forces most prominently the United Kingdom, the United States, and Big Oil conspired against him all for their own reasons while most notably, he claims due to his manipulation of oil prices. Khomeini rejected the charges, claiming it was the Shah who was a Western "agent" who had prevented the establishment of Islamic government in Iran until the revolution. Background The US State Department drew criticism for doing little to communicate with Tehran or discourage protest and opposition ...
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Iranian Revolution
The Iranian Revolution (, ), also known as the 1979 Revolution, or the Islamic Revolution of 1979 (, ) was a series of events that culminated in the overthrow of the Pahlavi dynasty in 1979. The revolution led to the replacement of the Imperial State of Iran by the Islamic Republic of Iran, as the monarchical government of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi was superseded by the theocratic Ruhollah Khomeini, a religious cleric who had headed one of the rebel factions. The ousting of Pahlavi, the last Shah of Iran, formally marked the end of List of monarchs of Persia, Iran's historical monarchy. In 1953, the CIA- and MI6-backed 1953 Iranian coup d'état overthrew Iran’s democratically elected Prime Minister, Mohammad Mossadegh, who had nationalized the country's oil industry to reclaim sovereignty from British control. The coup reinstalled Mohammad Reza Pahlavi as an absolute monarch and entrenched Iran as a client state of the U.S. and UK. Over the next 26 years, Pahlavi consolidated ...
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George Ball (diplomat)
George Wildman Ball (December 21, 1909 – May 26, 1994) was an American diplomat and banker. He served in the management of the US State Department from 1961 to 1966 and is remembered by most as the only cabinet member of Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson who was a major dissenter against the escalation of the Vietnam War. Ball advised against deploying U.S. combat forces, as he believed it would lead the United States into an unwinnable war and result in a prolonged conflict. Instead, he argued that the United States should prioritize allocating its resources to Europe rather than engaging in expensive military ventures. However, he refused to publicize his doubts. He helped determine American policy regarding trade expansion, Congo, the Multilateral Force, de Gaulle's France, Israel and the rest of the Middle East, and the Iranian Revolution. Early life and education Ball was born in Des Moines, Iowa. He lived in Evanston, Illinois, and graduated from Ev ...
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Conspiracy Theories In Europe
A conspiracy, also known as a plot, ploy, or scheme, is a secret plan or agreement between people (called conspirers or conspirators) for an unlawful or harmful purpose, such as murder, treason, or corruption Corruption is a form of dishonesty or a criminal offense that is undertaken by a person or an organization that is entrusted in a position of authority to acquire illicit benefits or abuse power for one's gain. Corruption may involve activities ..., especially with a political motivation, while keeping their agreement secret from the public or from other people affected by it. In a political sense, conspiracy refers to a group of people united in the goal of subverting established political power structures. This can take the form of usurping or altering them, or even continually illegally profiteering from certain activities in a way that weakens the establishment with help from various political authorities. Depending on the circumstances, a conspiracy may also be a cr ...
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Iranian Revolution
The Iranian Revolution (, ), also known as the 1979 Revolution, or the Islamic Revolution of 1979 (, ) was a series of events that culminated in the overthrow of the Pahlavi dynasty in 1979. The revolution led to the replacement of the Imperial State of Iran by the Islamic Republic of Iran, as the monarchical government of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi was superseded by the theocratic Ruhollah Khomeini, a religious cleric who had headed one of the rebel factions. The ousting of Pahlavi, the last Shah of Iran, formally marked the end of List of monarchs of Persia, Iran's historical monarchy. In 1953, the CIA- and MI6-backed 1953 Iranian coup d'état overthrew Iran’s democratically elected Prime Minister, Mohammad Mossadegh, who had nationalized the country's oil industry to reclaim sovereignty from British control. The coup reinstalled Mohammad Reza Pahlavi as an absolute monarch and entrenched Iran as a client state of the U.S. and UK. Over the next 26 years, Pahlavi consolidated ...
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Jimmy Carter's Engagement With Ruhollah Khomeini
In 2016, the BBC published a report which stated that the administration of United States president Jimmy Carter (1977–1981) had extensive contact with Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini and his entourage in the prelude to the Iranian Revolution of 1979. The report was based on "newly declassified US diplomatic cables". According to the report, Carter and his administration helped to discourage the Imperial Iranian army from launching a military coup against then-prime minister Shapour Bakhtiar, Bakhtiar in an effort to save the monarchy, and made efforts to find an accommodation between Khomeini and the military. According to the report, as mentioned by ''The Guardian'', Khomeini in turn "went to great lengths to ensure the Americans would not jeopardise his plans to return to Iran - and even personally wrote to US officials" and assured them not to worry about their interests in Iran, particularly oil. In his memoir, ''Answer to History'', Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, Mohammad Reza Shah ...
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Iran–United Kingdom Relations
Iran–United Kingdom relations are the bilateral relations between the United Kingdom and Iran. Iran, which was called Persia by the West before 1935, has had political relations with England since the late Ilkhanate period (13th century) when Edward I of England, King Edward I of England sent Geoffrey of Langley to the Ilkhanid court to seek an alliance. Until the early nineteenth century, Iran was a remote and legendary country for Britain, so much so that the European country never seriously established a diplomatic center, such as a consulate or embassy. By the middle of the nineteenth century, Iran grew in importance as a buffer state to the United Kingdom's British Raj, dominion over India. Britain fostered conflict between Iran and Afghanistan as a means of forestalling an Afghan invasion of India. The UK seeds a number of proximity conflicts between Iran and its neighbouring states like Azerbaijan on the countries' borders, Afghanistan on the Hirmand River, Hirmand river an ...
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Iran–Contra Affair
The Iran–Contra affair (; ), also referred to as the Iran–Contra scandal, the Iran Initiative, or simply Iran–Contra, was a political scandal in the United States that centered on arms trafficking to Iran between 1981 and 1986, facilitated by senior officials of the Ronald Reagan administration. As Iran was subject to an arms embargo at the time of the scandal, the sale of arms was deemed illegal. The administration hoped to use the proceeds of the arms sale to fund the Contras, an anti- Sandinista rebel group in Nicaragua. Under the Boland Amendment, passed by Congress in a 411-0 vote and signed into law by Reagan, further funding of the Contras by legislative appropriations was prohibited by Congress, but the Reagan administration continued funding them secretively using non-appropriated funds. The administration's justification for the arms shipments was that they were part of an attempt to free seven U.S. hostages being held in Lebanon by Hezbollah, an Islamist ...
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Allegations Of CIA Assistance To Osama Bin Laden
Several sources have alleged that the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) had ties with Osama bin Laden's faction of " Afghan Arab" fighters when it armed Mujahideen groups to fight the Soviet Union during the Soviet–Afghan War. About the same time as the 1979 Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, the United States began collaborating with Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) to provide several hundred million dollars a year in aid to the Afghan Mujahideen insurgents fighting the Afghan pro-Soviet government and the Soviet Army in Operation Cyclone. Along with native Afghan mujahideen were Muslim volunteers from other countries, popularly known as " Afghan Arabs". The most famous of the Afghan Arabs was Osama bin Laden, known at the time as a wealthy and pious Saudi who provided his own money and helped raise millions from other wealthy persian Gulf Arabs. When the war ended, bin Laden organized the al-Qaeda organization to carry on armed jihad against other countries, primar ...
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1980 October Surprise Theory
The 1980 October Surprise theory refers to the claim that members of Ronald Reagan's presidential campaign covertly negotiated with Iranian leaders to undermine incumbent President Jimmy Carter by delaying the release of 66 American hostages detained in Iran. The hostage situation, which began when Iranian revolutionaries seized the U.S. embassy in Tehran, was one of the biggest news stories of 1980, and Carter's inability to resolve it is widely believed to have contributed to his loss. After 12 years of varying media attention, both houses of the United States Congress held separate inquiries and concluded that credible evidence supporting the allegation was absent or insufficient. Nevertheless, several individuals—most notably, former Iranian President Abulhassan Banisadr, former Lieutenant Governor of Texas Ben Barnes, former naval intelligence officer and U.S. National Security Council member Gary Sick, and Barbara Honegger, a former campaign staffer and White House a ...
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Isfahan
Isfahan or Esfahan ( ) is a city in the Central District (Isfahan County), Central District of Isfahan County, Isfahan province, Iran. It is the capital of the province, the county, and the district. It is located south of Tehran. The city has a population of approximately 2,220,000, making it the third-most populous city in Iran, after Tehran and Mashhad, and the second-largest metropolitan area. Isfahan is located at the intersection of the two principal routes that traverse Iran, north–south and east–west. Isfahan flourished between the 9th and 18th centuries. Under the Safavid Iran, Safavid Empire, Isfahan became the capital of Iran, for the second time in its history, under Abbas the Great. It is known for its Persian architecture, Persian–Islamic architecture, Muslim architecture, grand boulevards, covered bridges, palaces, tiled mosques, and minarets. Isfahan also has many historical buildings, monuments, paintings, and artifacts. The fame of Isfahan led to the ...
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Reza Shah
Reza Shah Pahlavi born Reza Khan (15 March 1878 – 26 July 1944) was shah of Iran from 1925 to 1941 and founder of the roughly 53 years old Pahlavi dynasty. Originally a military officer, he became a politician, serving as minister of war and Prime Minister of Iran, prime minister of Iran, and was elected shah following the deposition of the last monarch of the Qajar dynasty. Reza Shah's reign ended when he was forced to abdicate after the Anglo-Soviet invasion of Iran in 1941. He was succeeded by his eldest son, Mohammad Reza Shah. A moderniser, Reza Shah clashed with the Shia clergy and introduced social, economic, and political reforms during his reign, ultimately laying the foundations of the History of Iran#Late modern period, modern Iranian state. Therefore, he is regarded by many as the founder of modern Iran, until his ouster by the Islamic Revolution. At the age of 14, Reza Khan joined the Persian Cossack Brigade. He rose through the ranks, becoming a brigadier gener ...
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