The 1979 Iranian Revolution: Why the Western Narrative is Wrong

The Iranian Revolution of 1979 involved much more than a fundamentalist Islamic cleric returning from exile and stirring up a population to take an American embassy hostage. Yet, colloquial American narratives of the revolution tend to gloss over its uniqueness and complexity, often focusing solely on Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeinis rise to power and his sermons laced with anti-Western rhetoric. Furthermore, the same narratives tend to place the American embassy hostage crisis of 1979 to 1981 at the center of the revolution even though it took place nine months after the revolution achieved its goal of deposing the shah. While there is ample evidence to support that Khomeini and his radical inner circle were vehemently anti-American, the main causes of and reasons for the revolution among most Iranians had little to do with the United States or other Western powers. At its core, the Iranian Revolution was not a revolt against the United States and the West. Rather, it was a revolt against an unchecked despotic monarch who lived in excess while many of his people starved. Internal, domestic issues precipitated by the Pahlavi regime ultimately led to a diverse group of Iranians demanding revolution. When dealing with the Islamic Republic of Iran, modern American policy makers and military leaders must first understand the true reasons for the popular revolt against the shah- and how an Islamic theocracy came into being- if relations are ever to normalize between the two nations.