The Shah's attempt to preempt rural revolution would ironically create the conditions for an urban revolution that would end his rule and install Khomeini as Supreme Leader. The opposition united against the Shah was divided on much else. By 1979, the Shah had brutally repressed the left. After mass protests ousted the Shah, a period of uncertainty and openness followed under the provisional Islamic revolutionary government.
Featuring Eskandar Sadeghi-Boroujerdi and Golnar Nikpour on the history of modern Iran. This is the third episode in our four-part series. We pick up in the wake of the US-British 1953 coup against Mossadegh, assess the Shah's repression and attempts to manufacture consent through passive revolution, and then close by laying out the 1979 Islamic Revolution in all of its wild complexity.
If you love The Dig, support the podcast at Patreon.com/TheDig
Check out our newsletter and archives at thedigradio.com