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Constitutional revolution
The exct dates of the constitutional revolution are unclear, but the first protests took place in December of 1905, and the constitution was signed by Mozaffar ad-Din Shah on December 31, 1906. The constitutional revolution created parliament, and elections were held in the fall of 1906. The newly created parliament (called the Majles) created the new constitution, which limited the power of the Monarchy. However, the Shah's son did not like the new constitution, and the country became devided -
Reza Khan rises to power
In 1921, Reza Khan led a coup which overthrew the Qajar dynasty . Reza Khan later changed his name to Reza Shah Pahlavi. -
Reza Shah Pahlavi rises to power
In 1925, Reza Khan was proclaimed Shah, and changed his name to Reza Shah Pahlavi. Reza Shah made many political, social, and economic reforms which ultimately led to the foundation of the modern Iranian state. -
Anglo-Soviet invasion of Iran
In 1941, during World War II, Soviet, British, and other Commonwealth forces invaded Iran. The objective of the invasion was to secure the Iranian oil fields and ensure the Allied supply line. Although Iran was official neutral during World War II, Reza Shah Pahlavi was friendly to the Axis powers. During the invasion, Reza Shah abdicated to his son, Mohammed Reza Pahlavi. -
Reza Shah Pahlavi abdicates
The Allied invasion of Iran was a humiliation to Reza Shah Pahlavi. Brittain was not in favour of Reza Shah Pahlavi because he overthrew the Qajar dynasty, and the Qajar dynasty served British interests. When Iran was invaded, the British insisted that Reza Shah Pahlavi abdicate to his son, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. -
Iran Nationalizes oil industry
The parliament led by Mohammed Mosadeq voted to nationalize the oil industry in Iran. Prior to this legislation, the Anglo Iranian Oil Company (later renamed to BP) had a monopoly on Iranian oil. -
Operation Ajax
Operation Ajax was a coup that was orchestrated by the CIA, and backed by the British. The coup resulted in the overthrow of the Iran's democratically elected Prime Minister, Mohammad Mosaddeq. -
White Revolution
The White revolution was a series of reforms in Iran that were launched by Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. These reforms were designed to strengthen those classes that supported the traditional system The White Revolution was advertised as a step towards westernization, but it also served as a way to legitimize the Pahlavi dynasty. -
Iranian Revolution
The Iranian Revolution was an uprising by the people of Iran. The revolution resulted in the overthrow of the Pahlavi dynasty under Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi, who was supported by the United States. The Pahlavi dynasty was eventually replaced by the leadership of the Grand Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, in the new Islamic Republic. -
Iranian Hostage Crisis
The Iranian Hostage crisis was a political crisis between Iran and the United States. It started when a group of Iranian students took controll of the US embassy in Tehran. 66 American diplomats were held hostage for 444 days. -
Iraq invades Iran
The Iran Iraq war started in 1980 when Iraq invaded Iran in the air and on land. Iraq tried to take advantage of the fact that Iran was week because they just had the revolution. After two years of war, Iran was on the offensive, taking much Iraqi territory. In the end, the war was concluded with UNSC resolution 598, and the borders were reset to the way they were before the war. -
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Iran-Iraq War
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Iran-Iraq War ends
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Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini dies
Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini died in 1989 after suffering five heart attacks in 10 days, as well as intestinal and prostate cancer. Ever since his death, politics in the Islamic Republic of Iran has largely been defined by trying to fulfil his ideology. -
Mohammad Khatami elected president
Khatami was the fifth person to serve as President of the Islamic Republic of Iran. During his time as president, he ran on a platform of liberalization and reform. Khatami advocated for freedom of expression, tolerence, and civil society. Khatami also advocated an economic policy that supported a free market and foreign investment. -
Student protests
The student protests of 1999 were triggered by the closing of a reformist newspaper, Salam. After the demonstrations, a student dormatory was raided by police, and a student was killed in the raid, as well as 200 others injured. These protests demonstrate the underlying struggle to posess freedom of assembly, freedom of expression, and freedom of press. -
Ahmadinejad elected president
Ahmadinehad was a controversial figure in Iran both domestically, and internationally. He was criticized in Iran for his economic policies and aleged disregard for human rights. Internationally, he was criticized for his hostility toward other countries, most notably Saudi Arabia, Israel, the UK and the US. Ahmadinehad was heavily criticized in the western world, for his suport of Iran's nuclear program. -
Ahmadinejad re-elected
The Iranian election in 2009 was particularly controversial. There were aleged irregularities within the results of the vote, and these irregularities triggered the Iranian Green Movement. Local citezens and Iranians living outside Iran protested the result of the election. Ahmadinejad's political opponent, Mir-Hossein Mousavi, accused the Interior Ministry of election fraud and urged his supporters to engage in peaceful protest. He lobbied the Guardian Council for more transparent elections. -
Hassan Rouhani elected president
While campaigning for president, Rouhani basically said that he would fix everything that Ahmadinejad screwed up. He said that he would prepare a civil rights charter, restor the economy, and improve relations with western nations. Rouhani's economic policy focuses on long term economic development. He has kept a policy of not publically adressing human rights issues.
