Iran marks 37 years since the Islamic Revolution

[webfact]

Iran marks 37 years since the Islamic Revolution



37 years since Iran’s Islamic revolution
Thousands rally across the country
Ceremonies also held around the world

TEHRAN: -- Iranians have begun nationwide celebrations to commemorate the 37th anniversary of the 1979 Islamic revolution.

State television has aired footage of rallies in Tehran, as well as other cities and towns across the country.

Demonstrators chanted traditional slogans against the US and Israel. Some streets are decorated with anti-US and anti-Israeli banners and posters.

Some dressed as a group of US sailors arrested by Iran in the Persian Gulf in mid-January.

President Hassan Rouhani spoke to the crowds gathered in the capital’s Azadi Square.

“We have the ability to assert ourselves in the field of diplomacy,” he said, “ and a have logical dialogue facing the international community.”

“We could erase all the cruel resolutions of the UN Security Council against the Iranian people.”

President Rouhani also urged the crowd to turn out and vote in elections for parliament and Iran’s Consitutional Council.

They are due to be held on February the 26th.

Around the world

News agencies say ceremonies have also been held in Jordan, Lebanon, London, Pakistan and Indonesia.

The context

The rallies commemorate February the 11th, 1979, when followers of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini ousted the US-backed Shah Reza Pahlavi.

A 1953 coup overthrew Iran’s popular prime minister, Mohammed Mossadegh, and brought Pahlavi to power.

Iran: timeline to revolution

1953 – coup returns Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi to power
1953 to 1978 – Shah’s policy of modernisation (the ‘White Revolution’) alienates clergy and opposition
1979 (January) – Shah forced into exile.
1979 (February) – Ayatollah Khomeini returns following 14 years exile in Iraq and France
1979 (April) – Islamic Republic of Iran is proclaimed
1979 (November) – Islamic militants hold 52 US citizens hostage in the US embassy in Tehran. They demand the Shah be extradited from the US where he is having medical treatment
1980 (January) – Iran’s new government embarks on programme of nationlisation
1980 (July) – the exiled Shah dies in Egypt

-- (c) Copyright Euronews 2016-02-12

[NeilSA1]

"Demonstrators chanted traditional slogans against the US and Israel. Some streets are decorated with anti-US and anti-Israeli banners and posters."

What hypocrites. They will always perpetuate bitterness and will never ​be satisfied with their life.
​

[ourmanflint]

Celebrating when the sh8t hit the fan for the worlds Muslims seems daft to me, but what do I know. Everything goes back to the Ayatollah!

[Jingthing]

"Demonstrators chanted traditional slogans against the US and Israel. Some streets are decorated with anti-US and anti-Israeli banners and posters."

What hypocrites. They will always perpetuate bitterness and will never ​be satisfied with their life.

​

Traditional slogans?

That's funny.

So it's like drinking egg nog at Christmas, is it? Traditional.

[RuamRudy]

"Demonstrators chanted traditional slogans against the US and Israel. Some streets are decorated with anti-US and anti-Israeli banners and posters."

What hypocrites. They will always perpetuate bitterness and will never ​be satisfied with their life.

​

I guess that they still feel somewhat irked about the US/UK orchestrated coup which saw their democratically elected leader overthrown and a brutal puppet dictator imposed upon them, so that we in the west could continue to exploit their oil.

[RuamRudy]

Celebrating when the sh8t hit the fan for the worlds Muslims seems daft to me, but what do I know. Everything goes back to the Ayatollah!

The problem goes back to before the Ayatollah - and the responsibility for the decades of hurt caused lies much further west.

[RuamRudy]

"Demonstrators chanted traditional slogans against the US and Israel. Some streets are decorated with anti-US and anti-Israeli banners and posters."

What hypocrites. They will always perpetuate bitterness and will never ​be satisfied with their life.

​

Traditional slogans?

That's funny.

So it's like drinking egg nog at Christmas, is it? Traditional.

Maybe more like how the Western allies sang songs which reviled the nazis, the Iranians recall the western orchestrated coup which destroyed democracy in their country in the pursuit of cheap oil.

[Stargeezr]

I liked Iran way better in the 70,s as the country was a lot more colorful.

People especially the women and young girls used to wear colorful clothes

and smile a lot more, or at least their faces were visible to see the smiles.

Today I see groups with a lot of black, and covered faces, what a shame.

I also seen a change in the Iranian mens attitudes. I think they have become

macho and hard to be around,especially if you happen to be a woman visiting

the country. Shameful to me, but then I am a Geezer with

a red neck.

[GeorgesAbitbol]

I liked Iran way better in the 70,s as the country was a lot more colorful.

People especially the women and young girls used to wear colorful clothes

and smile a lot more, or at least their faces were visible to see the smiles.

Today I see groups with a lot of black, and covered faces, what a shame.

I also seen a change in the Iranian mens attitudes. I think they have become

macho and hard to be around,especially if you happen to be a woman visiting

the country. Shameful to me, but then I am a Geezer with

a red neck.

A quite famous reporter made one in Iran: "J'irais dormir chez vous" ( I will come sleep at your house)

The concept is simple : he goes in a country and try to get invited for dinner and sleep to people's house.

Most of the Iranian he interwieved asked this question all the time : "why do you think we are terrorist?" or "Is it true you think Iran is a terrorist country?"..it was really sad to see those nice guys asking these many times with a mix of despair and sadness on their face...

[hawker9000]

Wingnuts won't be able to stomach this, but Iran, the ME, and the world were better served by the Shah. 'No less oppressive, no less brutal, no less destabilizing and certainly far more a danger to world peace now than then.

[RuamRudy]

Wingnuts won't be able to stomach this, but Iran, the ME, and the world were better served by the Shah. 'No less oppressive, no less brutal, no less destabilizing and certainly far more a danger to world peace now than then.

Why is democracy allowed in the US and UK but not allowed for Iranians? Oh yes, because oil.

[SgtRock]

RuamRudy, on 13 Feb 2016 - 19:09, said:

hawker9000, on 13 Feb 2016 - 16:50, said:

Wingnuts won't be able to stomach this, but Iran, the ME, and the world were better served by the Shah. 'No less oppressive, no less brutal, no less destabilizing and certainly far more a danger to world peace now than then.

Why is democracy allowed in the US and UK but not allowed for Iranians? Oh yes, because oil.

Have the UK and US just been pretending for decades that they have oil

Or did you mean something different ?

[RuamRudy]

RuamRudy, on 13 Feb 2016 - 19:09, said:

hawker9000, on 13 Feb 2016 - 16:50, said:

Wingnuts won't be able to stomach this, but Iran, the ME, and the world were better served by the Shah. 'No less oppressive, no less brutal, no less destabilizing and certainly far more a danger to world peace now than then.

Why is democracy allowed in the US and UK but not allowed for Iranians? Oh yes, because oil.

Have the UK and US just been pretending for decades that they have oil

Or did you mean something different ?

I meant that the free West decided that they did not like democracy in other countries when those countries exercised their democratic mandate.

Google Operation Ajax if you need a primer on how the UK and US fermented the coup in Iran that overthrew the democratically elected Prime Minister because he was not seen to be running his country in the best interests of British Petroleum.

[chuckd]

I was there for the last five years of the Shah's regime.

Living in Iran turned very unpleasant when the Ayatollah returned from exile.

The Shah was the best thing to happen to the Iranian people.

[RuamRudy]

I was there for the last five years of the Shah's regime.

Living in Iran turned very unpleasant when the Ayatollah returned from exile.

The Shah was the best thing to happen to the Iranian people.

Has there been any revolution that ended in peace and harmony?

If the freedom loving West never imposed a dictatorship on a democratic, sovereign state for their own self interests, maybe things would never have turned sour.

[tomacht8]

A sad story of a country.
When the Shah was in power, not everything was certainly good, but women were free to move.
They were allowed to drive a car and were able to study. And in Baghdad many pretty women were seen.
After its Islamic revolution, the country has fallen into the Stone Age.
Religion police everywhere.
When a lock of hair of a woman can be seen, then they get lashes with a wooden club.
Women can not travel to other countries without the written consent of her husband.
The spying and control by the revolutionary Guards permeates the entire society.
Many people live there in fear.
A state I do not want to live in, even if they would offer me 100 Millions Dollars.

[donnybay]

They think they are right in what they do, so do we.

Who is right?

The human race has advanced so much in the last 100 years, but they want to take us back 2000 years.

Its really a crying shame, because all in the world could be so good, medical, technology, space exploration, compassion has all gone leaps and bounds in the last 100 years making it better for all of us

[RuamRudy]

They think they are right in what they do, so do we.

Who is right?

The human race has advanced so much in the last 100 years, but they want to take us back 2000 years.

Its really a crying shame, because all in the world could be so good, medical, technology, space exploration, compassion has all gone leaps and bounds in the last 100 years making it better for all of us

While I don't disagree with your general sentiment, and there is no doubt that Iranian governments of the past 37 years have their fair share of innocent blood on their hands (much like the governments of the western countries we TV posters mostly hail from), it is a mistake to conflate the Iranian outlook with those of their Arab neighbours. Iranians are not Arabs and are mainly Shia.

[DaddyWarbucks]

"Demonstrators chanted traditional slogans against the US and Israel. Some streets are decorated with anti-US and anti-Israeli banners and posters."

What hypocrites. They will always perpetuate bitterness and will never ​be satisfied with their life.

​

I guess that they still feel somewhat irked about the US/UK orchestrated coup which saw their democratically elected leader overthrown and a brutal puppet dictator imposed upon them, so that we in the west could continue to exploit their oil.

Iran isn't my idea of a retirement location, nor anywhere else with religious fundamentalist whackos. However it is true, US manipulations saw them end up where they are, without the US interference perhaps the extremists would never have gotten any traction against a common enemy. And how many other countries have they done it to?

Exactly.

American foreign policy provoked the Iranian Revolution of 1978.

Travelling through the country in 1976 I saw the "new city" of Shahin Shahr being built outside of Isfahan. It was designed to house 300,000 American defense industry workers and their dependents.

American involvement in the greater Middle East has been an ongoing disaster with no end in sight.

[Jingthing]

The Shah, as bad as he was, and he was very bad, was not as bad as what replaced him.

That's the general Middle Eastern pattern/cycle ... strong men who aren't religious nutcases vs. Islamic fundamentalist extremism.

Like it or not, and there's not much to like either way.

Edited February 14, 2016 by Jingthing

[DaddyWarbucks]

The Shah, as bad as he was, and he was very bad, was not as bad as what replaced him.

That's the general Middle Eastern pattern/cycle ... strong men who aren't religious nutcases vs. Islamic fundamentalist extremism.

Like it or not, and there's not much to like either way.

True enough.

The whole region is a quagmire for any country that gets involved militarily or otherwise.

[chuckd]

Iran isn't my idea of a retirement location, nor anywhere else with religious fundamentalist whackos. However it is true, US manipulations saw them end up where they are, without the US interference perhaps the extremists would never have gotten any traction against a common enemy. And how many other countries have they done it to?

Exactly.

American foreign policy provoked the Iranian Revolution of 1978.

Travelling through the country in 1976 I saw the "new city" of Shahin Shahr being built outside of Isfahan. It was designed to house 300,000 American defense industry workers and their dependents.

American involvement in the greater Middle East has been an ongoing disaster with no end in sight.

There were never any plans to house 300,000 Americans in Shahin Shahr. You missed it by at least two zeros.

[DaddyWarbucks]

Iran isn't my idea of a retirement location, nor anywhere else with religious fundamentalist whackos. However it is true, US manipulations saw them end up where they are, without the US interference perhaps the extremists would never have gotten any traction against a common enemy. And how many other countries have they done it to?

Exactly.

American foreign policy provoked the Iranian Revolution of 1978.

Travelling through the country in 1976 I saw the "new city" of Shahin Shahr being built outside of Isfahan. It was designed to house 300,000 American defense industry workers and their dependents.

American involvement in the greater Middle East has been an ongoing disaster with no end in sight.

There were never any plans to house 300,000 Americans in Shahin Shahr. You missed it by at least two zeros.

The projected housing capacity for Americans at Shahin Shahr is well documented.

www.coldwarstudies.com/2013/09/23/cold-war-iran-isfahan-and-the-military-industrial-complex-in-the-1970s

That is only one of many sources.

Perhaps you could provide some credible evidence to refute it.

[RuamRudy]

The Shah, as bad as he was, and he was very bad, was not as bad as what replaced him.

That's the general Middle Eastern pattern/cycle ... strong men who aren't religious nutcases vs. Islamic fundamentalist extremism.

Like it or not, and there's not much to like either way.

If only he had never been installed in the first place, the world might be a much better place now. But sadly western corporations still call the shots.

[DaddyWarbucks]

The Shah, as bad as he was, and he was very bad, was not as bad as what replaced him.

That's the general Middle Eastern pattern/cycle ... strong men who aren't religious nutcases vs. Islamic fundamentalist extremism.

Like it or not, and there's not much to like either way.

If only he had never been installed in the first place, the world might be a much better place now. But sadly western corporations still call the shots.

He was an American stooge from day one.

Those who glorify his despicable regime most often have an agenda... and it usually begins with a capital "Z".

[chuckd]

Iran isn't my idea of a retirement location, nor anywhere else with religious fundamentalist whackos. However it is true, US manipulations saw them end up where they are, without the US interference perhaps the extremists would never have gotten any traction against a common enemy. And how many other countries have they done it to?

Exactly.

American foreign policy provoked the Iranian Revolution of 1978.

Travelling through the country in 1976 I saw the "new city" of Shahin Shahr being built outside of Isfahan. It was designed to house 300,000 American defense industry workers and their dependents.

American involvement in the greater Middle East has been an ongoing disaster with no end in sight.

There were never any plans to house 300,000 Americans in Shahin Shahr. You missed it by at least two zeros.

The projected housing capacity for Americans at Shahin Shahr is well documented.

www.coldwarstudies.com/2013/09/23/cold-war-iran-isfahan-and-the-military-industrial-complex-in-the-1970s

That is only one of many sources.

Perhaps you could provide some credible evidence to refute it.

Your own link refutes your claim that Shahin Shahr (we called it Eagle City) was built to hold 300,000 Americans and their dependents, as you claim.

Your link says this about the capacity:

Built on rich agricultural land and on a much larger scale, the “new city” of Shahin Shahr was billed in the press as “the world’s largest-ever private real estate development.” Moreover, whether serving the needs of the Americans or Iranians, the town was a break with tradition. Designed to house 300,000 residents, it was to include no major industry, thus destroying the traditional Iranian integration of work and home. Importantly, in stark contrast to the major (Russian) industrial town of Aryashahr, also in metropolitan Isfahan, the housing of American workers in both developments focused a great deal of attention on the foreign community.

​Bell was the largest American contractor in Iran and the most we ever had was around 4,500 employees including Isfahan, Tehran and Kermanshah. Grumman had sold the F-14 to the IIAF but their contingent was not very large...certainly not enough to make up 300,000 employees and dependents even with both co-production facilities up and running, which never happened.

Shahin Shahr was built to hold 300,000 residents of any and all nationalities not just Americans. Your link verifies that.

[chuckd]

The Shah, as bad as he was, and he was very bad, was not as bad as what replaced him.

That's the general Middle Eastern pattern/cycle ... strong men who aren't religious nutcases vs. Islamic fundamentalist extremism.

Like it or not, and there's not much to like either way.

If only he had never been installed in the first place, the world might be a much better place now. But sadly western corporations still call the shots.

He was an American stooge from day one.

Those who glorify his despicable regime most often have an agenda... and it usually begins with a capital "Z".

What is your agenda?

[Johpa]

And it has been about the same amount of time since the "Reagan" revolution in the US. During the intervening years the US and Iran have mirrored each other. The US ruled by a distant elite wearing power suits that must seem to the average Iranian as strange as the clothing worn by the Iranian elite of the mullahs appears to the average American.