Imperialism: From the West to the Middle East

Cultural imperialism has been apparent in Iran from the start of the Arab Empire in the 7th century. The official language of Iran is Farsi, an Indo-European mix. It embraces a modified version of the Arabic alphabet and is the only nation that uses the Islamic solar calendar, which begins with the year of the Prophet Muhammad’s travel to Medina.

In the past century, the West has- on more than one occasion- tried to force cultural imperialism for economic reasons related to the oil industry. These efforts have subsequently backfired.

Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi

In 1941 Mohammad Reza Pahlavi became shah- ruling monarch- of Iran, expanding Iran’s pro-Western policies. In 1951, headed by Prime Minister Mohammed Mossadegh, parliament passed a bill that nationalized the oil industry, angering Western companies and governments.

This presented an opportunity for Western imperialism. Headed by Dr. Donald N. Wilber, a CIA spy and architectural expert, a plan was conceived to assist in a coup of the Iranian government.

In 1953, Mossadgh led anti-monarchy protests causing the shah to leave Iran. Pro-shah forces backed by the CIA and British agencies successfully led a coup, which resulted in the return of the shah and takeover of Mossadegh.

This was seen as the first successful overthrow of a foreign government in modern day.

By placing the shah back into power, the U.S. and Britain held close relations with Iran and subsequently, the oil industry.

The coup was a significant milestone in Iranian history and was the flame that ignited the Iranian Revolution of 1979.

In 1963, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, a supreme religious leader of Iran’s Shiite community denounced the shah and was consequently forced into exile in 1964. The shah was noted to rule the nation “with an iron hand for 26 more years” which created civilian unrest and suppression until the Revolution.

When protestors took over Tehran and other parts of Iran in 1978, the shah left, letting Khomeini return. In doing so, Khomeini declared Iran the Islamic Republic of Iran on April 1, 1979.

The attempted imperialism of Iran in the coup of 1953 backfired, leaving the Islamic Republic of Iran in continual Western disgust. Khomeini supported attacks against the U.S. merely because of the involvement in the coup.

It is recognized now by the former U.S. Secretary of State, Madeleine Albright that the U.S. involvement in the coup was“ clearly a setback for Iran's political development. And it is easy to see now why many Iranians continue to resent this intervention by America in their internal affairs."


To view a full timeline of the past seven decades, click on this Los Angeles Times article.