Under huge amounts of political pressure, and suffering from cancer, the Shah left Iran on January 16, 1979, and on February 1 Khomeini arrived at the airport in Tehran where an estimated "three million people lined the streets" to welcome the religious leader, DeFronzo continued. Shortly, the Iranian military pledged loyalty to Khomeini The debate over what form of government would replace the Shah's fascist state did not last very

Although they have failed to put an end to Iran's terrorist acts, U.S. sanctions applied to Iran since the revolution of 1979 have influenced Iran considerably. The main tool of foreign policy that the U.S. has used in the case of Iran has been financial pressure, especially through blocking International Monetary Fund and World Bank funding to Iran, which has greatly enhanced the country's debt crisis. Also, the U.S. has

Iran and Islamic Fundamentalism For the past three decades, Iran has developed as an Islamic fundamentalist state that has constantly subdued dissent. While the various leaders have tried to establish secularization of Iran in the recent past, these attempts have always been repressed since they promote dissenting views and liberalize people's lifestyles. The development of Iran as an Islamic fundamentalist state has largely been influenced by Islamic fundamentalism during the Iranian

Thus while Khomeini wanted to establish an Islamic Revolution, the Shia and the Sunni viewed his as a man wanting to attain power through the exploitation of the religious disputes between the two. At the same time however, there were strong religious Shias that considered the Ayatollah as the divine presence on Earth and they obeyed him. Even so, the religious aspect played a major role in the conflicts

Subsequently there is a "...hunger for reforms, for more freedom and accommodation with the west." (Asghar a.) This movement of the progressive youth as well other sectors of the population, such as women, was clearly seen in the 1999 unrest in Iran where mainly university students took to the streets of Tehran in order to express their dissatisfaction with the orthodox regime. There were more than 20,000 students who took part

Iranian Cinema After the Revolution An introduction to Iran: Iran or Persia as it was previously known was founded more than 4,000 years ago and is thus one of the oldest surviving nations of the world. Iran had been primarily ruled by series of dynasties including such illustrious families as the Achaemenids (500-330 B.C.), the Sassanians (A.D. 226-650), and the Safavides (1500-1722). Iranian dynasties have been synonymous with victories and land acquisition