After the Iranian Revolution, how Khomeini seized absolute power step by step.
The Iranian Revolution was one of the most important political events of the 20th century, overthrowing the pro-Western Pahlavi dynasty and establishing a republic based on Islam. The leader of this revolution was a religious leader in his late teens, and his name was Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.
Khomeini had lived in exile in France for a long time before the revolution, and his popularity and influence were key factors in the success of the revolution. However, when he returned to Tehran to the cheers of tens of millions, he was confronted with a complicated political situation. The participants in the Iranian revolution included not only his Islamic students, but also many left-wing groups that had nothing to do with religion. Their expectations and requirements for the new ** are different.
Khomeini's Islamic students, hoping that he would be able to establish a pure Islamic state with theocratic rule. The left-wing groups, on the other hand, hope that he will be able to build a democratic socialist state and implement people's democracy. They all believe that Khomeini is only a symbolic leader and that he should not and does not need to have much actual power. They just want to use his prestige to maintain the stability of the new **.
However, they all underestimated the old man's political wisdom and ambition. In his later years, Khomeini showed a knack for political genius. He used all kinds of means and opportunities to gradually eliminate all political opponents, and finally turned Iran into a theocracy completely subordinate to him. His approach was surprising and shocking.
First of all, he took advantage of the naivety and weakness of the liberals and sacrificed them to get rid of the remnants of the old **. Liberals are those who advocate political reform, but are not opposed to the Pahlavi dynasty. They believe that the problem of the Pahlavi dynasty is that it was controlled by Britain and the United States, not that it lacks real freedom. They hoped that through the revolution, an independent and free state would be established.
Immediately upon his return to Tehran, Khomeini appointed a liberal academic, Bazargan, as Iran's interim prime minister. This may seem like a compromise option, but it's actually a trap. Khomeini knows that liberals do not have their own foundation and backing, they are just a group of idealists, and the free state they want to build does not exist. They are just his pawns, to be used against the remnants of the old **.
Khomeini's first step was to call for the establishment of a revolutionary court to try those who had committed treason and dereliction of duty during the Pahlavi dynasty. Most of these people are fellow liberals, who have served as high-ranking ** or influential figures. They are the supporters and backing of liberals.
Bazargan did not oppose Khomeini's demands, as he also believed that these people were to blame for Iran's plight, and public opinion did not allow him to refuse. However, he did not expect that the Revolutionary Court was an institution completely controlled by Khomeini, and its judges were all Islamic clerics personally selected by Khomeini. They will not be judged fairly, but will be executed quickly. In the first year after the revolution, hundreds of former *** were guillotined, including former prime ministers, former *** commanders, and former air force commanders.
In this way, the power of the liberals is weakened, and they lose their allies and support. And Bazargan, who was also used by Khomeini, became the one who liquidated the old **. Khomeini manipulated everything behind his back, allowing the liberals to destroy themselves.
Next, he exploited the arrogance and stupidity of the United States, treating them as enemies, in order to stir up nationalist sentiments among the Iranian people. The United States is the biggest supporter of liberalism and the biggest ally of the Pahlavi dynasty. They had supported the 1953 coup d'état, which overthrew the democratically elected Prime Minister Mousaddiq and restored the Pahlavi dynasty. They also once supported the modernization reforms of the Pahlavi dynasty in an attempt to turn Iran into a pro-Western state.
In November 1979, Khomeini declared the United States an "enemy of Islam" and called on the Iranian people to demonstrate against the United States and Israel. At this time, the Iranian people still maintained their revolutionary zeal, and they had a deep hatred for the United States and the Pahlavi dynasty. Under the command of Ayatollah Khomeini, they stormed the US embassy and took 52 American hostages, which became known as the "Iranian hostage crisis".
Bazargan was shocked and horrified, knowing that doing so would sever Iran's ties with the United States and the Western world once and for all, and that the last liberals he represented would become scapegoats for the crisis. The day after the crisis, he resigned with his cabinet members.
Bazargan's resignation saved his life, but it also made him lose his political influence. Khomeini did not hold him accountable again because he was no longer useful. Khomeini used the United States to cut liberals off from the outside world, while also galvanizing nationalist sentiments among the Iranian people and embracing his theocracy.