The Carter Administration and the Fall of Iran’s Pahlavi Dynasty : US-Iran Relations on the Brink of the 1979 Revolution

This book is a tale of loss: the loss of Iran as America's main ally and agent in the Middle East and the downfall of the short-lived Pahlavi monarchy and America's inability and unwillingness to prevent its demise. Khomeini's triumph altered America's perception of Islam and fundamentally changed its relationship with Iran.-- Provided by publisher During the first two years of Carter's presidency, Iran entered a spiral of violence and unrest that ended with the exile of the Shah and the establishment of an Islamic Republic. The Iranian revolution was first neglected by American diplomats and intelligence officials. When Carter finally became aware of the extent of the disturbances in Iran, he refused to explicitly back the iron fist policy sought by the Shah. The Iranian monarch was unwilling to decisively tackle the protests without Carter's blessing and thus he proceeded with a failed policy that mixed concessions with repression, which only served to postpone the inevitable. This book looks at recent declassified documents from several archival resources that provide an unprecedented picture of the Carter administration's uneasiness regarding the Shah's Iran. Gil Guerrero analyzes the disputes between Washington and Tehran concerning human rights and arms exports, the divisions inside the White House, and the Shah's uncertainty regarding Carter's support. The sources gathered all point to a late process of political liberalization encouraged by American officials that only served to weaken the Shah's authority while emboldening the opposition, in the words of Ayatollah Khomeini, to 'seize the moment." They offer an unprecedented picture of the forces that enabled Khomeini's triumph, altered America's perception of Islam, and fundamentally changed the United States' relationship with Iran Cover 1 Half-Title 2 Title 4 Copyright 5 Dedication 6 Contents 8 List of Tables 10 Abbreviations Used in Citations 12 American, British, and Iranian Actors 14 Introduction 18 Acknowledgments 28 1 Between Idealism and Realism: Carter’s Foreign Policy 29 2 A Failed Atatürk: The Shah and Iran in 1977 41 3 Human Rights and Arms Exports 58 4 Weeping and Toasting 75 5 Khomeini’s Shadow 85 6 The Match and the Wood: The Road to Revolution 97 7 The Revolution 120 8 Losing the Initiative: The Paralysis in Washington and Tehran 137 9 Thinking the Unthinkable 157 10 End of an Era: The Triumph of the Revolution 183 Epilogue 213 Notes 223 Sources and Bibliography 269 Index 276 Front Matter....Pages i-xxvii Between Idealism and Realism: Carter’s Foreign Policy....Pages 1-12 A Failed Atatürk: The Shah and Iran in 1977....Pages 13-29 Human Rights and Arms Exports....Pages 31-47 Weeping and Toasting....Pages 49-58 Khomeini’s Shadow....Pages 59-70 The Match and the Wood: The Road to Revolution....Pages 71-93 The Revolution....Pages 95-111 Losing the Initiative: The Paralysis in Washington and Tehran....Pages 113-132 Thinking the Unthinkable....Pages 133-158 End of an Era: The Triumph of the Revolution....Pages 159-188 Epilogue....Pages 189-198 Back Matter....Pages 199-264