[41] As a student, Mohammad Reza played competitive football, but the school records indicate that his principal problem as a football player was his "timidity" as the Crown Prince was afraid to take risks. Tired of the opportunistic policies of both Britain and the Soviet Union, the Shah circumscribed contacts with foreign embassies. This was due to the oil crises of the 1970s which increased inflation resulting in economic austerity measures which made lower class workers more inclined to protest. Juli 1944 in Johannesburg, Südafrika) war von 1925 bis 1941 Schah von Iran. [145], In 1963, Mohammad Reza launched the White Revolution, a series of far-reaching reforms, which caused much opposition from the religious scholars. To do so, we divide them into two categories: those who believe in Monarchy, the constitution and the Six Bahman Revolution and those who don't ... A person who does not enter the new political party and does not believe in the three cardinal principles will have only two choices. "[189], With Iran's great oil wealth, the Shah became the preeminent leader of the Middle East, and self-styled "Guardian" of the Persian Gulf. At the Federation of American Scientists, John Pike writes: In 1978 the deepening opposition to the Shah erupted in widespread demonstrations and rioting. Mohammad Reza shared the Empress's sentiments as Westerners came begging to his court looking for his largesse, leading him to remark in 1976: Now we are the masters and our former masters are our slaves. The Shah, a fervent nationalist, responded "Iran is Iran." In the words of a U.S. Embassy dispatch: "The Shah's picture is everywhere. [75] In June 1946, Mohammad Reza was relieved when the Red Army pulled out of Iran. [139] From Kermit Roosevelt, Mohammad Reza learned that Bakhtiar, during his trip to Washington, had asked the Americans to support a coup he was planning, which greatly increased the Shah's fears about Kennedy. [173] In June 1965, after the Americans proved reluctant to sell Mohammad Reza some of the weapons he asked for, the Shah visited Moscow, where the Soviets agreed to sell some $110 million worth of weaponry; the threat of Iran pursuing the "Soviet option" caused the Americans to resume selling Iran weapons. [238] The fact that the BBC's journalists tended to be very sympathetic towards the revolution was viewed by most Iranians, including Mohammad Reza, as a sign that Britain was supporting the revolution. [89] He became totally dependent on his military force and the army, which in return regularly received up to 50 percent of the public revenue to guarantee its loyalty. This led him to ask for vastly increased American military aid, saying his country was a front-line state in the Cold War that needed as much military power as possible. [241] Milani wrote that Mohamad Reza's view of the revolution as a gigantic conspiracy organised by foreign powers suggested that there was nothing wrong with Iran, and the millions of people demonstrating against him were just dupes being used by foreigners, a viewpoint that did not encourage concessions and reforms until it was too late. [200], Because the House of Pahlavi were a parvenu house as Reza Khan had begun his career as a private in the Persian Army, rising up to the rank of general, taking power in a coup d'état in 1921, and making himself Shah in 1925, Mohammad Reza was keen to gain the approval of the older royal families of the world, and was prepared to spend large sums of money to gain that social acceptance.[201]. Reza Khan, later Reza Shah Pahlavi, was born in the Caspian province of Mazandaran. [150], According to Vladimir Kuzichkin, a former KGB officer who defected to MI-6, the Soviet Union also targeted the Shah. [30] The result of his upbringing between a loving, if possessive and superstitious mother and an overbearing martinet father was to make Mohammad Reza in the words of Zonis "a young man of low self-esteem who masked his lack of self-confidence, his indecisiveness, his passivity, his dependency and his shyness with masculine bravado, impulsiveness, and arrogance", making him into a person of marked contradictions as the Crown Prince was "both gentle and cruel, withdrawn and active, dependent and assertive, weak and powerful". It also happens when a country attempts to rewrite their history. "[90], In August 1941, the Allied powers the United Kingdom and the Soviet Union invaded and occupied neutral Iran by a massive air, land, and naval assault without a declaration of war. On his way back to the palace, the streets filled with people welcoming the new Shah jubilantly, seemingly more enthusiastic than the Allies would have liked. [148], The second attempt on the Shah's life occurred on 10 April 1965. In 1951, Mohammad Mosaddegh was appointed prime minister. [300] On 28 March 1980, Mohammad Reza's French and American doctors finally performed an operation meant to have been performed in the fall of 1979. Many Iranian commanders behaved incompetently, others secretly sympathized with the British and sabotaged Iranian resistance. [337], In a 1974 interview which was shown in a documentary titled Crisis in Iran, Mohammad Reza told Mike Wallace that the rumours of corruption were "the most unjust thing that I have heard," calling them a "cheap accusation" whilst arguing the allegations were not as serious as those regarding other governments, including that of the United States. [51], He forbade photographing aspects of Iran he considered backwards such as camels, and he banned clerical dress and chadors in favor of Western dress. On 1 May 1974, French Professor Georges Flandrin flew into Tehran to treat the Shah. 21–29, in: Grigor, Tallinn "Preserving the Antique Modern: Persepolis '71", pp. Reza Shah Pahlavi. Article IV of the Russo-Persian Treaty of Friendship allowed the Soviets to invade and occupy Persia, should they believe foreign troops were using it as a staging area for an invasion of Soviet territory. [86][90] The Tudeh were nonetheless blamed and persecuted. General Omar Torrijos, the dictator of Panama kept Mohammad Reza as a virtual prisoner at the Paitilla Medical Center, a hospital condemned by the former Shah's American doctors as "an inadequate and poorly staffed hospital", and in order to hasten his death allowed only Panamanian doctors to treat his cancer. Reza Shah's main critics were the so-called "new intelligensia", often educated in Europe, for whom the Shah "was not a state-builder[99] but an 'oriental despot' ... not a reformer but a plutocrat strengthening the landed upper class; not a real nationalist but a jack-booted Cossack trained by the Tsarists and brought to power by British imperialists. Rebuilding Iran's historical sites including, Creation of the Iran's first national bank known as, Creation of the first university in Iran which is known as. U.S. actions further solidified sentiments that the West was a meddlesome influence in Iranian politics. Dilip Hiro, The Iranian Labyrinth: Journeys Through Theocratic Iran and Its Furies, Nation Books, 2005, p. 91. In twenty years' time we shall be ahead of the United States". The Anglo-Soviet invasion was instigated in response to Reza for having denied the request to remove the German residents, who could threaten the Abadan refinery. 1 2 3 . During his 38-year rule, Iran spent billions on industry, education, health, and armed forces and enjoyed economic growth rates exceeding the United States, England, and France. Reza Shah stalled on the last demand, choosing instead to secretly evacuate German nationals from the country. Mohammad Reza left Iran for Switzerland on 7 September 1931. [67] In 1935, a backlash erupted in the Mashed shrine. Roosevelt gave Zahedi US$900,000 left from Operation Ajax funds.[109]. "[54], Reza Shah discredited and eliminated a number of his ministers. [248] In late December 1978, the Shah learned that many of his generals were making overtures to the revolutionary leaders and the loyalty of the military could not longer be counted upon. [287], On 22 October 1979, President Jimmy Carter reluctantly allowed the Shah into the United States to undergo surgical treatment at the New York Hospital–Cornell Medical Center. In his lifetime Reza Shah was married four times, first to Maryam Khanum (d.1904) with whom he had Hamdam Saltaneh (1903-1992); second to Nimtaj who was titled Taj ol-Moluk (1896-1982) with whom he had Princess Shams (1917-96), Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi (1919-1980), … [225] A July 1978 attempt to deny the rumors of Mohammad Reza's declining health (by publishing a crudely doctored photograph in the newspapers of the Emperor and Empress walking on the beach) instead further damaged the imperial mystique, as most people realised that what appeared to be two beach clogs on either side of the Shah were merely substitutes inserted for his airbrushed aides, who were holding him up as he now had difficulty walking by himself. On 8 June 1932, a British Embassy report states that the British were interested in helping Reza Shah create a centralizing power. Mohammad Reza Pahlavi naît le 26 octobre 1919 à l'hôpital Ahâmadiyeh, dans les quartiers sud de Téhéran, en Iran [2].Fils aîné de Reza Khan, officier cosaque au seuil d'une irrésistible ascension [3], il est le second enfant porté par Nimtaj Khanum, future reine-mère Tadj ol-Molouk (1896-1982), et le frère jumeau de la princesse Ashraf Pahlavi [2]. [328] Reza Shah, facing criticism for his wealth, decided to pass on all of his land and wealth to his eldest son Mohammad Reza in exchange for a sugar cube, known in Iran as habbe kardan. [106] However, in a recent documentary "From Tehran to Cairo," his daughter-in-law, Empress Farah claimed that the remains of the late Reza Shah remain in the town of Ray. [305][306], In his hospital bed, the Shah was asked to describe his feelings for Iran and its people and to define the country. "[122] By this time, the Shah's marriage was under strain as Queen Soraya complained about the power of Mohammad Reza's best friend Ernest Perron, whom she called a "shetun" and a "limping devil". [182], The Shah also used America's dependence on Middle Eastern oil as leverage; although Iran did not participate in the 1973 oil embargo, he purposely increased production in its aftermath to capitalise on the higher prices. Greedy sycophants. Mohammad Reza Pahlavi (Persian: محمدرضا پهلوی‎, pronounced [mohæmˈmæd reˈzɒː pæhlæˈviː]; 26 October 1919 – 27 July 1980),[1] also known as Mohammad Reza Shah (محمدرضا شاه), was the last Shah (King) of Iran from 16 September 1941 until his overthrow in the Iranian Revolution on 11 February 1979. There were several instances where army units had opened fire, the most significant being the events on 8 September 1978. He eventually fired Millspaugh, and prohibited foreigners from administering schools, owning land or traveling in the provinces without police permission. [23] Mohammad Reza's mother, Tadj ol-Molouk, was of Azerbaijani origin, being born in Baku, Russian Empire (now Azerbaijan). He is also said to have preferred punishment to reward in dealing with subordinates or citizens. [282], The Shah suffered from gallstones that would require prompt surgery. The focus was on the Shah's cancerous spleen, grotesquely swollen to 20 times normal. Not a moment passes without my thinking of you and yet the only thing that keeps me happy and satisfied is the thought that you are spending your time in the service of Iran. Mohammad Reza is buried in the Al Rifa'i Mosque in Cairo, a mosque of great symbolic importance. If you please, Your Majesty. [87] The bureaucracy fell apart, since officials preferred sycophancy, when anyone could be whisked away to prison for even the whiff of disobeying his whims. The Shah instituted exams for Islamic theologians to become established clerics. [128] Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev ordered Mohammad Reza assassinated. [citation needed], Support for the Shah came principally from three sources. [228], The Shah-centred command structure of the Iranian military, and the lack of training to confront civil unrest, was marked by disaster and bloodshed. Mohammad Reza used the style His Majesty until his imperial coronation in 1967, ascending to the title of Shahanshah, when he adopted the style His Imperial Majesty. A third factor was his wish to present Iran as a prosperous and powerful nation; this fuelled his domestic policy of Westernisation and reform. [247] On 21 November 1978, the Treasury Secretary of the United States Michael Blumenthal visited Tehran to meet Mohammad Reza and reported back to President Jimmy Carter, "This man is a ghost", as by now the ravages of his cancer could not longer be concealed. 2,500 years of continuous Persian monarchy, people killed by the Shah and his military during the revolution, 2,500 year celebration of the Persian Empire, Jimmy Carter's engagement with Ruhollah Khomeini, Background and causes of the Iranian Revolution, rotating member of the UN Security Council, List of titles and honours of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, Human rights in the Imperial State of Iran, Mediterranean and Middle East theatre of World War II, "Historic Personalities of Iran: Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi", "March, 15, 1976 A.D.: Iran Switches To Imperial Calendar", "Torture still scars Iranians 40 years after revolution", "The Iranian revolution—A timeline of events", "Iran's Black Friday: Massacre of Thousands in 1978", "Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran", "First Party of Iran's 2,500‐Year Celebration", United States Army Center of Military History, "Premier Quits as Iran Speeds Nationalization of Oil Fields", "Message to the Prime Minister of Iran Following the Breakdown of Oil Discussions With Great Britain", "In declassified document, CIA acknowledges role in '53 Iran coup", "Princess Soraya, 69, Shah's Wife Whom He Shed for Lack of Heir", "The 5 Most Precarious US Allies of All Time", America's Mission: The United States and the Worldwide Struggle for Democracy in the Twentieth Century, Opposition to Mohammad Reza Shah's Regime, "Amnesty International Annual Report 1974-1975", "40 Years Ago Richard Nixon Strengthens Persian Ally", Ten Things the US needs to learn from Iran's Islamic Revolution, "Dr. Michael Debakey Describes the Shah's Surgery and Predicts a Long Life for Him", "The death of an emperor – Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi and his political cancer", "Documentary examines medical mistakes that killed Iran's Shah", "A Criminal As The Successor To Khamenei? Marji indicates that her textbooks says that the 'king was chosen by God'. Amongst the royalty that came to Tehran looking for the Shah's generosity were King Hussein of Jordan, the former King Constantine II of Greece, King Hassan II of Morocco, the princes and princesses of the Dutch House of Orange, and the Italian Princess Maria Gabriella of Savoy, whom the Shah had once courted in the 1950s. In a sign of the changed dynamics in Anglo-Iranian relations, the Shah took offence when he was informed he could join Queen Elizabeth II for a dinner at Buckingham Palace that was given in somebody else's honour, insisting successfully he would have dinner with the Queen only when given in his own honour. The couple married in 1922 but divorced in 1923 and together they had a son: Reza Shah's fourth and last wife, Queen Esmat Dowlatshahi (1905–1995), was a Princess of the Qajar dynasty. [163], In the 1970s, Iran had an economic growth rate equal to that of South Korea, Turkey and Taiwan, and Western journalists all regularly predicated that Iran would become a First World nation within the next generation. He returned to Egypt in March 1980, where he received urgent medical treatment, including a splenectomy performed by Michael DeBakey. In 1932 the Shah offended Britain by canceling the agreement under which the Anglo-Persian Oil Company produced and exported Iran's oil. [308], Egyptian President Sadat gave the Shah a state funeral. Mohammad Reza had decided not to tell his Mexican doctors he had cancer, and the Mexican doctors had misdiagnosed his illness as malaria, giving him a regime of anti-malarial drugs that did nothing to treat his cancer, which caused his health to go into rapid decline as he lost 30 pounds (14 kg). Sometimes the thought disturbs me because then, I ask myself, what is my own personality, and am I possessed of free will? During the first period, which lasted from 1925–1932, the country benefited greatly from the contributions of many of the country's best and brightest, to whom should accrue the credit for laying the foundations of modern Iran. Richard H. Ullman. Ettelaat, the nation's largest daily newspaper, and its pro-Shah publisher, Abbas Masudi, were against him, calling the defeat "humiliating". Upon his return to the capital he was appointed Prime Minister, which prompted Ahmad Shah to leave Iran for Europe, where he would remain (at first voluntarily, and later in exile) until his death. Besides the probable obstruction – he now had been deeply jaundiced for six to eight weeks – he was emaciated and suffering from hard tumor nodes in the neck and a swollen spleen, signs that his cancer was worsening, and he had severe anemia and very low white blood counts. 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