Shah of Shahs

Following his father’s forced abdication by the Allies in 1941, the rule of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi in Iran signified a moment of hope for a new era, free from persecution. However, despite the Shah’s bullish move towards Westernisation and social reform, the self-styled father of the nation enjoyed the riches of the country’s oil wealth and lived like a Western billionaire while the majority of the Iranian people lived in poverty. SAVAK secret police infiltrated everyday life, and those arrested were tortured first and questioned later. No one was above suspicion: friends, neighbours and even family members were all treated as potential informers. With tensions running high, traditionalists increasingly demanded a return to Islamic rule, and this religious fervour combined with anti-Western sentiment to create the perfect revolutionary storm.

Following his father’s forced abdication by the Allies in 1941, the rule of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi in Iran signified a moment of hope for a new era, free from persecution. However, despite the Shah’s bullish move towards Westernisation and social reform, the self-styled father of the nation enjoyed the riches of the country’s oil wealth and lived like a Western billionaire while the majority of the Iranian people lived in poverty. SAVAK secret police infiltrated everyday life, and those arrested were tortured first and questioned later. No one was above suspicion: friends, neighbours and even family members were all treated as potential informers. With tensions running high, traditionalists increasingly demanded a return to Islamic rule, and this religious fervour combined with anti-Western sentiment to create the perfect revolutionary storm.

Following his father’s forced abdication by the Allies in 1941, the rule of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi in Iran signified a moment of hope for a new era, free from persecution. However, despite the Shah’s bullish move towards Westernisation and social reform, the self-styled father of the nation enjoyed the riches of the country’s oil wealth and lived like a Western billionaire while the majority of the Iranian people lived in poverty. SAVAK secret police infiltrated everyday life, and those arrested were tortured first and questioned later. No one was above suspicion: friends, neighbours and even family members were all treated as potential informers. With tensions running high, traditionalists increasingly demanded a return to Islamic rule, and this religious fervour combined with anti-Western sentiment to create the perfect revolutionary storm.

Following his father’s forced abdication by the Allies in 1941, the rule of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi in Iran signified a moment of hope for a new era, free from persecution. However, despite the Shah’s bullish move towards Westernisation and social reform, the self-styled father of the nation enjoyed the riches of the country’s oil wealth and lived like a Western billionaire while the majority of the Iranian people lived in poverty. SAVAK secret police infiltrated everyday life, and those arrested were tortured first and questioned later. No one was above suspicion: friends, neighbours and even family members were all treated as potential informers. With tensions running high, traditionalists increasingly demanded a return to Islamic rule, and this religious fervour combined with anti-Western sentiment to create the perfect revolutionary storm.