by Ben Soton
Iran and The Revolution by Homa Katouzian ; Yale University Press New Haven and London 2026, 352 pp, illus; rrp:£20.
Homa Katouzian, an Iranian-born academic who lives in Britain, has written extensively on Iranian history. His latest book covers the Anglo-Soviet occupation during the Second World War, the short-lived Mossadegh government of 1953; the Shah’s ‘White Revolution’ of the 1960s and the 1979 revolution which led to the establishment of today’s Islamic Republic.
It starts in August 1941 with ‘Operation Countenance’ and the Anglo-Soviet invasion of Iran. Its objective was to depose the pro-German Reza Shah and prevent the Axis powers from gaining a foothold in a highly strategic area between British-dominated Iraq and the Soviet Union.
It then moves on to 1953 and the progressive Mossadegh government’s nationalisation of the British-owned Anglo-Iranian Oil Company. Katouzian claims that the communist Tudeh Party opposed Mossadegh; which is not strictly true. Tudeh gave Mossadegh’s National Front government critical backing and supported the nationalisation of Anglo-Iranian. But he opposed Mossadegh’s bond scheme set up to counter the imperialism blockade that followed. What is staggering about the book is its failure to mention Operation Ajax. Operation Ajax was planned by Kermit Roosevelt the CIA agent who, with the help of MI6, organised gangs of armed thugs to bring down Mossadegh and replace him with the Reza Shah’s son, a willing tool of imperialism. No study of the period is complete without mention of this imperialist plot.
The new Shah considered himself an enlightened despot. And in 1963 he embarked on the ‘White Revolution’ – a modernisation programme that included limited land reform and improvements to the position of women. But being an enlightened despot is a contradiction in terms.The White Revolution raised people’s expectations without meeting them and was opposed by both the conservative clergy and the left.
Revolutions are not one-day events; they begin with the overthrow of the old regime and end with the consolidation of the new. The Russian Revolution began in 1917 and came to an end in the 1920s with the Soviet victory in the civil war. In the case of this study the Iranian Revolution started in January 1979 when the Shah fled and ended in the early 1980s by which time the Islamic Republic had eradicated internal opposition.
After a revolution there is a period of political horse-trading with different groups vying for power. After the Shah fled the country in January 1979 Iran saw the rise of radical Islamist, and leftist movements. while moderates such as Bazargan and Banisadr (respectively Iran’s new president and prime-minister) vied for high position. The occupation of the US Embassy by Islamic students was an attempt by Islamists to upstage the left, presenting themselves as better anti-imperialists. By 1982 the the Islamists, led by Ayatollah Khomeini, were firmly in control. Most of the left, including Tudeh, supported the Islamists until they were supressed. The only exceptions were the Peoples’ Fedayeen, an armed resistance group with links to the anti-revisionist left – and the People’s Mujahidin which eventually turned to the Americans for support.
The author covers the period since the revolution in some detail; however this should arguably be the subject of another book. Katouzian views Iranian society in terms of state vs society conflict with little reference to class. This puts him at odds with Marxists who would see the Shah as a tool of the pro-imperialist, comprador Iranian elite with the Islamists acting on behalf of the national bourgeoisie, the wealthy ‘bazari’ traders. Although containing some useful information the book is most noted for what it leaves out.
Iran and The Revolution by Homa Katouzian ; Yale University Press New Haven and London 2026, 352 pp, illus; rrp:£20.
Homa Katouzian, an Iranian-born academic who lives in Britain, has written extensively on Iranian history. His latest book covers the Anglo-Soviet occupation during the Second World War, the short-lived Mossadegh government of 1953; the Shah’s ‘White Revolution’ of the 1960s and the 1979 revolution which led to the establishment of today’s Islamic Republic.
It starts in August 1941 with ‘Operation Countenance’ and the Anglo-Soviet invasion of Iran. Its objective was to depose the pro-German Reza Shah and prevent the Axis powers from gaining a foothold in a highly strategic area between British-dominated Iraq and the Soviet Union.
It then moves on to 1953 and the progressive Mossadegh government’s nationalisation of the British-owned Anglo-Iranian Oil Company. Katouzian claims that the communist Tudeh Party opposed Mossadegh; which is not strictly true. Tudeh gave Mossadegh’s National Front government critical backing and supported the nationalisation of Anglo-Iranian. But he opposed Mossadegh’s bond scheme set up to counter the imperialism blockade that followed. What is staggering about the book is its failure to mention Operation Ajax. Operation Ajax was planned by Kermit Roosevelt the CIA agent who, with the help of MI6, organised gangs of armed thugs to bring down Mossadegh and replace him with the Reza Shah’s son, a willing tool of imperialism. No study of the period is complete without mention of this imperialist plot.
The new Shah considered himself an enlightened despot. And in 1963 he embarked on the ‘White Revolution’ – a modernisation programme that included limited land reform and improvements to the position of women. But being an enlightened despot is a contradiction in terms.The White Revolution raised people’s expectations without meeting them and was opposed by both the conservative clergy and the left.
Revolutions are not one-day events; they begin with the overthrow of the old regime and end with the consolidation of the new. The Russian Revolution began in 1917 and came to an end in the 1920s with the Soviet victory in the civil war. In the case of this study the Iranian Revolution started in January 1979 when the Shah fled and ended in the early 1980s by which time the Islamic Republic had eradicated internal opposition.
After a revolution there is a period of political horse-trading with different groups vying for power. After the Shah fled the country in January 1979 Iran saw the rise of radical Islamist, and leftist movements. while moderates such as Bazargan and Banisadr (respectively Iran’s new president and prime-minister) vied for high position. The occupation of the US Embassy by Islamic students was an attempt by Islamists to upstage the left, presenting themselves as better anti-imperialists. By 1982 the the Islamists, led by Ayatollah Khomeini, were firmly in control. Most of the left, including Tudeh, supported the Islamists until they were supressed. The only exceptions were the Peoples’ Fedayeen, an armed resistance group with links to the anti-revisionist left – and the People’s Mujahidin which eventually turned to the Americans for support.
The author covers the period since the revolution in some detail; however this should arguably be the subject of another book. Katouzian views Iranian society in terms of state vs society conflict with little reference to class. This puts him at odds with Marxists who would see the Shah as a tool of the pro-imperialist, comprador Iranian elite with the Islamists acting on behalf of the national bourgeoisie, the wealthy ‘bazari’ traders. Although containing some useful information the book is most noted for what it leaves out.
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