Painting by Paul Cezanne

Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the last shah of Iran succeeded to the Peacock throne in 1941. He was determined to modernize and democratize the Persian state. He was, in part successful. He abolished the feudal jagirdari system. In his policies, he was pro-American and was given liberal aid by the US to arm his country with modern weapons. Many of his steps were opposed by Muslim fundamentalists like Ayatullah Khomeini. Khomeini had been exiled from Iran due to his opposition to the policies of the king. To crush all opposition Reza Shah Pahlavi created a force known as ‘Savak’. This secret force unleashed a reign of terror and the king became very unpopular amongst his people. The Shah and his queen had to flee from the country due to popular wrath.

Mohammad Reza Phalavi was the son of Reza Shah Pahlavi. His father accumulated immense wealth. He advised his son to utilize it for spread of education and other welfare activities. Being a pro-American his first act was to throw out Russian advisers from Iran. The Russians had occupied some Iranian territory. The Shah had to leave Iran in 1953, when Dr Mossadeq became the Prime Minister. Mossadeq was a leftist. He staged a come-back after the Treaty of Baghdad with American aid.

He had to leave Iran (1979) eventually in the wake of large scale revolution. The Shah suffered from cancer. The US authorities invited him for treatment. Anti-American riots broke out in Tehran and elsewhere. The US diplomatic personnels were held hostages and the Iranians demanded that the Shah be handed over for trial in lieu of these prisoners. US President Jimmy Carter refused to submit to such demand. President Sadat of Egypt offered him a refuge and there he died in 1980.