Iranian Revolution (1978-79)

What started out to overthrow the government motivated by Shia Islam, the Iranian Revolution saw the end of a monarchy in Iran and the establishment of an Islamic state. Angered by a 1978 newspaper article that criticized Ayatollah Khomeini, many Persians started demonstrations that got bigger and more aggressive when attacked by the government. The Shah of Iran, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi at first assumed they were communists that were supported by the British but eventually abdicated in January 1979. With the Shah out the way, Khomeini set up an Islamic government with his own principle named Velayat-e Faqgih. This meant that while Iran now had a president, Khomeini was the supreme leader and he could overturn any decision made by the president or the prime minister.