The Iranian Revolution—Past, Present and Future

By Dr. Zayar

Dedicated to the heroic youth of Iran, who rose up on 8 July 1999 against the tyranny of the mullahs and shook the regime to its rotten foundations, inspiring the workers and youth of the whole world.

Introduction by Alan Woods

Chapter One - The Historical Background

Chapter Two - Notes on the History of Iran

Chapter Three - The Communist Party of Iran

Chapter Four - The February Revolution of 1979

Chapter Five - The Basis of Islamic Fundamentalism

Chapter Six - The Economics of Counter-revolution

Chapter Seven - Iranian Perspectives

 

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Further reading:

• The Iranian Revolution
  This is an article written by Ted Grant at the time of the February 1979 revolution. He explains how the hated regime of the Shah was overthrown by a workers' revolution, and how the fundamentalist mullahs managed to hijack the revolution..

And In Defence of Marxism has been covering the recent events in Iran:

• Iran: Khatami's Last Warning (Alan Woods, 13 July 2000)
  Once again the students have taken to the streets of Teheran and other cities. But the scope of the present movement is far greater than the movement last summer which we described at the time as "the opening shots of the Iranian revolution". This time thousands of ordinary Iranians, especially poor people, joined the students in clashes with the police and Islamic vigilantes.
• Iranian Elections: Last chance for the 'Reformers' (Jordi Martorell, 22 March 2000)
  The Iranian elections on February 18th 2000 returned a massive majority for the so-called "reformers" around the president Mohammed Khatami in the new Majlis (Parliament). This article looks at the results of the elections and reports the growing movement of the workers.
• The First Shots of the Iranian Revolution (Alan Woods, 17 July 1999)
  The mass demonstrations and riots in Iran are the first shots of the Iranian revolution. This article points out the importance of these events, underlines the decissive role of the workers and explains the need to link democratic demands with a socialist programme.

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