The Last Shah: America, Iran, and the Fall of the Pahlavi Dynasty

332 Pages·2021·2.163 MB·English

by  Ray Takeyh

The Last Shah
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The Last Shah
a m e r i c a , i r a n , a n d t h e f a l l
o f t h e pa h l av i d y n a s t y
Ray Takeyh
a council on foreign relations book
New Haven & London
Published with assistance from the foundation established in memory of James
Wesley Cooper of the Class of 1865, Yale College.
Copyright © 2021 by Ray Takeyh.
All rights reserved.
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in any form (beyond that copying permitted by Sections 107 and 108 of the U.S.
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Library of Congress Control Number: 2020937955
ISBN 978-0-300-21779-7 (hardcover : alk. paper)
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
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10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
THE COUNCIL ON FOREIGN RELATIONS
The Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) is an independent, nonpartisan mem-
bership organization, think tank, and publisher dedicated to being a resource for its
members, government officials, business executives, journalists, educators and stu-
dents, civic and religious leaders, and other interested citizens in order to help them
better understand the world and the foreign policy choices facing the United States
and other countries. Founded in 1921, CFR carries out its mission by maintaining a
diverse membership, with special programs to promote interest and develop expertise
in the next generation of foreign policy leaders; convening meetings at its headquar-
ters in New York and in Washington, DC, and other cities where senior government
officials, members of Congress, global leaders, and prominent thinkers come together
with CFR members to discuss and debate major international issues; supporting a
Studies Program that fosters independent research, enabling CFR scholars to produce
articles, reports, and books and hold roundtables that analyze foreign policy issues
and make concrete policy recommendations; publishing Foreign Affairs, the preemi-
nent journal on international affairs and U.S. foreign policy; sponsoring Independent
Task Forces that produce reports with both findings and policy prescriptions on the
most important foreign policy topics; and providing up-to-date information and
analysis about world events and American foreign policy on its website, www.cfr.org.
The Council on Foreign Relations takes no institutional position on policy issues
and has no affiliation with the U.S. government. All statements of fact and expres-
sions of opinion contained in its publications are the sole responsibility of the author
or authors.
I dedicate this book to my parents and all those who suffered
at the hands of the revolution.
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Contents
Cast of Characters, xi
Introduction: Through the Looking Glass, 1
1 Iran under Occupation, 8
2 A Crisis in Azerbaijan, 31
3 The Oil Nationalization Crisis, 55
4 The Coup, 87
5 The Shah’s Emerging Autocracy, 117
6 The Age of Reform, 141
7 Master of the Universe, 169
8 The Revolution, 196
9 Republic of Virtue, 240
Conclusion: The Past Has Another Pattern, 258
Acknowledgments, 265
Notes, 267
Index, 295