[custom_adv] On Wednesday, the State Department’s Twitter feed released a short video extolling “rich history of human rights from the time of Cyrus up until the 1979 revolution.” However, experts say that is glossing over some major problems — mainly the U.S.- and British-backed reign of the Pahlavi dynasty, which before its ouster in 1979 was a force for social and economic development but also of well-documented political repression. [custom_adv] Pahlavi’s reign had advantages, such as rapid economic growth, urban development, a modernizing education system and social advancements for women. It also had its disadvantages, mainly political repression by the state, backed by the feared intelligence agency, SAVAK. Members of the political opposition were routinely jailed and tortured, among other abuses. [custom_adv] The Pahlavi family reigned over from 1925 to 1979. Founding father Reza Shah Pahlavi was born Reza Khan and came from a humble background. He soon rose up the ranks from soldier to military leader to oust the last ruler of the Qajar dynasty, which consolidated power in the late 1780s. [custom_adv] Reza Shah held court until 1941, when a British and Russian invasion forced him to abdicate. His son, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, took over. The younger Pahlavi wasn’t as beloved or as confident a ruler as his father. [custom_adv] But then the tides turned, at least for a bit, in his favor. In 1953, the United States and Britain were confronted with a problem: nationalist leader Mohammad Mossadegh had been elected prime minister and was pushing to nationalize oil industry, in which the two Western powers were heavily invested. [custom_adv] In the political upheaval, the shah fled. So the CIA and M16, loath to lose access to markets, orchestrated a coup to oust Mossadegh and return the shah. Ruler was now back — and determined to hold on to power.
