Chapter 2: The Islamic Revolution — How Iran Became America's Enemy
In 1979 the Iranian Revolution overthrew the Shah and turned one of America's closest allies into its bitterest enemy. The hostage crisis sealed the enmity. But Israel secretly kept dealing with the new regime.
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Late 1970s Iran: widespread protests against the Shah's repression united all. Khomeini's sermons, spread by cassette tapes, ignited the revolution.
January 1979: The Shah fled Iran. Khomeini returned to millions cheering. The Islamic Republic was declared: 'Neither East nor West.'
November 1979: Iranian students stormed the US embassy in Tehran. Fifty-two American diplomats were held hostage for 444 agonizing days.
The hostage crisis poisoned US-Iran relations. President Carter's failed rescue mission, Desert One, ended in disaster. America was traumatized.
The twist: Israel secretly armed revolutionary Iran. They saw Saddam's Iraq as the bigger threat, using Iran as a strategic counterbalance.
1980: The Iran-Iraq War began. America tilted towards Iraq. But Israel secretly continued arming Iran. A treacherous geopolitical triangle formed.
America and Iran became sworn enemies. Yet, secret dealings persisted. Ideology often dictates one path, while geopolitics charts another.
