Pictory

نامعادله

خریّت شاه(به قول و احتمالاً بنا به اعتقاد شما) این بنگاه استعماری را خودبخود " مُحِقّ "نمیکند.

میرزاقشمشم

حق با بی بی سی

آنها می دانستند شاه خر است

!!!

بی بی سی نگو بلا بگو

شاه گوش شنوا نداشت.وگرنه، در اطرافش،  بودند افرادی که صلاح نمیدانستند که اعلیحضرت در هر نشست و یا مصاحبه ای رشد اقتصادی مملکت را،حال چه واقعی چه تخیلی،به رخ اروپا و بالاخص این انگلیسی های حرامزاده بکشد. و دیدیم همین "بی بی سی" بی پدر و مادر پنجسال بعد با او چه کردند.من یقه چاک "پهلوی"ها نیستم اما وقتی،همین چند وقت پیش  اون "دیوید فراست" مادر قحبه،مصاحبه اش را با اسم کوچک ولیعهد (سابق )خشک و خالی و بدون عنوان وبدون آقا و فلان شروع کرد دلم برای این پسر سوخت.

The historical origins of "Ey Iran"

Ey Iran (Persian: ای ایران) (O Iran) is a famous and popular anthem in Iran. The lyrics were written by Hossein Gol-e-Golab in 1946, the music was composed by Ruhollah Khaleghi, and it was first performed by Gholam Hossein Banan.

Gol-e-Golab was inspired to write the song by patriotism. He has been quoted to have said: "In 1944, the footsteps of the liberating  armies in the streets were enough to rattle any patriot and inspired me to write this anthem. Professor Ruhollah Khaleghi wrote the music and despite all the political opposition (the Shah hated it), it found its way into the heart and soul of the people."

Ey Iran is often mistaken for being a present or previous Iranian national anthem. It has only briefly had the de-facto national anthem status; however, it occupies a place in Iranian popular culture. 

It was unofficially used in the transitional period between the time of after the Shah was kicked out of Iran(deposed February, 1979) until the adoption of the national anthem of the Islamic Republic.

Even so, today, this song is considered along side the song to the Islamic Republic.

Emil

How come Shah spoken English / accent is much better than his son Reza Pahlavi. Even though Reza has spend most of his life here in the USA ...

Maybe because he spends most of his time talking to Iranians... unlike his father... Just a thought. 

wow....

this american dream guys is beyond a moron!

don't waste you breath on this guy! 

Freedom5

"The US is dying from inside because of corruption and cupidity and
above all its bad management and furthermore its venal relationship
with rest of the world including IRAN now and then."

You are just making up stuff. America has always helped the world and Iran. Corruption? What corruption? Are you talking about the June 2009 Presidential elections?

As I said Iranian
will remember..... we will re-build our country and we don't need the
US's help.

America helped Iran when Bam fell apart and it will help Iran again. You are a selfish man.

To American Dream

The US is dying from inside because of corruption and cupidity and above all its bad management and furthermore its venal relationship with rest of the world including IRAN now and then. As I said Iranian will remember..... we will re-build our country and we don't need the US's help.

Freedom5

Iranians by far and away know that America has always helped them.

Freedom5, don't you dare criticize the British!  They discovered oil in Iran.  Iran without oil is like Haiti in the middle east.

Freedom5:  America is the best and will remain the best.  I know that makes you angry.  Even a lot of Iranians know that.  There are a lot of Iranian immigrants in the U.S.  And more Iranians are coming daily.

The Shah was a pathetic idiot.  Over 30 million Iranians ran him out of the country in January 1979.

The Shah was the definition of CHOS.

He was doing so good, till the last minute of the clip

Mehrdad

To American Dream

You are wasting everyboy's time again. Where did you copy and paste all these gibbersih about Shah? Who was the writer? An American I suppose....

You are an American and therefore your commnets are obsolete and Bias. Let me congradulate you that the US has now made it to the IRANINA's adversary list which also includes the UK and Russia and I can assure you regardless what sort of regime will take power in IRAN, the present feeling of indignation amongst the IRANINAS  toward the US will not change.

Remember what I told you before what goes up must come down. Lookforward to 2020 may be sooner...

Every society deserves it governing body... (quote)

This man spoke English in a fine manner, I've heard him speak French to a French audience as well. However, I do not comprehend the French language. Long story short, I heard his words, I have understood, that he was a dictator in a part of a world where they say only force.... anyways,,, Iran did not deserve him, may he rest in peace eternally.... you dumbfawks die fast but i would rather you die slow ! Jaaveed Shah

American wet dream

You do realize that  NO ONE will read your long, retarded post, don't you? I sure as hell didn't.  I hope you feel satisfied that you wasted all that time farting in the wind.

Cheers.

Mohammad Reza Pahlavi (1953-1979)

What did this guy, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, do from 1953-1979?

Although he had succeeded his father as shah in 1941, prior to 1953 Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi had been overshadowed by Mosaddeq and other politicians and seemed destined to remain a passive, constitutional monarch. Following the coup, however, he moved to consolidate power in his own hands. With the help of the military and later a secret police, the Savak, the shah created a centralized, authoritarian regime. He suppressed opposition by former National Front supporters and Communists, tightly controlled legislative elections, and appointed a succession of prime ministers loyal to him. In 1961 the shah dissolved the Majlis, instructing the prime minister to rule by decree until new elections were held.

Initially, Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi did not demonstrate the same enthusiasm for development and reform programs that his father had shown. His early reforms were undertaken only with prodding from the United States, which believed that dissatisfied Iranian peasants were susceptible to influence by local agents of the USSR. In the early 1960s more than 60 percent of Iran’s inhabitants were sharecroppers who received a subsistence share (usually 20 percent) of the harvest from their landlords. A land reform program implemented between 1962 and 1971 required landlords to sell most of their land to the government, which then resold it to the peasants. Although widely promoted as a major rural reform effort, only half of the peasants obtained any land under the program, and about three-quarters of those receiving land got less than 6 hectares (15 acres).

Mohammad Reza Shah took more interest in industrial and public works projects, and between 1963 and 1978 numerous development schemes contributed to an increase in industrialization and urbanization. The shah presented his program as an integral part of a wider reform effort known as the White Revolution, initiated to prevent a Red, or Communist, revolution from originating at the grass roots level. The middle class expanded, but much of the urban growth resulted from the migration of poor villagers seeking city jobs. Consequently, slums proliferated on the outskirts of cities. Government policy focused on the creation of modern industrial facilities but neglected the development of social services. The construction activity under the White Revolution stimulated expectations of political and social change. Oil revenues tripled after 1973 due to higher prices and increased sales, providing ready funding for the shah’s programs. However, economic success only caused the shah’s regime to become more repressive as his confidence in his rule grew.

Because of his collaboration with the CIA to overthrow Mosaddeq in 1953, the shah was never able to overcome a popular perception that he was merely a tool for foreign interests. Mosaddeq’s ouster had shocked the nation, and over the years his image as a national hero had grown stronger despite the fact that the shah’s government had banned any publications that mentioned his name. Furthermore, because of the CIA’s role in the overthrow, most Iranians saw the United States, even more so than Britain or the USSR, as a threat to Iran's national interests. Strong relations between the United States and Iran at the official level, especially an alliance whereby the United States assisted in the buildup of Iran's military, fed the public’s fears. In the early 1960s the shah's government drafted legislation granting diplomatic status to U.S. military personnel stationed in Iran. Nationalists denounced the bill as a reversion to the detested extraterritorial legal privileges accorded to British and Russian citizens in Iran before 1925.

One of the shah’s most vocal opponents was the leading Shia scholar, or ayatollah, Ruhollah Khomeini. Khomeini was arrested in 1962 after publicly speaking out against the bill, and his arrest instantly elevated him to the status of national hero. Although released the following year, he refused to keep silent. He instead broadened his criticisms of the regime to include corruption, violations of the constitution, and rigging of elections. Khomeini’s second arrest in June 1963 led to three days of rioting in many Iranian cities; the military suppressed the riots only after more than 600 people had been killed and more than 2,000 injured. Fearing that Khomeini would assume martyr status if he were kept in prison or executed for treason, the shah exiled him to Turkey in 1964. Khomeini eventually settled in the Shia theological center of An Najaf in Iraq. From there he maintained regular contact with his former students in the Iranian city of Qum. These students formed the nucleus of a covert anti-shah movement that was growing among the clergy. In 1971 Khomeini published a book, Velayat-e faqih, that provided the religious justification for an Islamic government in Iran.

The shah also failed to win mass support among the secular middle class of professionals, bureaucrats, teachers, and intellectuals. This social group, created as a result of his father’s reforms and expanded during the 1960s and 1970s due to the shah’s own development plans, tended to be highly nationalistic and looked back nostalgically to the Mosaddeq period as an era of genuine democracy. Like the clergy and the religiously inclined traditional middle class of merchants and artisans, the secular middle class resented the lack of meaningful political participation and the close ties the shah had established with the United States. They criticized the shah's promotion of Iran beginning in the late 1960s as America’s security pillar in the Persian Gulf region. Despite their commonality of views, the secular and religious groups had distrusted one another in the 1950s and 1960s. The growing severity of political repression during the 1970s gradually brought them closer together, however, and by 1977 various secular and religious opposition movements were prepared to cooperate against the shah's regime.

The spark that ignited the revolution was a pro-Khomeini demonstration in Qum in January 1978. Police intervened, the demonstration turned into a riot, and about 70 people were killed before calm was restored. From his exile in Iraq, Khomeini called upon his followers to commemorate the victims on the 40th day after their deaths, in accordance with Iranian mourning customs. In February they held services at mosques throughout the country, and demonstrations in Tabrīz turned into riots during which more people were killed. Thus began a cycle of nationwide mourning services every 40 days, some of which turned violent and resulted in more fatalities. By late summer, when it became clear that the government was losing control of the streets, the shah imposed martial law on Tehrān and 11 other cities. This move only escalated tensions. Employees in different industries and offices began striking to protest martial law, and within six weeks a general strike had paralyzed the economy, including the vital oil sector.

By October the strikes and demonstrations were becoming a unified revolutionary movement. From the security of his exile in Iraq, Khomeini continued to denounce the corruption and injustices of the shah's regime, as well as its dependence on the United States. His sermons were recorded, duplicated on thousands of cassette tapes, and smuggled into Iran. The tapes appealed equally to religious Iranians and members of the secular middle class. Alarmed by Khomeini’s growing influence, the shah persuaded the Iraqi government to expel him. Khomeini immediately found asylum in France, where access to the international media made it even easier for him to communicate with supporters in Iran. In November the shah realized that the army could not indefinitely contain the mass movement, and he began making plans for his departure from Iran. He left the country in mid-January 1979. Two weeks later, Khomeini returned to Iran in triumph after more than 14 years in exile. On February 11, 1979, the royalist government was overthrown, and in a referendum on April 1 Iranians voted overwhelmingly to establish an Islamic republic.

Reminds me a lot of Ahmadinejad actually,

Oh my God, the arrogance! the absolute un-diplomatic rhetoric and the hypocrisy!

First of all, the whole oil crisis that is the subject of this interview was as a result of the anti-Israeli embargo due to West's support of Israel in the Yum Kippur war (1973).

The Shah was against the embargo devised by the Arab countries, but once it happened, he became a champion of it.

Please do not miss the subtleties here. The whole lecture on "being lazy and undescipline" is bullshit. Who says these things to another soverign nation? If someone like the King of Saudi Arabia said that today about America, do you realize how stupid and rediculous he would look?

My guess is that he is hoping (or maybe he has paid the interviewer) to not ask about Israel, so he wouldn't have to explain his well known double standard on that issue.

Him saying "We can't spend more on education because we don't have teachers and we don't want inflation" is pure BS. You can spend the money on teacher training of course!

Just like Ahmadinejad he has a big ego, going around lecturing the West, trying to "represent" way more than he really does. They both spoke truth to power, but they both let that go their heads.

Even if he really thinks he is trying to make them "work more" (nothing short of a preposterous proposition), why not be more diplomatic and conciliatory about it?

Language...

How come Shah spoken English / accent is much better than his son Reza Pahlavi. Even though Reza has spend most of his life here in the USA ...

Oktaby, one more important item

A dollar was worth seven Tomans.  It is now worth a 1000.  An economic disaster.

Regardless of how you feel about

Shah and the recent or even mid-range Iranian history, numbers don't lie or at least they are more objective than those driven by feelings. References are aplenty but here are a few from memory:

-In late 70's various ranking showed Iran as the world's 12th (to 17th) richest country

-Iran had more students in U.S. universities (most desireable then). than all other americas trading partners combined. Majority of those we proudly showcase to indicate Iranian achievement and most of successful Iranian Diaspora (the most educated and affluent minority-by U.S. consensus) are products of that period. Surely, if the youth fighting in streets of Iran had the opportunity, they will achieve at least as much. I have seen some good comparisons to Korea on this site and certainly Chile, Turkey and few other countries provide good comparative basis for evaluating what has been done to Iran and Iranians and not just on economic front. All have more visible global cultural presence.

-Rial was quoted and exchanged in most major markets. That was when the country's oil revenues were a fraction (inflation adjusted) of what they have been under the islamic regime

-The country generally had good relations and standings internationally, by all credible accounts

-While Iran thirsted for full democracy, most fair minded people of self-developed persuation and not quoting some 3rd party 'thinker' or ideology will acknowledge Iran was a decent place as a matter of social, psychological, or general welfare. It was far from perfect and had plenty of problems but everything is relative. I did not care for Shah, nor did my dad that suffered the corruption of the system then. But certainly the national, cultural wealth and heritage of the country was not being given away and our leaders had real degrees and PHDs from real universities. Shah was westernized, and Iran like most of the rest of world was being deluged with western culture, the country's character was still Irooni and changing to modern Irooni. It was definitely not the GavShotorPalang that bunch of Farsi speaking foreign freaks have been busy creating.

We needed to get passed Shah into a freer society but we had a system that was 'livable' to 'excellent' depending on your worldview, along with all the Irooni corruption and flaws even if we were under the influence of foreign powers as almost everyone was in the bipolar world of then. Even Western European powers had to take some orders as America was much mightier than now, a power in fast decline. Whatever you feel about shah and the Iran of pre 1979 it was not anything comparable to the monstrocity we have witnessed since.

Shah was a lefty?

Very interesting. When you watch this video it almost sounds like Shah was a lefty! I mean, he was, wasn't he? He was trying to conquer the oppressive forces of the Western Imperialism. It seems that we all are trying to conquer the evil in Iran or the world. It is interesting that as soon as a government in Iran starts to become a bit of a threat to the West, a revolution "by the people" takes that regime out! Haha

To Benyamin,

I appreciate your response.

We all need to remember that we are talking about 30 years ago where USSR was still in power and shah did not fully trust the West either. Democracy exists only when there is no forign influence. But we all know that was not the case in IRAN. 

It is easy for us to judge him now by looking in to the past and call him arrrogant. Yes he was arrogant but rightly. He brought a third world country to the level of the countries like Austria... I know one might say anybody would do.... NO... look at the present IR.

Now if it is the oil money that shah was using to prosper IRAN, then why Saudi Arabia is still a premitive country.... there are more countries in the region with oil money that 100 years behind IRAN even now after what Islamic Republic has done to us.

One thing is for certain Shah loved Iran and Iranians till his last breath.

Benyamin: another Israel lover

Well, it's good to see yet another proponent of war or any kind of destruction against Iran is nothing more than a mis-guided Israeli right wing supporter. I have never seen any "opposition" to IRI, unless they had a different agenda alltogether than freeing Iran.

To Freedom5

I appreciate your comment.

I never make fun of people of Iran and that the word "funny" is a sarcastic word there.

you are right about educating people first. But you also needed to practice democracy for those that were getting education in elementry and high schools all the way to universities. non of that ever happened. as you see in the west democracy is being practice by giving power to the students that never happened in Iran. Let`not forget that. But he could have just simply answered to the reporter that It will happen in due time. Meaning I will do it but on my own terms not yours.

هان ای دل عبرت بین...

He spoke articulately, and not necessarily reasonably, up until the subject of democracy and people's freedom came up. His inability to perceive the need of a fundamental change in the political structure of our beloved Iran was the fatal factor in his downfall. 

About seven months after this interview his main supporter, Richard Nixon, left the White House in disgrace.

Never think......

for a second that it was only iran that lost great deal of power and manloss and wealth! West also lost a great deal of power by "enabling" the islamists to come to power. Look at the Geo-political landscape of the world today. The USSR is gone and China is ramming like a wild horse sweeping every peak to be conquered.

How "stupid" of the west for letting an "arrogant friend" to lose power right before their very eyes and leave that power to China? Who needs Iran now? I seriously believe as Iran became the stratigic victory bridge in the second war, it will be the front line for winning the war of power between the West and the East, but this time the East is the Mighty China.

The west cannot win against China the only way they can control China and keep the balance of power is through "concert of powers" meaning every little country and mid or larg size will matter.

The west also made a mistake about Iran as far as it relates to Israel. If there is a democratic yet arroogant to west type of government in power in Iran is better than an Islamic state in power. Ironicaly, a democratic but arrogant to west type of government would gaurantee the extistance of Israel where as The islamic type would either do it itself or enable "others" to seek the distruction of Israel and that is also gauranteed under Islamic state of Iran!!!

whoever thought otherwise could only see so far in horizon. I say Remember "mighty China" and what she can do if Iran is on her side.

So, Shah maybe arrogant a bit but he would have been the best for the West since he was holding the ACE(Iran).

Just my observation.

Benyamin , It is NOT funny at all

How old were you in 1974?

People were with shah but it all changed starting 1976. It seems that Iran' misfortune and people's deplorable life is funny to you. However your statement is kind of funny where you say that "  It is all our own mistakes that gave way to the enemies of our land" and on the last prograph you are saying that we should hand over the power to the people of Iran which are the true owners of such power.

People need to be educated then give them the power and that's what shah was doing.

lol.....funny!!!

They gave each other some Hooks and Jabs and Crosses, and I think Shah was doing great attacking a few times up to the end when he failed on Democracy questions. I really don`t believe the British or the Americans brought Khomeini to Iran. I believe they always hit where it hurts the most. Meaning democracy was Iran`s weakness and you heard his answer "shah and people are so close to each other they almost feel they are of the same family" I am sorry but that was a stupid answer and that was where the reporter cornered Shah and remember how many time implicitly or even clearly he told british people permissive and lazy!!! Well if I am a british and sitting at home I would get angry and really mad and that would be felt all the way in every single lord sitting on his/her ass.

So, if you are british you start looking to see how can I shut this arrogant bastard up and make this country to beg for "my type of lifstyle". They looked and looked and the found Khomeini, and Khomeini thought he has a circle of light around his head and lead the revolution and betrayed people of Iran. Let`s be frank, if I was a british I would do the same after being called lazy and permissive and so on and so forth and yet it is me protecting him and if you guys don`t believe look at Khomeini he went go in and scored.

Remember in Football(Soccer) you only score when the other team makes a mistake. And Shah did the same, he made a mistake and his mistake was to "under estimate the power of his ENEMIES and his own weaknesses". No one ever owned Iran or ruled Iran, It is all our own mistakes that gave way to the enemies of our land.

Khomeini and the IRI are doing exact same mistake by not handing over the power to the people of Iran which are the true onwers of such power.

de ja voux

Shah was too honest ,yet uninformed about dangers around!!!

He must have not disclose too much information to all those monsters!!!

He could have been a better politician and rescued Iran, Iranians, The region and even the world had he been more aware of everything and everybody (spies) around him!!! He could have been more distrustful of his circle, a little wiser and certainly a better Politician all around, because he still had the power at the time!!!

I never questioned his good Intentions for Iran and Iranians and even appreciated his Truthfulness in his speeches and actions!!! But in the unfortunate and unfair World Politics which everything is based on money, economics, GREED and consequently force, He did not act as smart!!! Even if he didn't care about himself and his family, he should have cared about Iran's future, He was the KING and our father!!! (A real father would put his own life on line for his children regardless of their stupidities!!!!)Toward the end due to his own personal illness, bad political  judgments/decisions and massive disappointments/hurt of an ungrateful nation, he let go of all and subsequently punished every single Iranian and Iran in the future!!!!

Note: To Shah's defence though, I am not claiming anyone else in his position could or would have done any better at that time! It had to happen to and for all of us....... Honestly.......... To learn from unfortunate experiences and find a real solution for ourselves and our poor country.... 

Historically, Iran has had too many so called Iranians who have committed treason against their own country and people... (unfortunately)

Shah had too many of those Khaens advisors around him who were foreign spies and misinformed him about the unfortunate facts on the ground back then!!!

Facts such as Nation's poverty and serious lack of awareness and education!!!

Those three single facts consequently destroyed him and became a sole reason for poor, uneducated and uninformed masses in Iran to follow a single Psycho-Path (Khomeini) and thus fulfill the dreams of all our foreign enemies with the help of bunch of Stupid hypocrites and worse, bunch of Islamo/Psycho Criminals to destroy such a beautiful country and imprison, torture and kill her citizens systematically for over 30 long and dark years!!! (Such a Shame.........)

Shah should have not TRUSTED anyone! and would say and do according to his own Conscience and decisions to move that Ignorant nation and beautiful country Forward!!! A country and a nation that has been raped out of her true identity and has been brainwashed by Fundamental Islamic Rules,thoughts and behaviour for the past 1400 years..... Unfortunately!!!!

Darie , You are not only stupid but also an Idiot

 The king did not say the government was not willing to invest in training, he simply said that there was not enough teacher and enough doctors to do more.

On the second note you asked why his interviews such as this one was not translated to parsi it was simply because of the hard headed people like you that does not matter what he was saying they would not listen and even if they did they would still not be able to comprehend it. Good example .. you.

You even can not understand now what he was saying back then.

Till we have people like you we should not expect a better government than the Islamic Republic.

FYI/Iran in the 1970's: Accomplishments

Part of a Swiss Documentary: 

Part I

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=rN2U87o5npk&feature=related

Part II

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=WrYQk3DXu9k

He was a smart idiot

Regarding the education of the people he said he didn't have enough teachers and didn't want to invest in training any either; How stupid is that?

Also why wasn't this interview translated and broadcast in Iran in those days maybe the anti-shah group would have seen a side of him that wanted to defy the Brits hence proving he wasn't a puppet any longer?

He just made too many stupid mistakes, we didn't love him like our father; was he insane?