MMXXVI VOL21 No.893

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The Shah of Iran, when the country was normal

Although it may seem surprising, Iran was once very similar to any Western country. The 1979 revolution suppressed Western influences but did not erase them. They remain alive in a thriving underground scene
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The Shah of Iran, when the country was normal

Iran is a Middle Eastern country known for its strict theocratic rule, central role in regional conflicts and status as a potential flashpoint for WW3 due to its pursuit of long range nuclear weapons and open hostility toward Israel.

However, this wasn’t always the case. Until 1979 the country was ruled by monarchs known as shahs who attempted to modernize every aspect of Iranian life from culture to heavy industry in just a few decades.

At its peak in the 1970s, globalization was visible in nearly every aspect of life. Women in miniskirts walked the streets of Tehran, Western shops lined commercial boulevards, tourist beaches welcomed visitors from Europe and German tourists skied the powder slopes of the Alborz mountains near the capital. International hotels hosted cocktail evenings while modern airports connected Iran to cities across Asia and Europe.

Then came the 1979 Islamic revolution and that entire world, now preserved only in faded photographs and grainy films, disappeared almost overnight.

This article is centered on the Shah’s era. First it sketches the country before Mohammad Reza Shah. Next it reviews his reign with attention to party control and Western alliances. Then it describes the modernization process and the push for education and work. After that it expands on Iran’s tourist boom and the country’s role in the hippie trail. It briefly summarizes the 1979 revolution and its immediate aftermath. Finally, it closes with a look at today’s underground youth culture and the possible seed of a new Arab Spring.

7Brief history of Iran until the first Shah

Iran sits in an extremely strategic corridor linking by land the Middle East to Central and South Asia. In ancient times it was the heart of the Persian Empire, one of the most expansive and influential powers in world history.

After the fall of the Persian Empire to Alexander the Great, Iran passed through centuries of foreign and native dynasties. From the Hellenistic rule until the Arab conquest in the 7th century, a succession of Islamic dynasties culminating nearly a millennium later in the adoption of Shia Islam as the state religion.

Shah of Iran
Mohammad Reza, the Shah of Iran, on the left, met with President John F. Kennedy and U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara at the White House on April 13, 1962. At the time, Iran’s foreign relations were normal.

In the 18th and 19th centuries, Iran faced invasions and territorial losses to Russia and Britain. By World War I, the country was politically fragmented and economically weak. Though officially neutral, it was occupied by British and Russian forces, deepening instability.

In 1921 Reza Khan, an army officer in the Cossack Brigade, staged a coup that ended Qajar rule. In 1925 he took the throne, becoming the first Shah (“king” in Persian) and ushering in a new era of state-led modernization.

Shah of Iran
The Shahyad Tower, completed in 1971 to mark the 2,500th anniversary of the Persian Empire, stood as the most iconic monument of the Shah era. Originally conceived as a celebration of Iran’s imperial legacy, the tower was later renamed Azadi by the revolutionary regime.

He ordered railways across the plateau, banned the veil in government offices, opened secular schools and brought in German, Italian and American engineers to jumpstart industry. Authoritarian rule kept dissent low while the economy grew.

In August 1941 British and Soviet forces invaded, fearing Iranian oil might support the Axis. They forced Reza Shah to abdicate in favor of his 21 year old son Mohammad Reza, that later would become the famous “Shah of Iran”.

6The Shah of Iran (1941–1979)

Mohammad Reza Shah inherited a country under occupation. Iran remained under Allied control until 1946, when British and Soviet forces withdrew, leaving behind economic instability, rising nationalist movements and deep political fragmentation.

The country operated as a constitutional monarchy, with the Shah as head of state, sharing power with an elected parliament composed of nationalist and communist factions.

Shah of Iran
The streets of Tehran looked like any other modern city in the world. The building on the corner was Plasco, a high-rise commercial and retail center completed in 1962. Developed by Iranian Jewish businessman Habib Elghanian, it embodied the country’s pursuit of modernization, featuring clothing shops and workshops that served a growing middle class. It ranked among the tallest structures in Tehran and became a prominent marker of the Shah era skyline. Following the 1979 Iranian Revolution, the new regime seized the building. Elghanian, accused of ties to Israel and the West, was arrested and executed by firing squad in May 1979. He was the first Jew executed by the Islamic Republic and one of the earliest high-profile casualties of the revolution.

In 1953, with the backing of CIA–MI6 covert operations, the Shah moved to consolidate his authority, replacing the Prime Minister with a pro-monarchy figure. Over the following decades, his grip on power tightened, culminating in 1975 when he dissolved all political parties and merged them into the Resurgence Party, effectively transforming Iran into a one-party state.

The dark side of this process was the secret police called “SAVAK”. Founded in 1957 with American and Israeli advisers, SAVAK monitored universities, trade unions and the clergy, arresting dissidents and suppressing opposition. With around 5,000 agents, it conducted surveillance, interrogations and censorship. While recorded executions before 1978 remained under 100, reports of torture and prolonged detentions created a climate of fear, ensuring the Shah’s grip on power remained unchallenged.

5The golden era of the Shah; modernization and westernization 1963

Mohammad Reza became the famous “Shah of Persia” in the West starting in 1963 with the launch of a modernization program known as “the White Revolution”.

This ambitious modernization introduced land reforms, industrial expansion, women’s rights and literacy campaigns, all of which aligned with Western ideals of progress.

Note that Mohammad Reza’s father was referred to as the “Shah of Persia”. His son sought to distinguish himself by calling himself the “Shah of Iran”. However, abroad the monarch continued to be called the “Shah of Persia”, in part because Iran was promoted as a tourist destination as “Persia”. For tourists, going to Iran meant visiting the vestiges of the ancient Persian Empire and the kingdom of the “Shah of Persia”.

Shah of Iran
Street scenes in Tehran, 1967. Just regular people going about their day in a city that, at the time, looked like any other in the Western world, lined with local and international brands. During the revolution, many shops were looted or burned, especially those seen as symbols of Western influence. Afterward, the regime banned most Western signs, advertisements and cultural imagery from public view. Store owners linked to foreign companies or accused of promoting Western values faced arrest, confiscation of property and, in some cases, execution.

His close ties with the United States and Europe, along with Iran’s growing oil wealth, further elevated his status as a modernizing monarch. By the 1970s, he was widely seen as a symbol of Iran’s rapid development and luxury.

The streets of major cities were lined with Western stores, their neon signs advertising Philips record players, Omega watches and German cameras. Chain department stores like Arya and Kourosh displayed French perfumes alongside Iranian textiles, while cafés served steaming cups of Nescafé and bottles of Coca-Cola, blending global consumer culture with local tastes.

Shah of Iran
The entrance to Tehran University in 1971. A stark example of brutalist architecture that welcomed generations of students and professors during a time of academic freedom. After the 1979 revolution, the regime launched a purge of intellectuals, teachers and students. Universities were shut down, thousands expelled, many imprisoned or executed as the regime moved quickly to eliminate dissent and enforce ideological imposition.

Nightlife thrived as clubs on Pahlavi Avenue hosted jazz trios and imported London’s latest rock singles. Iranian pop music icons Googoosh and Dariush packed venues, their hits dominating Radio Tehran’s charts. Meanwhile, theaters showcased films by directors like Dariush Mehrjui and Masoud Kimiai, earning global recognition at prestigious festivals.

The 1963 White Revolution expanded women’s rights, granting access to education, employment and freedom of dress. The 1975 Family Protection Law built on these gains by raising the marriage age to 18, restricting polygamy and allowing women to file for divorce. By 1976, women comprised 21% of university students and held positions as bank tellers, news anchors and judges, with no legal veil requirement in urban areas.

Shah of Iran
Female students at Tehran University in 1971, dressed in miniskirts. During the Shah era, women had access to education, employment and personal choice in appearance. Just 9 years later, the revolution stripped them of these rights. Under the theocratic regime, women who defy compulsory veiling face punishments including imprisonment, flogging, heavy fines, denial of education and employment, travel bans and even the death penalty for repeated resistance.

The Literacy Corps deployed conscript teachers to remote villages, raising national literacy from 15% in 1956 to 47% by 1977. Polytechnic campuses in Isfahan, Tabriz and Ahvaz trained engineers for steel plants, refineries and dam projects, fueling industrial growth. Meanwhile, urban real wages climbed by roughly four percent annually through the early 1970s, driven by Iran’s expanding oil economy.

4Iran as tourist destination

Iran marketed itself as “Destination Persia” through glossy brochures at European travel fairs, attracting a surge in tourism from under 80,000 arrivals in 1962 to nearly 700,000 by 1977.

Tehran welcomed visitors with its Hilton and PanAm’s Intercontinental hotels while the Alborz ski resorts of Shemshak and Dizin offered winter retreats. Elizabeth Taylor, Frank Sinatra and Catherine Deneuve were among the Western celebrities who traveled to Iran, drawn by its luxury and cultural heritage. Isfahan’s Naqsh-e Jahan Square framed by Safavid mosques became a staple postcard image.

Shah of Iran
Partygoers dancing the Tehran twist in the early 1960s. Tehran nightlife was vibrant, with music, dancing and parties woven into the city’s social fabric. After the 1979 revolution, all such activities were banned. Listening to Western music, dancing or attending parties could lead to arrest, fines, lashes or imprisonment under charges like promoting indecency or spreading corruption. Even private gatherings risked raids by morality police. The beat didn’t stop, it just went underground.

In Shiraz poetry lovers flocked to Hafez’s tomb before traveling east to the imperial ruins of Persepolis. Along the Caspian Sea domestic tourists rented chalets in Ramsar and Noshahr enjoying mild summers and the nation’s first luxury casino.

Mehrabad Airport handled wide-body Boeings ranking among Western Asia’s busiest hubs. Shiraz and Isfahan airports accommodated weekly Lufthansa and BOAC charters while the Trans-Iranian Express carried Europeans from Istanbul through Tabriz to Tehran.

Shah of Iran
Fashion magazines sold in Iran during the 1960s. After the revolution, such publications were banned, their publishers shut down or forced into exile. Iranian female models vanished from public life. Many fled the country, while others faced harassment or were barred from working. The regime imposed strict dress codes, veiling and criminalized Western fashion. Women under the theocratic regime must wear the hijab, a headscarf covering the hair and neck, along with modest clothing. In official roles, many are required to wear the black chador, a full-body cloak leaving only the face visible. These rules are enforced by law, with punishments ranging from fines and job loss to imprisonment or worse.

Also, Iran became a key stop on the 1970s hippie trail. The hippie trail was an overland route stretching from western Europe to South Asia. Many hippy travellers started in Amsterdam or London then crossed Yugoslavia and Turkey to Iran. Tehran was the northern junction; some continued east through Mashhad Herat and Kabul while others detoured south to Shiraz and the Persian Gulf.

Iran offered cheap guesthouses, lenient visa rules and reliable buses. Laleh-Zar Street in Tehran sold hashish pipes, Beatles cassettes and Afghan coats. Cafés in Isfahan’s Jolfa quarter served pancakes and strong coffee catering to backpackers aiming for Goa or Kathmandu. Hormoz Island in the Gulf hosted free-camping Europeans who slept on the beach during winter months.

Shah of Iran
The Shemshak ski resort in 1971. During the Shah era, Iran promoted tourism with beaches on two seas, alpine resorts and vibrant cities. After the 1979 revolution, tourism collapsed as the regime imposed strict religious codes and curtailed leisure activities. Sports were politicized, many athletes were banned or punished for perceived disloyalty, and public recreation became subject to surveillance and censorship. What was once a destination for fun turned into a landscape of restrictions.

The flow collapsed after 1979, when the new regime revoked relaxed visas then the Soviet invasion closed Afghanistan.

3The Shah’s famous army; Western firepower

The Shah transformed Iran’s military into a regional powerhouse, equipping it with cutting-edge Western technology and advanced weaponry.

By 1978, Iran fielded 79 F-14 Tomcats, the only country outside the United States to operate them. The army deployed AH-1J Cobras, M109 howitzers and British Chieftains, ensuring a strategic advantage over Baghdad and Moscow.

Shah of Iran
Iranian Top Guns posing in front of an F-14 Tomcat. After the 1979 revolution, many pilots from the Imperial Iranian Air Force were arrested or purged, but as the Iran–Iraq War approached, the regime needed their expertise. Some were released and pressured to serve under the Islamic Republic, flying the same American-made jets they once piloted for the Shah. Their loyalty was suspect, but their skills were too valuable to discard.

After Britain withdrew from the Gulf in 1971, Washington positioned Iran as the region’s security guarantor. Besides F-14s, the Shah acquired C-130 transports and M60 tanks straight off American production lines, while London maintained influence through oil consortia and arms deals, including Chieftain assembly.

Following the 1979 revolution, Iran’s advanced military hardware was left stranded in vast storage yards and open-air depots, often in remote desert regions. Rows of decommissioned tanks, aircraft and artillery sat idle, gradually rendered ineffective due to a lack of spare parts and proper maintenance.

Shah of Iran
A F-14 of the Imperial Iranian Air Force (IIAF). After the revolution, the corps was renamed as the Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force (IRIAF). Today, the F-14 looks like a retrofuturistic machine, the mother of coolness and poetry in flight thanks to its automatized variable geometry wings.

In an unforeseen aftermath, the United States began dismantling its retired fleet of F-14 Tomcats in 2007, aiming to block Iran from acquiring replacement components.

2The 1979 revolution that deposed the Shah

The Iranian Revolution began on January 7, 1978, with protests in Qom after an article criticized Iran’s most influential religious leader, Ayatollah Khomeini. Demonstrations escalated throughout the year, culminating in the Shah’s overthrow on February 11, 1979.

The Iranian Revolution was driven by economic struggles, political repression and cultural tensions. By the late 1970s, inflation, corruption, and forced modernization alienated key groups, including clerics, merchants and students. The Shah’s autocratic rule, suppression of dissent and close ties to the West fueled opposition, while Khomeini’s leadership united various factions.

Shah of Iran
A movie billboard in Tehran during the Shah era, when Iranian cinema flourished with glamorous premieres, popular stars and a booming industry that embraced both local storytelling and Western influence. After the 1979 revolution, the film industry was brought under strict ideological control. Many cinemas were shut down or burned, filmmakers were censored or exiled, and women were banned from appearing on screen without hijab. .

The revolution was not led solely by Islamic fundamentalists. Women, Jews, left-wing activists, Marxist guerrillas and liberal students joined the movement, believing that removing the monarchy would open space for elections.

Paradoxically, when the revolution established a theocratic regime, many of these factions that had fought for change faced repression, imprisonment and execution. Women lost their rights, ultimately forced to live under strict Islamic laws, including mandatory veiling.

After violent clashes, including armed street fighting and government crackdowns, on February 11, 1979, the army declared neutrality before they conflict scalated to a civil war, ending the monarchy.

Shah of Iran
Driving through the streets of Tehran in the 1970s.

The Shah, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, fled Iran on January 16, 1979, seeking asylum in several countries before settling in Egypt, where he died on July 27, 1980.

A March referendum established an Islamic Republic. By 1981, the new constitution granted absolute power to the unelected supreme leader, who must be a senior cleric.

All Western culture was banned. Music, bars, nightclubs, satellite dishes, Western films and mixed-gender sports were outlawed. State radio played military marches and universities purged secular subjects.

Revolutionary tribunals swiftly executed former officials. From 1981 to 1985, thousands of political prisoners were publicly hanged or shot.

1Iran’s underground scene of western culture, seed of a new spring

Iran’s underground scene is a hidden cultural movement that defies strict government restrictions. Emerging after the 1979 revolution, it grew as Western influences were banned.

Young Iranians secretly consume prohibited music, films and fashion, gathering in private spaces. They turn to VPNs, satellite TV and illegal venues to access global trends.

This is an underground counter-culture defying state-imposed fundamentalism, driven by a pursuit of personal freedom and modernity, despite the constant threat of censorship and punishment.

Shah of Iran
To the fundamentalist clerics’ dismay, this world of music, fashion, free thought and expression was never fully annihilated. It went underground, growing in hidden studios, secret parties and illicit art, a latent force beneath society’s surface. In times of unrest or war, it could rise as a powerful internal current to help bring down the regime that once silenced it.

Roughly 30 million Iranians now use virtual private networks to stream Spotify or Netflix. Tehran hosts secret warehouse raves where DJs mix techno with Persian vocals. Home studios upload indie rock to SoundCloud while illegal fashion shows appear on Instagram before censors delete accounts.

In 2020, Netherlands-based GAMAAN found that 2/3 of Iranian respondents favored a secular state. Protests in 2019 and 2022 shifted from nationalist slogans to direct opposition against the supreme leader.

This underground movement, driven by those under the boot of the fundamentalist regime, could be the seed of a new spring revolution. For now, Iran’s formidable security forces keep it contained. However, a war against foreign powers could weaken their grip, leaving the movement poised like an underground resistance, ready to emerge.

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