TIMELINE OF SIGNIFICANT EVENTS IN MODERN IRANIAN

HISTORY
• 1906 – Iran elects its first representative assembly
(majles) in an effort to create the foundations for a
constitutional monarchy and to enumerate personal
rights and freedoms.

• 1907 – Britain and Russia sign an entente, dividing Iran

into three spheres: a British sphere; a Russian sphere;
and a neutral sphere.

• 1908 – Oil is discovered in Iran.

• 1908 – Muhammad Ali Shah carries out a coup d’etat

against the Majles, successfully consolidating control
over most of the country.

• 1910 – The Shah abdicates and is replaced by his son,

Ahmad Shah. The Grand Majles is elected and
democratizes the electoral system.

• 1919 – The Anglo-Persian Treaty is signed, turning Iran

into a British protectorate.

• 1921 – Reza Khan carries out a coup d’etat and

declares martial law, though he leaves Ahmad Shah in
place.

• 1926 – Reza Khan is coronated and becomes Reza

Shah, replacing Ahmad Shah. He is credited with
creating Iran’s first effective centralized government.

• 1927 – Reza Shah ends the capitulations that had

granted foreign governments commercial privileges in
Iran.

• 1934 – Reza Shah decrees that Persia will be known as

 Iran, emphasizing a connection with the ancient Aryans.

• 1941 – Britain and the Soviet Union invade Iran, allied

with the Axis powers, and orchestrate the abdication of
Reza Shah.

• 1951 – Prime Minister Muhammad Mossadeq

nationalizes the Iranian oil industry.

• 1953 – Britain and the United States, in conjunction

with Mohammed Reza Shah, orchestrate a coup and
push Mossadeq from power.

• 1963 – Mohammed Reza Shah launches the White

Revolution, instituting land reform; changes in social
policies (promoting literacy, advancing women’s rights);
and economic expansion. While making some
advances, the Revolution raises but does not meet
Iranians’ expectations.

• 1978 – Mohammed Reza Shah declares martial law

after a series of massive protests in cities throughout
the country.

• 1979, February – Khomeini’s Islamic revolution forces

the Shah from power.

• 1979, November – After the deposed Shah enters the

United States for cancer treatment, a group of Iranian
students storms the US embassy in Tehran and holds
the staff hostage for 444 days.

• 1980 – Iraq invades Iran, launching the 8-year Iran-Iraq

war.

• 1981 – Khameini, the future Supreme Leader, is

elected president.

• 1983 – Iran successfully expels Iraqi forces and invades

 Iraq in turn.

• 1988 – The Iran-Iraq war ends.

• 1989 – Khamenei is elected Supreme Leader after

Khomeini dies; Rafsanjani is elected President, works to
repair damage of the 8-year war with Iraq.

• 1997 – Khatami is elected President in a landslide,

promising greater economic, political, and social
freedoms.

• 2000 – In parliamentary elections, Khatami’s

supporters win control of the Majles for the first time.

• 2005 – Ahmadinejad is elected President, promising an

end to corruption and quick economic improvements.

• 2006 – The International Atomic Energy Agency

submits a report on Iran’s nuclear activities to the
United Nations Security Council, ultimately leading to
the imposition of sanctions against Iran later in the
year.

• 2009 – Following presidential elections in June, in which

Ahmadinejad claims a strong victory, waves of
protesters flow into the streets and are suppressed by
the government.

This timeline was created with information from BBC News,

Ervand Abrahamian’s A History of Modern Iran, and Nikki R.
Keddie’s Modern Iran: Roots and Results of Revolution.

BBC News Iran Timeline

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/country_profiles/8062
68.stm

Abrahamian, Ervand. A History of Modern Iran. Cambridge:

Cambridge University Press, 2008.
Keddie, Nikki R. Modern Iran: Roots and Results of
Revolution. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2006.