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44-579: Founded as one of Organizations of the Iranian Revolution in 1979, after the overthrow of the Shah they served as substitutes for some of the governmental institutions no longer functioning after the fall of the shah, "such as social services, security, and police". Komiteh were "more widespread and active in cities than rural areas". They were often "located in captured police centers, in the houses of former government officials, and in some public places such as

88-503: A faqih Supreme Leader , and increasing the power and clerical character of the Council of Guardians which could veto un-Islamic legislation. The new constitution was opposed by some clerics, including Ayatollah Shariatmadari , and secularists who urged a boycott. It was approved by referendum on December 2 and 3, 1979, by over 98 percent of the vote. Muslim Student Followers of the Imam's Line

132-621: A few days of the Khomeini's arrival in Iran. It was made up of the Mojahedin of the Islamic Revolution (OMIR), merchants of the bazaar and "a large segment of the politically active clergy." It "operated on every level of society, from government offices to almost all city quarters..." and worked to establish theocratic government by velayat-e faqih in Iran outmaneuvering opponents and wielding power on

176-597: A series of pamphlets such as " Struggle against the Shah's Dictatorship ", " What a Revolutionary Must Know " and " How the Armed Struggle Will Be Transformed into a Mass Struggle? ". The pamphlets were followed by Masoud Ahmadzadeh 's treatise " Armed Struggle: Both a Strategy and a Tactic " and " The Necessity of Armed Struggle and the Rejection of the Theory of Survival " by Amir Parviz Pouyan . The group

220-595: A tightly structured independent organisation but more a movement of loosely bound groups usually centered around a mosque. Although in the early days of the revolution Khomeinists—those in the Islamic Republican Party—denied connection to Hezbollah, maintaining its attacks were the spontaneous will of the people over which the government had no control, in fact Hezbollah was supervised by "a young protegee of Khomeini," Hojjat al-Islam Hadi Ghaffari. The seventy-three-member Assembly of Experts for Constitution

264-999: Is a militant ultraconservative Islamist group in Iran . Along with the Basij , they are said to "represent a key element of the Islamic Republic's hold on power, its use of violent repression" of dissident gatherings. Its ideology revolves around devotion to Grand Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini and his belief in Valiyat al-faqih and elimination of foreign non-Islamic influences. Organization of Iranian People%27s Fedai Guerrillas The Organization of Iranian People's Fedai Guerrillas (OIPFG; Persian : سازمان چريک‌های فدايی خلق ايران , romanized :  Sâzmân-e Čerik-hâye Fadâyi-e Xalğ-e Irân ), simply known as Fadaiyan-e-Khalq ( Persian : فداییان خلق , romanized :  Fadâ'iān-e Xalğ , lit.   'Popular Self-sacrificers')

308-639: The Committees of Public Safety of the French Revolution , and served to control the working class supporters of the revolution who made up most of the revolution's mass of demonstrators. During the Iran-Iraq War, the revolutionary committees also served on the war front. Following the crushing of opposition, the komiteh turned to "enforcing Islamic regulations on social behavior", hunting down bad hejabi and enforcement of other measures, particularly among

352-564: The Islamic Republic Party by People's Mujahedin of Iran resulted in the death of around 70 high-ranking officials, cabinet members and members of parliament, including Mohammad Beheshti , the secretary-general of the party and head of the Islamic Party's judicial system. Mohammad-Javad Bahonar then became the secretary-general of the party, but was in turn assassinated on September 2. Because of these events and other assassinations

396-668: The National Front and the Liberation Movement as " Petite bourgeoisie paper organizations still preaching the false hope of peaceful change". Fedai Guerrillas initially criticized the Soviet Union and the Tudeh Party as well, however they later abandoned the stance as a result of cooperation with the socialist camp. Bijan Jazani , known as the "intellectual father" of the organization, contributed to its ideology by writing

440-453: The Siahkal incident , the explosion of electricity pylons, the explosion of some police stations, the assassination of Major General Farsiu, the assassination of Mohammad Sadeq Fateh Yazdi, one of the largest factories in Iran, attacking and robbing government banks, and bombing the offices of American oil companies. The Fedaian began as a radical leftist guerilla group, established in 1971 as

484-813: The Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei , was established in 1991. As of 2005, a branch of FARAJA known as the Guidance Patrol serves as a successor organisation to the Komiteh. Organizations of the Iranian Revolution Many organizations, parties and guerrilla groups were involved in the Iranian revolution . Some were part of Ayatollah Khomeini 's network and supported the theocratic Islamic Republic movement, while others did not and were suppressed when Khomeini took power. Some groups were created after

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528-465: The 300,000 rifles and sub-machine guns seized from military arsenals ended up with the committees who confiscated property and arrested those they believed to be counter-revolutionaries. In Tehran alone there were 1500 committees. Inevitably there was conflict between the committees and the other sources of authority, particularly the Provisional Government. To deal with this, on February 12,

572-505: The Islamic Party was weakened in 1981. It was dissolved in 1987. The Revolutionary Guard or Pasdaran-e Enqelab , was established by a decree issued by Khomeini on May 5, 1979 "to protect the revolution from destructive forces and counter-revolutionaries," i.e., as a counterweight both to the armed groups of the left, and to the Iranian military, which had been part of the Shah's power base. 6,000 persons were initially enlisted and trained, but

616-473: The Islamic Revolution Organization . The Coalition of Islamic Societies was founded by religious bazaaris (traditional merchants). The Combatant Clergy Association comprised Morteza Motahhari , Ayatollah Mohammad Beheshti , Mohammad-Javad Bahonar , Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani and Mofatteh who later became the major governors of Islamic Republic. They used a cultural approach to fight

660-624: The Organization of the Iranian People's Fedai Guerillas. By the 1960s the Shah's ability to repress dissent was decreasing. The establishment of the OIPFG can be contextualized in the growing global unrest towards imperialism and colonial rule. The regime had used harsh violence to repress opposition in 1963, paving the way for more radical groups to form. The army's growing tendency to gun down protestors forced opposition into guerilla groups. The OIPFG

704-552: The Pahlavi regime by assassination and armed struggle. They were illegal and heavily suppressed by the SAVAK internal security apparatus. They included the Tudeh Party of Iran ; the Organization of Iranian People's Fedai Guerrillas (OIPFG) and the breakaway Iranian People's Fedai Guerrillas (IPFG), two armed organizations; and some minor groups. Although they played an important part in

748-481: The Ruler, and since I have appointed him, he must be obeyed. The nation must obey him. This is not an ordinary government. It is a government based on the sharia . Opposing this government means opposing the sharia of Islam ... Revolt against God's government is a revolt against God. Revolt against God is blasphemy . Mehdi Bazargan introduced his 7-member cabinet on February 14, 1979, three days after victory day when

792-518: The Shah. Because of internal repression, opposition groups abroad, like the Confederation of Iranian students , the foreign branch of Freedom Movement of Iran and the Islamic association of students , were important to the revolution. The "Revolutionary Council" was formed by Khomeini to manage the revolution on 12 January 1979, shortly before he returned to Iran. Its existence was kept a secret during

836-497: The affairs of the nation. I pray to God for the success of you and your interim government at this sensitive juncture of our nation's history.’’ Ruhollah Al-Musavi al-Khomeini Elaborating further on his decree, Khomeini made it clear Iranians were commanded to obey Bazargan and that this was a religious duty. As a man who, though the guardianship [ Velayat ] that I have from the holy lawgiver [the Prophet], I hereby pronounce Bazargan as

880-542: The army announced its neutrality in conflicts between Khomeini's and Bakhtiar's supporters. Bakhtiar resigned on the same day, February 11. The PRG is often described as "subordinate" to the Revolutionary Council, and having had difficulties reigning in the numerous komitehs which were competing with its authority Prime Minister Bazargan resigned and his government fell after American Embassy officials were taken hostage on November 4, 1979. Power then passed into

924-482: The army. Baseej were also used to attack opposition demonstrators and ransack opposition newspaper offices, who were believed to be enemies of the revolution. The Hezbollahi, or members of the Party of God, were the "strong-arm thugs" who attacked demonstrators and offices of newspapers critical of Khomeini, and later a wider variety of activities found to be undesirable for "moral" or "cultural" reasons. Hezbollah is/was not

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968-451: The authority to establish the interim government ... for the formation of a temporary government to arrange the affairs of the country and especially a national referendum vote about turning the country into an Islamic republic , ... All public offices, the army, and citizens shall furnish their utmost cooperation with your interim government so as to attain the high and holy goals of this Islamic revolution and to restore order and function to

1012-493: The committees of the Islamic revolution were charged with gathering weapons, organizing the armed revolutionaries, and generally fighting chaos in the wake of the collapse of the police and weakness of the army. Khomeini put Ayatollah Mahdavi Kani in charge of the komiteh . They also served as "the eyes and ears" of the new regime, and are credited by critics with "many arbitrary arrests, executions and confiscations of property". In

1056-407: The early, less secure time of the revolution. Rafsanjani says Ayatollah Khomeini chose Beheshti , Motahhari , Rafsanjani , Bahonar and Musavi Ardabili as members. These invited others to serve: Bazargan , Taleqani , Khamenei , Banisadr , Mahdavi Kani , Yadollah Sahabi , Katirayee , Ahmad Sadr Haj Seyed Javadi , Qarani and Ali Asqr Masoodi . This council suggested Mahdi Bazargan as

1100-526: The end of the year, the group was unified and had a three-cell structure. An "urban team," a "publication team," and a "rural team." Ideologically, the group pursued an anti-imperialist agenda and embraced armed propaganda to justify its revolutionary armed struggle against Iran's monarchy system , and believed in Materialism . They rejected reformism , and were inspired by thoughts of Mao Zedong , Che Guevara , and Régis Debray . They criticized

1144-626: The fall of the Pahlavi dynasty and still survive; others helped overthrow the Shah but no longer exist. Before the Iranian revolution , opposition groups tended to fall into three major categories: Constitutionalist , Marxist , and Islamist . Constitutionalists, including the National Front of Iran , wanted to revive constitutional monarchy including free elections. Without elections or outlets for peaceful political activity though, they had lost their relevance and had little following. Marxists groups were primarily guerrilla groups working to defeat

1188-462: The founders is the poet Ali Reza Nabdel , who would go on to write pamphlets for the organization. All three groups merged in 1971, when both came to the conclusion that armed struggle was the only way to defeat the Shah's regime and American influence. The groups started to overlap in 1970, with the first armed attack being a robbery of a bank in Tehran in order to bankroll the new organization. By

1232-452: The guard eventually grew into "a full-scale" military force "with air force and navy branches". Its work involves both conventional military duties, helping Islamic forces abroad, such as Hezbollah in Lebanon, and internal security, such as the suppression of narcotics trafficking, riots by the discontented, and unIslamic behavior by members of the public. It has been described as "without a doubt

1276-651: The hands of the Revolutionary Council. Bazargan had been a supporter of the original revolutionary draft constitution rather than theocracy by Islamic jurist, and his resignation was received by Khomeini without complaint, saying "Mr. Bazargan ... was a little tired and preferred to stay on the sidelines for a while." Khomeini later described his appointment of Bazargan as a "mistake." The first komitehs "sprang up everywhere" as autonomous organizations in late 1978. Organized in mosques, schools and workplaces, they mobilized people, organized strikes and demonstrations, and distributed scarce commodities. After February 12, many of

1320-455: The influence of the clergy and later fought the Islamic government. Individual writers and speakers like Ali Shariati and Morteza Morahhari did important work outside of these parties and groups. The Islamist groups that ultimately prevailed were the loyal followers of Ayatollah Khomeini. They included some minor armed Islamist groups which joined together after the revolution in the Mojahedin of

1364-401: The other post-revolutionary Iranian government agency. After the death of Khomeini and "during the first period of Ali-Akbar Hashemi-Rafsanjani's presidency ", the police Shahrbani , Gendarmerie , and kominteh were merged, and a new organization, called the "Disciplinary Force" ( Niru-ye entezami ) or Law Enforcement Command of Islamic Republic of Iran (FARAJA), under the direct control of

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1408-655: The parliament". As an arm of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini 's network of clerics, they also served as "the backbone of a second power within the state, along with the militia, the army, the revolutionary tribunals ", and the wealthy Islamic foundations . Before the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) was established in 1979, the komiteh "were responsible for eliminating counterrevolutionary elements within Iran", and worked to eliminate liberal, leftist, and Islamic leftist opposition to Khomeini's power. They have been described (by Gilles Kepel) as much like

1452-413: The prime minister of the temporary government of Khomeini, and he accepted it. After the revolution took power, the council became a legislative body issuing decrees until the formation of first parliament on 12 August 1980. The laws passed by this council were recognized as legitimate in the Islamic republic of Iran. The Provisional Revolutionary Government or "Interim Government of Iran" (1979–1980)

1496-494: The proposal of the Revolutionary Council , in accordance with the sharia based rights and legal rights which are both originated from the decisive and closely unanimous votes of Iranian nation for leadership of the movement, which in turn has been expressed in the vast gatherings and wide and numerous demonstrations throughout Iran and by virtue of my trust on your firm belief in the holy tenets of Islam ... I appoint you

1540-436: The revolution, they never developed a large base of support. Islamists were divided into several groups. The Freedom Movement of Iran was formed by religious members of the National Front of Iran . It also was a constitutional group and wanted to use lawful political methods against the Shah. This movement comprised Bazargan and Taleqani . The People's Mujahedin of Iran was a quasi-Marxist armed organization that opposed

1584-521: The secular middle class. They made certain that unmarried men and women do not hold hands or walk together on the sidewalk, that storekeepers display in their shops large, glossy photographs of the nation's senior Islamic clerics, that liquor is not served at private parties and that women keep their hair, arms and feet covered, preferably in the black robes called chadors. Made up of "mostly uneducated, undisciplined revolutionaries", at least as of 1990 they were allegedly more "feared or detested" than any of

1628-505: The street through the Hezbollah . The party achieved a large majority in the first parliament but clashed with first president, Banisadr , who was not a member of the party. Banisadr supporters were suppressed and Banisadr impeached and removed from office June 21, 1981. A campaign of terror against the IRP followed, mounted by the guerrilla group MEK. On the 28 June 1981, a bombing of the office of

1672-473: The strongest institution of the revolution" "Oppressed mobilization" or Baseej-e Mostaz'afin was founded at the command of Khomeini in 1980, to be organized by the Revolutionary Guard. Its purpose was to mobilize volunteers of many skills — doctors, engineers, but primarily to mobilize those too old or young to serve in other bodies. Basij (also Baseej) often provided security, and helped police and

1716-525: The summer of 1979, the komitehs were purged to eradicate the influence of the leftist guerrilla movements that had infiltrated them. In 1991 they were merged with the conventional police in a new organisation known as the Niruha-ye Entezami (Forces of Order). The Islamic Republic Party was started by Khomeini lieutenant Seyyed Mohammad Hosseini Beheshti and the Coalition of Islamic Societies within

1760-597: Was a group of student supporters of Khomeini that occupied the U.S. embassy in Tehran on 4 November 1979 after the ex-Shah of Iran was admitted to the United States for cancer treatment. Although the students later said they did not expect to occupy the embassy for long, their action received official support and triggered the Iran hostage crisis where 52 American diplomats were held hostage for 444 days. Ansar-e-Hezbollah ( Arabic : أنصار حزب الله , Persian : انصار حزب‌الله )

1804-526: Was an underground Marxist–Leninist guerrilla organization in Iran . The OIPFG was one of the most important and influential armed groups during the Iranian Revolution , although this organization failed to achieve its goal and lost many of its members, it had a great impact on some radical Iranian intellectuals of its generation. After its formation, the loyalists were able to carry out several important and noisy operations and assassinations, such as

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1848-566: Was elected in the summer of 1979 to write a new constitution for the Islamic Republic . The Assembly was originally conceived of as a way expediting the draft constitution which Khomeini supporters had started working when Khomeini was still in exile, but which leftists found too conservative and wanted to make major changes to. Ironically, it was the Assembly that made major changes, instituting principles of theocracy by velayat-e faqih , adding on

1892-471: Was formed and influenced by three different activist groups. The first was founded by Bijan Jazani , an activist and Marxist intellectual, in 1963. A student of political science, he had been in and out of prisons since the 1950s. The second was an offshoot of the growing student movement in 1967, led by Ahmadzade and A.P. Pouyan. The third group was formed in 1965 in Tabriz by a group of intellectuals. Included in

1936-483: Was the first government established in Iran following the overthrow of the monarchy. It was formed by order of Ayatollah Khomeini on February 4, 1979, while Shapour Bakhtiar (the Shah 's last Prime Minister) was still claiming power. Ayatollah Khomeini appointed Bazargan as the prime minister of "The Provisional Revolutionary Government" on February 4, 1979. According to his commandment: "Mr. Engineer Bazargan, Based on

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