Iran celebrates the 45th anniversary of the 1979 Islamic Revolution on February 11, 2024. On that day (11th February), the last Pahlavi ruler Mohammad Reza Shah’s reign collapsed and a new Islamic government, led by the Imam Ruhollah Khomeini, officially took over the Iranian State.
This year’s anniversary assumes extra significance in the face of renewed hostility by the former US President Donald Trump’s administration to dismantle the revolution once and for all and the determination of the Iranian government to march ahead in the spirit of the revolution.
The former National Security Advisor of the United States, John Bolton, had threatened Iran of overthrow to which the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei responded by stating: “I don’t think you’ll have many more anniversaries left to enjoy”.
This came true on 20th November 2021, when Trump was defeated in the US elections and was forced to leave the White House and now awaits trial for his arrogance during his unpopular four-year term.
The Islamic Revolution came at a time when the imperialists were taking pride in their great victories over the Muslim world. Then suddenly came the earthquake that shook the ground underneath the feet of the arrogant powers, and those tyrants did not regain their sobriety until after the tremor.
This occurred due to the snowballing effect of the great efforts of all revolutionary God-fearing Muslim scholars and activists of the past and present, who really understood the backwardness of the Muslim nations, accepted responsibility, and faced the difficulties they had to deal with along the path.
In reality, what happened in Iran was an occurrence much greater than our partial political imagination; it was a fulfillment of what God, the Glorious and Sublime has promised his oppressed righteous servants in the Quranic verse: “And we desired to show favor to those who were oppressed in the land and make them leaders and to make them the heirs, and to establish them in the land…” 28:5 At the same time, the Islamic revolution was patently different from other historical liberal or leftist revolutions.
The French Revolution of 1789, for example, was built on European Enlightenment ideas of liberty, equality, and fraternity.
The Russian and Chinese revolutions were guided and defined by a Marxist secular spirit of liberation from oppressive political and economic systems.
In contrast, as rightly stated by the Supreme Leader - in his statement of the Second Phase of the Islamic Revolution - the Revolution that occurred in Iran was an Islamic religious revolution in words, spirit, content, and action.
The victory of the Islamic Revolution in Iran did not only mean the fall of the Pahlavi regime in Iranian history but also marked a prominent stage in Islamic history and manifested the beginning of a new era in the human world.
The historical value of the establishment of the Islamic Republic lies in the following aspects: a) the end of a period of Muslim submission to arrogant powers of the West or East; b) an end to the hegemony of arrogant and colonial powers; and c) regaining of the lost Islamic glory.
In other words, it was a phenomenon that inspired all the oppressed nations of the world. Due to these effects of the Revolution, the arrogant forces decided to confront this revolution in its infant state through all forms of pressure and conspiracy, both internally and externally, in order to silence and completely obliterate it.
The Iraqi imposed war was part of this awful imperialist plot.
The Iraqi regime was not the actual adversary in this war, but only a conduit for the force of the great powers.
The real antagonists in the conflict were the imperialists who divide the oppressed peoples of the world among themselves and control them to serve their own interests.
Yet, the wise, truly Islamic leadership, coupled with the sacrificial spirit of the faithful Iranians served and is continuing to serve as a firm shield against the imperialists’ aggressions and thus today we see a flourishing, thriving Islamic Republic of Iran, presenting a praise-worthy model of state vis-à-vis the world bullies and is also a source of inspiration for the other oppressed nations of the world.
In the words of the Supreme Leader, Grand Ayatollah Khamenei: “The auspicious Revolution of the Iranian nation, which is the greatest and most popular revolution of the contemporary era, is the only revolution that has persisted forty years of pride, saved from the betrayal of its values, and it has preserved its dignity and original slogans against all the temptations that seemed irresistible; hence, entering the second phase of self-development.”
From an alternative angle, U.S. hostility and sanctions have made Iran more powerful in various fields and more assertive regionally.
Post-1979 severance of ties with America and the ever-present threats to revolution and national security pushed the Iranians to achieve self-sufficiency in many areas including military technology and hardware production.
Today, Iran produces almost all of its critical military equipment from battle tanks and submarines to sophisticated unmanned aerial vehicles and long-range ballistic missiles.
Such military advances are not to defeat the U.S. military in the Middle East but they are meant to effectively deter any possible aggression against the Iranian nation. Scientifically, Iran held the 16th place in the 2018 Human Development Report (out of a total of 189 countries); all Iranian households have access to water and electricity, and the poverty level was reduced to 10% by 2014.
Dependence on oil revenues has also been progressively reduced. In response to Western sanctions, the Iranians are implementing a new strategy, dubbed “resistance economy”, to cope with the pressures of sanctions. This strategy is aimed at promoting domestic production for domestic consumption and reducing imports and dependence on foreign currencies, particularly dollar-based foreign trade.
So, as indicated in the above-mentioned statement, the objective is to reduce Iran’s vulnerabilities during the second phase of the revolution, by promoting the domestic capacity to absorb economic shocks, improving Iran’s industrial and technological competitiveness, and facilitating the development of a knowledge-based economy. As put by the Supreme Leader:
“Our achievements in science and technology - which have put us in the 16th place among more than 200 countries in the world, have surprised world observers and in some sensitive and new fields has promoted us to the first ranks - happened while the country was under financial and scientific sanctions. In spite of having to swim against the tide made by the enemy, we have made great records, and this is a great blessing, for which one needs to thank God day and night.
To conclude, after 40 years of the Islamic Revolution, Iran has consolidated itself both domestically and regionally by developing itself into a dominant regional power.
Domestically, Iranians remain committed to the basic objectives of the revolution – independence, freedom, and the Islamic Republic. Overall, Iran stands much stronger than it did before the revolution with its military and social capacity to defend itself from future foreign aggression and protect the Islamic Revolution.
The way the Islamic Republic of Iran has progressed in the last 40 years, often passing through numerous twists and turns, conforms to its national resilience to hold on to the revolution, project an independent voice in world affairs, and expand its influence in regional and global affairs.
As admitted by friends and foes alike, the Islamic Republic of Iran has attained amazing success in various scientific fields for more than 40 years, in spite of many obstacles, including anti-human sanctions. And despite various ups and downs that are unavoidably faced by all freedom fighters, Islamic Iran already emerged as a great power in the world scene.
All these magnificent achievements are no doubt owing to the Iranians’ adherence to Divine commands and their reliance on Allah – The Best Helper. The foundation stone of a scientific revolution in the country has been laid, and this revolution has offered martyrs, including the martyred nuclear scientists like Martyr Mohsen Fakhrizadeh and Martyr General Qasem Soleimani, making Islamic Iran a prominent feature in the Middle East.
As Islam is a permanent world phenomenon so will be the Islamic Republic of Iran; since it derives its life from Islam, so it is here to stay.