The Rest Is History

637. Revolution in Iran: Rise of the Ayatollah (Part 2)

January 22, 2026

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  • Ayatollah Khomeini's November 1978 message from Paris, framed in apocalyptic Shiite terms, was the catalyst for the final uprisings that led to the downfall of the Shah of Iran. 
  • The Carter administration was paralyzed by internal conflict between Vance and Brzezinski, leading to a critical failure to engage with Khomeini in Paris, which Ambassador Sullivan strongly condemned. 
  • The Iranian Revolution combined potent religious fervor with underlying Iranian nationalism, while in the US, the resulting oil crisis and inflation severely damaged President Carter's political standing and led to his famous 'malaise' speech. 
  • President Carter's July 1979 televised address, intended to address a national crisis of confidence by denouncing consumerism and urging spiritual rebirth, was widely perceived as "bonkers" and contributed significantly to his plummeting approval ratings and the lasting perception of his "weirdness." 
  • The intense negative press coverage of President Carter, exemplified by the story of him allegedly being attacked by an aquatic rabbit, highlighted the unprecedented level of contempt he faced from the Washington establishment. 
  • While the US was preoccupied with Carter's domestic struggles, Ayatollah Khomeini's revolutionary forces in Iran were solidifying power by executing Shah loyalists, reversing women's rights, and focusing their anti-Western sentiment on the US Embassy, setting the stage for a major confrontation. 

Segments

Khomeini’s Paris Sermon Trigger
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(00:04:39)
  • Key Takeaway: Ayatollah Khomeini’s November 1978 message from Paris, delivered during the month of Muharram, directly triggered the final uprisings against the Shah.
  • Summary: Khomeini drafted a pivotal message in Paris in November 1978, calling for epic heroism and sacrifice during Muharram. This message condemned the Shah’s government and galvanized the final revolutionary actions. Its release paved the way for Khomeini’s triumphant return from exile weeks later.
Characterizing the Three Figures
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(00:05:37)
  • Key Takeaway: The Shah was viewed as a repressive but weak American puppet, Khomeini as an austere, formidable clerical critic, and Carter as an evangelical outsider struggling with foreign policy.
  • Summary: The Shah, ruling since 1941, was seen as corrupt and weak despite modernizing efforts. Khomeini, exiled in Iraq, fiercely criticized the Shah’s secularization drive. President Carter, an outsider from Georgia, struggled to balance his support for the Shah with the gathering revolutionary momentum.
Revolutionary Coalition and Shah’s Failure
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(00:07:34)
  • Key Takeaway: The Iranian revolution was fueled by a coalition of urban merchants, alienated rural migrants, students, and undermining Shiite clerics, exacerbated by the Shah’s indecisive response.
  • Summary: The uprising involved urban shopkeepers alienated by inflation, disenfranchised rural migrants, and repressed university students. Uniquely, Shiite clerics felt ideologically and economically undermined by the Shah’s modernization. The Shah’s failure to either appease or crush the protests, partly due to his leukemia, allowed momentum to build.
US Policy Dithering and Internal Feud
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(00:11:34)
  • Key Takeaway: The US policy response was characterized by dithering and an undeclared feud between the dovish Secretary of State Cyrus Vance and the hawkish National Security Advisor Zbigniew Brzezinski.
  • Summary: The US lacked a clear strategy, struggling to comprehend the theological nature of the opposition. Vance favored listening to the ambassador in Tehran, while Brzezinski pushed for a hard line supporting the Shah. This internal conflict prevented a unified or timely American response to the crisis.
Khomeini’s Exile in Paris
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(00:16:52)
  • Key Takeaway: Khomeini’s relocation to Paris provided him with unprecedented access to the world media, where he skillfully used liberal speechwriters to craft an accessible, anti-imperialist message.
  • Summary: After being expelled from Iraq by Saddam Hussein’s Ba’athist regime, Khomeini moved to Paris in October 1978. This location made him an international celebrity, allowing him to give 130 interviews quickly. His message to the West downplayed his radical Islamism, focusing instead on opposing the Shah’s corruption and Western imperialism.
Velayat-e Faqih Explained
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(00:20:04)
  • Key Takeaway: Khomeini’s core concept, Velayat-e Faqih (guardianship of the jurist), was a radical theological innovation proposing that clerics should actively govern the state, overturning centuries of Shia political quietism.
  • Summary: This concept posits that clerics like Khomeini should assume the guardianship of the state, a role traditionally believed to have ended with the 12th Imam. While appearing conservative by rejecting Western concepts like secularism, this idea was profoundly revolutionary within Shia doctrine. The vagueness of its practical details made the vision highly potent for mobilizing support.
Ashura Climax and US Policy Reversal
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(00:27:21)
  • Key Takeaway: The climax of the uprising occurred on Ashura (December 10/11, 1978), leading the US to briefly consider engaging Khomeini, a move immediately rejected by Brzezinski as ’nutty.'
  • Summary: Massive demonstrations occurred on Ashura, with crowds chanting ‘Death to America,’ viewing the US as the Shah’s puppet masters. Ambassador Sullivan urged Washington to contact Khomeini, but Carter, influenced by Brzezinski’s view of the Ayatollah as a ‘madman,’ canceled the outreach. Sullivan later noted this failure to engage was an irretrievable mistake.
Shah’s Departure and Power Vacuum
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(00:33:46)
  • Key Takeaway: The Shah fled Iran on January 19, 1979, leaving behind a paralyzed state and an interim Prime Minister, Shapur Bakhtiyar, who was immediately rejected by Khomeini.
  • Summary: The Shah left Iran after oil production collapsed and domestic chaos intensified, entrusting the country to Bakhtiyar, the revolution’s Kerensky figure. Khomeini returned on February 1, 1979, to massive crowds, immediately declaring Bakhtiyar’s government illegal. The army’s subsequent declaration of neutrality on February 11 effectively ceded control to Khomeini’s forces.
US Energy Crisis and Carter’s Malaise Speech
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(00:50:34)
  • Key Takeaway: The Iranian oil shutdown caused US crude prices to surge from $13 to $34 a barrel, leading to domestic gas rationing and fueling a national crisis of confidence that Carter addressed by focusing on spiritual malaise.
  • Summary: The collapse of Iranian oil exports triggered massive inflation in the US, leading to gas rationing and riots in places like Levittown, Pennsylvania. Politically, this crisis was poisonous for Carter, whose attempts to manage the economy were overshadowed by public resentment. Carter responded by canceling energy addresses to instead focus on a national ‘crisis of confidence’ and self-indulgence.
Carter’s Spiritual Malaise Speech
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(00:58:33)
  • Key Takeaway: President Carter consulted cultural theorists like Daniel Bell and Christopher Lash before delivering a speech focused on American spiritual malaise and consumerism.
  • Summary: Carter met with dozens of 1970s cultural theorists to inform his address on the American spiritual crisis. He urged Americans to look into their hearts, stop being consumerist, and conserve energy by taking the bus and setting thermostats lower. The speech concluded with a call for a rebirth of the American spirit, which many listeners found overly earnest and inappropriate for a national address.
Public Reaction to Carter’s Speech
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(01:00:54)
  • Key Takeaway: Americans were unaccustomed to a US President denouncing consumerism or speaking so earnestly about faith and moral failings.
  • Summary: The 65 million viewers found the speech’s focus on moral failings and consumerism shocking, as US presidents post-WWII typically delivered upbeat messages. Carter followed the speech by purging his administration, sacking the Treasury, Attorney General, and Energy Secretaries, which led to his approval rating dropping to 23% and the speech being permanently labeled the “Malaise Speech.”
Carter’s Rabbit Attack Incident
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(01:03:34)
  • Key Takeaway: A widely reported incident where a rabbit attacked President Carter while he was fishing was used by critics to portray him as weak and ineffectual.
  • Summary: In August 1979, a rabbit reportedly attacked Carter in a swamp, forcing him to fend it off with a canoe paddle. Wildlife charities subsequently criticized Carter for hitting the animal, leading him to issue a statement clarifying he only splashed water at it. This incident, combined with the fallout from the Malaise Speech, led political opponents to label him an absolute wimp, suggesting his weakness explained the loss of Iran.
Khomeini Consolidates Power
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(01:05:04)
  • Key Takeaway: By the spring of 1979, Khomeini’s supporters established revolutionary courts, reversed key women’s rights, and adopted a constitution pledging to export the revolution.
  • Summary: Paramilitary groups loyal to Khomeini took control of the streets, and revolutionary courts began holding secret trials executing Shah loyalists. Women lost some divorce and custody rights, and new censorship laws shut down liberal newspapers. The new Iranian constitution explicitly committed the nation to exporting the revolution across the Islamic world.
Focus Shifts to US Embassy
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(01:06:08)
  • Key Takeaway: As Carter struggled domestically, Khomeini’s supporters identified two primary threats: the exiled Shah and the US Embassy, the perceived “Den of Spies.”
  • Summary: Khomeini’s supporters were anxious about internal and external enemies, focusing on the still-living Shah, who wandered from Morocco to Mexico. They became fixated on the US Embassy in Tehran, believing it was the center from which the CIA plotted the 1953 coup. This focus on the embassy directly preceded the defining humiliation of American history.