Whether as friend or foe, Iran continues to play a pivotal role in a strategically vital area of the world. Straddled between the world's two major energy basins, the Persian Gulf and the Caspian Sea, and possessing a rich reservoir of hydrocarbon resources as well as diverse minerals and a large and growing population, Iran has always been economically significant. The Islamic Revolution thrust the country back onto the political center-stage, and dramatically altered relations between Iran and the West. This book looks at these developments within an historical context. It charts how Iran sought to respond to the challenge of the West through reform and revolution, and to reverse the decline of the previous century with an ambitious program of development that would catapult the country back into the top division. This text offers a new interpretation of key events including the 1979 Revolution and the origins of the Iran-Iraq war. The author uses wide range of foreign and Persian sources including interviews with key players and shows how domestic and international events combined to produce certain outcomes.

2.Reza Khan and the Establishment of the Pahlavi State 20 -- 3. Reza Shah: Modernisation and Tradition, 1926-41 40 -- 4. Political Pluralism and the Ascendancy of Nationalism, 1941-53 75 -- 5. The Consolidation of Power, 1953-60 125 -- 6. The 'White Revolution' 147 -- 7. Towards the Great Civilisation 166 -- 8. Revolution, War and 'Islamic Republic' 192 -- 9. Conclusion: A Century of Reform and Revolution 250.