On this day in 1978, representatives from Iran, Germany, and the Soviet Union signed an agreement to export Iranian natural gas to Germany via the U.S.S.R. However, because of the Islamic Revolution later that year, this agreement was never implemented.
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On this day in 1954, 22 representatives of a consortium of oil “giants” entered Tehran to sign a new oil agreement with the Iranian government led by Ali Amini. This was after the overthrow of the Mossadegh administration, which prior to the 1953 coup d’état, had nationalization of Iranian oil.
On this day in 1964, Reza Shamsabaadi, a conscripted soldier, attempted to assassinate the Shah of Iran. While the Shah was not harmed during this assassination attempt, two guards and Reza Shamsabaadi himself were killed. After the 1979 Islamic Revolution, Shamsabaadi was declared a “martyr.”
On this day in 1980, American president Jimmy Carter announced the suspension of U.S.-Iranian relations. He also asked all Americans residing in Iran to leave Iran within twenty-four hours. This action was a response to the Iranian occupation of the U.S. embassy in Tehran, and the resulting hostage crisis. Relations between the two nations remain fragmented to this day despite the recent improvement in diplomatic ties.
On this day in 1921, Iranian Prime Minister Zia'eddin Tabatabaee formally revoked Iran’s 1919 agreement with the government of Britain. According to the Anglo-Persian Agreement, Iran would guarantee the British access to Iranian oil fields, and in return, Britain would provide munitions and equipment for a British-trained army, two million sterling loan for Iranian reforms, survey and build railroads in Iran, and revise the custom tariff between the two nations. This agreement was one of the reasons behind the coup d’état of 1920, which resulted in the coming to power of Zia'eddin Tabatabaee and Reza Khan, and ultimately led to the downfall of the Qajar Dynasty.
On this day in 1925, the National Assembly of Iran passed a law mandating all Iranians to acquire birth certificates henceforth. The law also required the selection of a last name. Until this date and the passage of this law, Iranians typically did not have a formal birth certificate or last name. In place of a last name, individuals were usually identified by the first name of their father.
On this day in 1942, after the partitioning of Poland between Hitler’s Germany and the Stalin’s Soviet Union, a number of polish women migrated to the USSR. Stalin eventually sent these displaced women to Tehran and several other cities in Iran, which was occupied by the Allied forces and the Red army. To make ends meet, these women had to begin working in restaurants. This happened to be the first time in Iranian history that women had been employed in this occupation.
There is something interesting about the recent Saudi-led coalition against the Houthi rebels in Yemen, and by proxy Iran. Other than Oman, all the Persian Gulf States (Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Kuwait, Qatar, and Bahrain, Jordan), Egypt, Pakistan, Morocco, Turkey, and even Sudan, a traditional ally of Iran, have united in an effort to contain Iran’s regional influence. I am even convinced that if the Arabs had not constantly preached their hatred of the Jewish state, they would have also included Israel in their coalition against the Islamic Republic of Iran. The reason this coalition interests me is that rarely has the Middle East been so united against a common “threat.”
Take the first Arab-Israeli war (1948). Arab forces from Egypt, Transjordan (Jordan), Iraq, Lebanon, Syria, and Saudi Arabia united against Israel. In the second Arab-Israeli War (1967), also known as the Six-Day War, the same five Arab nations united against Israel. This time, however, Algeria, Kuwait, Libya, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Tunisia, and even Pakistan supported the Arabs against Israel. In the Yom Kippur War of 1978, Egypt and Syria, supported by Iraq, Jordan, Algeria, Morocco, and Tunisia once against united against Israel. In none of these conflicts, however, were all the Arab states as united as they currently are against Iran. Even in the current and divisive conflict in Syria, only five Arab nations - Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the UAE, and Qatar - sought coalition airstrikes against the Assad regime. The Islamic Republic of Iran’s ability to unite all the states in the region against itself is truly exceptional. Imagine what the world would be like if Iran used this unique ability to combat regional terrorism and made the region a better, safer, and more stable place. On this day in 1922, supporters of the Iranian monarchy protested against a proposal by the prime minister of Iran, Reza Khan, to abolish the monarchy and declare Iran a republic. Major opponents of this change were the clergy, who were led by ayatollah Hassan Modarres. Eventually Prime Minister Reza Khan gave up on declaring Iran a republic, and the Qajar Dynasty remained in power. The following year the National Assembly of Iran voted to make Reza Khan the King of Iran. Ironically, the clergy, who supported Modarres in the 1920s, became vehement supporters of abolishing the monarchy in the 1970s.
Sizdah Be-Dar is a festival in the Iranian culture, and it is held thirteen (Sizdah) days after the Iranian New Year, Nowrooz, during which people spend time picnicking outdoors. The roots of this tradition can be traced back in Iranian history to the Achaemenian Empire.
It is said that on this day, Iranian Jews facing an imminent massacre were saved, and from that day forth Sizde Be-Dar became a tradition. According to the Torah, one of the king’s ministers who was an anti-Semite had commanded various commanders across the Persian empire to kill every Jew. However, Xerxes, the Achaemenian King, and Queen Esther, who was Jewish, discovered this conspiracy plot. To thwart the conspiracy, Queen Esther requested the King to issue a new command asking all Jews in the empire to not stay indoors on the thirteenth day, and to spend the day outdoors. This was done to ensure that the Jewish people, whose homes had been identified and marked as a result of the conspiracy, would be outdoors, unidentifiable since not at home, and thus not in danger. Accordingly, the Persian custom of Sizdah Be-Dar began was created. To this day, Persians spend the thirteenth day of the New Year outdoors to get rid of, or avoid, bad luck. On April 1, 1978, Iran held a national referendum, the result of which was almost 98 approval of the nation becoming an “Islamic Republic.” Since the death of Khomeini, only one referendum has been held, and that referendum sought to amend the constitution of Iran in favor of further empowering the Supreme Leader. Both presidents Khatami and Rouhani have sought to hold referendums to reform the Iranian constitution, however, supporters of the Supreme Leader have vehemently opposed their suggestions to hold such a referendum.
On March 31, 1925, the National Assembly of Iran (Majlesse Showraye Melli) approved the modern Iranian calendar. Under this new law, the Iranian New Year was to begin on the first day of spring, and dates were to be based on the Solar Hijri calendar. Prior to this change in the law, the names of the months were mostly Arabic words. This law, however, revived and adopted the ancient Persian names, which are still in use today.
On this day, March 30, in 1970, with the approval of the Shah of Iran, a group of U.N. representatives entered Bahrain and began a survey to determine whether the islanders wanted independence from Iran. The Shah agreed to this survey because he wanted the British to withdraw their forces from the Iranian islands of Abu Musa, Greater Tunb, and Lesser Tunb in the Persian Gulf.
After the majority of Bahrain’s population declared their desire for independence, the Shah agreed. Despite the disapproval of Persian nationalists, Iran ultimately renounced its claims of sovereignty over Bahrain in May of 1970.
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