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Sahar:
This is the Persian Empire, known today as Iran. For 2,500 years, this land was ruled by a series of kings, known as shahs. In 1950, The people of Iran elected Mohammad Mossadeqh, a secular democrat, as Prime Minister. He nationalized British and U.S. petroleum holdings, returning Iran's oil to its people. But in 1953, the U.S. and Great Britain engineered a coup d'etat that deposed Mossadeqh and installed Reza Pahlavi as shah. The young Shah was known for opulence and excess. His wife was rumored to bathe in milk while The shah had his lunches flown in by Concorde from Paris. The people starved. The shah kept power through his ruthless internal police; the SAVAK. An era of torture and fear began. He then began a campaign to westernize Iran, enraging a mostly traditional Shiite population. In 1979, The people of Iran overthrew The shah. The exiled cleric, Ayatollah Khomeini, returned to rule Iran. It descended into score-settling, death squads, and chaos. Dying of cancer, The shah was given asylum in the U.S. The Iranian people took to the streets outside the U.S. Embassy, demanding The shah be returned, tried, and hanged
This is the Persian Empire, known today as Iran. For 2,500 years, this land was ruled by a series of kings, known as shahs. In 1950, The people of Iran elected Mohammad Mossadeqh, a secular democrat, as Prime Minister. He nationalized British and U.S. petroleum holdings, returning Iran's oil to its people. But in 1953, the U.S. and Great Britain engineered a coup d'etat that deposed Mossadeqh and installed Reza Pahlavi as shah. The young Shah was known for opulence and excess. His wife was rumored to bathe in milk while The shah had his lunches flown in by Concorde from Paris. The people starved. The shah kept power through his ruthless internal police; the SAVAK. An era of torture and fear began. He then began a campaign to westernize Iran, enraging a mostly traditional Shiite population. In 1979, The people of Iran overthrew The shah. The exiled cleric, Ayatollah Khomeini, returned to rule Iran. It descended into score-settling, death squads, and chaos. Dying of cancer, The shah was given asylum in the U.S. The Iranian people took to the streets outside the U.S. Embassy, demanding The shah be returned, tried, and hanged
Full Transcript
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In 1950 the people of Iran elected Mohammad Mosaddegh
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a secular democrat as prime minister
00:00:08.975 --> 00:00:12.305
He nationalized British and US petroleum holdings
00:00:12.575 --> 00:00:15.239
returning Iran s oil to its people
00:00:16.775 --> 00:00:18.505
But in 1953
00:00:18.635 --> 00:00:21.394
the US and Great Britain engineered a coup d etat
00:00:21.465 --> 00:00:26.439
that deposed Mosaddegh and installed Reza Pahlavi as Shah
00:00:27.727 --> 00:00:31.999
The young child was known for opulence and excess
00:00:31.414 --> 00:00:34.142
His wife was rumored to bathe in milk
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while the Shah had his lunches flown in by concord from Paris
00:00:39.689 --> 00:00:41.274
The people starved
00:00:43.636 --> 00:00:47.149
The Shah kept power through his ruthless internal police
00:00:47.306 --> 00:00:48.636
the Savak
00:00:49.999 --> 00:00:52.157
An era of torture and fear began
00:00:54.429 --> 00:00:57.903
He then began a campaign to westernize Iran
00:00:59.998 --> 00:01:02.924
enraging the the mostly traditional Shia population
00:01:03.451 --> 00:01:07.751
In 1979 the people of Iran overthrew the Shah
00:01:09.001 --> 00:01:14.321
The exiled cleric Ayatollah Khomeini returned to rule Iran
00:01:16.999 --> 00:01:22.535
It descended into score settling death squads and chaos
00:01:25.107 --> 00:01:28.977
Dying of cancer the Shah was given asylum in the US
00:01:30.821 --> 00:01:34.001
The Iranian people took to the streets outside the US embassy
00:01:34.711 --> 00:01:38.312
demanding that the Shah be returned tried
00:01:39.999 --> 00:01:40.625
and hanged
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Movie Summary
As the Iranian revolution reaches a boiling point, a CIA 'exfiltration' specialist concocts a risky plan to free six Americans who have found shelter at the home of the Canadian ambassador.
