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<<< Iran
7000 (1) (2)
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(6) (7)
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1907
Introduction of constitution which limits the royal absolutism of past
dynasties that ruled Persia over the previous five centuries.
1921 22 February - Military commander Reza Khan seizes power.
1923 - Reza Khan becomes prime minister. |
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1925 12 December - Parliament, in a constituent assembly, vote to vest the
crown of Iran in Reza Shah Pahlavi.
1926 25 April - The coronation takes place and the Pahlavi era begins.
Mohammad Reza, the Shah's eldest son, is proclaimed Crown Prince.
1935 - Formerly known as Persia, Iran is adopted as the country's official
name.
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Reza Pahlavi Shah
1941 - The Shah's pro-Axis allegiance in World War II leads to the
Anglo-Russian occupation of Iran and the deposition of the Shah in favour
of his son, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi.
1950 - Ali Razmara becomes prime minister and is assassinated less than
nine months later. He is succeeded by the nationalist, Mohammad Mossadeq. |
1951 April - Parliament votes to nationalise the oil industry. The
Anglo-Iranian Oil Company is unable to continue operations and as a result
Britain boycotts the purchase of Iranian oil. A power struggle between the
Shah and Mossadeq ensues.
1953 22 August - With the help of western backing, mainly due to oil
interests in the country, the Shah overthrows Mossadeq in a coup d'etat
staged by General Fazlollah Zahedi. |
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Campaign to modernise
1963 26 January - The Shah embarks on a campaign to modernise and
westernise the country. He launches the 'White Revolution', a programme of
land reform and social and economic modernization. During the late 1960's
the Shah became increasingly dependent on the Secret Police (SAVAK) in
controlling those opposition movements critical of his reforms.
1978 September - The Shah's policies alienate the clergy and his
authoritarian rule leads to riots, strikes and mass demonstrations.
Martial law is imposed.
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Shah exiled, Khomeini returns
1979 16 January - As the political situation deteriorates, the Shah and
his family are forced into exile.
1979 1 February - The Islamic fundamentalist, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini,
returns to Iran following 14 years of exile in Iraq and France for
opposing the regime. |
1979 1 April - The Islamic Republic of Iran is proclaimed following a
referendum.
1979 4 November - Islamic militants take 52 Americans hostage inside the
US embassy in Tehran. They demand the extradition of the Shah, in the US
at the time for medical treatment, to face trial in Iran.
1980 25 January - Abolhasan Bani-Sadr is elected the first President of
the Islamic Republic. His government begins work on a major
nationalization programme.
1980 27 July - The exiled Shah dies of cancer in Egypt. |
Iran-Iraq war
1980 22 September - Iraq invades Iran following border skirmishes and a
dispute over the Shatt al-Arab waterway. This marks the beginning of a war
that will last eight years.
1981 20 January - The American hostages are released ending 444 days in
captivity.
1981 22 June - Bani-Sadr is dismissed, he later flees to France.
1985 - After the US and Soviet Union halted arms supplies, the US
attempted to win the release of hostages in Lebanon by offering secret
arms deals, this would later become known as the Iran-Contra affair.
1988 3 July - 290 passengers and the crew of an Iran Air Airbus are
mistakenly shot down by the USS Vincennes.
Cease-fire
1988 20 July - Iran accepts a cease-fire agreement with Iraq following
negotiations in Geneva under the aegis of the UN.
1989 14 February - Ayatollah Khomeini issues a religious edict (fatwa)
ordering Muslims to kill British author, Salman Rushdie, for his novel,
'The Satanic Verses', considered blasphemous to Islam.
1989 3 June - Ayatollah Khomeini dies. On 4 June, President Khamene'i is
appointed as new supreme leader.
1989 17 August - Ali Akbar Hashemi-Rafsanjani is sworn in as the new
president.
1989 3 November - The US releases 567 million dollars of frozen Iranian
assets.
Major earthquake kills thousands
1990 21 June - A major earthquake strikes Iran, killing approximately
40,000 people.
1990 - Iran remains neutral following Iraq's invasion of Kuwait,
denouncing both Baghdad's conquest of Kuwait and any long-term presence of
US forces in the region.
1990 11 September - Iran and Iraq resume diplomatic relations.
US imposes sanctions
1995 - The US imposes oil and trade sanctions against Iran for alleged
sponsorship of 'terrorism', seeking to acquire nuclear arms and hostility
to the Middle East process. Iran denies the charges.
1997 23 May - Mohammad Khatami wins the presidential election by a
landslide, with 70% of the vote beating the conservative ruling elite.
1998 September - Iran deploys thousands of troops on its border with
Afghanistan after the Taleban admits killing eight Iranian diplomats and a
journalist in Mazar-e Sharif.
1999 July - Pro-democracy students at Tehran University hold a
demonstration following the closure of the reformist newspaper 'Salam'.
Clashes with the security forces lead to six days of rioting and the
arrest of over 1,000 students.
2000 18 February - Liberals and supporters of Khatami win 170 of the 290
seats in the Majlis elections held February, thus gaining control of
parliament previously dominated by the conservatives since the 1979
Islamic revolution. Hard-liners win only 44 seats. An additional 65 seats
will be decided in run-offs.
2000 23 April - The judiciary, following the adoption of a new press law,
bans the publication of 16 reformist newspapers.
2000 27 May - Inauguration of the Sixth parliament.
2000 1 August - Senior clerics issue a religious decree, or fatwa,
allowing women to lead religious congregations of women worshippers.
2000 23 August - Parliament approves a bill aimed at attracting foreign
investment.
2001 April - Iran and Saudi Arabia sign major security accord to combat
terrorism, drug trafficking and organised crime.
2001 8 June - President Khatami re-elected for a second term after winning
just under 77% of the vote.
2001 8 August - President Mohammad Khatami sworn in for his second term in
office.
2002 January - US President George Bush describes Iraq, Iran and North
Korea as an "axis of evil" in his first State of the Union
address. He warns that the proliferation of long-range missiles being
developed in these countries is as great a danger to the US as terrorism.
The speech causes outrage in Iran and is condemned by reformists and
conservatives alike.
2002 February - Iran rejects David Reddaway, Britain's choice for its new
ambassador to Tehran. Conservative papers say Mr Reddaway is a
"Jewish Zionist" and a spy. The impasse is resolved in September
with the appointment of Sir Richard Dalton to the post.
2002 September - Russian technicians begin construction of Iran's first
nuclear reactor at Bushehr, despite strong objections from the United
States.
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