Island of Stability
Island of Stability (Persian: جزیره ثبات) was the phrase that Jimmy Carter used to describe the circumstances of Iran under the leadership of the last Shah of Iran, Muhammad Reza Pahlavi.
Place and date
Jimmy Carter, 39th President of the United States, traveled to Iran in late December 1977. On the eve of the new year in Niavaran Complex he said: "Iran is an island of stability in one of the most troubled areas of the world."[1][2] Also, he called Muhammad Reza Pahlavi a popular king among Iranians in this speech.[3][4]
Consequences
After this speech, Muhammad Reza felt more empowered to suppress opponents. One week later, on Saturday, January 7, 1978, the article "Iran and Red and Black Colonization" was published in Ettela'at daily under a pseudonym. This article was against Ayatollah Khomeini. Following the article's publication, several protests occurred in Mashhad, Qom, and Tehran. Also, Ayatollah Khomeini condemned Carter's speech and called the Shah, Muhammad Reza Pahlavi, a tyrant and a traitor.[5]
Reasons of this support
Ahmad Zeidabadi believes Carter was aware of the sporadic protests against Muhammad Reza in Iran and knew Iranian society was unstable, so he likely called Iran an island of stability to reassure Muhammad Reza Pahlavi and to ensure the U.S. government's support for him.[6] Sadegh Zibakalam suggests this speech was based on Carter's false impression of the Iranian situation and believes Americans were unable to see the approaching Iranian Revolution.[7]
References
- ↑ Dilip Hiro. Iran Under the Ayatollahs (Routledge Revivals). Routledge. pp. Introduction. Search this book on
- ↑ Manouchehr Ganji (2002). Defying the Iranian Revolution: From a Minister to the Shah to a Leader of Resistance. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 42. Search this book on
- ↑ Desmond Harney. The Priest and the King: An Eyewitness Account of the Iranian Revolution. I.B.Tauris. p. 2. Search this book on
- ↑ Mark Thiessen. An Island of Stability: The Islamic Revolution of Iran and the Dutch Opinion. Sidestone Press. p. 43. Search this book on
- ↑ Islamic Revolution of Iran: A Sociological Study. Alhoda UK. 2001. pp. 102–104. Search this book on
- ↑ "Carter administration and Iran's revolution". BBC Persian.
- ↑ Sadegh Zibakalam. End of mirage:In introduction of Islamic revolution. pp. 154–157. ISBN 9643342571 Check
|isbn=value: checksum (help). Search this book on
This article "Island of Stability" is from Wikipedia. The list of its authors can be seen in its historical. Articles copied from Draft Namespace on Wikipedia could be seen on the Draft Namespace of Wikipedia and not main one.
