What would the world be like if the Iranian revolution never happened?

Crystal

Gone Fishin'
What if the Shah was never deposed in favour of a regressive Theocratic state? Would the War on Terror had occurred, would there still be a Cold War between Saudi Arabia and Iran, and what would the world political scene be like?

Any answers will be greatly appreciated!
 
What if the Shah was never deposed in favour of a regressive Theocratic state? Would the War on Terror had occurred, would there still be a Cold War between Saudi Arabia and Iran, and what would the world political scene be like?

State Supported Terrorism predated 1979. Befor 1979, relations between Saudi Arabia and Iran were cordial
 
It is my understanding that Saudi Arabia and Iran would be rivals based on Arab versus Persian, Sunni versus Shiite, dominance in Persian Gulf, and dominance in OPEC. It is hard to image them not competing and having a cold war with struggles in Iraq and other countries where there is a Sunni government and a large Shiite population. This is especially true if the Shiite population is oppressed by the Sunni government.
 
What if the Shah was never deposed in favour of a regressive Theocratic state?
I don't think that Iran would be more stable under Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, considering that under him it was a police state afflicted by economic disparities (and no i am not defending the Islamic Republic but just pointing out the situation of Iran at the time)
Best case scenario Reza either dies or retires earlier and a new democratic government takes his place
This means no Hostage Crisis and the relationship between Iran America and Israel is left untouched
This has repercussions on american politics, in particulat the elections of 1980: if the Shah remains in power Carter has some chances to beat Reagan and be reelected
With Carter in the oval office, the american strategy towards the soviet invasion of Afghanistan could be extremly different from OTL or at least the mujadeen would get less help than OTL
Of course even in the most optimistic outcome, radical islam remains a problem( the islamic brotherhood still exists and Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq is still in charge of Pakistan) , but i also believe that it would be less widespread than OTL
 
The revolution rose as extremists met and planned a resistance in mosques from the early seventies on. So, to curtail a radical revolution, you need to censor mosques. How does such a tactic impact Islamic beliefs?
 

Zwinglian

Banned
The revolution rose as extremists met and planned a resistance in mosques from the early seventies on. So, to curtail a radical revolution, you need to censor mosques. How does such a tactic impact Islamic beliefs?
It’s possible without that. Land reform and policies to help redistribute wealth along with slowing down westernization would do the trick, but I doubt the shah would be willing to do that
 
The Shah was a huge asshole too, and given that plenty of people were pretty sick of his shit, it was only a matter of time before someone kicked him to the curb. The question is who does it and what does it turn into.

If it comes from within, the best possible answer may be a South Korea-style short-lived dictatorship under which industrialization happens rapidly and then the country transitions to a Democratic republic over the course of a generation or so.
 
It’s possible without that. Land reform and policies to help redistribute wealth along with slowing down westernization would do the trick, but I doubt the shah would be willing to do that
In that case, something would need to happen to the Shah around 1972 or 1973 and fair-minded democracy-advocated would need to take control.
 
Iran is open to trade and tourism like any other normal country. The world has more western tourists in Persepolis and expats enjoying tea and pistachios in Tehran's cafe's. Alt-Iran doesn't even need to be a democracy for this to happen. Thailand in 2018 is a monarchy ruled by a military junta but it still has a large community of western expats, access to world trade, and a steadily developing economy.
 
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