On June 13th, Israel launched an attack on Iran, resulting in the deaths of high-ranking officials including the Iranian Commander-in-Chief, the Air and Space Force Commander, and the Chief of Staff. Looking at the situation in the Middle East from October 2023 to now, it can be said that Iran has done nothing other than raising a few futile flags, and in terms of combat against Israel, it is far inferior to Hamas, which acts as a resistance organization. This naturally raises questions: why, as a regional power in the Middle East and the main backer of the “Resistance Arc,” is Iran so weak and powerless in its conflict with Israel? China’s current new politics and new economy have developed from ancient old politics and old economy, and China’s current new culture has also developed from ancient old culture. Therefore, we must respect our history and absolutely cannot sever it. If we want to understand Iran’s current situation clearly, we need to study Iran’s modern and contemporary history first, so as to understand why Iran has become such a decayed and comprador regime today. Afterwards, this post will continue to update papers and related reflections on Iran’s modern and contemporary history, striving to analyze Iran’s history through class analysis to help understand the current Middle East situation.
Late 18th century — early 19th century Iran, the political and economic situation in Iran before it became a colony:
Situation in Iran in the 18th century: continuous internal warfare, high degree of feudal landowners’ autonomy. Although there was a brief period of unification (the warlord Nadir Shah unified Iran and expanded its borders to Tajikistan), due to his reactionary rule, guerrilla activities by occupied peoples and uprisings within the country led to the rapid disintegration of this unity. Stability was only roughly restored by the late 18th century.
Feudal lords in Iran at that time: the Iranian royal family, high officials and large feudal landowners (mainly operating based on feudal relations of production); nomadic tribal khans (also exploiting people according to feudal relations, but retaining many remnants of kinship systems from primitive society, making their relations more backward, and they were mostly independent); high monks (owning exclusive land for temples); small and medium feudal landlords.
Land division in Iran at that time: Heris — state-owned land; lands of nomadic tribal khans; Wakuf — land of large monastery estates; tribal lands — actually owned by khans; Alvabi and Mekr lands — private land of feudal landlords; public Umi land — uncultivated land used as pastures; land owned by peasant farmers.
Exploitation of peasants and herdsmen: Peasants mainly paid taxes to local village elders and tax officials, primarily in kind (grain rent), and also had to perform feudal corvée. They could only retain about 20% of their harvest, and had to pay wool, cooking oil, and other necessities, providing supplies for the army, and paying numerous taxes, which put great pressure on them. Herdsmen paid livestock, some pastoral products, and gifts directly to the tribal khans. Since production relations in nomadic tribes were more backward, labor rent and direct herding for khans were common. However, herdsmen fared somewhat better than peasants because they did not have to pay taxes to the treasury (due to the khans’ higher independence from central authority) and could share in war spoils (a remnant of primitive communalism).
The harmful effects of tribal khans on production: They were not concerned with irrigation or land reclamation, nor did they want peasants to settle, because that would mean their large herds would be unattended and they would lack enough soldiers for raiding.
Development of handicrafts in Iran: Most handicrafts were still household industries operated by peasants. Cities had guilds, and artisans paid taxes to the governor or tax collectors, often suffering from high-interest exploitation by merchants. Despite this, Iran’s commodity economy was developing, and artisans received orders from feudal lords and farmers, and sold their products on the market. Market relations led to the emergence of factory handicrafts — some merchants supplied semi-finished products to artisans for processing, then sold the finished goods. Textile workers, as hired labor, gathered in large buildings (Karkhaneh) in busy markets to work for employers, indicating the early emergence of capitalism in Iran.
Factors hindering the development of capitalism in Iran: Although handicrafts were relatively developed and domestic trade was thriving (mainly controlled by small merchant guilds), the layered levies created by feudal fragmentation, as well as the lack of unified weights, measures, and currency, hampered normal commodity exchange. Additionally, profits from sales often went to usurers as interest, preventing the accumulation of capital. This made it difficult for small producers to differentiate into bourgeoisie and proletariat, stalling the development of capitalism.
Iran’s administrative system: Iran was mainly divided into 4 provinces and 30 states, governed by governors-general, with the states led by governors. Governors-general held more power, but most important regional governors and all governors-general were members of the royal family or close to the king, revealing the decay of the monarchy. Provinces were divided into administrative districts managed by Hakims, often nomadic khans responsible for local governance. Governors-general and governors had their own ministers and currency, collected customs duties, taxes, and rents, acting as local warlords. Their obligations to the king were limited to paying taxes, raising standing armies, and suppressing uprisings (though some governors ignored these duties). This illustrates the severe feudal fragmentation, with nominal national unity but weak central authority. Nomadic regions were controlled by large khans, who often did not recognize central authority, some even acting as independent rulers.
The clergy in Iran: Twelver Shia clerics held significant judicial and educational power, mainly applying Islamic law (Quran) in judgments, and religious education was entirely Islamic. They owned large land estates and workshops, and some engaged in commerce and usury, indicating their considerable influence (also because Iran was a theocratic reactionary state). Although secular courts existed, they mainly handled criminal cases; civil cases were under clerical jurisdiction. Due to their power, clergy sometimes threatened the king and governors, exploiting sectarian divisions to weaken their influence, exemplified by the support for Babism (which aimed to limit clerical power). When popular uprisings occurred, the clergy often collaborated with feudal landlords to suppress the rebellion (later the monarchy suppressed Babist uprisings).
Differences between lower and upper clergy: Lower clergy lacked income from temple lands and could not collect bribes in judicial and educational activities, sometimes even failing to collect the 11th tax. Many had to engage in handicrafts, commerce, or agriculture to survive, making their status closer to laborers. During the Babist uprising, lower clergy played a revolutionary role, fighting alongside the common people against feudal exploitation.
Early 19th-century Iran and the colonial invasions of that time
(Note: In the outline of Iranian history, this part excessively glorifies Russian invaders occupying Azerbaijan and fighting against Iran. Please be cautious when discerning.)
After the 19th century, imperialist countries such as Britain, France, and Russia all coveted Iran, hoping to turn Iran into a semi-colony. Britain was the first to target Iran, using the conflict between Iran and the Afghan Empire to its advantage. Britain expressed its intention to sign treaties with Iran to prohibit the entry of French people into Iran, and when attacking India from Afghanistan, it coordinated defenses with India to quell Afghan ambitions against India. Britain also promised Iran that if it was invaded by France or Afghanistan, Britain would provide military funds and ammunition. However, within this treaty, Britain gained privileges to freely access Iranian ports and partial tariff exemptions on certain products. During Iran’s conflict with Georgia, Iran clashed with Russia (both vying for Georgia) and fought a war there. Initially, Iran sought British aid, but Britain, prioritizing its own interests, refused to support Iran. France took advantage of the situation, signing a treaty with Iran, promising to expel the British, attack India, and support Iran against Russia. France also promised to return Georgia to Iran, supply weapons and equipment, and send instructors to train the Iranian army. However, since France quickly allied with Russia, this treaty was short-lived, and French instructors were recalled. Additionally, after the Franco-Iranian agreement, France promised favorable policies for French consuls, merchants, and colonists—marking Iran’s first unequal treaty.
Subsequently, Iran turned again to Britain. In 1809, Britain pledged to support the Iranian king with 160,000 tumans, dispatched military instructors, and demanded Iran sever ties with France. However, due to the domestic reactionary regime, regional warlords’ fragmentation, and the lack of a unified central government or policies promoting development and military-civilian integration, Iran’s modernization efforts faltered despite British and French military aid. Iran continued to suffer defeats against Russia, and a modern army was not fully established. In 1814, Britain signed another unequal treaty with Iran, demanding Iran revoke treaties with other European powers, prohibit other West Asian and Central Asian countries from attacking India, and pledge full support to Britain in case of war with Afghanistan. Britain also stipulated that Iran could only hire military instructors from Britain and its allies, promising aid or annual subsidies of 200,000 tumans during European conflicts. Essentially, Iran’s foreign policy was under British control.
Until 1828, Iran signed a ceasefire agreement with Russia, agreeing to pay 20 million rubles in compensation, cede Georgia and several other subordinate khanates, and establish Russian consulates within Iran—these consulates enjoyed extraterritorial rights and special protection from the Iranian king. Additionally, Iran signed a special trade agreement granting Russian merchants privileges in Iran. This marked Russia’s official extension of colonial claws into Iran and its pursuit of privileges there (though the outline of Iranian history claims this was not dangerous and that the annexation of Georgia, Armenia, and other khanates was beneficial for Iran, which is quite absurd). After the war, due to Russian aggression, some feudal lords and Iranian people harbored intense resentment toward Russia (though this was also influenced by British propaganda). They attacked the Russian embassy, and the Iranian royal family humbly sent gifts to Russia as a form of apology. Tsar Nicholas I, considering the anti-Russian sentiment among the Iranian people (which could lead to revolution and be detrimental to Tsarist interests), and the ongoing Russo-Ottoman war, chose not to invade Iran. (The Iranian history outline even romanticizes Tsar Nicholas I, claiming he was satisfied with gifts and waived Iran’s 2 million ruble indemnity.)
Early 19th century to mid-19th century foreign invasions of Iran: After the war between Iran and Russia ended, tensions between Britain and Iran intensified, both vying for control of Herat in Afghanistan (Herat is at the border of Iran, Afghanistan, and India; occupying it would facilitate expansion into surrounding countries). To facilitate British occupation of Herat, expansion into Afghanistan, and strengthen colonial influence over Iran, Britain employed various means to attempt infiltration into Iran. Britain continuously supported various khans in Khorasan Province to rebel and supported Iranian prince Muhammad Mirza to ascend the throne, attempting to control Iranian politics. Britain tried every means to sign trade treaties with Iran, repeatedly sending delegations to open the Iranian market. Britain attempted to infiltrate the Iranian military by gifting weapons and ammunition and dispatching British instructors. However, all these methods failed (because the interests of the king’s representatives ultimately represented the interests of all landlords; the Iranian landlord class still aimed to seize Herat), and the Iranian king still intended to march into Herat. At this time, Britain was preparing to go to war with Russia, so initially, Britain requested the Iranian king to lift the siege of Herat, but the Iranian king refused. Britain then resorted to threats, sending a fleet to the Persian Gulf and occupying the Halak Island northwest of Bushehr. As a result, the Iranian king was forced to withdraw, and Britain used various means to compel the Iranian king to withdraw troops from other Afghan positions, granting extraterritorial rights to Britain and exempting British customs from taxes. Iran gradually became a British colony, and the competition between Britain and Russia over Iran began to take shape. At this time, the United States also began to carry out colonial infiltration into Iran, forcing the Iranian king to allow Americans extraterritorial rights and consular jurisdiction, and dispatched missionaries, established schools, and opened hospitals. (At this time, Iran also had conflicts with the Ottoman Empire, and Britain later exploited these conflicts to extend its influence into the Middle East).
Iran’s economic situation at that time: Due to the invasion of foreign capital, Iran’s commodity and monetary relations gradually became widespread, but it also turned into a place for foreign capitalists to export goods. Previously, foreign imports were mainly controlled by local Iranian merchants, but later, foreign merchants took over this role. In commercial competition, Iranian merchants fell behind. Iran’s domestic handicrafts and small workshops suffered under foreign capital’s impact and went bankrupt (although the emergence of factories had begun, it was cut off by foreign invasion). The Iranian government, having been colonized by major powers, did not protect national industries but instead facilitated the invaders. Meanwhile, Iran’s feudal agriculture gradually disintegrated, with corvée and in-kind rents transforming into monetary rents (as monetary relations developed, controlling currency became more advantageous for large landlords). Lands previously distributed by the feudal royal family and landlords were gradually allowed to be freely bought and sold on the market. This led to the emergence of a middle landlord class who bought land to become landlords (distinguished from the previous land distribution by the king). They maintained feudal production relations but sought to consolidate the central feudal regime, reform fiscal policies, and abolish domestic customs barriers (to facilitate commodity circulation and secure their feudal production). Other social classes also experienced changes under foreign invasion. The large feudal landlords allied with foreign invaders to attempt to preserve their reactionary feudal order with their help. Craftsmen, oppressed by feudal tyranny and cheap foreign goods, went bankrupt, while merchants and factory owners, wanting to promote the development of capitalism, were dissatisfied with feudal restrictions. Peasant households’ handicrafts also suffered from cheap imports, with little productivity growth, and the burden of taxes increased due to the implementation of monetary rent. This made life even more difficult, forcing peasants to abandon their land and flee to cities, becoming refugees—these are the precursors of Iran’s modern proletariat. Iranian society plunged into depression. However, in chaos, there is order; in disorder, there is light. Driven by discontent among peasants, urban poor, craftsmen, bourgeoisie, and merchants, Iran was brewing a revolutionary storm—the rise of the Bábí movement.
Today, I will pause updates for one day because the content about the Babist uprising has already been described in detail in “A Brief History of the World”. There’s no need to summarize it again. If you want to learn more about this topic, you can directly refer to “A Brief History of the World”.
After the failure of the Babist uprising: Following the failure of the Bábí uprising, the original Babists gradually divided into two factions. One was a democratic faction mainly composed of small farmers, artisans, and urban poor, which more closely represented the interests of the common people; the other was a liberal faction made up of large industrialists and merchants. Additionally, among the Babist disciples, there was a faction representing foreign comprador merchants—Beha’urā is a representative of these people. They strongly opposed revolution within Iran, claiming to be loyal subjects of the king, and stated that their teachings had no political connection, only aiming to “guide people towards goodness.” They also called for the abolition of borders, the organization of a world government in Esperanto, and aimed to open the door for foreign comprador invasion.
Iranian Legalist Reform: Due to the impact of the Babist movement and the deepening Iranian national crisis, the feudal regime in Iran also saw the emergence of a faction of legalist landlords representing small and medium landowners, called Mirza Dajikhan. After inspecting the Tanzimat reforms in Ottoman Turkey, he believed Iran also needed to implement modernization reforms. He carried out a series of reforms including military restructuring, strict prohibition of corruption in military supplies, limiting exploitation and setting tax quotas, suppressing rebellions of domestic landlords and khans, banning official corruption and nepotism, promoting industrial and commercial development, and expanding higher education. However, these reforms ultimately failed due to opposition from domestic monks and high-ranking officials. (But he also had some ideological issues, seeking to rely on Russia to help Iran achieve modernization.) The newly appointed prime minister directly abolished all his reforms, causing Iran’s political situation to become corrupt again. (Of course, his reforms were also aimed at suppressing the masses and easing class conflicts.)
Anglo-Iranian War: During the contest between Britain and Russia for Crimea, the Iranian king chose to take the opportunity to march towards Herat, which touched Britain’s bottom line. In early 1856, Iran besieged Herat, finally capturing it in October, and Britain declared war on Iran at this time. Within a month, Britain occupied Bushahr port and in March 1857, occupied Hoolingsha Heier port. However, after that, British troops hurriedly signed a ceasefire with Iran and did not continue advancing into Iran. This was mainly because Britain’s stronghold in Asia—India—had erupted in the Indian National Uprising, forcing them to withdraw troops to suppress the uprising. This also led Britain to abandon some of its original terms when signing the treaty with Iran, such as relinquishing its invasion privileges along the Persian Gulf coast. Since then, Iran has had no ability to interfere in Herat, which along with Afghanistan became independent, and when conflicts arose, Britain was asked to mediate.
Thorough Completion of Iran’s Semi-Colonialization (Part One): After the Anglo-Iranian War, Iran completely fell into a semi-colonial and semi-feudal society. Germany and the United States also extended their claws of invasion towards Iran, but at that time, the main colonizers in Iran were still Britain and Tsarist Russia. Britain began demanding telegraph leasing rights from Iran after the Indian national uprising (similar to building railways for the Qing government). Subsequently, Britain gradually took control of all of Iran’s telegraph industry, turning Iran’s telegraph bureau into an intelligence agency. Britain even attempted to have the Iranian king transfer customs rights to British Baron Reuters and gained rights to develop railways, canals, mineral extraction, and logging (essentially allowing Britain to fully control Iran’s major economic arteries). However, due to opposition from Iranian workers, these plans were ultimately abandoned. In 1889, the Iranian king leased the Persian Imperial Bank, after which Iran’s financial sovereignty was in British hands. By 1901, Britain used various means to force the Iranian king to grant British capitalists the rights to exploit Iranian oil (except in the north controlled by Tsarist Russia), thus controlling Iran’s politics and economy. Meanwhile, Tsarist Russia continued to infiltrate from northern Iran into the interior. Russia first sent military instructors to the Iranian army, gradually gaining command over Iran’s military. Later, Russia obtained the lease rights to Iran’s northern telegraph lines from the Iranian king and established the Persian Credit Bank. It also took control of the ports on the Caspian Sea, set up the Persian Transport Bureau, and dominated Iran’s shipping industry. However, Russia’s strength was less than Britain’s, so its control over Iran was weaker, with most regions still under the control of British companies. In the early 20th century, Britain and Russia signed customs agreements with Iran, facilitating the import of goods from Britain and Russia, which opened the door for foreign industrial products to flood Iran and deepened Iran’s dependence on foreign industrial supplies. Political control also intensified, with Britain supporting various khans in southern Iran and helping them divide Iran (although Iranian history often omits Russia’s political control activities, but it is believed they certainly existed). Due to the deepening foreign invasion, Iran’s feudal landlords, in order to shift their economic pressures, intensified their exploitation of laborers. Land seizures by large landowners became more aggressive, and the Iranian king began selling state-owned lands cheaply to large feudal landlords. Because feudal exploitation yielded profits far higher than industrial enterprise, these landlords used the land mainly for feudal exploitation, deepening feudal relations and preventing the development of capitalist production. Farmers, affected by the development of commodity money, shifted from growing food crops to economic crops, but their burdens remained heavy. Artisans, squeezed out by foreign industries, went bankrupt and were forced to emigrate abroad for work. Under the threat of national crisis, the Iranian bourgeoisie and feudal landlords began to act, demanding changes and the implementation of a capitalist system. The ideas of nationalism and democracy also developed among these upper-class intellectuals of the bourgeoisie. Malcolm Khan, a representative of this class, founded the newspaper “The Speech” (similar to the Hundred Days Reform), advocating for constitutional monarchy and bourgeois reforms to create a “truthful state.” He also wrote satirical plays criticizing the corruption and decadence of the Iranian court to promote opposition to Iran’s feudal system (more on Islamic fundamentalism and subsequent analysis will be written tomorrow, as today I don’t have enough time).
The complete semi-colonization of Iran (Part 2): As foreign invasion gradually deepened, ideas of Pan-Islamism began to become popular among monks and the right-wing petty bourgeoisie. Simply put, it aimed to reunify all Islamic countries into an Arab empire and support a supreme Caliph. But in essence, this ideology is feudal and conservative. Although they demanded resistance against foreign invasion of Islamic countries, the result was an invasion of other Islamic nations, and after unification into the Arab empire, continued expansion abroad, reflecting the landlords’ desire for external expansion and land seizure. Moreover, Pan-Islamism itself does not oppose feudal exploitation; it even advocates maintaining the feudal system, which further demonstrates its service to the landlord class. (The current Islamic regime in Iran embodies Pan-Islamism.) Later, this ideology was exploited by large landowners and British-American imperialists as a cover for their invasion and exploitation of the people. In 1891, the people spontaneously launched a struggle against the tobacco concession, opposing the British company’s monopoly over Iranian tobacco and the arrogant attitude of the British towards the Iranian people. The masses organized a boycott of British tobacco, and some senior monks issued orders banning smoking before the concession was revoked. Later, protests and demonstrations even occurred, causing the stock of the Bank of Persia to drop by 50%. Under such pressure, the king had to declare the revocation of the tobacco concession. (This movement, like China’s anti-foreign religion movement, directly targeted foreigners rather than feudal rulers.) After abolishing the tobacco concession, the king intensified repression of the people. Some petty bourgeois intellectuals organized to assassinate the Iranian king, and ultimately succeeded. However, this did not change Iran’s political situation; the new ruler remained reactionary and corrupt, and foreign invaders’ influence was still rampant. This called for another revolutionary storm to cleanse the rotten Iranian politics.
Preludio alla rivoluzione iraniana — Prima fase della rivolta popolare e della rivoluzione della classe borghese in Iran.
A causa dello sfruttamento brutale dei proprietari terrieri feudali sul popolo iraniano, il popolo iraniano si è spontaneamente sollevato per combattere contro i proprietari terrieri feudali e gli invasori stranieri. Nel 1900, a causa di una carestia che colpì Teheran e altre città, scoppiarono rivolte popolari, e nel 1901 si verificò un’altra rivolta per gli stessi motivi. Nel 1903, ci furono rivolte contro gli accordi tariffari e le nuove tasse nelle città di Teheran, Tabriz e altre, mentre nel 1904, a causa di una carestia e delle azioni degli speculatori di grano, ci furono rivolte per la fame, opponendosi al Primo Ministro Atabek Azam, che fu pubblicamente accusato di appropriarsi di fondi pubblici e corruzione, costringendo il re, sotto la pressione della massa, a rimuoverlo. Tuttavia, poiché la natura del regime feudale iraniano non cambiò, il nuovo primo ministro non modificò le politiche reazionarie precedenti, e le proteste popolari aumentarono. Spinti dalle richieste popolari, i monaci di basso livello iniziarono a mobilitare le masse, tra cui il tipico esempio di Sayyed Zamall, che predicava nelle moschee, criticando la corruzione interna dell’Iran e affermando che se si dovesse tagliare la mano ai ladri, allora tutti i membri dei potenti dovrebbero essere amputati, poiché davanti alla legge tutti sono uguali, anche i grandi ladri di stato rubano i beni del popolo. Il popolo iniziò anche a organizzarsi spontaneamente in proprie organizzazioni rivoluzionarie. Nelle città del nord dell’Iran, le organizzazioni di massa di Muzzahkhed (che significa combattente per la rivoluzione e la giustizia) furono create, e anche i lavoratori iraniani, entrando in contatto con i lavoratori del Caucaso meridionale e dell’Azerbaigian, cominciarono a conoscere il bolscevismo e il comunismo, gettando così le basi per l’esplosione della rivoluzione democratica della borghesia iraniana. Dopo la rivoluzione russa del 1905, il controllo dello Zar sulla parte settentrionale dell’Iran si indebolì, e in quel momento il popolo iraniano iniziò a prepararsi per la rivoluzione. Nel dicembre del 1905, a Teheran, Tabriz, Shiraz e altre città, si svolsero manifestazioni di massa e scioperi di protesta, con scontri con le forze dell’ordine. (In quel periodo, il movimento era ancora guidato dai monaci, con l’obiettivo principale di riforme, chiedendo la destituzione dei parenti del re e del Primo Ministro Aindora). Quando il governo reazionario iraniano tentò di arrestare i leader del movimento popolare, i monaci che guidavano la rivoluzione rilasciarono dichiarazioni nelle moschee, affermando che l’attuale governo corrotto dell’Iran era la radice di tutte le disgrazie e sventure di tutte le nazioni, e che solo con riforme si poteva risolvere la crisi. Il re, sotto la pressione della massa, dovette acconsentire alle riforme (simili alle cosiddette nuove politiche dell’ultima dinastia Qing, che erano più un mezzo di oppressione dei proprietari feudali sui contadini). Sebbene il re promisesse di riformare, in realtà ritardò i tempi delle riforme, e la cosiddetta commissione legislativa non fece nulla, rimanendo solo un simbolo vuoto. Quando la gente capì che il re stava solo tergiversando, iniziò di nuovo a scoppiare la rivolta, e il re rispose con repressione brutale, arrestando i monaci di basso livello che guidavano il movimento. La gente allora entrò direttamente in prigione per liberarli, dichiarando che se non si attuavano riforme costituzionali, si sarebbe insorti tra due giorni. Di fronte a questa situazione, il re dovette cedere, destituì Aindora e nominò come primo ministro il liberale borghese Moshir Dola. Da allora, si può considerare conclusa la prima fase della rivoluzione della borghesia iraniana. I principali leader di questo movimento furono i monaci islamici di basso livello, che parteciparono alla rivoluzione sia perché le politiche coloniali minacciavano i loro interessi, sia perché le politiche troppo patriottiche del re influivano sulla loro posizione politica ed economica. Questi monaci cercarono di usare il movimento costituzionale per ottenere diritti, ma in questa prima fase la rivoluzione democratica borghese non si sviluppò completamente, e le richieste si limitarono a riforme costituzionali, senza chiedere di abbattere il sistema feudale monarchico o di instaurare una repubblica. La loro posizione era simile a quella della classe capitalista nazionale in Cina.
成果的第一阶段：伊朗民主宪法与工人、农民运动的兴起。
1906年9月9日（毛主席去世的日子），国王在城里的国民代表大会章程和议会选举法上签了字，选民分为六级：第一级是王室，第二级是高级僧侣，第三级是大封建主，第四级是商人，第五级是小地主和农民，而第六级则是手工业者。选举法规定只有拥有一定财产的人才能参与选举，农村居民需要拥有超过1000土曼的土地（未找到具体对应的亩数），商人和手工业者必须拥有固定店铺，这剥夺了大多数劳动者甚至部分商业资产阶级的选举权。对被选举人的限制更为严格，妇女根本不享有任何选举权和被选举权。在德黑兰选举结束后，10月7日伊朗议会举行了第一届会议。主要参与者是封建贵族、商业资产阶级、僧侣和部分地主。这个时期的议会比之后几届更为进步，因为其中包括一些资产阶级化的地主和僧侣，以及商业资产阶级，因此议会的决议更能代表资产阶级的利益。1906年议会的核心工作是制定资产阶级宪法，规定证券由人民发行，国王的权力须受到议会的监督，议会拥有批准法律、支付国家预算和监督预算执行的权力。国王可以选择不执行议会指定的法律并解散议会，但如果新议会继承前一届议会的决议，国王必须同意议会的决议。宪法补充条款规定，政府不得向外国租借国家主权，不得向外国借款，不得缔结条约，这在一定程度上维护了民族的权利。宪法宣布人身、财产、住宅和私人通信的秘密不被侵犯，还要求在宗教法庭之外设立世俗法庭，瓜分了过去属于僧侣的执法权。然而，僧侣也获得了不少权利补偿——可以监督人民的教育、出版、集会与立法事务，实际上仍是国家政权的主导者。宪法的实施明显依靠劳动人民的力量，但最终受益的却是资产阶级、资产阶级化的地主和僧侣，这充分表现了资产阶级利用人民、窃取革命果实的真实面貌，尽管当时他们仍算是进步的。宪法在经济方面未彻底改革封建土地所有制，但按照资本主义的要求进行了改革。宪法废除了原有的包税制度，降低了粮食和肉类价格，减少了国王和王室的开支，并提出建立伊朗国家银行，但最终因英国人的阻挠未能真正建立。议会还进行了税制改革，接受并处理居民的申诉。总体而言，这部宪法体现了资产阶级的要求，算是进步的，但这并不是伊朗革命的终结，甚至不是第一阶段的最大成果。第一阶段最大的成果是——伊朗人民：工人、农民、城市贫民和小生产者都走上了政治舞台，参与政治活动，自发的农民运动和工人运动大幅增加。农民运动最初主要表现为抗拒缴税和承担封建义务，后来逐渐演变为暴力袭击各个可汗的庄园，将粮食和财务分配给平民。虽然还未彻底消灭封建土地所有制，但比资产阶级和僧侣的斗争更为坚决。伊朗工人运动起初以罢工为主，1906年德黑兰组织了伊朗的第一个工会，1907年开始罢工：3月电报局工人总罢工，1908年里海渔场工人罢工，逼迫伊朗政府派遣俄国哥萨克镇压。令人欣慰的是，1907年伊朗成立了第一个社会民主派别，这与1905年俄国革命密不可分。该社会民主派别由穆扎溪德协会组织，1907年9月代表会议通过纲领，要求实行普遍选举权，落实七大自由（言论、出版、演讲、集会、结社、人身和罢工自由），没收国王土地，购买所有可汗的土地并分配给农民，实行八小时工作制，推行比例财产税，推行免费义务教育等。但由于穆扎溪德协会中资产阶级和小资产阶级较多，也夹杂一些无政府主义思想，宗派主义盛行，曾多次发生刺杀事件，这也是其缺点。但该组织仍代表革命人民的利益，比那些大资产阶级和僧侣更激进、更革命。穆扎溪德还拥有自己的民兵组织——费达依部队，主要成员是农民、工人和小资产阶级，这也是其代表人民利益的体现。
Foreign Invaders’ Attitudes Towards the Iranian Revolution: Although the final victory of the Iranian Revolution mostly fell into the hands of the clergy and the bourgeoisie, the masses also gained some benefits. The masses elected the revolutionary organization Enchumin through democratic means. It appeared as a supervisory body for the first session and most urban residents participated in this organization, making it an unofficial governing body. Dabrili is famous for gaining recognition from the Azerbaijani rulers in November 1906, which led to the formation of a dual government with the governor and Enchumin. In Dabrili, Enchumin often publicly expressed opposition to the royal regime and independently implemented measures such as injecting speculators, regulating commodity prices, distributing grain, and organizing revolutionary activities. However, its main aspect remained an bourgeois organization. After the establishment of Enchumin in Dabrili, other regions also established their own Enchumin regimes. Reactionary elements began to try to use this form to fight against the revolutionary people; some Enchumin collaborated with the royal family, becoming vassals of the monarchy. During the Iranian revolution, the press experienced unprecedented development (because freedom of speech was permitted by the constitution), and many newspapers representing bourgeois interests and serving bourgeois interests appeared more widely in the public eye. However, at this time, the bourgeoisie, having already secured their interests, did not want the revolution to continue developing, so they began to restrict the development of Enchumin and demanded that Enchumin not interfere in politics. This pleased imperialist invaders like Tsarist Russia and Britain. The Tsarist regime initially supported the reactionary Muhammad Ali Shah. Britain flattered Iran’s constitutional democratic faction, hoping to have them serve British interests, and used the constitutional faction to better control the post-revolution situation in Iran. Britain also had puppets in Iran, so as long as Iran remained in a reformist stage, it was advantageous to Britain. However, they held a hostile attitude towards the working people, claiming to protect British property and urging Russia to take measures in northern Iran due to “disturbances” (revolutionary activities). In fact, this was to allow Russia to interfere in the Iranian revolution and reap the benefits. They also engaged in armed interference, such as landing troops at various Iranian coastal ports in 1908-1909. The conflicts between Britain and Russia in Iran temporarily became secondary due to the rising revolutionary movement. Meanwhile, Germany’s intervention also posed a threat to Britain—Germany sought to invade Iran via the Baghdad Railway and set up large textile factories in places like Dabrili to export capital to Iran. It also attempted to establish German banks in Iran to control Iran’s finance and industry, though ultimately without success. Additionally, Germany indirectly controlled Iran through the Ottoman Turks, which intensified the conflicts between Britain and Germany. However, during colonization, Germany used the rhetoric of supporting constitutional democratic movements, claiming to support Pan-Islamism, and transported weapons to Russia via the Persian Gulf, leading some national bourgeoisie to believe that Germany could genuinely help them achieve national independence. Due to the deepening conflicts between Britain and Germany, Britain abandoned its contest with Tsarist Russia over Iran, recognizing northern Iran as Russia’s sphere of influence. Russia, after its defeat in the Russo-Japanese War and the 1905 Revolution, chose to compromise. However, this did not mean that the conflicts between the two disappeared; it only indicated that they shifted from open confrontation to covert struggles.
The second stage of the Iranian Revolution: the intensification of contradictions between the Iranian people and the king, and the counterrevolutionary coup d’état by the king.
To suppress the Iranian people, Britain and Russia colluded and signed the reactionary Anglo-Russian Agreement. The agreement stipulated that Russia needed to recognize Britain’s special interests in the Persian Gulf and southern Iran, while Britain should acknowledge Russia’s privileges in northern Iran, and designate the remaining areas as neutral zones, which essentially allowed both sides to intervene economically. Such a traitorous agreement provoked widespread outrage among the Iranian people, and the Iranian parliament also protested, but the king ignored these democratic demands, instead recalling or re-employing reactionary elements from abroad, and replacing the original bourgeois democratic cabinet members with feudal landlords. This further angered the Iranian people—tax collection stopped completely across the country, popular movements expanded widely, food crises deepened, and conservative parliamentarians were assassinated by members of Mozahhid. However, the king did not reform but instead further colluded with foreign invaders, preparing for a coup d’état. Foreign invaders also incited the Iranian king to dissolve parliament and suppress mass organizations to preserve their own rule. In the fall of 1907, loyalist armies and feudal reactionary gangs began to gather in Tehran, with parliament and Enchumin forbidding them, but the king demanded their dissolution. The Cossacks of Tsarist Russia also participated in the attempt to restore the parliament during this centenary. Under the king’s reckless actions, the people finally saw the true face of this reactionary, abandoning their illusions about him, and armed themselves at the Shahab Sahrar Mosque, declaring they would no longer be loyal to the constitutional-betraying current king, and demanding the re-election of a new king and the defense of the original constitution. However, due to their own weakness, the parliament did not demand to overthrow the king but only signed a compromise agreement, claiming to remain loyal to the monarchy, provided the king remained loyal to the constitution and dismissed reactionary elements. But class struggle did not end because of this compromise (by this time, the parliament was no longer willing to push the revolutionary movement forward; once in power, they only wanted to protect their existing interests). On February 15, 1908, someone threw a bomb at the then Iranian king, and the king intensified preparations for counterrevolutionary forces, planning the next conspiracy to restore power. It was during this wave of revolutionary upheaval that the bourgeoisie and clergy parliament, faced with the increasingly intense struggle, showed great fear, with many members requesting to resign from their cabinet posts to escape the revolution, unwilling to lead it. This also reflects the weakness of the bourgeoisie at that time, and the fact that after entering imperialism, the bourgeoisie could no longer lead the revolution. However, in a certain sense, the weakness and compromise of the big bourgeoisie actually strengthened the revolutionary power and prestige of Enchumin among the people, allowing small bourgeois democratic revolutionaries and the emerging proletariat to take the initiative in the revolution. In May-June 1908, when Enchumin in Tehran had the authority to dismiss the Minister of the Interior and his secretary as required, the contradiction between the king and the people reached its peak. In early June, the king, escorted by the Cossack regiment, went to the Bagh-e Shah Palace on the outskirts of the city, preparing for a second counterrevolutionary coup. The revolutionary armed forces began to gather at the Shahab Sahrar Mosque, always alert to the reactionary attack. On June 22, 1908, the king’s counterrevolutionary restoration began, with Tehran declared under martial law, and the Cossack regiment commander appointed as the supreme authority over Tehran’s military and political affairs. After the parliament rejected his demands, on the early morning of June 23, he shelled the bourgeois-led parliament and the core of the revolutionary democrats—the Shahab Sahrar Mosque. Many revolutionary leaders were arrested and killed, bourgeois liberals were also detained by the king, and the parliament and Enchumin in Tehran were dissolved (although he promised to reopen parliament, he did not fulfill this). The king completed his counterrevolutionary coup, temporarily seizing central administrative power, but the spark of revolution had not been extinguished, and the revolutionary people continued to struggle. The Enchumin in Tehran disintegrated, but the Enchumin in Tabriz took over the leadership of the revolution and became the center of the next phase of the Iranian revolution.
The Beginning of the Second Phase of the Iranian Revolution: The Revolutionary Seizure of Power and Resistance Struggle of the Tabriz Anjoman
Between 1906 and 1907, Tabriz was the forefront of the Iranian bourgeois revolutionary movement, and the Tabriz Anjoman was the most revolutionary among all Anjomans. It not only controlled the activities of the Azerbaijani royal family but also implemented many measures beneficial to the working people and repelled the encirclement by counter-revolutionary forces.
While the counter-revolutionaries in Tehran preemptively dismantled the Tehran Anjoman, the Tabriz Anjoman resisted the attacks of counter-revolutionary forces and established its own revolutionary government. At that time, the counter-revolutionaries established an Islamic Anjoman and recruited a group of hooligans and bandits as their counter-revolutionary henchmen, leading to frequent conflicts with the revolutionary Anjoman. After the Iranian king strangled the Tehran Anjoman, he mobilized Rashimu Khan to strangle the Tabriz Anjoman (including many cavalry). However, the counter-revolutionary offensive was not so easily successful; the citizens of Tabriz rose up to assist the Fedayi militia in resisting the king’s counter-revolutionary forces, and the revolutionary leaders Sardar and Bagher led their troops in determined resistance (Sardar was from a small landowner background but later betrayed his class to join the poor peasants’ guerrilla forces, recognized as the core of the Tabriz revolutionaries and called the Pugachev of Azerbaijan and the Garibaldi of Persia. Bagher was a stonemason who lived among the working people). Finally, in 1908, they expelled the bandits from the city center of Tabriz, seized the city’s arsenal, capturing 20,000 rifles and many cannons.
The Tabriz revolutionaries raised slogans to restore the constitution, convene parliament, and expel the king. They established military and secret committees, carried out fortification construction, and implemented policies of land redistribution—mainly targeting the properties of wealthy elites and royal relatives. They also went on to support revolutionary factions in various Azerbaijani cities to expel reactionary forces. By November 1908, revolutionary flags were flying throughout Azerbaijan, and the peasant movement had begun. Peasants launched uprisings, seizing livestock, grain, and property from khans and distributing them among the poor without property at home. Moreover, the Tabriz revolutionaries implemented policies opposing foreign invasion, demanding rent from the British telegraph company and resisting atrocities committed by Russian landlords locally. (Of course, Russian revolutionaries never opposed this, and revolutionaries from the South Caucasus provided much support to the Iranian revolution, helping transport ammunition, supplies, and soldiers. The Iranian king once requested the Tsar to strictly prohibit Russian revolutionaries from entering Iran, but this had little effect.)
Inspired by the revolutionary banner of Tabriz, revolutionaries across the country stood up to insist on constitutionalism and overthrow the king. In January 1909, an uprising broke out in Isfahan, and the local suppression forces directly defected to support the revolutionary movement. In March 1909, the southern Iranian cities of Bushehr and Bandar Abbas also came under revolutionary control. In Mashhad and other cities, citizens held tax protests, forcing invaders to acknowledge that the Iranian king was king in name only, the Persian Empire was on the verge of collapse, and advising the king to restore constitutionalism. However, due to his class nature (he was a landlord; agreeing to constitutionalism would mean he could no longer remain king), the Iranian king not only refused constitutionalism but also cruelly attempted to suppress the uprisings of the working people. At the end of February 1909, the revolutionary center Tabriz was besieged by the king, and many cities in South Azerbaijan fell into bandit hands. The king’s army carried out brutal massacres, sparing neither women nor children. Although the situation was critical, the military and civilians of Tabriz did not give up resistance. Instead, the revolutionaries mobilized the entire population to participate in the fight and incited soldiers to mutiny and join the revolution. The victory of the Turkish Young Turks also inspired the Iranian revolutionaries.
However, seeing the revolution gaining ground and the king’s regime about to collapse, British and Russian invaders hurriedly chose to send troops directly to suppress the Iranian national movement. Britain landed and occupied Bushehr in southern Iran, while Russia, using the excuse that the Russian expatriates in Tabriz had run out of food, directly entered the city and conducted searches for revolutionaries. Because the Fedayi forces were still armed, they dared not directly arrest revolutionary leaders Sardar and Bagher. However, under pressure from Tsarist Russia and Britain, these leaders were forced to move from Tabriz to Tehran, where the king’s power was stronger. The resistance struggle in Tabriz ended due to foreign invaders’ interference, but the revolution was not over. The heroic struggle of the Tabriz revolutionaries bought precious time for revolutionaries in other regions and weakened the king’s suppression in other areas. Rasht became the next center of revolutionary development.
The continuation of the second phase of the Iranian Revolution: the revolutionary movements in Rasht and Gilan.
Although Tabriz was ultimately captured by the reactionary forces of the Tsar, the spark of the revolution was not extinguished. The revolutionary struggle in Tabriz restrained the basic armed forces of the Iranian reactionaries, which enabled other Iranian cities to launch further revolutionary actions. In February 1909, the Sadar Khan revolutionary committee rose in rebellion in Rasht, seized the local arsenal, and assassinated the governor of Gilan Province (Tabriz is in Gilan Province). After consolidating the city’s defenses, they prepared to march to Tehran and sent Banov with a special forces unit eastward to Astrabad to support local revolutionaries, thereby bringing the government of Astrabad under revolutionary control. During the revolutionary struggles in both places, Russian Social Democrats also participated extensively. They actively promoted Marxism among the masses, held propaganda meetings about the 1905 Russian Revolution, and exposed the policies of the imperialist comprador government and bourgeois surrenderists, achieving significant effects.
In early spring 1909, revolutionary figures in Gilan began advancing toward Tehran. On April 21, with only about a thousand people, they occupied Kasvin, demonstrating the weakness of the feudal government at that time. Meanwhile, supported by Britain, the chieftain of the Bakhshi Al tribe also set out from Isfahan in April to march toward Tehran, aligning with the constitutionalists. However, these chieftains did not genuinely want to realize bourgeois democratic revolution; they merely sought to oppose the feudal regime to become semi-independent lords, making it convenient to establish their own fiefdoms later. During their march, they also received subsidies for protecting roads and oil mines leased by Britain in southwestern Iran, revealing their treacherous nature.
In early July 1909, the forces of Gilan and Bakhshi Al met at the outskirts of Tehran. They captured Tehran and deposed King Mohammad Ali, installing his 14-year-old son as king. The revolutionaries also announced the formation of a provisional government to restore the constitution and immediately convened the second parliament. Various leftist political organizations and newspapers were allowed to resume activities. However, the new revolutionary regime was seized by feudal landlord Shebhekdar, who infiltrated the revolutionary ranks, and the police chief of Tehran was appointed from the Yevrim Party (initially an Armenian nationalist party, but later capitulated during the bourgeois revolution and helped suppress the revolution alongside feudal forces). Soon after, a new electoral law was announced, abolishing the caste-based voting system but still maintaining property restrictions and denying women the right to vote. In the reopened second parliament, the landlords’ seats increased while those of the democrats decreased, due to the landlords’ seizure of leadership within the revolutionary government. Although King Mohammad Ali was overthrown, the key figures in the new government remained bourgeois landlords and liberals. After implementing the above democratic measures, they believed the revolutionary task was complete and did not fundamentally change any other institutions, not even overthrowing the monarchy.
The third stage of the Iranian Revolution: the betrayal of the landlord bourgeoisie and the failure of the revolution.
Since the drafting of the new constitution, the bourgeoisie-controlled landlords and bourgeoisie in power have become increasingly afraid of the people’s revolutionary movement, so they have taken a series of measures to suppress the people’s democratic movement, trying to hinder the further progress of the revolution. In August 1910, Yevremov, a member of the Lijian Party, led the Tehran police guard and the feudal troops of Bakhshiar, with the aid of the Cossack regiment of Tsarist Russia, to disarm the local Fedai revolutionary forces (which were led by Sadar and Baghir from Enchumin in Tabriz during the second stage, and were truly revolutionary democratic armed forces), and also suppressed various protests and mass meetings against foreign invaders. In contrast, these landlord bourgeoisie were very weak and conciliatory towards foreigners. Clearly, Tsarist Russia had occupied most of the major cities in northern Iran, Britain had landed along the Persian Gulf coast and suppressed revolutionaries, but the parliament dared not fight resolutely against them, instead only attempting to use so-called “diplomatic means,” seeking aid from Germany and the United States to escape British and Russian control, and showing a cold attitude towards the people’s resistance to foreign goods movement. (The new Iranian government appointed the American Susteer to manage finances, serving as the treasury director, granting him privileges over all government financial, monetary, and tax matters, effectively selling the financial power to the Americans. Susteer then wildly exploited his financial authority to relax the channels for American goods to enter Iran, colluding with Bakhshiar Khan and Yevremov, and organizing a private gendarmerie of 12,000 troops to replace the army. Moreover, he maintained close relations with Britain, which shows that relying on other imperialist bandits to oppose an imperialist bandit is fundamentally impossible.) Due to the Iranian government’s frantic suppression of revolutionary measures, the old feudal remnants regained their lost paradise and began to stir again. A counter-revolutionary coup occurred in northern Iran, with the reactionary feudal lords of Azerbaijan openly opposing the new government and surrounding Tabriz. Meanwhile, Mohammad Ali’s brother, Salar Dola, openly organized a rebellion in Kurdistan, planning to cooperate with Mohammad Ali to overthrow the new regime. In July 1911, Mohammad Ali recruited soldiers from Turkmen tribes (whose feudal lords hoped to share the spoils after supporting the monarchy’s restoration), assembling over 30,000 mercenaries, landing from the Caspian region, preparing to march to Tehran. Salar Dola also launched a counter-revolutionary rebellion in response. This caused great indignation among the people, who held mass meetings and demonstrations everywhere in Iran, vowing to eliminate counter-revolutionaries. The Fedai forces were reorganized amid revolutionary enthusiasm, and many joined the government army (although the government army was also reactionary at the time), hoping to contribute to eradicating the restoration forces. Ultimately, in the fall of 1911, the restoration forces were defeated, Mohammad Ali fled abroad again, and the revolutionary people confiscated the property of the rebels. In November 1911, the persistent British and Russian invaders, seeing their hopes of supporting the monarch’s restoration shattered, prepared to take direct action, issuing an ultimatum demanding the Iranian government dismiss Susteer (due to imperialist rivalry interests), and to
The Iranian Revolution coincidentally failed in 1911, and here we can also see the differences between the Chinese Xinhai Revolution and the Iranian Revolution. The Iranian Revolution ultimately failed because of a feudal restoration, with the king returning to power. Although the Xinhai Revolution also failed in the end, the Qing Emperor abdicated permanently, and the people could no longer tolerate an emperor ruling over them. China’s thousands of years of feudal autocratic monarchy came to an end.
Summary of the Iranian Revolution: The Iranian revolution from 1905 to 1911 was a bourgeois anti-imperialist and anti-feudal democratic revolution, characterized by a strong bourgeois democratic movement, and mobilized peasant masses in provinces such as Azerbaijan and Gilan, making the revolutionary struggle more intense. The Iranian revolution, along with the 1905 revolution, the Asian Turkish revolution, the Xinhai Revolution, the Indian democratic movement, the Philippine revolution, and the Donghak Peasant Revolution, converged into a wave of Asian national liberation movements, marking a new stage in Asian historical development. In the first phase of the Iranian revolution, participants included the national bourgeoisie, bourgeois landlords, Islamic clerics, urban petty bourgeoisie, artisans, urban commoners, and peasants. The leaders of this phase were mainly Islamic clerics, and the scope and forms of struggle were relatively limited, not yet reaching an armed uprising stage. The achievement of this phase was the king declaring constitutional rule and promulgating a constitution, but in the new parliament, power was mainly held by clerics, and the demands of the democratic revolution were not fully met. Subsequently, after the king launched counter-revolutionary coup, the revolution split into two factions: one composed of workers, peasants, artisans, urban petty bourgeoisie, and urban poor, known as the democratic faction; and the other composed of the bourgeoisie, bourgeois landlords, and Islamic clerics, known as the liberal faction. In the second phase, the revolution was mainly led by the petty bourgeoisie democratic faction supported by the proletariat, with major activities centered in Tabriz, while the liberal faction betrayed the revolution and sided with the king. This phase was mainly characterized by armed uprisings, culminating in the fall of Tabriz. The third phase saw the revolution centered in Gilan Province, initially led by the petty bourgeoisie democratic faction but later usurped by the landlord bourgeoisie. The main activity was the march to Tehran to oust the king. However, after the king was expelled and the constitution was established, the landlord bourgeoisie was unwilling to continue the revolution and instead restricted the people, which ultimately allowed the king to recapture Tehran with the help of foreign invading forces, leading to the failure of the Iranian revolution. During this revolution, British and Russian colonizers played a destructive role, carrying out suppression activities that many Iranian kings could not. The Bolsheviks resolutely supported the Iranian people’s revolutionary activities (but shamefully, the Mensheviks did not support). Although the Iranian revolution was suppressed, it awakened the masses to actively participate in bourgeois democratic movements and opened a new period of bourgeois democratic revolution in Iranian history, playing an extremely important role. Additionally, the achievements of Iran were not entirely lost; after the restoration, the Iranian king was forced to retain the constitution and the long-standing parliament, which laid the groundwork for the Iranian people to overthrow the Qajar dynasty later and contributed to the demise of Iran’s feudal system.
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