On September 16

On this day in ...
... 1941, Iran's Reza Shah Pahlavi then Shah of Iran, abdicated his throne and was succeeded by his son, Crown Prince Mohammed Reza Pahlavi, 21. The stated reason for abdication by the man depicted on the 1941 Iranian banknote at right (credit) was "'failing health.'" But the change took place, according to a contemporary New York Times article, "as British and Russian forces" -- Allies in World War II who were concerned about Nazi German influence in oil-rich Iran -- "came within a few miles of Teheran in moves converging upon that capital." As we've posted, in 1979 the new Shah himself would be ousted from office. His son, also named Reza Pahlavi, surfaced during election protests at the beginning of this summer (about which IntLawGrrls posted here and here), "a leader of the Iranian exile groups working to overthrow the regime whose clerics and mullahs overthrew your father," as the Times put it.

(Prior September 16 posts are here and here.)
 
Bloggers Team