Iran was hardly a "great ally of America" for years. The history does not begin where the article begins, either. n terms of Iran, it begins in 1953 when the Eisenhower administration -- in one of the most disgraceful foreign policy decisions in the post-WW2 era -- authorized the CIA to topple the legitimately-elected government of Mohammed Mossadegh in Iran. The 1979 Islamic revolution in Iran would never have happened without the kind of track record we had in that country over the previous 25 years.
The 1979 Islamic revolution in Iran would never have happened without the kind of track record we had in that country over the previous 25 years.
Although the overthrow of Mossadegh (Kermit Roosevelt, the CIA and British MI6) and the restoration of the Shah to the Peacock throne did cause widespread and lingering resentment of the US, the Shah was his own worse enemy in terms of sowing the seeds of revolution. Mohammed Mossadegh's desire to nationalize oil and his associations with the Communists (Tudeh party) may have led to a different kind of revolution.
Historically, you can go back to 1921 and the British-backed military coup d'état led by Persian Cossacks Brigade officer Reza Khan, who in April 1926 took the crown for himself as His Imperial Majesty Reza Shah Pahlavi, beginning the so-called Pahlavi Dynasty. His rule brought a modernization of the political and social systems and a substantial reduction in the power of the clergy and tribal leaders. However along with the reforms came increasing repression and social unrest. These are where the real seeds of the 1979 revolution came from. The mullahs were always at odds with the Shah and they probably would have challenged Mossadegh's government as well.