Indeed!!! Now track the White Revolution the son imposed in an attempt to modernize Iran.
He even used the tried and true, five year plan soviet style central planning; re-locations of villagers, state funded (still in existence) and owned industries, giant and mostly useless state projects.
The Shah was a despot. He was our despot, but he still was as unreliable an ally over the long term as any despot can be. Once he was gone another rose to take his place.
This is why Islamo-Nazism (national socialism imposed in a dictatorship in an Islamic country is indistinguishable in effect from the Islamic paradise of the Ayatollah. The people at the top own everything, the villagers and the bazaars cower in fear and uncertainty.
The Supreme Council of Iran contains the richest mullahs you will likely find anywhere. They own and run everything.
This last fact is the only restraint they may have to delay the descent into the Abyss they are looking into (the mullahs). It is nice to be rich and own everythng. It is not nice to be devastated and reduced to garbage dump gleaning because you went to war with the wrong people.
No doubt. One common thread during the Cold War was the US's whole-hearted support for authoritarian rulers for fear that anything less would drive them into the arms of the Soviets.
The best-case scenario would have been for the US to pressure the Shah into reform, to engineer a soft landing in the form of a constitutional monarchy. Was that a realistic goal? I don't know, and it's too easy to play Monday-Morning quarterback. But I've seen little evidence that it was seriously attempted.
This leads me to the military response doctrine that if we have to move militarily against Iran, that we should announce loud and clear that our intent will be to utterly destroy everything that they hold most dear! This would include palaces, airports, modern weapons factories and facilities, mosques, and all the appertenances of wealth and fine living.
Appalling and unusual as this may be to consider, think of what it would mean to the ruling elite. They would have no sanctuary, and no future regardless of the outcome. The average citizen would be little affected by such a cropping.
It would also allow us to be able to work to our strength, simply working down a target list. Ground occupation forces would be the last resort. Essentially, it would be a matter of instituting regime change either with or without internal forces.
And then they are taught from birth to blame the Jews for their poor position.