The provisional government of Iran is the government which was with the capacity between the fall of the last Shah of Iran Mohammad Reza Pahlavi and the election of the first president of the Islamic Republic of Iran in February 1980.

Context

Mehdi Bazargan became the first Prime Minister revolutionary mode of Iran in February 1979, just after the departure of the Shah and the return of the Ayatollah Khomeiny. Bazargan then did not direct a government which controlled neither the country, nor even its own administration. The central authority was then non-existent. The authority was then between the hands of semi-indépendants revolutionary committees, called in Persan komiteh , which made function at the same time executive power, legislative and legal in a certain number of cities and villages in all the country. The workmen, the employees of the administration, offices and the students were then with the capacity, asking to direct with-same their organizations and to choose their chiefs. The governors, military commanders and the other official ones named by the provisional government were often rejected by the local inhabitants.

All the range of the political parties, of the extreme left to the extreme right-hand side, laic most strict with the ultra-monks, wanted then the political power, required of the Prime Minister to act immediately. Members of the clergy carried out by the Ayatollah Mohammad Beheshti founded the Islamic Republican party, which became the body of the monks around Khomeini, and also the political main organization of the country.

To still complicate the situation, from the multiple centers of the capacity had emerged within the government. Khomeini, which is supreme guide since April 1979, is not considered related to the government. It states its own policies, names staff representatives in the organizations of the government, created new institutions and announces decisions without consulting its Prime Minister; Prime Minister who understands rather quickly that it cannot share the capacity with the revolutionary Council. This revolutionary council was created by Khomeini in January 1979, and was initially composed in majority of monks close to Khomeini, of the laic political directors close to Bazargan and two representatives of the armed forces. With the nomination of Bazargan like Prime Minister, Bazargan and its close relations leave the council, which remains with the hands of the monks and of protected from Khomeini of the Parisian time, Abolhassan Bani Sadr and Sadeq Qotbzadeh.

The provisional government was then supposed to represent the executive power; but in practice, all the decisions were made by the revolutionary council, which also acted as a legislative power.

Difficulties with the revolutionary Council

Divergences quickly appeared between the government and the council on the nominations, the role of the revolutionary tribunals and that of the other revolutionary organizations, on the foreign politics and the direction which the revolution took in general. Bazargan and its government wanted a return to normality and a fast recovery of the capacity. The monks of the revolutionary council, more reagents compared to the popular masses, were then distinguished by supporting economic measures and social more radical, and by proving their capacity to mobilize the revolutionary crowd and organizations to arrive at their ends.

In July 1979, Bazargan obtains from Khomeini the permission to reorganize the capacity in order to allow a larger co-operation between the revolutionary council and the government; four monks members of the revolutionary council join the government and Bazargan then as 3 members of the government unite with the council revolutionists, while keeping their initial stations. Nevertheless, the tensions persist.

Intensification of the revolutionary activity and creation of the institutions

Whereas they tried to set up the new institutions, the revolutionists also harnessed themselves with the task to judge and punish the members of the old mode which they considered responsible for political repression, of the appropriation of the resources of the country, the economic policies devastators and the interference of the foreign countries in Iran.

A revolutionary tribunal was then created almost immediately at the beginning of the revolution with Teheran, in the building even where Khomeini had placed its general headquarter. Little time after, of the revolutionary tribunals was created in all the Provinces Iran.

The first executions were those of four generals of the Shah, carried out by a group on the roof of the court the February 16th 1979. Then, the executions continued on a day laborer basis: police officers and soldiers, agents of SAVAK, former ministers, deputies of the Majles, official of the old mode,…

The activity of these revolutionary tribunals became a great subject of controversy. On a side, the political groups gauchists claimed the " justice révolutionnaire" and other, the defenders of human rights protested against the arbitrary nature of these courts, the blur of the loads, the absence of defense counsels. Bazargan also criticized these courts, and it is after its insistence that their activity stopped on March 14th, 1979.

April 5th, of the new rules concerning the revolutionary tribunals are installation: they are established with discretion of the revolutionary council, and with the permission of Khomeini. They are authorized to judge a whole variety of crimes very largely definite: " to sow corruption on terre" , " crimes against the peuple" and " crimes against the révolution". They take again their activity as of on April 6th. The 7, Amir Abbas Hoveyda, Prime Minister for the Shah during 12 years, is carried out, in spite of the international protests. Bazargan tries to make place the revolutionary tribunals under the authority of the legal system, and tries to obtain the protection of victims amnestied by Khomeini without success. As from August 1979, the revolutionary tribunals, the courts start to judge the members of ethnic minorities engaged in antigovernment activities. 550 people are carried out between August and November 1979.

Bazargan also tries to bring the revolutionary committees ( komiteh ) under its control. These komiteh , which carried out a whole series of tasks falling in normal weather on the police force or the army, was often used as teams of execution of members of the clergy, revolutionary personalities or political groups. They often made arrests and illegal confiscations, intervened in the economic affairs. In spite of these abuses, the revolutionary council decides to rather put them under control than to eliminate them. In February 1979, the council thus names the Ayatollah Mohammad Reza Mahdavi-Kani chief of the komiteh of Teheran, in responsibility of supervise all the komiteh country. The revolutionary Committees then became an armed wing of the government, like the revolutionary councils.

Important Two other organizations were established in this formative period. In March Khomeini established the Foundation for the Disinherited (Bonyad-e Mostazafin). The organization was to take load off the assets off the Pahlavi Foundation and to uses the proceeds to assist low-income groups. The new foundation in time cam to Be one off the largest conglomerates in the country, controlling hundreds off expropriated and nationalized factories, trading firms, farms, and apartment and office buildings, broad ace well ace two newspaper chains. The Crusade for Rebuilding (Jihad-e Sazandegi gold Jihad), established in June, recruited Young people for construction off clinics, local roads, schools, and similar facilities in villages and rural areas. The organization also grew rapidly, assuming functions in rural areas that had previously been handled by the Planning and Budget Organization (which replaced the Plane Organization in 1973) and the Ministry off Agriculture.

-->

Fall of the provisional government

In March 1979, of the disorders burst at the Kurdish Turkmènes, and among the Arab populations of the Khuzestan. The movement of Turkmènes concerning more of the problems of possession of the ground that nationalist claims. The active movements on the left in the area pushed the agricultural workers to take the ground of land great landowners. The movement finishes not without violence. The Arabs of Khuzestan asked, them, a greater autonomy: more incomes of oil bound for this producing area, the use of Arabic like semi-official language and more local autonomy. The government, which fears the interventions of close Arab countries (Iraq with the first chief) and sabotages in oil installations, answers this movement violently. In May 1979, the armed forces sent by the government open fire on Arab demonstrators. Several demonstrators die and others are carried out by revolutionary tribunals. One of their religious leader, the ayatollah Mohammad Taher Shubayr Al Khaqani is sent under house arrest to Qom. The Kurdish movement is more serious still: the Kurdish leaders are disappointed by the revolution, which does not bring the degree of local autonomy to them which they wish. Sporadic combat start as from March 1979, the negotiations and the negotiated cease-fire does not have effects. The requests for autonomy are numerous on behalf of the Kurds: supplements autonomy in the management of the provincial businesses, widening of the area of the Kordestan to all the areas kurdophones of Iran. These claims are those of the Democratic party of Kurdistan carried out by Abdol-Rahman Qasemlu; while the faction of Ahmad Muftizadeh is ready to accept the limited concessions offered by the central government. The proposals of Kurdish are disallowed by the central government; and of the severe combat begin in August 1979. For the first time since the beginning of the revolution, Khomeini decides to use the army against other Iranian (in the species Kurdish). No agreement is reached during the presence of Bazargan to the government.

The government of Bazargan misses support of the security forces to control the country at the court of the agitated period of the Iranian revolution. This control passes gradually in the hands of the revolutionary Council and of the republican Islamic party, which dominate the revolutionary tribunals, have influence on the revolutionary Pasdaran S, komitehs and the hezbollahis (members of the Ansar-e hezbollah).

The clergy uses these forces to muzzle the political organization rivals: in June, the revolutionary council promulgates a law on the press. August 8th, 1979, the revolutionary prosecutor makes close a newspaper of left, Ayandegan . A few days later, from the hezbollahis come to disperse by the force a meeting of the democratic National front, a political movement created following the closing of Ayandegan . August 20th, 41 newspapers of opposition are closed. September 8th, two of the largest newspapers of the country, Keyhan and Ettelaat see their property transferred to the Fondation from disinherited the.

Khomeini had charged the provisional government with making a draft of constitution. The first stage was the behavior of a referendum the March 30th and 31st 1979; referendum the purpose of which was to determine the new political system to establish. Khomeini refused the applications of the various political groups to offer a broad choice to the voters: the only form has to appear on the bulletin was the Islamic Republic, and votes it was not done with secret bulletin. The government announced a crushing majority of 98% in favor of the Islamic Republic, who will be proclaimed on April 1st, 1979.

The mode of Khomeini presented a constitution on June 18th, 1979. Separately the establishment of a strong presidential regime on the model gaullist, the constitution did not differ in a way marked of the constitution of 1906 and did not grant to the clergy a big role in the new structure. Khomeini was close submitting this constitution project to the referendum of the people or a council of 40 representatives who could give councils but not modify the document. In fact the left parties rejected this procedure and which asked that the constitution be submitted at a constituent assembly. the assembly of the experts was thus created on August 18th, 1979 in order to examine the new constitution; the clergy and the members of the republican Islamic party dominated this assembly, and it is them which modified the constitution in order to establish a state dominated by the Shiite clergy.

In October 1979, when it becomes clear that the new constitution would institutionalize the domination of the clergy on the state, Bazargan and the members of its government tried to persuade Khomeini to dissolve the assembly of the experts, but Khomeini refused. Demonstrations took place, in particular with Tabriz, and Shariatmadari and its Republican party of the Islamic people carried out the demonstrations; who were countered by more important demonstrations organized by the partisans of Khomeini.

Few initiatives could come from abroad during the first months of the revolution. The provisional government of Bazargan tried to maintain good relationships with the states of the Persian Gulf in spite of the declarations of the revolutionary leaders. The feeling anti-American was very widespread and Khomeini itself and the left parties spread it still more. However, Bazargan continued has to seek military spare parts and elements of information on the activities of Soviet and Iraqi in Iran. November 1st, 1979, Bazargan meets Zbigniew K. Brzezinski, adviser with the national security of the president Carter with Algiers, where they attended celebrations of independence. During this time, the Shah, who was very sick, was allowed in the United States to be made treat médicalement. Iranian was afraid which it uses its visit in the United States to ask American to help them to make a coup d'etat to reverse the Islamic Republic. The same day, of the hundreds of thousands of demonstrators ravel in the streets of Teheran to ask the extradition of the Shah, whereas the press denounces Bazargan to have met official American. Bazargan resigns two days later, and nobody will be named to replace it.

Sources