The Caravan Notebook

Iran’s Last Shah: A Conversation With Ray Takeyh

The Islamic Republic of Iran is repeating many of the mistakes of Muhammad Reza Shah Pahlavi, the last shah of Iran, argues Ray Takeyh of the Council on Foreign Relations.

The Caravan Notebook•May 18, 2021
Iran’s Last Shah: A Conversation With Ray Takeyh

Muhammad Reza Shah reigned from 1941 to 1979, when the Iranian Revolution ushered in the era of the Islamic Republic. In his book The Last Shah, Ray Takeyh chronicles the period of last shah’s reign with a view to understanding the causes of the revolution. What role did the United States play in the coup of 1953? How much responsibility does the shah bear for what happened in 1979? Did Jimmy Carter “lose” Iran? Is the Islamic Republic poised to suffer the same fate as the man it replaced? 

Cast

Ray Takeyh

Ray Takeyh

Cole Bunzel

Cole Bunzel