The Interim Government of Iran () was the first government established in

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

after the

Iranian Revolution The Iranian Revolution (, ), also known as the 1979 Revolution, or the Islamic Revolution of 1979 (, ) was a series of events that culminated in the overthrow of the Pahlavi dynasty in 1979. The revolution led to the replacement of the Impe ...

. The regime was headed by

Mehdi Bazargan Mehdi Bazargan (; 1 September 1907 – 20 January 1995) was an Iranian scholar, academic, long-time pro-democracy activist and head of Interim government of Iran, 1979, Iran's interim government. One of the leading figures of Iranian Revolutio ...

, one of the members of the

Freedom Movement of Iran The Freedom Movement of Iran (FMI) or Liberation Movement of Iran (LMI; ) is an Iranian pro-democracy political organization founded in 1961, by members describing themselves as "Muslims, Iranians, Constitutionalists and Mossadeghists". It is th ...

, and formed on the order of

Ayatollah Ayatollah (, ; ; ) is an Title of honor, honorific title for high-ranking Twelver Shia clergy. It came into widespread usage in the 20th century. Originally used as a title bestowed by popular/clerical acclaim for a small number of the most di ...

Khomeini Ruhollah Musavi Khomeini (17 May 1900 or 24 September 19023 June 1989) was an Iranian revolutionary, politician, political theorist, and religious leader. He was the founder of the Islamic Republic of Iran and the main leader of the Iranian ...

on 4 February 1979. From 4 to 11 February, Bazargan and

Shapour Bakhtiar Shapour Bakhtiar (, ; 26 June 19146 August 1991) was an Iranian politician who served as the last Prime Minister of Iran under the rule of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. In the words of the historian Abbas Milani: "more than once in the tone of a jere ...

, the

Shah Shāh (; ) is a royal title meaning "king" in the Persian language.Yarshater, Ehsa, ''Iranian Studies'', vol. XXII, no. 1 (1989) Though chiefly associated with the monarchs of Iran, it was also used to refer to the leaders of numerous Per ...

's last

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

, both claimed to be the legitimate

prime minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

; Bakhtiar fled on 11 February.

was the

of the

Interim government A provisional government, also called an interim government, an emergency government, a transitional government or provisional leadership, is a temporary government formed to manage a period of transition, often following state collapse, revolut ...

and introduced a seven-member cabinet on 14 February 1979.

Ebrahim Yazdi Ebrahim Yazdi (; 26 September 1931 – 27 August 2017) was an Iranian peoples, Iranian politician, pharmacist, and diplomat who served as deputy prime minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs (Iran), minister of foreign affairs in the Interim Go ...

was elected as the

Foreign Minister In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and relations, diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral r ...

. The

constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organization or other type of entity, and commonly determines how that entity is to be governed. When these pri ...

of the

Islamic Republic of Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

was adopted by referendum on 24 October 1979. Before it could come into force on 3 December 1979, however, the government resigned on 6 November soon after the taking over of the American embassy. The

Council of the Islamic Revolution The Council of the Islamic Revolution () was a group formed by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini to manage the Iranian Revolution on 10 January 1979, shortly before he returned to Iran. "Over the next few months there issued from the council hundreds ...

then formed the

Interim Government of Iran (1979–80) Council of the Islamic Revolution formed Interim Government on Ruhollah Khomeini, Ruhollah Khomeini's order after resignation of Mehdi Bazargan because of Iran hostage crisis. According to Ali Akbar Moinfar, Council of the Islamic Revolution ch ...

until the formation of the first

Islamic Consultative Assembly The Islamic Consultative Assembly (), also called the Iranian Parliament, the Iranian Majles (Arabicised spelling Majlis) or ICA, is the unicameral national legislative body of Iran. The parliament currently consists of 290 representatives, an i ...

on 12 August 1980.

was elected to the first

representing

Tehran Tehran (; , ''Tehrân'') is the capital and largest city of Iran. It is the capital of Tehran province, and the administrative center for Tehran County and its Central District (Tehran County), Central District. With a population of around 9. ...

Formation of the interim government

When

, the leader of the

Iranian revolution The Iranian Revolution (, ), also known as the 1979 Revolution, or the Islamic Revolution of 1979 (, ) was a series of events that culminated in the overthrow of the Pahlavi dynasty in 1979. The revolution led to the replacement of the Impe ...

, came back to Iran after his 15-year exile, he appointed

as the head of the

. On 4 February 1979,

Ruhollah Khomeini Ruhollah Musavi Khomeini (17 May 1900 or 24 September 19023 June 1989) was an Iranian revolutionary, politician, political theorist, and religious leader. He was the founder of the Islamic Republic of Iran and the main leader of the Iranian ...

issued a decree appointing Bazargan as the

of "The Provisional Islamic Revolutionary Government" (PRG). His decree stated: Elaborating further on his decree,

made it clear that Iranians were commanded to obey Bazargan and that this was a religious duty.

As a man who, though the guardianship
Velayat A velayat (also spelled vilayat; ) was a type of administrative division within Safavid Iran, which functioned as a semi-autonomous province. The velayats were situated in the frontier of the country, mainly in its mountainous areas. In order of ...
] that I have from the holy lawgiver [the Prophet], I hereby pronounce Bazargan as the Ruler, and since I have appointed him, he must be obeyed. The nation must obey him. This is not an ordinary government. It is a government based on the ''
sharia Sharia, Sharī'ah, Shari'a, or Shariah () is a body of religious law that forms a part of the Islamic tradition based on Islamic holy books, scriptures of Islam, particularly the Quran, Qur'an and hadith. In Islamic terminology ''sharīʿah'' ...
''. Opposing this government means opposing the ''sharia'' of Islam ... Revolt against God's government is a revolt against God. Revolt against God is
blasphemy Blasphemy refers to an insult that shows contempt, disrespect or lack of Reverence (emotion), reverence concerning a deity, an object considered sacred, or something considered Sanctity of life, inviolable. Some religions, especially Abrahamic o ...
.

Khomeini's announcement came days before the army's official statement announcing the army's ( Bakhtiar's last hope) neutrality in conflicts between Khomeini's and Bakhtiar's supporters. Bakhtiar fled on the same day, 11 February, the day that is officially named as ''Islamic Revolution's Victory Day''. The PRG is often described as "subordinate" to the Revolutionary Council, and having had difficulties reigning in the numerous committees which were competing with its authority.

Members of the cabinet

According to Mohammad Ataie, the cabinet was made up of two main factions, moderates and radicals. Most of cabinet members were nationalist veterans and sympathizers of the

and a few from the National Front. Bazargan reshuffled his cabinet several times because of resignation of ministers that were unable to cope with parallel sources of power. In several cases a ministry was supervised by an

acting Acting is an activity in which a story is told by means of its enactment by an actor who adopts a character—in theatre, television, film, radio, or any other medium that makes use of the mimetic mode. Acting involves a broad range of sk ...

minister or Bazargan himself. List of members of Bazargan's cabinet was as follows:

Resignation

The

and all members of his cabinet resigned en masse on 6 November 1979 after the American Embassy officials were taken

hostage A hostage is a person seized by an abductor in order to compel another party, one which places a high value on the liberty, well-being and safety of the person seized—such as a relative, employer, law enforcement, or government—to act, o ...

two days earlier on 4 November 1979. In his letter to

, Bazargan stated that ''"...repeated interferences, inconveniences, objections and disputes have made my colleagues and me unable to continue eetingour duties ..."''. Power then passed into the hands of the

. Bazargan had been a supporter of the original revolutionary draft constitution rather than theocracy by Islamic jurist, and his resignation was received by

without protest, saying "Mr. Bazargan ... was a little tired and preferred to stay on the sidelines for a while."

later described his appointment of Bazargan as a "mistake". Bazargan, on the other hand, described the government as a "knife without blade."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Interim Government of Iran 1979 1979 establishments in Iran 1979 disestablishments in Iran States and territories established in 1979 States and territories disestablished in 1979 Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran Iranian Revolution Provisional governments Cabinets of Iran Revolutionary organizations Organisations of the Iranian Revolution Ruhollah Khomeini Revolutionary institutions of the Islamic Republic of Iran

Formation of the interim government

Members of the cabinet

Resignation

See also

References