A Look Into Iran’s Modern History | August 9, 2025

Chris Katulka: Hi everyone. Thank you for joining us for the Friends of Israel Today. I'm Chris Katulka, your host and teacher. Now listen, you've got to go to our website, foiradio.org. It's where you can connect with us here at The Friends of Israel. In fact, we have over a decade of content on our site that has biblical teaching that's all about Israel, the Jewish people, prophecy and the Bible, and why Israel matters today. Again, I encourage you to go to foiradio.org to keep up with everything that's happening here at The Friends of Israel Gospel Ministry. That's foiradio.org. Well, today we're going to focus all on the modern history of Iran to give us a picture of why the Ayatollahs continue to be a bully in the Middle East. 

But before we get to that, let's see what's happening in the news. Amid rising fatigue among troops and growing public discontent, Israel Defense Force Chief of Staff Lieutenant General, Eyal Zamir, has reportedly ordered a 30% reduction in reservists deployed to active combat zones over the coming months. The gradual drawdown will take place in Gaza, the West Bank, and along Israel's northern borders with Lebanon and Syria to ease the heavy burden on the Reserve Corps since Hamas' October 7th invasion. Well, here's my take. Israel has been fighting for almost two years now and the fatigue is real, especially for those reservists who are ready to get back to normal life. There is no doubt that family life and work life has been strained during this very difficult time for Israel.

Chris Katulka: Today we're going to turn our eyes eastward to explore a nation whose modern journey has reshaped the entire Middle East—it's Iran.Today we are going to explore the sweeping secular reforms of the Pahlavi Shahs, to the tumultuous upheaval of the 1979 Islamic Revolution, and on through Tehran’s ongoing quest to export its revolutionary vision across the region in the Middle East. Iran’s story is one of rapid transformation for a very ancient people. Understanding this history isn’t just academic; it’s key to grasping the challenges facing Israel and the broader stability of the Middle East and our world today.

As we trace how Iran’s former leaders' drive to modernize Iran—building railroads, schools, and a centralized state—laid the groundwork for what would become the “White Revolution” of land reform and women’s empowerment. Yet these very reforms, despite their promise, sowed deep discontent among Iran’s clergy and traditional communities, setting the stage for Ayatollah Khomeini’s call to return to an Islamic order.

You're going to hear today about the Islamic Revolution, how it unfolded in the streets of Tehran and how once in power Iran reshaped its society under the principle of the Guardianship of the Jurist. That's what they called it. And finally, we're going to examine why and how Iran has invested so heavily in supporting militias from Lebanon to Iraq, Yemen to Bahrain, exporting its revolutionary fervor with the tools of an asymmetric warfare and ideological solidarity. You might be thinking, what does this have to do with me and my walk with the Lord? Well, for us as Christians who stand with Israel, this story is more than just geopolitics. It's a call to see that God's not through with his Chosen People, despite Iran's desire to wipe them off the map. And that even within Iran today, Iranians are turning to Jesus in record numbers. 

So let's go back to the 1920s with the rise of Reza Shah Pahlavi. He was a military officer who would create Iran’s last ruling dynasty, the Pahlavi dynasty. Shah in Persian simply means “king.” It's a word that actually goes back to the 6th century BC. Reza, a newly crowned king or Shaw of Persia, rose to power invoking the glory of Persia's pre-Islamic past. As a ruler, he set out on this whirlwind program of modernization, building railways and roads that stitch together a fragmented land, founding secular schools and the University of Tehran to educate a new professional class and dismantling the power of tribal chiefs and clerical courts. He banned traditional garb, the chador for women and the fez for men to project a modern western facing Iran. Yet, for all its achievements, his reign was autocratic: dissent was crushed by a growing bureaucracy, an expanded army, and a secret police, and critics—especially tribal leaders and clergy—found themselves jailed, exiled, or even worse. As World War II loomed, fears of his pro-German sympathies prompted Britain and the Soviet Union to invade Iran in 1941, forcing his abdication in favor of his son. Reza’s son—Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi— inherited a nation under foreign occupation but soon asserted his authority once Allied troops withdrew. 

The early 1950s saw Iran’s oil-nationalization crisis when Iran’s Prime Minister Mohammad Mossadegh’s move to seize control of a company called the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company. It was a company that was actually built by the British on Persian land by a company that would later be known, you probably know it as British Petroleum or BP. Of course this enraged the British, and in 1953 a CIA, an MI6-backed coup, called Operation Ajax toppled Mossadegh Prime Minister of Iran, giving the king, the Shah even more power. Eventually, Iran and the British would come to split ownership of the company giving the Persian people more money, through huge oil windfalls. See, Iran was actually moving away from the East and directing itself and orienting itself to the West. As a result, the king, the Shah, launched the White Revolution, which included land reforms that stripped great landlords of their estates.

It ended women's suffrage and expanded educational opportunities. Literacy campaigns in rural villages and the construction of dams and highways and factories. Listen, cities started to swell as millions would leave the countryside and a Western-educated middle class emerged. Yet alongside all of this new infrastructure lay rising inflation, housing shortages and a glaring gap between the wealthy elite—that's the royal family members, the senior officials, and well-connected industrialists—and then the struggling masses. To keep control, the Shah formed a program called SAVAK, which spied on students, tortured suspected dissidents, and tightly censored the press. In Iran's teaming urban cafés and bazaars, Western fashion and pop music flourished. But in mosques and seminaries, conservative clerics, which were actually led by the exiled Ayatollah, decried what they called “Westoxication.” They railed against alcohol, unveiled women, and an unholy alliance of monarchy and secularism. 

See, by the 1970s economic grievances, political repression and religious outrage combined into a combustible mix. Inflation and unemployment hit hard. Housing and services buckled under rapid urban growth and SAVAK brutally left no peaceful outlet for protest. From his exile in Paris, Ayatollah Khomeini transmitted fiery sermons denouncing the Shah as an apostate and calling for Iranians to reclaim their Islamic heritage. In 1978, strikes and demonstrations swept cities: the killing of protestors on Black Friday, September 8, in Tehran’s Jaleh Square shattered the army’s resolve, as conscripts and junior officers refused orders to fire on fellow citizens. The Shah's authority, the King's authority, started to unravel. In January 1979, he fled and on February 1st, Khomeini triumphantly returned to Tehran, greeted by millions. Within days, his followers had seized key ministries and barracks; and by February 11 the monarchy completely collapsed.

A referendum in April established the Islamic Republic. A new constitution was enshrined granting  Khomeini supreme religious and political authority. Rival revolutionary factions like secular leftists and nationalists and moderate modernizers were swiftly sidelined or jailed. And Iran's universities, theaters and press were purged of “un-Islamic” content. Women were actually required to wear hijabs. Public life was segregated by gender. A wave of Islamic courts and morality police reshaped daily existence. 

Since the 1920s, Iran has been pulled to the extremes. The Shahs of the mid-20th century sought to modernize Iran, liberalizing the culture and breaking down the barriers that divided the country from the West. But for many in Iran, it was too much too fast. As trust in the Shahs eroded, a voice in exile could be heard calling for the Iranians back to their Islamic foundation. 

But this too rapidly moved the Persian people from liberalism to Islamic lockdown. Forcing women to wear religious clothing, mobilizing a morality, police, and tearing down the institutions that promoted Western ideals. There is a new generation of Iranians who seem to be dealing with the same issues dealt to their grandparents in the late 1970s. For them today, inflation is high, unemployment is high, rent is out of control, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard police the people. 

Since the end of the 12-Day War with Israel, the world has been waiting to see what happens to the Islamic regime under the control of the Ayatollahs. Will they be toppled by Israel, America and from within by its own people? We still have to wait and see. But see, I believe many in Iran fear that what could follow the Ayatollahs could be worse. Like a leader from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard who would rise up and make life even worse for them. While other voices from the outside are hoping to stake their claim as Iran’s future leader, the former deposed Shah’s son, Reza Pahlavi recently gave a speech proclaiming the Ayatollah’s days are numbered. “This is our Berlin Wall moment,” Pahlavi declared. The exiled Prince of Iran was dressed in a white shirt, a blue tie, and a crisp suit with an Iranian-shaped lapel pin, looking more like a president or prime minister of the West, not a religious leader from Tehran.

The future, he said, was bright. Together, Iranians would build a better country, free of tyranny. “Imagine this new Iran,” Pahlavi said. “A free and democratic Iran, living at peace with our neighbors, an engine of growth and opportunity.” What's in the future for Iran? We're just going to have to wait and see, but whatever it is, it will certainly impact the future of the Middle East. And when we come back, we're going to look at how the Ayatollah spread their revolution to the Middle East and what it looks like today in a post-October 7th world. Stick around.

Chris Katulka: Hey, did you know that August is Make-a-Will Month? It's a special time to reflect on your legacy and to take an important step for your future. Did you know that according to recent studies, only 32% of adults in the United States have a will? Creating one brings peace of mind, it protects your loved ones and allows you to support the ministries that matter most to you. Well, here at The Friends of Israel Gospel Ministry, we want to help you and that's why we've partnered with FreeWill to offer a simple and secure way to write your legal will for free, that's right, for free, as our gift to you. When you include The Friends of Israel in your plans, you're leaving behind a powerful testimony of your passion for God's Word and compassion for God's Chosen People. It's fast, it's free, and it's a beautiful way to honor what God has placed on your heart. And if you remembered FOI in your legacy plans, let us know. We will be honored to include you in our FOI Heritage Society. If you'd like to participate, visit partner.foi.org to get started. Again, that's partner.foi.org. Make-a-Will Month. Your future. Your legacy. God's Glory. Again, that's partner.foi.org to get started today.

Chris Katulka: Welcome back everyone. We're continuing our conversation on Iran and it's complicated modern history that's done more damage than good in the last 50 years since the Ayatollahs have come to power. Oftentimes it can seem like Israel is fighting many people. Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon, Houthis in Yemen and Iran. But in reality, when Israel wars against Hamas, they're fighting Iran. When they war against Hezbollah, they're fighting Iran. When they war against the Houthis, they're fighting Iran. From its foundings in the late 1970s, the Islamic Republic looked beyond Iran's borders. Khomeini preached that the revolution was not merely Iran's destiny but a beacon for all oppressed Muslims. His slogan was “neither East nor West.” It was a rally cry to free Iran from both Soviet communism and American capitalism. To defend and export the revolution, Tehran created the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). And beyond guarding the new regime, the IRGC trained, armed and financed Shiʿite militias across the Middle East to expand Iran's revolution into Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Iraq, and even Saudi Arabia.

In Lebanon, as Israel's 1982 invasion devastated the Shiʿite south, the IRGC helped to form Hezbollah, transforming a ragtag movement into a disciplined political and military force. After the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq, Iran nurtured parties and militia groups—such as the Badr Organization—that would come to dominate Baghdad’s halls of power. In Yemen, Iranian support for the Houthi rebels has kept the impoverished Zaidi community locked in a brutal civil war, while in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Province, Iranian funds and clerical networks fueled unrest among the marginalized Shiʿa minorities. These proxy campaigns served multiple aims for Iran: create strategic depth, secure overland routes to Lebanon, and deter hostile neighbors—chiefly Saddam’s Iraq, the Gulf monarchies allied with Washington, and even the Israeli state. See, by exporting its revolutionary ideology into the Middle East, Iran sought moral leadership in the Muslim world and leverage in oil rich Gulf politics.

Yet these interventions provoked fierce backlash. Eventually, Sunni-ruled Arab states feared the Shiʿite activism on their doorstep, forging tighter ties with the United States in the West and even Israel. Washington, alarmed by Iran's growing network of militias, labeled the IRGC a terrorist organization in 2019 and tightened sanctions on Iranian banks, oil exports, and even its elite leadership. Meanwhile, Tehran doubled down, seeing its proxy forces as the only realistic means to project power against the better equipped foes. And of course, we can't forget about Hamas in Gaza. Tehran would come to establish an enduring influence on Israel's southern border in Gaza, where Iran provided funding, weapons and training to Hamas—arming its militias with rockets, tunnel building expertise and tactical support through the IRGC's Qud Forces. But on October 7th, 2023, the proxies of Iran went too far with the Jewish state. Hamas broke through the border and killed 1200 innocent Israelis and took 250 hostages.

Since then, Israel has leveled Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis. Syria has fallen and Israel destroyed the Iranian's nuclear facilities, with American assistance of course, and took out key IRGC leadership. See, the bully of the Middle East has been put in its place and no one, even their allies, rose up to help them. At the end, Iran's modern history is a tale of dramatic transformations. Reza Shah’s state-driven modernization and secular authoritarianism; Mohammad Reza Shah’s oil-fueled reforms and growing social contradictions; Ayatollah Khomeini's mobilization of religious fervor and overthrow of the monarchy; and the Islamic Republic's ambitious drive to reshape the Middle East through ideology and irregular warfare. All of this adds up and each chapter reflects a struggle over identity in Iran, sovereignty, and the tension between Western-style progression and Islamic values—a tension that continues to define Iran's place on the world stage even today.

And now more than ever, it's time to pray for the Iranian people. Despite every effort from the Ayatollahs...you know what's amazing? Christianity is exploding in Iran. Rather incredibly, Iran now has one of the fastest growing Christian populations in the world. Not in grand cathedrals, not in public squares, but underground—spreading quietly and carefully. See, God is at work in the world and we need to be bold about making Christ known. Remember what the apostle Paul said, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: to the Jew, then to the Gentile.”

Steve Conover: Now Apples of Gold, a dramatic reading from the life and ministry of Holocaust survivor, Zvi Kalisher.

Mike Kellogg: One day recently, I prayed before going out to witness about Jesus Christ. I got off the bus in Jerusalem and landed in front of Yad Le ‘Ahim. This group fights against those who believe in Christ.

I remembered it was to places like this our Lord said, “Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves. This verse encouraged me, and without an invitation, I walked inside this anti-missionary organization.

A man approached me and asked if he could be of help. I replied, “I came in to learn how you can help me, your brother.”

The man explained their purpose: “We extend our hands to rescue our brothers who have fallen into the trap of the apostates, people who want to poison them and capture their souls.”

“I have never read of someone dying from reading the Bible.”

Everyone in the office looked at me, and the gentleman to whom I was speaking asked, now in an unpleasant tone, “How do you know those apostates believe in the Bible? Are you one of them?”

“I am!” I replied. Leviticus 19:14 says, ‘You shall not put a stumbling block before the blind.’

This is what you are doing—trapping the blind in darkness!”

By now, the entire staff had gathered around me. Then the man to whom I was speaking said, “We have concluded you are one of those dangerous ones bringing spiritual poison to the new Russian immigrants. How can you have the chutzpah to try to brainwash us also?”

I replied, “I only want to show you that you do not have to work so hard. You go to them with your commentaries, but I show them the Bible. Through this Book they can learn who their God is, who their Savior is, and how they can prepare themselves to meet Him one day.”

The man angrily responded, “Do you tell them they must believe in this man Jesus? Do you tell them by believing in Him they will be saved?”

“There, you have said it yourself,” I responded. “It is in the Bible, which you have studied very carefully. Your saying that people can read about Jesus in the Bible is a great blessing to my heart, because I have believed this truth for many years.” That statement ignited a fire.

He shouted, “How can you say that? Are you not ashamed?”

“No, my dear,” I replied.

I then read Isaiah 50:7, “For the Lord God will help me; I will not be disgraced; and I know I will not be ashamed.” I told him, “I know in whom I have believed, and I am not ashamed.”

“Do you also kneel before this man?” he asked.

“Of course,” I replied. “Daniel knelt three times a day and prayed to God. Can I do any less? I am not like you—going to people with warnings. Instead, I go to them with the love of God. I know you hate me, but I love you because the Lord instructed us in Leviticus 19:18 to ‘love your

neighbor as yourself.’ You are my neighbor, and so I love you.”

Shortly thereafter, our conversation ended, and I left them to ponder the things I had told them. I hope to have further contact with them and pray that one day they will see the light found in the Lord Jesus Christ.

Chris Katulka: Thanks for joining for today's episode of The Friends of Israel Today. The next three weeks we'll be diving into a three-part series on the New Covenant. You know the Old Testament, Israel's primary focus was the law, yet the Israelites couldn't seem to keep the law perfectly. Really, nobody could. So God spoke through Jeremiah and Ezekiel to promise hope in the form of a New Covenant. You'll want to come back to hear our three part series on the New Covenant. As mentioned, our website is foiradio.org. Our mailing address is FOI Radio PO Box 914, Bellmawr, New Jersey 08099. You can also call our listener line. I hope that you do. That’s 888-343-6940. Today's program was engineered by Bob Beebe. Edited by Jeremy Strong, who also composed and performs our theme music. Lisa Small is our executive producer. Sarah Fern is our associate producer. The late Mike Kellogg read Apples of Gold. Steve Conover is the executive director here at The Friends of Israel, and I'm Chris Katulka, your host and teacher. The Friends of Israel Today is a production of The Friends of Israel Gospel Ministry. Passion for God's Word. Compassion for God's Chosen People.