On January 16, 1979, Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi and his family left Iran for Egypt, telling the newly appointed Prime Minister Shapour Bakhtiar, “I give Iran into your care, yours and God’s.” A few weeks later, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini returned to Iran from exile and within months, Iran was declared an Islamic Republic, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) were established, and the doctrine of velayat-e faqih – ultimate authority to a religious leader – was enshrined.

The Islamic Revolution changed Iran, but that did not stop its people from standing against the regime’s dictates. However, the regime has never hesitated to crush opponents.