Here is a brief history of Iran from 1950 to the present day:
In 1951, Dr. Mohammed Mossadegh was elected the Prime Minister of Iran. He became very popular with the Iranian people after he nationalized the country's oil reserves and petroleum industry. Winston Churchill, the head of the British government, wanted to embargo Iranian oil and joined up with the United States in attempt to overthrow Mossadegh's democratic government. In 1953, President Dwight D. Eisenhower approved Operation Ajax. Later that year, the operation became sucessful and Iran's leader was arrested.
After Operation Ajax, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi came into power. His rule was autocratic, meaning that he had complete and absolute power over Iran. With the help of the U.S., Pahlavi, known as the Shah, began to quickly modernize Iran. Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini publicly outspoke against the Shah's White Revolution which was a series of reforms in Iran starting in 1963. Khomeini was arrested and sent to jail for a total of 18 months because of his views and words against the Shah's government. When he was released from prison, Khomeini began to speak out more, this time criticizing the United States for our government. After this, Pahlavi exiled Khomeini from the country.
In 1978, the Iranian/Islamic Revolution began in Iran. Many people began forming strikes and speaking out against Pahlavi's rule over the government until the Shah finally fled the country in January of 1979. Not long after this, Khomeini soon returned from his exile. Iran became an official Islamic Republic 1979 after a vast majority of Iranians approved it. In December of that year, Ayatollah Khomeini became Supreme Leader of Iran after the country approved a new constitution.
Saddam Hussein, the leader of Iraq, wanted to expand his country's access to the Persian Gulf by taking back territories that Iraq had previously taken from Iran during the Shah's rule. Iraq's main goal was to take control of Khuzestan for their rich oil fields and high Arab population. In September of 1980, Iraq's troops invaded Iran, sparking the start of the Iran-Iraq War. Over the course of the war up to one million Iran casualties occured.
Sources used: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iran#Recent_history_.281921.E2.80.93present.29
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