The Iranian Revolution of 1979 reshaped the political landscape of the Middle East, replacing Iran’s Western-backed leader with an Islamic Republic. It transformed modern political extremism. Now, more than 40 years later, the Israeli–US attacks have killed the country’s supreme leader, creating the possibility of regime change. It reminds us these fault lines are far from settled.
In his riveting new book The Revolutionists, Guardian international security correspondent Jason Burke treats the Iranian Revolution as a catalyst for “a new and different energy” that would surge through the Middle East. In its aftermath, he argues, religious extremism accelerated across the Islamic world. Older, leftist revolutionary currents were pushed to the margins.
