Under huge amounts of political pressure, and suffering from cancer, the Shah left Iran on January 16, 1979, and on February 1 Khomeini arrived at the airport in Tehran where an estimated "three million people lined the streets" to welcome the religious leader, DeFronzo continued. Shortly, the Iranian military pledged loyalty to Khomeini The debate over what form of government would replace the Shah's fascist state did not last very long, as Khomeini selected a group of clergy to form the "Islamic Revolutionary Council" -- overseeing policy until a referendum could be held. In the end, the fundamentalists held sway over the wording of the Islamic constitution, and Khomeini was securely in power (DeFronzo, 321).

That sense of enthusiasm from the revolution that tossed the Shah out of the country continued on November 4, 1979, as over four hundred "young militants stormed the [U.S.] embassy and managed to confiscate quickly many of the sought-after documents" that would verify that the CIA participated in the manipulation of power in Iran. The 53 hostages were held in the embassy for...

Conclusion
While DeFronzo's Chapter 7 continues past the time during which Khomeini was securely in power, and points to issues that followed the revolution, the bulk of the author's narrative up to this point is very specific and well illustrated vis-a-vis how the Iranian Revolution came to fruition. The history of Persia / Iran beginning early in the 20th century was one of exploitation by Britain and other countries -- including the U.S. -- that led to the ouster of the despotic Shah, and to the re-launching of an Islamic State. The United States should be ashamed that America basically put a demagogue into power when Eisenhower authorized the CIA to install the Shah, against the will of the sovereign Iranian government at that time. Meantime, it is part of history, there is no going back, but a better understanding of why things are the way they are…