Iran travel guide

The Persian Empire was almost inconceivably huge. First created in the 7th century BCE by the Medes, successive civilisations conquered and expanded the empire until is reached from North Africa into Central Asia and up into the Balkans. At one point it included more than 40 percent of the world’s population. The Muslim conquest occurred between 633-656 AD and over the next three centuries, Iran became Islamicised. In 1501, the Safavids converted Iran to Shia Islam, and for over four centuries, the empire continued to be ruled over by successive monarchs from warring dynasties. Territories in the Caucasus fell away in the 1800s thanks to the expansion of the Russian Empire.

Persia’s luck seemed to change in 1908 with the discovery of oil. Britain and Russia fought for control over Persia, continuing through WW1, with the Germans joining the battle during WW2. Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi became the new monarch in 1941, and after a shaky start to democracy, with six prime ministers in just five years, Mohammed Mossadeq was voted in – and decided to nationalise the oil industry – then owned by the British. Britain put pressure on Iran not to do this with economic blockades, Mossadeq forced the Shah into exile and in 1953 a CIA-organised coup, with the support of MI6, overthrew Mossadeq. The Shah was reappointed – now with absolute power (despite a nominal prime minister), and the support of the USA. Ownership of Iran’s oil industry was now split between Iran and a group of foreign companies. Over the next couple of decades, the Shah oversaw the ‘White Revolution’ – agricultural and social reforms, which rapidly modernised Iran, but also displeased more traditional religious factions. These Islamist groups were encouraged by Ayatolla Ruholla Khomeini, who was subsequently exiled. The 1960s saw the emergence of religious riots as well as the rise of leftwing guerilla groups. An internal security service was created, which became increasingly more violent towards citizens; Prime Minister Hassan Ali Mansur was assassinated in 1965; and relations soured with neighbouring Iraq.

In 1973, Iran once again nationalised its oil industry – this time under the orders of the Shah. As many Middle Eastern countries at this time were staging an oil embargo against western countries, Iran saw this as an opportunity to raise oil prices and continue modernising the country – as well as investing even further in its military. But the strikes and demonstrations continued, leading to the Shah’s exile in 1979 – and the Iranian Revolution, resulting in the founding of the Islamic Republic of Iran under the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khomeini. Virtually overnight, this rapidly modernising nation was subjected to strict Islamic rule – all Western influences were banned, schools, courts and even economic policies were Islamicised, and industries were nationalised. The 1980s saw uprisings from Kurds, Marxist guerrillas, secularists and more – as well as the 'Iran hostage crisis', which shaped the Western world’s view of Iran for decades. But the Iran-Iraq War was the defining event of this decade, as Saddam Hussein invaded Iran in an attempt to claim Arab territory – and rich oil fields. Iran, in turn, tried to spread its Islamic Revolution into Iraqi territory. Over the course of eight years, between half and one million Iranians were killed, many due to Iraq’s use of chemical weapons.

After the war, subsequent presidents stabilised the country, eased relations with surrounding states and stayed neutral during the first Gulf War. Any attempts at reform were quashed by conservative groups however, frustrating Iran’s growing youth population and more liberal citizens. By the 2000s, its nuclear energy programme was causing concern that Iran may be planning to build nuclear weapons, raising tensions with the USA, despite the then Supreme Leader issuing a fatwa forbidding any production or use of nuclear weapons – and the topic remains a hugely contentious issue to this day.

A worrying new era for Iran, and diminishing prospects of a lasting peace, began with the election of US President Donald Trump in 2016. The USA soon unilaterally withdrew from a deal that had been agreed between Iran and a group of world powers to reduce sanctions and release frozen assets in return for Iran abandoning its nuclear energy programme. Growing tensions exploded into violence in January 2020, when without warning the United States assassinated a prominent Iranian general that it considered a terrorist, provoking condemnation from many quarters. Further controversy was stoked as Trump threatened to attack Iranian cultural sites, which would constitute a war crime.

As it scrambled to retaliate, Iranian forces accidentally shot down a civilian plane, killing hundreds. Amid global calls for calm, Iran shortly afterwards declared that it would no longer be bound by the already-floundering deal, and work would continue on nuclear enrichment. Sadly, as a new decade began. British Foreign Office advice was once again that people avoid any non-urgent travel to Iran.