How did foreign involvement in Iran’s politics contribute to the Iranian Revolution?

Foreign involvement in Iranian politics was a significant catalyst for the Iranian Revolution, primarily by fostering deep-seated resentment toward the Pahlavi regime and its perceived subservience to Western powers.12

Key factors include:

• The 1953 Coup: The 1953 coup in Iran, orchestrated by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency and the U.K. Secret Intelligence Service, overthrew the democratically elected government of Mohammad Mosaddegh. This intervention, which restored Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi to power, is widely viewed as having sown the seeds for the 1979 revolution by undermining Iranian sovereignty and inciting intellectuals and nationalists against the monarchy.31
• Repression and Surveillance: With the aid of U.S. and Israeli intelligence, the shah established SAVAK, a secret police force that became a symbol of the regime's oppressive rule, utilizing surveillance, detention, and torture to suppress dissent.42
• Cultural and Political Backlash: The shah’s close ties to the United States and Israel, combined with his aggressive Westernization programs, fueled rhetoric from leaders like Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. Khomeini successfully framed the shah as a puppet of foreign interests, helping to unite diverse opposition groups—including secular intellectuals, the left, and the religious ulama—under a banner of national and religious identity.152