Despite massive oil income, long-promised projects for
political and economic decentralization stalled while economic
stagnation increased in 1976 and 1977.22 In response,
open opposition to the shah broke out among the
middle-class and the remnants of the National Front, students
both inside and outside of Iran, workers, and guerillas.
These groups increasingly voiced their discontent in
Islamic terms, which in turn led to their identification as
a religious opposition.