Caucasus and Central Asia, Afghanistan, and Lebanon.30
Saudi Arabia played a central role in combating Iran’s international influence. The Islamic Revolution in Iran rattled the Saudi monarchy more than other re- gional governments, as the Saudis legitimized their rule through religion and had a substantial Shi’a minority. Relying on its vast resources, Saudi Arabia thus moved to shore up support with friendly governments. For ex- ample, in Pakistan—a country possessing its own large Shi’a minority—the military dictatorship of Zia-ul-Haq was directly exposed to conservative influence from Saudi Arabia, which financed the proliferation of Sunni religious schools and collaborated with Zia’s govern- ment to provide support for the Afghan jihad against the Soviets. The combination of religious schooling and the conflict in Afghanistan radicalized many Pakistani Sunni students.31 These radicalized groups soon took a militant form under the patronage of the CIA and Paki- stan’s umbrella intelligence agency, the Directorate for Inter-Services Intelligence (more commonly known as Inter-Services Intelligence, or simply ISI).32 Saudi Ara- bia’s funding of anti-Shi’a Sunni groups was a tactic to de-legitimize Shi’a Islam and the Iranian Revolution in order to lessen its appeal in Saudi Arabia. The Saudis largely succeeded, but as a consequence there was a vast proliferation of extremist groups.33
Beyond Saudi Arabia, regional fears of expanding Ira- nian influence seemed to be confirmed by communal riots and civil disturbances, terrorist acts, and hijackings in Kuwait. These events were also linked to instability in Bahrain, where several coup attempts were directly traced back to Iran through the Hojjat al-Islam Hadi Mudarrisi, a network of support for Khomeini that had been created while he was still in exile.34
November 4, 1979 was a decisive moment in Iran’s rela- tionship with the international community. On that day, Iranian students, political activists, and religious actors stormed and took over the US embassy. This dramatic show of force reflected widespread fears of a repeat of the 1953 CIA-engineered coup against Mossadeq. The takeover of the US embassy in Tehran had two aims: to limit the capacity of Americans to intervene in Iran, and to arouse anti-Americanism and stoke a sense of Ira- nian nationalism. In addition to these objectives, which
were largely successful, the hostage-takers were also able to target, label, and marginalize political opponents as pro-American. Indeed, the hostage-takers hailed their capture of the US embassy as the Second Islamic Revo- lution.35
Khomeini’s harsh anti-Western rhetoric and the take- over of the US embassy marked a turning post in post- revolutionary Iran’s relationship with the international community. The extreme tension with the United States and the increasing need for international support and allies meant that external issues directly impacted Kho- meini’s hold on power. Khomeini’s potent language and support of those in control of the embassy allowed him to assume the leadership of the revolutionary movement while working within the powerful current of national- ism and anti-imperialism.36
Few states other than Saudi Arabia were as fearful of the Iranian Revolution as Iraq. However, Saddam Hus- sein was also confident of Iran’s temporary weakness, and thus invaded Iran in September 1980. In doing so, he expected to regain territory signed away in 1975 and hoped to put an end to the appeal of Khomeini. In this sense, the Iran-Iraq War was, in part, an attempt at counter-revolution.
Instead, the Iran-Iraq war unified and mobilized the Ira- nian masses under Khomeini’s leadership. Islam became a central factor in the war effort, especially Shi’a Islam and the tradition of martyrdom. Both the Iranian nation and religion were perceived to be under attack, creating a powerful common purpose for the Iranian people. Af- ter anti-Americanism, war became Khomeini’s rationale for eliminating the remaining political opposition. The Iran-Iraq War afforded Khomeini the necessary latitude to implement his vision for Iran.37 Khomeini used it to clamp down on opposition and to consolidate power for Islamists by showing that his version of Islam was asso- ciated with the defense of the true Islam. By 1988, the regime had consolidated its position. The military had held up and there was less need to export the revolution. Moreover, as a result of Saddam’s clear aggression, Iran was more accepted within the international community and Khomeini was no longer under direct threat; the Islamic Revolution had been firmly established.