About Student's Day in Iran

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Student's Day in Iran honors three student protesters martyred on December 7, 1953, for freedom of speech and the right to assemble.

December 7, 1953, Tehran University students gathered to protest the upcoming December 9 arrival of American Vice President Richard Nixon. The peaceful protests were met with a 'Shoot to Kill' order from the Shah's security forces. Three student protesters, Mostafa Bozorgnia, Ahmad Ghandchi, and Mehdi Shariat-Razavi, were killed. Though the public remembers the martyrs each year after that, the Shah's security services would ruthlessly pursue and dissuade anyone from recognizing their sacrifice during his rule.

Immediately following the 1979 revolution and the overthrow of the Shah, Student's Day became a symbol of the nation's displeasure with American foreign policy. Over the next few decades, under the strict rule of the Ayatollahs, Student's Day was used by the people to voice opinions about their current rulers, in addition to foreign nations, which did not sit well with the religious and political leaders. As in the Shah's day, the Islamic leaders actively repressed dissent and free speech, bringing the Iranians back full circle to 1953 without the bullets. 

By 2009, rules were relaxed, and celebrations of Student's Day could be observed, provided celebrants were not critical of the Iranian government or its religious leaders.  

WHY IS THERE ANIMOSITY BETWEEN IRAN AND THE WEST?

Most animosities between the West and Iran began in August 1953, four months before the students were killed. 

In January 1953, Iran was a nascent yet thriving democracy and the region's most progressive and wealthy nation. Its natural resources, highly educated society, and forward-thinking prime minister, Mohammad Mosaddeq, projected a bright future for the West Asian country. 

Mosaddeq was a man of the people. He believed his nation's natural resources and the generated wealth should belong to and benefit all Iranians rather than foreign governments or wealthy individuals, thereby creating a problem for two other countries, the United States and Great Britain. Both nations had invested heavily in oil exploration within the region since the 1920s. Nationalized oil would prevent British and, to a lesser extent, American companies from fully profiting and impacting their nations' influence in the region. But oil isn't Iran's only natural resource. Iran has a variety of ecosystems, minerals, water, and sources of wealth, giving it a well-rounded economic footing in multiple markets not shared by its Gulf neighbors. 

Prime minister Mosaddeq's ideas would make the Persian nation less amenable to foreign stewardship and coaxing while protecting it from the internal corruption of its monarchal past. Mosaddeq wanted to return the country to its geopolitical and cultural importance while elevating the quality of life of his people. Not everyone was happy, particularly nations hoping to control the resources and the new government, as well as former loyalists of the monarchy within Iran.    

On August 19, 1953, agents of the CIA, MI-6, and various dissenting factions within the Iranian population orchestrated a coup, overthrew the prime minister, and reinstalled the exiled Shah (king) in power. Mohammad Mosaddeq went into hiding, and martial law was declared. The secret police began arresting, imprisoning, and tracking dissenters. 

The Shah, a brutal, ostentatious dictator, ruled without mercy and deferred to Western powers who helped him stay in control—until his people overthrew him in 1979. The Hostage Crisis, culminating with the storming and occupation of the US embassy in Tehran for 444 days, is one of the most well-known events of that year. The United States is the primary reason the Iranians lost their democracy and suffered for 25 years under the Shah. It's why the students protested in 1953, and it's why students occupied the US embassy.

Concurrently, in 1979, animosity between Persian Iran and its Arab neighbors escalated. It is also the year much of the Islamic world pivoted toward austere conservativism. However, the why on that pivot is a story for another day.

Over the next decade, animosity developed between Iran and the Gulf states. Iraq invaded Iran, and that war continued for nearly a decade. Americans deeply embarrassed by the hostage crisis remained steadfastly parochial, and the third spoke in the wheel, Israel, decried Iran as a threat. 

Contrary to perceived wisdom, the threat Israel sees is not due to Iran's nuclear capabilities, which Israel has had since 1963 and Iran has never had. It's not due to religion (Iran has a robust Jewish population). The reason is far simpler. Strategically positioned between Asia and Europe, Iran is a nation of 84 million people (versus Israel's nine million, Saudi Arabia's 36 million, and the United Arab Emirates' ten million) with vast natural resources (including ample fresh water) and well-educated citizens. Absent sanctions and permitted self-determination, Iran has the potential to outperform Israel and the Gulf states militarily, economically, and, therefore, influentially. When you peel away the excuses, the core reasons for fear are power, influence, and money—like always. Nothing more.

So decades later, the dance of Iran's containment continues with sanctions, vilification, and accusations. However, the events of fall 2022 in Iran, with the protests over the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in police custody, surpassed the outcry of Iranian students in 1953 and gained world admiration. The people of Iran appear ready for change, making the question, will the world allow them that chance? 

We shall see.  

Review the events of the 1953 coup via the US National Security Archives:
https://nsarchive2.gwu.edu/NSAEBB/NSAEBB435