Interim Government of Iran (1979)

For the Provisional Government of Council of the Islamic Revolution, see Interim Government of Iran (1979–80). For the Provisional Government of Mohammad-Reza Mahdavi Kani, see Interim Government of Iran (1981). For the transition government in waiting, see Iran transition government.

Provisional Revolutionary and Islamic Government of Iran

Interim cabinet of the Islamic Republic of Iran
Mehdi Bazargan and his cabinet in early 1979
Date formed4 February 1979 (1979-02-04)
Date dissolved6 November 1979 (1979-11-06)
People and organisations
Head of stateRuhollah Khomeini
Head of governmentMehdi Bazargan
Deputy head of governmentNone
Chairman of Council of the Islamic RevolutionMorteza Motahhari
Mahmoud Taleghani
Mohammad Beheshti
No. of ministers18
Ministers removed7
Total no. of members27
Member party
History
ElectionNone
Legislature termNone
PredecessorGovernment of Shapour Bakhtiar
SuccessorInterim Government of Iran (1979–80)

The Interim Government of Iran (Persian: دولت موقت ايران, romanized: Dowlat-e Movaqat-e Irân) was the first government established in Iran after the Iranian Revolution. It was formed by the order of Ruhollah Khomeini on 4 February 1979, and headed by Mehdi Bazargan.[1] For a week, both Bazargan and Shapour Bakhtiar, the Shah's last appointed prime minister, claimed to be the legitimate leader of the Iranian government; the dispute ended when Bakhtiar fled to France on 11 February 1979.[2] Bazargan then introduced a seven-member cabinet on 14 February, with Ebrahim Yazdi named foreign minister.[3]

The constitution of the newly-formed Islamic Republic of Iran was adopted by referendum on 24 October 1979, with plans to encode it on 3 December 1979. Before that could happen, however, the Interim Government resigned en masse on 6 November, just two days after the takeover of the American embassy.[4] As a result, the Council of the Islamic Revolution took over. It formed the second Interim Government of Iran (1979–80), which led the country until the establishment of the first Islamic Consultative Assembly on 12 August 1980. Bazargan was elected to the Assembly, representing the Tehran district.[5]

Formation

When Khomeini returned to a revolutionary Iran after his 15-year exile, he sought a transitional government to govern until a new constitution could be ratified. However, he faced opposition from Shapour Bakhtiar, whom the outgoing Shah had tasked with establishing a civilian administration[6] On 4 February 1979, Khomeini issued a decree appointing Bazargan, a veteran member of the Freedom Movement of Iran, as the prime minister of a "Provisional Islamic Revolutionary Government" (PRG).[7][8][9][10][11] In his decree, Khomeini made it clear that Iranians were religiously obliged to obey Bazargan and the new government:

As a man who, through the guardianship that I have from the holy lawgiver, I hereby pronounce Bazargan as the ruler, and since I have appointed him, he must be obeyed. The nation must obey him. This is not an ordinary government. It is a government based on sharia. Opposing this government means opposing the sharia of Islam...revolt against God's government is a revolt against God. Revolt against God is blasphemy.[12] —Ruhollah Khomeini

Khomeini's statement came before the Iranian Army announced it would remain neutral in conflicts between revolutionaries and guardians of the government left in place by the Shah.[13] Bakhtiar, rendered powerless, resigned the same day of the announcement, 11 February 1979, which is now officially remembered in Iran as the Islamic Revolution's Victory Day.[14] The new provisional government, however, was described as "subordinate" to the Revolutionary Council, having had difficulty dealing with conflicting messages and decision-making from the latter.[15]

The date of the establishment is disputed while most sources say 4 February or 5 February other sources even say 11 February.[16][17][18][19][9][20][21][22][23]

Members of the cabinet

According to historian Mohammad Ataie, the cabinet consisted of two main factions: moderates and radicals.[24] Most of the cabinet members were nationalist veterans and sympathizers of the Freedom Movement of Iran, with a few from the National Front.[25] Bazargan reshuffled his cabinet several times following the resignation of ministers who were unable to deal with parallel sources of power. In several cases, a ministry was supervised by an acting minister or by Bazargan himself.

Cabinet members
Portfolio Minister Took office Left office Party Ref
Prime Minister4 February 19796 November 1979 FMI[26]
Deputy Prime Minister
for Public Relations
and Administration		13 February 1979August 1979 FMI
August 19796 November 1979 FMI[26]
Deputy Prime Minister
for Revolutionary Affairs		13 February 197912 April 1979 FMI[26]
12 April 197929 September 1979 FMI
Deputy Prime Minister
for Transitional Affairs		13 February 197920 June 1979 FMI[26]
Minister of Interior13 February 197920 June 1979 FMI[26][27]
20 June 19796 November 1979 FMI[26][27]
Minister of Foreign Affairs13 February 19791 April 1979 NF[26]
1 April 197912 April 1979 FMI[26]
12 April 197912 November 1979 FMI[26]
Minister of Health13 February 197929 October 1979 JAMA[26][27]
Minister of Agriculture
Ali-Mohammad Izadi
18 February 19796 November 1979 NF[26]
Minister of Information22 February 19796 November 1979 Independent[26]
Minister of Energy
Abbas Taj
18 February 19796 November 1979 IAE[26]
Minister of Post22 February 19796 November 1979 FMI[26]
Minister of Finance15 February 19796 November 1979 NF[26]
Ministry of Housing13 February 19796 November 1979 IAE[26]
Minister of Labour13 February 197929 September 1979 NF[26][27]
30 September 19796 November 1979 FMI[26][27]
Ministry of Roads
Yadollah Taheri
13 February 19796 November 1979 IAE[26]
Ministry of Industries18 February 19796 November 1979 FMI[26]
Ministry of Commerce18 February 19796 November 1979 FMI[26]
Minister of Culture5 February 19791 October 1979 JAMA[26]
1 October 19796 November 1979 FMI[26]
Minister of Education
Gholam Hossein Shokouhi
22 February 197929 September 1979 Independent[26]
29 September 19796 November 1979 FMI[26]
Minister of Justice18 February 197920 June 1979 NF[26]
20 June 19796 November 1979 FMI[26]
Minister of National Defense22 February 19792 March 1979 NF[26][27]
2 March 197918 September 1979 NF[27][28]
30 September 19796 November 1979 FMI[27]
Minister of Petroleum29 September 19796 November 1979 IAE[26]
Minister without Portfolio
for Revolutionary Projects		18 February 19796 November 1979 FMI[26]
Minister without Portfolio
for Plan and Budget		13 February 197929 September 1979 IAE[26]
29 September 19796 November 1979 FMI[26]
Minister without Portfolio
for Provincial Inspection		29 September 19796 November 1979 NF[26]
Minister without Portfolio
for Executive Affairs		29 September 19796 November 1979 FMI
Deputy Prime Minister for
Physical Education		February 19796 November 1979 NF
Deputy Prime Minister for
Environment		February 197923 August 1979 FMI

Resignation

Bazargan and his entire cabinet resigned on 6 November 1979, just two days after a student group approved by Khomeini took sixty-six American Embassy officials hostage. In his resignation letter to Khomeini, Bazargan lamented that "repeated interferences, inconveniences, objections and disputes have made [The Interim Government] unable to continue [meeting its] duties."

Power then passed into the hands of the Council of the Islamic Revolution. Bazargan had been a supporter of the original revolutionary draft constitution rather than theocracy by Islamic jurist, and his resignation was received by Khomeini without protest, who stated that "Mr. Bazargan...was a little tired and preferred to stay on the sidelines for a while." Khomeini later described his appointment of Bazargan as a "mistake."[29] Bazargan, on the other hand, described the government as a "knife without blade."[30]

See also

References

  1. ^ Reza Safa (2006). The Coming Fall of Islam in Iran: Thousands of Muslims Find Christ in the Midst of Persecution. Charisma Media. p. 78. ISBN 9781591859888.
  2. ^ Mir M.Hosseini. "February, 5, 1979 A.D.: Bazargan Becomes Prime Minister". The Iranian history article. Archived from the original on 25 December 2018. Retrieved 17 July 2016.
  3. ^ Samih K. Farsoun, Mehrdad Mashayekhi (22 November 2005). Iran: Political Culture in the Islamic Republic. Routledge. p. 173. ISBN 9781134969470.
  4. ^ Nikou, Semira N. "Timeline of Iran's Political Events". United States Institution of Peace. Archived from the original on 28 October 2010. Retrieved 10 August 2013.
  5. ^ Mehdi Noorbaksh. "Mehdi Bazargan's Biography". Cultural Foundation of Mehdi Bazargan. Retrieved 16 July 2016.
  6. ^ Bayram Sinkaya (19 June 2015). The Revolutionary Guards in Iranian Politics: Elites and Shifting Relations. Routledge. p. 79. ISBN 9781317525646.
  7. ^ "Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini's rise to power in Iran". catalog.archives.gov.il. Archived from the original on 13 April 2025.
  8. ^ "Iran 1979". pcwcr.princeton.edu. Retrieved 19 March 2026.
  9. ^ a b Nikou, Semira N. "Timeline of Iran's Political Events". United States Institute of Peace. Archived from the original on 28 October 2010. Retrieved 27 July 2013.
  10. ^ "Eleven days in February: The Iranian Revolution". DW.
  11. ^ Tran, Mark (3 February 2009). "The 1979 Iranian revolution: how the Guardian covered it". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077.
  12. ^ Khomeini, Sahifeh-ye Nur, vol. 5, p. 31, translated by Baqer Moin in Khomeini (2000), p. 204
  13. ^ Thurgood, Liz (12 February 1979). "Bakhtiar quits after losing army backing". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 28 November 2025.
  14. ^ Karimi, Nasser (10 February 2025). "With Trump in the White House, Iranians mark the anniversary of the 1979 Islamic Revolution". AP News. Retrieved 28 November 2025.
  15. ^ Arjomand, Turban for the Crown, (1988) p.135
  16. ^ https://indianexpress.com/article/india/february-4-1979-forty-years-ago-khomeinis-call-5567311/
  17. ^ https://www.brookings.edu/articles/the-iranian-revolution-a-timeline-of-events/
  18. ^ https://catalog.archives.gov.il/site/en/chapter/ayatollah-ruholla-khomeinis-rise-power-iran/
  19. ^ https://pcwcr.princeton.edu/reports/iran1979.html
  20. ^ https://www.dw.com/en/eleven-days-in-february-the-iranian-revolution/g-17423004
  21. ^ https://www.theguardian.com/news/blog/2009/feb/03/iranian-revolution-archive
  22. ^ https://navideshahed.com/en/news/12605/events-of-5-february-1979
  23. ^ https://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/iran/khomeini.htm
  24. ^ Mohammad Ataie (Summer 2013). "Revolutionary Iran's 1979 endeavor in Lebanon". Middle East Policy. XX (2): 137–157. doi:10.1111/mepo.12026.
  25. ^ Amir Poursadigh (2003). The Determinants of the Revolutionary Disintegration of the State in Iran (PhD thesis). University of Tampere. p. 19.
  26. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag Mohammad Heydari (2008), "اخراجی‌های دولت", Shahrvand Magazine (in Persian), no. 43
  27. ^ a b c d e f g h "کابینه بازرگان ترمیم شد", Iranian History (in Persian), archived from the original on 17 July 2017, retrieved 25 November 2016
  28. ^ "تیمسار ریاحی از وزارت دفاع ملی استعفا داد", Iranian History (in Persian), archived from the original on 26 February 2019, retrieved 25 November 2016
  29. ^ Moin, Khomeini,(2000), p. 222
  30. ^ Lynn Berat (1995). Between States: Interim Governments in Democratic Transitions. Cambridge University Press. p. 132. ISBN 978-0-521-48498-5.
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