Black Friday (1978)
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Black Friday was a series of mass protests that occurred on September 8, 1978 (17 Shahrivar 1357 AP) in Tehran, Iran. Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the Shah of Iran, declared martial law in response to protests against his rule. The military of Iran used deadly force, including tanks and helicopter gunships, to break up the largely peaceful demonstrators. Eighty eight or eighty nine demonstrators (including three women) [1] [2] [3] were killed.
Protests continued for months, shutting down the petroleum industry that was essential to the administration's survival. Support for the Shah, in Iran and abroad, was virtually destroyed clearing the way for the Iranian Revolution, led by Ayatollah Khomeini, which saw the destruction of the monarchy less than a year later.
[edit] See also
[edit] References and notes
- ^ A Question of Numbers.
- ^ Islamic Revolution of Iran.
- ^ Black Friday.The 600 figure is not the confirmed number. It comes from the exaggerated reports of the revolutionaries at the time.
