From Mossadegh to Khamenei—Why Imperialism Needs Theocracy More Than Democracy
-Ramphal Kataria
Abstract
Iran’s modern history is not a story of isolated incidents but of systematic interruption—where every democratic impulse has been destabilized, redirected, or crushed by imperialist intervention and internal ideological capture. This essay argues that the present war-like confrontation involving Iran, Israel, and the United States is not an aberration but a continuation of a long historical pattern: imperialism does not merely confront regimes—it produces and stabilizes them. Through a Marxist lens, the essay examines how the overthrow of Mohammad Mossadegh, the rise of Ruhollah Khomeini, and the consolidation of clerical authority under Ali Khamenei represent successive moments in which popular sovereignty was displaced. It further interrogates India’s shifting posture under Narendra Modi, arguing that strategic alignment with the US-Israel axis risks eroding a historically grounded relationship with Iran. The central thesis is stark: war does not weaken authoritarian regimes—it manufactures their legitimacy.
I. Introduction: Empire’s Long Shadow
To understand contemporary Iran is to understand interruption. Not evolution, not linear development—but rupture. Every time Iran has approached a democratic horizon, it has been violently pulled back—either by imperial intervention or by internal forces that thrive in the vacuum created by it.
As Karl Marx wrote,
“Men make their own history, but they do not make it as they please.”
Iran’s tragedy lies precisely here: its people have made history, but never under conditions of their own choosing.
II. 1953: The Original Sin of Modern Iran
The overthrow of Mohammad Mossadegh in 1953 remains the decisive fracture in Iran’s modern history.
Mossadegh’s nationalization of oil was not radical—it was sovereign. Yet sovereignty itself was intolerable to empire. The intervention by the Central Intelligence Agency was not an anomaly; it was policy.
Noam Chomsky has consistently argued:
“What the United States supports is not democracy, but obedience.”
Iran obeyed—and democracy was restored to dictatorship.
III. The Shah: Authoritarian Modernity as Imperial Design
The regime of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi represents a familiar model in the Global South: development without democracy.
Industrial growth, urban expansion, and Western lifestyles masked a deeper reality—political suffocation. The Shah’s Iran was not modern; it was managed.
This is where Marx’s base-superstructure dialectic becomes visible: economic transformation without corresponding political emancipation produces instability—not progress.
IV. 1979: Revolution or Counter-Revolution?
The Iranian Revolution is often celebrated as a triumph of people’s power. It was—but only momentarily.
The revolution was not defeated from outside; it was appropriated from within.
Under Ruhollah Khomeini, the revolutionary coalition fractured. Clerical authority emerged as the dominant force, marginalizing leftists, liberals, and workers.
Frantz Fanon warned us:
“The national bourgeoisie… turns its back more and more on the interior and on the real problems of the country.”
In Iran, the clerical class performed a similar function—replacing monarchy not with democracy, but with divine authority.
V. The Islamic Republic: Institutionalizing Control
Under Ali Khamenei, the Islamic Republic has perfected the art of controlled dissent.
Elections exist, but power does not circulate. Opposition exists, but does not govern.
The repression of women—justified through culture—is not incidental. It is structural. It is a means of disciplining society itself.
Yet resistance persists. Women removing hijabs. Students defying authority. Workers protesting inequality.
The revolution is not dead—it is contained.
VI. War as Political Technology
The ongoing confrontation between Iran and the US-Israel axis is often framed as security or ideology.
It is neither.
It is political technology.
War performs a function: it reorganizes internal politics.
As soon as external aggression becomes real or imminent:
· The regime becomes the nation
· Dissent becomes treason
· Protest becomes silence
This is not accidental—it is structural.
VII. The Paradox: Imperialism as the Regime’s Ally
Here lies the most uncomfortable truth:
Imperialism does not weaken regimes like Iran—it sustains them.
Every threat from the United States
Every escalation involving Israel
Strengthens the legitimacy of the Iranian state.
The masses, even when oppressed, cannot side with the aggressor.
Thus, they rally—not for the regime, but for sovereignty.
And in doing so, they reinforce the regime.
VIII. The Failure of Regime Change Fantasies
The idea—popularized during the era of Donald Trump—that internal dissent can be weaponised by external pressure is fundamentally flawed.
It misunderstands the psychology of nations under attack.
Fanon again:
“Imperialism leaves behind germs of rot…”
But when imperialism is present—not residual—it becomes the primary enemy.
The people postpone their struggle.
And the regime survives.
IX. After War: The Counter-Revolution Consolidates
When conflict subsides, the damage is already done:
· The regime has gained legitimacy
· The opposition has lost momentum
· Fear replaces political imagination
This is how revolutions die—not in defeat, but in delay.
Iran’s liberal movement does not vanish—but it is pushed back into history.
X. India and Iran: A History Now at Risk
The relationship between India and Iran is not recent—it is civilizational.
From the cultural flows of the Mughal Empire to diplomatic cooperation in the post-colonial era, Iran has been one of India’s most consistent partners in the Islamic world.
Notably, Iran maintained a nuanced stance on Kashmir—rarely aligning with hostile narratives against India.
This mattered.
XI. The Modi Doctrine: Alignment and Alienation
Under Narendra Modi, India’s foreign policy has undergone a decisive shift.
Closer to Washington.
Closer to Tel Aviv.
More distant from Tehran.
This is not ideological—it is strategic.
But strategy has consequences.
India risks losing:
· A historical ally
· A strategic partner in West Asia
· A balancing force in Islamic geopolitics
XII. The Indian Contradiction
Here too, the Marxist contradiction emerges:
· The Indian state aligns with global capital and power
· The Indian people expresses anti-imperialist sentiment
Two trajectories. One nation.
Conclusion: The Dialectic of Defeat
Iran today stands as a lesson—not just for itself, but for the world.
A people who resisted monarchy…
Now contained by theocracy…
And forced to defend it against empire.
This is not failure.
This is contradiction.
And contradiction, as Marx teaches us, is not the end of history—but its engine.
Footnotes
1. The 1953 coup against Mohammad Mossadegh was orchestrated by the Central Intelligence Agency and British intelligence to protect oil interests .
2. The coup reinstated Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, whose rule lasted until the 1979 revolution.
3. The Iranian Revolution led to the establishment of a theocratic state under Ruhollah Khomeini.
4. India and Iran established diplomatic relations in 1950 and have deep historical ties .
5. The alliance between the United States and Israel shapes the geopolitical dynamics of West Asia.
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