Hawzah News Agency – The Islamic Revolution challenged orthodox acumen concerning revolutionary movements, that suggested, religion isn’t a significant or critical factor in modern political struggle. The “Neither East nor West” standpoint of the Islamic Republic also challenged Cold War-era notion that only two recognized and “tolerable” blocs exist, and effectively illuminated how a non-aligned nation could decide its own political and social destiny while maintaining a sovereignty and rights.
Additionally, the elimination of the United States’ presence in Iran and relentless meddling in Iranian internal politics marked a new age of anti-imperialist, anti-colonialist revolutionary activism, that drew direct inspiration from Imam Khomeini and the people of Iran.
The significance of the Iranian Revolution, in spirit, is that it demonstrated (and carries on to do the same) the bounds of imperialism in the face of a unified national movement seeking to attain and maintain political independence, sovereignty, and the retention of indigenous, religious, cultural, and social values. The Iranian Revolution serves as an outstanding example of anti-monarch popular activism, as well as the short- and long-term advantages of national self-reliance for people and movements seeking to uphold hard won independence and sovereignty.
On the national level, the revolution united Iranians of all backgrounds to collectively oppose the Pahlavi rule and its American enablers, which condense Shah's military strength and U.S. backing fundamentally irrelevant. Thus, it is a brilliant example of indigenous popular will triumphing over authoritarianism.
On a global level, the revolution's principal dispatch of Islamic unity and anti-imperialism resonated deeply outside of Iran and served as an arguably modular approach for other societies to emulate in their quest for justice, dignity, and independence. The example set by the Iranian people and Iran's revolutionary leadership understandably struck fear deep into the hearts and minds of despotic kings and tyrants throughout West Asia, most of whom pursued assistance to maintain their abusive and illegitimate rule by forging or further enhancing their military and intelligence relationships with western governments, most importantly the United States and the United Kingdom.
After Saddam Hussein and his Arab, American, and European allies and suppliers learned the hard way that the Islamic Republic of Iran was both impenetrable and indivisible, vet another wave of shock and fear led the rancid monarchies of the region to shortsightedly double down on their investment in foreign arms, foreign technology, foreign advising, and foreign "security." Through the present they continue to invest in foreign "security" at the expense and in many ways, in fear) of their own people, prohibiting any real chance to forge genuine societal unity, to develop a capacity for self-reliance through diversification, or to assure the perpetuation of their ruling systems. Regarding the latter, in my view, it is now only a matter of time before their people collectively act to chart their own destiny without decrepit monarch or imperialist hands on their shoulders, and the Iranian Islamic Revolution can thankfully serve as both an inspiration, as well as a proven road map.
The Western powers have adopted a hostile approach to the Islamic Republic of Iran because the revolution simultaneously exposed their imperialistic avarice while demonstrating their actual weakness in the face of national unity and mass popular opposition, the fragility of their regional puppet governments (in this case the Shah of Iran), the hypocrisy of their self-serving policies, and ultimately the potency of domestically produced industrial and military technologies and hardware. It is not that these attributes and accomplishments alone would suffice to maintain the Western powers' hostility to Iran for over four decades, but rather that these characteristics and developments have once and for all cut off the ability of Western powers to steal and/or control Iran's economy and wealth of national resources.
One must understand continued Western hostility as a package of imperialist sour grapes: The Islamic Revolution enabled Iran to acquire and maintain true independence and sovereignty, the end result of which is the inability of Europeans and Americans to ever again control and ultimately profit from Iran's material wealth at the expense of the Iranian people. This is the source of perpetual Western hostility to the Islamic Revolution and the Islamic Republic of Iran.