Interim Government of Iran (1979)

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 civlian administration 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).

A decree stated:

Based on the proposal of the [Iranian revolution#Revolutionary Council

Elaborating further on his decree, Khomeini made it clear that Iranians were religiously obliged to obey Bazargan and the new government.

As a man who, though the [guardianship [Velayat] that I have from the holy lawgiver [the Prophet], 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 the 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.

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. Bakhtiar, rendered powerless, resigned the same day the army announced its decision, 11 February 1979, which is now officially remembered in Iran as the Islamic Revolution's Victory Day.

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.

Members of the cabinet

According to historian Mohammad Ataie, the cabinet consisted of two main factions: moderates and radicals. Most of the cabinet members were nationalist veterans and sympathizers of the Freedom Movement of Iran, with a few from the National Front.

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.

The list of members on the cabinet was as follows: for Public Relations and Administration for Revolutionary Affairs for Transitional Affairs for Revolutionary Projects for Plan and Budget for Provincial Inspection for Executive Affairs Physical Education Environment

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." Bazargan, on the other hand, described the government as a "knife without blade."

References

References

1. Reza Safa. (2006). "The Coming Fall of Islam in Iran: Thousands of Muslims Find Christ in the Midst of Persecution". Charisma Media.
2. Mir M.Hosseini. "February, 5, 1979 A.D.: Bazargan Becomes Prime Minister". The Iranian history article.
3. Samih K. Farsoun, Mehrdad Mashayekhi. (22 November 2005). "Iran: Political Culture in the Islamic Republic". Routledge.
4. Nikou, Semira N.. "Timeline of Iran's Political Events". United States Institution of Peace.
5. Mehdi Noorbaksh. "Mehdi Bazargan's Biography". Cultural Foundation of Mehdi Bazargan.
6. Bayram Sinkaya. (19 June 2015). "The Revolutionary Guards in Iranian Politics: Elites and Shifting Relations". Routledge.
7. link. (13 April 2008 The commandment of Ayatollah Khomeini for Bazargan and his sermon on 5 February)
8. Khomeini, ''Sahifeh-ye Nur'', vol. 5, p. 31, translated by [[Baqer Moin]] in ''Khomeini'' (2000), p. 204
9. Thurgood, Liz. (1979-02-12). "Bakhtiar quits after losing army backing". The Guardian.
10. Karimi, Nasser. (2025-02-10). "With Trump in the White House, Iranians mark the anniversary of the 1979 Islamic Revolution".
11. Arjomand, ''Turban for the Crown'', (1988) p.135
12. Mohammad Ataie. (Summer 2013). "Revolutionary Iran's 1979 endeavor in Lebanon". Middle East Policy.
13. Amir Poursadigh. (2003). "The Determinants of the Revolutionary Disintegration of the State in Iran".
14. Mohammad Heydari. (2008). "اخراجی‌های دولت". Shahrvand Magazine.
15. "کابینه بازرگان ترمیم شد". Iranian History.
16. "تیمسار ریاحی از وزارت دفاع ملی استعفا داد". Iranian History.
17. Moin, ''Khomeini'',(2000), p. 222
18. Lynn Berat. (1995). "Between States: Interim Governments in Democratic Transitions". Cambridge University Press.