Historical Organization
Islamic Revolutionary Council
Islamic Revolutionary Council
Details
Organization Timeline
The council claims revolutionary legitimacy
📅 12 January 1979Its authority was presented as arising from the mass movement rather than from institutions appointed by the Shah.
A constituent process becomes an official objective
📅 12 January 1979The declaration called for elected representatives to consider a constitution for an Islamic republic.
The council begins coordinating the transfer of power
📅 12 January 1979The body brought together clerical and lay figures while much of its membership initially remained secret for security reasons.
Khomeini announces the Islamic Revolutionary Council
📅 12 January 1979From exile, Khomeini announced a revolutionary council charged with guiding the transition and preparing a new political order.
Khomeini appoints Mehdi Bazargan prime minister
📅 5 February 1979Bazargan was asked to form a provisional government and organize the transition to a new republic.
The provisional government is presented to the public
📅 5 February 1979Bazargan's appointment joined the Islamic leadership with a veteran nationalist and supporter of Mossadegh.
Two rival governments claim authority
📅 5 February 1979Bakhtiar still headed the royal cabinet, while the revolutionary movement recognized Bazargan's provisional government.
Bazargan receives a mandate for elections and a constitution
📅 5 February 1979The provisional administration was expected to hold a referendum, prepare constitutional arrangements and restore basic government services.
The armed forces declare neutrality
📅 11 February 1979Senior commanders announced that the military would not continue defending the royal government, removing its final institutional support.
The Bakhtiar government collapses
📅 11 February 1979The last royal prime minister went into hiding as ministries, barracks and broadcasting facilities passed to revolutionary forces.
The revolution achieves victory
📅 11 February 1979The fall of the Pahlavi state ended the monarchy and is commemorated in Iran as the victory of the Islamic Revolution.
Revolutionary committees assume local authority
📅 11 February 1979Committees took responsibility for security, food distribution and administration during the collapse of the old state.
The Forqan Group claims responsibility
📅 1 May 1979The attack reflected violent conflict over clerical authority and the meaning of revolutionary Islam.
Public mourning reinforces calls for revolutionary unity
📅 1 May 1979Large commemorations presented Motahhari as a martyr and condemned armed attacks on the new order.
The revolution loses a leading intellectual
📅 1 May 1979Motahhari had linked Islamic philosophy, social criticism and opposition to the Shah.
Morteza Motahhari is assassinated
📅 1 May 1979The cleric and revolutionary theorist was shot after leaving a meeting of the Revolutionary Council.
A preliminary constitution is published
📅 14 June 1979The provisional government's draft proposed republican institutions and mechanisms for reviewing legislation.
The draft opens a national constitutional debate
📅 14 June 1979Political organizations, clerics and citizens argued over rights, sovereignty, social justice and Islamic authority.
The first draft does not yet contain the final form of velayat-e faqih
📅 14 June 1979The stronger office of the leading jurist emerged during later deliberations in the elected Assembly of Experts.
Revolutionary goals enter legal language
📅 14 June 1979The text sought to institutionalize independence, participation and a break with the monarchical constitution.
Ayatollah Taleghani dies
📅 9 September 1979The prominent anti-Shah cleric, former political prisoner and advocate of popular councils died unexpectedly.
Mass mourning fills Tehran
📅 9 September 1979Large crowds honored a leader respected across religious, nationalist and left currents of the revolution.
The revolution loses a voice for consultation
📅 9 September 1979Taleghani had emphasized shura, social justice and dialogue among competing political tendencies.
Beheshti succeeds him on the Revolutionary Council
📅 9 September 1979The leadership change strengthened the influence of the Islamic Republican Party in state-building.
Bazargan's provisional government resigns
📅 6 November 1979The prime minister and cabinet stepped down after failing to secure an end to the embassy occupation.
Khomeini accepts the cabinet's resignation
📅 6 November 1979Executive authority shifted more directly toward the Revolutionary Council and institutions aligned with the Islamic leadership.
The embassy crisis changes the internal balance of power
📅 6 November 1979Anti-imperialist mobilization strengthened the students and clerical leadership while marginalizing gradualist nationalists.
The provisional phase of government ends
📅 6 November 1979The resignation closed the coalition administration formed before the monarchy's collapse.