Bakhtiar accepts the premiership in principle

Demonstrators renewed the call for the Shah's departure and recognition of Khomeini's leadership.

The marches expressed a collective demand for independence, freedom and an Islamic political order.

The scale and discipline of the crowds showed that repression risked uncontrollable national conflict.

Organizers managed routes, security and communication on a scale the weakening government could not match.

After other liberal politicians declined, the monarch asked the National Front figure to form a civilian government.

His acceptance split him from former allies who insisted that cooperation with the Shah could not answer popular demands.

The proposed government became part of a final attempt to transfer authority before the monarch left Iran.

From exile, Khomeini announced a revolutionary council charged with guiding the transition and preparing a new political order.

Its authority was presented as arising from the mass movement rather than from institutions appointed by the Shah.

The declaration called for elected representatives to consider a constitution for an Islamic republic.