uilding after 1975, due to the formation of the Rastakhiz , the legal political party in Iran, and the banning of opposition political parties. It also became clear that the increased oil revenues following oil price increases, were spent on arms and industrialization. In mid-1977 the religious leaders began demonstrating against the modernization brought on by the Shah. In November, several people were killed when police broke up demonstrations. As time went on, protests became more radical. To try and quiet dissent, the Shah became more of a dictator. As a result, those who had been moderate in demands for reform became more radical. In the fall of 1978, strikes against the oil industry, the post office, government factories, and banks demolished the economy. This pattern continued throughout most of 1978 (Orwin 45). As these protests became more frequent there were more and more people killed. This reflects the Shah's loss of power over his government and his people. In late 1978, the Shah came to the conclusion that he would and could not rule a country in which he had to stand in the flowing blood of his people. In short, he understood that he could not militarily occupy his own country. The Shah's early mistakes had been devastating as the years went on. His forceful actions did not work and it's no wonder that his grip weakened and his mid w...
