As our sons and daughters participate in a military conflict halfway around the world, Rotary members and guests listened with great interest to our March 18 speaker Dr. Mehrdad Kia, Iranian-born history and Mideast professor at University of Montana. 

Dr. Kia explained his native country's path to arriving at the radical Islamic regime that citizens suffer under now. He said that today grandparents tell their families “we made a mistake” in the late 1970s. The masses had supported a revolution by denouncing the Shah as a murderous king who had committed genocide against the people of Iran. This accusation by Ayatollah Khomeini resulted in the current radical administration to wrest control from the longtime monarchy headed by a Shah. Ayatollah Khomeini took control once the 80-year-old Shah was eliminated and has led Iran for the past 47 years. In February 1979, the office of the Ayatollah Khomeini released a statement that the Shah committed no crime against the Iranian people, and the Ayatollah had ordered Islamist terrorists to carry out the attack. Every means was justifiable to rid the Shah from Iran, according to the Ayatollah.

The regime of the Ayatollah Khomeini has had the most atrocious human rights records, even surpassing the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) government. It is estimated that almost 1.5 million Iranians have been jailed, tortured, raped, and executed by the regime. 

In June 2009, Iranian people joined together in the streets in an uprising against the regime, and were massacred. Every two to three years since, there are new mini-uprisings against the Ayatollah which are immediately squashed. As the population of Iran becomes younger with 70 percent being under 30 years old, the younger generation asks why the older generation revolted. The common answer is usually silence or that they have regrets.

Many of the Iranian government leaders retain their government positions by aligning themselves with the radical ideas of the government rather than their education or knowledge of their government position. Many Iranians are embarrassed by this incompetence and fanatical religious ideology of their government.

In January 2026, Reza Pahlavi called on the Iranian people to come and protest the Ayatollah and his regime. Pahlavi is the last Crown Prince of Iran, now living in exile in the U.S., and the eldest son of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the last Shah of Iran, and his wife, Empress Farah. About 1.5 million people responded to Pahlavi's plea with the slogan “Long Live Democracy, Long Live the Shah.” The Iranian government responded by posting soldiers with machine guns op top of buildings and killing about 30,000 men, women and children at the protest.

The Iranian people have come to realize that they must liberate themselves to fully achieve their future of a free life.

Dr. Kia shared information about an upcoming two-day seminar on the Middle East offered April 1-2 at no charge at the UM campus University Center. No reservations are required. Speakers include many dignitaries from around the world.

Thanks to Lon Dale for inviting this very interesting speaker.