17 January 1979: Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini announces that he plans to set up a provisional government leading to an Islamic Republic
Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi and Empress Farah at Mehrabad Airport, Tehran, 16 January 1979. Photograph: AP
17 January 2019 – The Guardian – Iranians erupted in a frenzy of rejoicing yesterday at the news that the Shah, who has ruled them for 37 years, had finally left the country.
The cities resounded with a chorus of hundreds of thousands of car horns, crowds danced through the streets, yelling incessantly and tearing down symbols of the monarchy and the raised fist was the gesture of the day.
