Word: shahs
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...hardly an auspicious 59th birthday last week for the Shah of Iran. Under mounting opposition from critics of his regime, the Shah has been forced into a radical reassessment of his priorities. In recent weeks, strikes by workers angered over the country's inflation rate (currently 50%) have paralyzed the nationalized oil refineries, postal service, airline, and copper and steel industries. The nation's balance of payments deficit exceeds $5.5 billion. To pay for an across-the-board wage increase for at least 1 million workers, and for subsidized housing and other social projects, the Shah has canceled $7 billion...
Despite such spartan measures, there is increasing doubt among both knowledgeable Iranians and Western diplomats that the Shah will be able to survive as ruler of the 57-year-old Pahlavi dynasty. In recent days. 64 members of the royal family, including the Shah's brothers and sisters and in-laws, have fled the country...
...birthday, the Shah released 1,451 prisoners, including 1,126 political detainees. Still, demonstrations and rioting continued; 1,200 people, by conservative estimates, have died in clashes with military troops since August. The Shah remains committed to political reforms that will lead to parliamentary elections next June. He has also indicated a willingness to give up some of his absolute powers in favor of a constitutional monarchy. Nonetheless, he now privately admits that if the turmoil continues, he may be forced to leave the country...
...question of the Shah's future role is one on which his opponents are divided. Many people in Iran would like to see him remain as a figurehead but removed from politics; others insist that his rule must end. One of the most vigorous advocates of the Shah's removal is Ayatullah Khomeini, the 76-year-old mullah who is now the undisputed spiritual and political leader of Iran's 32 million Shi'ite Muslims, who comprise 93% of the population. A longtime opponent of the Shah, Khomeini was exiled in 1963 following violent demonstrations against the Shah's land...
...Tehran University, 20,000 students gathered peacefully on the campus to shout anti-Shah slogans and mix with opposition political leaders...