The Activities of Iranian Left-Wing Students Against Pahlavi II (1961-1979)

Introduction
The dispatch of Iranian students to Western academic centers during the Qajar era, followed by the expansion of higher education institutions under the Pahlavis, led to the emergence of a new, educated social force within Iranian society. In the period after September 1941, and particularly following the formation of the Tudeh Party in October of that year, this educated group found a suitable platform for organized political activism. However, a series of government crackdowns—triggered by events such as the unsuccessful assassination attempt on the Shah and culminating in the coup of August 19, 1953—forced the party's leaders and activists into exile and underground operations. Despite their emigration, they persisted in their efforts to exert influence over Iranian students abroad, particularly in Europe and America.
During the 1960s, a wave of dissatisfaction with the Tudeh Party's traditional leadership spurred the formation of new student groups and networks, most notably Maoist and Trotskyist factions. The expansion of cultural ties between Iran and the United States in the second Pahlavi era further facilitated the development of these student networks and, by extension, their anti-establishment activities.
 
Research Methodology
This research employs the theory of new social movements to analyze the formation and development of the Iranian student left movement in the United States. With a specific focus on the components of collective identity, social networks, ideology, political opportunity structure, and the characteristics of students' migratory life, the study aims to provide a detailed examination of this movement. It utilizes a descriptive-analytical method, drawing on documentary evidence, archival materials, and oral history to analyze the movement's principal components.
 
Discussion and Conclusion
From the end of World War II until the late 1950s, the majority of Iranian students sent abroad—particularly to the United States and Europe—were typically either scholarship recipients or under the supervision of Iranian embassies. The formation of scattered student circles and associations was primarily motivated by a sense of Iranian identity in their host countries. The Iranian government's support for organizing these associations was aimed mainly at political control and guidance. Accordingly, the first comprehensive organization for Iranian students in the U.S. was established in 1952 through an initiative by the Iranian Embassy in cooperation with the Middle East Friends Association in Madison, Wisconsin. Financial support for these students from the embassy and the association was contingent on their non-participation in political affairs. However, by the end of the 1950s, the opening of the political atmosphere within Iran paved the way for critical students to engage in political critique and action. The result of this activism was that students wrested control of the Organization of Iranian Students in the U.S. from the Iranian Embassy, securing its independence.
During this period, responding to both internal developments and the perceived stagnation of the Tudeh Party, the “Organization of Communist Revolutionaries” was founded around 1969–70 in Berkeley, California. A few years later, internal developments prompted the organization to change its name to the “Union of Iranian Communists.”
Simultaneously, at the height of Maoism’s influence, the leftist student movement also witnessed the emergence of Trotskyist tendencies. The rise of this orientation was fueled by a combination of internal factors—such as frustration with the Tudeh Party's leadership and its conservative policies—and external factors, including indirect U.S. support for weakening the pro-Soviet line of Marxism. Both the Union of Iranian Communists and the emerging Iranian Trotskyist circles shared a common goal: to raise political awareness among students with the ultimate aim of sparking a workers' revolution in Iran.
Like other student groups, the Union of Iranian Communists and Iranian Trotskyist students employed a variety of tactics in their struggle against the Pahlavi regime. Their most important activities included publishing ideological journals and pamphlets, organizing protests during the Shah’s or his family members’ visits to the U.S., and exposing the regime’s dependency on imperialism and its role as a regional gendarme. They also held exposé-style seminars on state-sponsored assassination policies and repression, voiced support for political prisoners, and expressed solidarity with international liberation movements, such as those in Palestine and Dhofar.
The failure of opposition movements against the Pahlavi regime between 1960 and 1963, coupled with the perceived ineffectiveness of peaceful political activism, led many Iranian youth and students to lose trust in traditional parties and their cautious leadership. Inspired by the success of radical movements—such as the Cuban Revolution and Algeria's independence struggle—they sought new, more militant paths of activism. This shift was further accelerated by the ideological rift between the Soviet Union and China, which deepened the younger generation’s break from traditional party structures and contributed significantly to the rise of Maoist tendencies.
Following internal splits within the Tudeh Party, two student-led movements in Europe—the “Revolutionary Organization of the Tudeh Party” and, later, the “Toofan Organization”—declared independence. These new ideological currents also gained considerable influence among leftist Iranian students in the United States.
Following the exile of its leaders and members after the coup of August 19, 1953, a key strategy of the Tudeh Party was to attract young student forces abroad. This involved organizing a "Western Branch" specifically to engage with Iranian students residing in the United States. The party sought to gain influence through various means, including networking via journal publications, establishing personal connections, and even addressing students' financial problems. The establishment of the “Confederation of Iranian Students in America,” which was affiliated with the Tudeh Party, solidified its influence among a minority of students.
However, from the 1960s onwards, as more radical approaches gained traction among the student body, the influence of the Tudeh Party declined. Students increasingly gravitated toward emerging ideologies, particularly Maoism.