On the one hand, the main cause of the Iranian Revolution of 1979 was economic factors. 

One reason is the large wealth gap. There was a huge gap between the lifestyles of the rich and of the poor. This was shown by the Shah’s luxurious life and how he spent $330 million on celebrations for the 2500th anniversary of the Persian monarchy. Many believed this money could have been better spent on improving infrastructure and decreasing the wealth gap as many poorer Iranians were living in poverty.

Another reason is the Shah’s oil deals with the West. This is because he made a deal with Western Oil companies that Iran would restart oil production, and the Western companies would receive a 40% share of oil profits. This was greatly disliked by many Iranians as they did not support the large proportion of their wealth going to the West when many Iranians had a low standard of living and lack of basic necessities, which was a long-lasting unsolved problem in Iran.

On the other hand, there were other factors which caused the Iranian Revolution.

One factor was the Shah’s authoritarian rule. He practically turned Iran into a one-party state as he shut down parliament and banned many political parties. He also used his secret police force called SAVAK to arrest, imprison and torture those who criticized him. Many Iranians lived in a state of fear and felt that their freedoms were being repressed.

Another factor was Iran’s dislike of Western influence and culture. The Muslims there were offended by the sexual nature in foreign films which were shown in Iranian cinemas. Iranians were urged to dislike the West by Islamic Mullahs, such as Ayatollah Khomeini, who made influential speeches about rejecting Western culture. This is because they believed it was un-Islamic and did not conform to their values.

In conclusion, I think there were many factors that led to the Iranian revolution, most of which were as a result of the Shah’s mismanagement of the economy and unpopular authoritarian rule which westernised Iran. As a result, his rule did not improve the lives of all people and his methods and beliefs disrespected the fundamental values of Islam.