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2009 © David Burnett / Contact Press Images
Demonstrators in the funeral cortege of Karan Nejayatollahi, the 27-year-old professor killed during a sit-in strike the day before, face off against the army. Tehran, Dec. 27, 1978.
2009 © David Burnett / Contact Press Images
Foreigners at Mehrabad Airport in Tehran waiting for flights to leave Iran. The well-named "waiting lounge" was much more 'wait' than 'lounge,' and with the ever increasing flood of foreigners who were trying to leave the country, combined with the disruption the Revolution caused to scheduled air travel, many were forced to wait days. The upside, for a photographer, was that you had a near-captive audience, ready to board a plane for Paris or London or other points west, who could carry your film out. "Shipping" as such no longer existed, and we were obliged, much as Blanche DuBois was in "A Streetcar Named Desire," to rely on "the kindness of strangers." Tehran, Jan. 2, 1979.
2009 © David Burnett / Contact Press Images
For the last time in his three-decade rule, The Shah of Iran was presented to his cabinet by the new prime minister, Shapour Bakhtiar. It was an attempt to show how he was responding to the pressure from the street, but it was too little, too late. Tehran, Jan. 6, 1979.
2009 © David Burnett / Contact Press Images
At the height of the building of the Revolution, the giant crowds reflected the broadening base of popular interest. Here, the crowd at Tehran University listens to a speech by the Ayatollah Mahmoud Taleghani. Jan. 13, 1979.
2009 © David Burnett / Contact Press Images
Marchers hold aloft posters of the Ayatollah Khomeini after the Shah's departure. Cries of "Marg bar Shah" ("Death to the Shah") could be heard from one end of the city to the other in Tehran. Jan. 16, 1979.
2009 © David Burnett / Contact Press Images
Pro-Khomeini demonstrators at 24 of Esfand Square run for their lives after the army opens fire. Tehran, Jan. 28, 1979.
2009 © David Burnett / Contact Press Images
It was hard to walk anywhere and not see signs of the Revolution. Here, a makeshift wall painting, with a portrait of Ayatollah Khomeini, in Tehran, February 1979.
2009 © David Burnett / Contact Press Images
Ayatollah Khomeini is served tea in his room at the Refah School by Sadegh Khalkhali, who later became known as "the hanging judge." Outside the window, in the playground of the school, thousands of supporters, many of whom had waited hours to gain admission, walk past the window of the small classroom, hoping to catch a glimpse of Khomeini himself. Tehran, Feb. 5, 1979.
2009 © David Burnett / Contact Press Images
Ayatollah Khomeini during a press conference at the Refah School, Tehran, Feb. 2, 1979.
2009 © David Burnett / Contact Press Images
Anti-Shah demonstrators, marching near a shopping street in Tehran, Dec. 27, 1978.
2009 © David Burnett / Contact Press Images
A young soldier is seized by demonstrators in 24 of Esfand Square after the army opens fire on the funeral cortege of a 27-year-old professor killed the day before. Tehran, Dec. 27, 1978.
2009 © David Burnett / Contact Press Images
Every death was treated as a political event, and speakers at this funeral railed for nearly an hour against the Shah, the U.S.A., and all those who supported him. Seen here, mourners in Behesht e Zahra, Tehran's main cemetery, during the funerals for those killed in 24 of Esfand Square the day before. Dec. 28, 1978.
2009 © David Burnett / Contact Press Images
In what was the last public appearance in Tehran of the Shah and Empress Farah Diba, a small contingent of foreign press was invited on the grounds of Niavaran Palace. The Shah stated that he was thinking of a small vacation, and that news (that he might leave the country temporarily) was seen as a sign that he might depart after all. Tehran, Jan. 1, 1979.
2009 © David Burnett / Contact Press Images
Celebrations continue all night in the capital of Iran after the departure of the Shah. Tehran, Jan. 16, 1979.
2009 © David Burnett / Contact Press Images
A pro-Khomeini demonstrator dons a jacket decorated with photographs of victims of the Shah's repression and a hat that reads "crown of the martyrs." Tehran, Jan. 19, 1979.
2009 © David Burnett / Contact Press Images
A woman at the Shahyad Monument awaits the return of the Ayatollah Khomeini from exile. Tehran, Jan. 26, 1979.
2009 © David Burnett / Contact Press Images
Supporters strain to catch a glimpse of the Ayatollah Khomeini at the Refah School in Tehran. For photographers unschooled in the "look" of the new Iran, the chador continued to provide a powerful visual element. Feb. 3, 1979.
2009 © David Burnett / Contact Press Images
Ayatollah Khomeini greets supporters at the Refah School. To his right is his aide, Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani. Tehran, Feb. 2, 1979.
2009 © David Burnett / Contact Press Images
In what was a precursor to the taking of hostages in November 1979 at the U.S. Embassy in Iran, a group of militants assaulted the embassy compound and briefly took over the grounds, arresting several guards. Intervention by Ebrahim Yazdi, one of the guiding forces of the new regime, led to a quick return of the compound. However, the stage was set, and despite pleas by embassy staff over the ensuing months, little was done to upgrade embassy security. Tehran, Feb. 14, 1979.
2009 © David Burnett / Contact Press Images
The day before Khomeini's return from exile, a sunny Wednesday afternoon, the streets were full of people anticipating his return. A show of force by the Palace Guard - loyal to the Shah - ended with name-calling, and shots fired into a crowd. As one of the victims fell, wounded, his colleagues dipped their hands in his blood to show another "martyr" had fallen. Tehran, Jan. 31, 1979.
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