Guadeloupe Conference
The Guadeloupe Conference was a meeting held by four Western powers; the United States, the United Kingdom, France and West Germany in Guadeloupe Island from 4 to 7 January 1979. Discussions focused on various world issues, especially the Middle East and the Iranian political crisis.
Meeting
A month before the Islamic revolution of Iran, the Guadeloupe Conference was held by four Western powers: the United States, the United Kingdom, France and West Germany. The meeting was held between 4 and 7 January 1979. The president of France, Valéry Giscard d'Estaing, hosted the meeting; also in attendance were the president of United States, Jimmy Carter, the chancellor of West Germany, Helmut Schmidt, and the prime Minister of the United Kingdom, James Callaghan.[1][2]
Discussion
The meeting's discussions focused on: Iran's political crisis, the situation in Cambodia, violence in South Africa, the increasing influence of the Soviet Union in the Persian Gulf, the coup in Afghanistan, and the situation in Turkey. One of the main issues discussed was the political crisis in Iran which had led to an uprising against the Pahlavi dynasty. The assembled leaders concluded that there was no way to save Mohammad Reza Pahlavi's position as the Shah of Iran, and that if he remained as leader this could further aggravate the civil war and might result in Soviet intervention.[1][3][4][5][6][7]
Impact
The leaders at the Guadeloupe Conference suggested that Shah leave Iran as early as possible.[8] After the meeting, domestic protests and opposition to the Pahlavi dynasty increased. After the conference ended, the Shah's regime collapsed and he left Iran for exile on 16 January 1979, the last monarch of the Pahlavi dynasty.[9][10]
References
- ^ a b William Shawcross (15 October 1989). The Shah's Last Ride. Simon and Schuster. p. 133. ISBN 978-0-671-68745-8.
- ^ Robert D. Putnam, Nicholas Bayne (1984). Hanging Together: The Seven-power Summits. Harvard University Press. p. 109. ISBN 9780674372252.
- ^ Babak Ganji (28 April 2006). Politics of Confrontation: The Foreign Policy of the USA and Revolutionary Iran. I.B.Tauris. p. 8. ISBN 978-0-85771-575-3.
- ^ "House of Commons Statement, Guadeloupe Summit". Margaret Thatcher Foundation.
- ^ Hosseini, Mir M. "Guadeloupe Conference On Iran". The Iranian History Article. www.fouman.com/.
- ^ "Readout of the Guadalupe Conference". Islamic Revolution document center. Archived from the original on 2016-05-30.
- ^ "Unspoken Events of the 1979 Revolution".
- ^ Manouchehr Ganji (2002). Defying the Iranian Revolution: From a Minister to the Shah to a Leader of Resistance. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 35. ISBN 978-0-275-97187-8.
- ^ Mard, Muhammad Rad (3 January 1979). "From the Guadalupe Conference to Royal Cries". Islamic Revolution Document Center. Archived from the original on 14 November 2015. Retrieved 26 January 2016.
- ^ Ronen A. Cohen (18 March 2015). Identities in Crisis in Iran: Politics, Culture, and Religion. Lexington Books. p. 113. ISBN 978-1-4985-0642-7.