On Feb. 11, 1979, the shah’s pampered army surrendered to Khomeini’s mullahs, ending more than 2,500 years of continuous monarchy. A revolt had turned into a revolution when the whole nation rose up gradually against the authoritarian regime. Is it the fate of every revolution to be confiscated by its more extremist elements? Hopes of a genuine democracy were crushed when the mullarchy—by manipulating the American diplomats hostage crisis—turned Iran into a militant Islamic Republic.

I covered Iran in the early ’70s, then the revolution as an involved witness for 18 months—this was my country, my people, my revolution, at least at the beginning. Here is my vision, with kind help from Ludwig.