The Islamic Revolution came about at a time when the world was categorized into two blocs. The Eastern bloc, which was being led by materialism and strongly disagreed with religion, and the Western bloc, which believed that religion was completely a personal matter and followed the liberalism and secularism theory. Imam Khomeini's unprecedented movement broke this shell.
Farvardin 12, 1358, according to the Persian calendar, (April 1, 1979) is seen as the most important day to follow the victory of the country’s Islamic Revolution, when, under the leadership of Imam Khomeini, the nation overthrew the US-backed monarchical Pahlavi regime.
Over 98 percent of Iranians voted “yes” to an Islamic republic in the referendum in 1979.
Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, who took on the country’s leadership after Imam Khomeini’s decease in 1989, famously shed light on the significance of the day in an interview, which has been republished on the occasion of the anniversary.
“Briefly, the Islamic Republic Day is an unparalleled juncture in our country’s history as it ushered in a both popular and divine establishment for the first time since the early days of Islam and since the short interregnum of the early years of Iran’s conquest by Muslims,” the Leader noted. “Essentially, this memory is not comparable with any other in our country’s history. It was complementary to the Revolution.”