1979 Iranian left history is accurate, but predicting a Western theocracy is a leap?

checkthis · automated fact-check · How we check · Reel by @coptic_yousif

While the Reel's facts about leftists in Iran's 1979 revolution and the 1988 executions are true, nothing links them to a future Western theocratic takeover. The Reel accurately presents the history of the 1979 Iranian Revolution, noting how leftist groups assisted in bringing down the Shah, Michel Foucault's praise for Khomeini, and Khomeini's subsequent 1988 mass executions of political prisoners. Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International confirm that thousands of detainees were executed under Khomeini's decree. However, asserting that these historical events mean modern Western political alliances will trigger a local theocratic takeover is an unsubstantiated leap.

3 claims checked
5 sources
Checked 26 Oct 2026
Main source: The Blogs: 1979 Iran: When the Left Helped the Islamists Gain Power | David Meir | The Times of Israel

▶

The Reel we checked

@coptic_yousif

Let’s learn from history

Watch on Instagram ↗

What we checked

In 1979, Marxists, communists, and other leftists helped bring down the Shah and handed Iran to Ayatollah Khomeini.“It gained power through the active and enthusiastic support of the Iranian left — communists, Marxists, and secular socialists — who viewed the Islamists as allies in the struggle against “Western imp”The Blogs: 1979 Iran: When the Left Helped the Islamists Gain Power | David Meir | The Times of Israel + 1 more

Michel Foucault praised Khomeini's revolution as a new political spirituality.“French philosopher Michel Foucault, at the time an influential thinker on the global stage, praised Khomeini as a man with great plans: "This is perhaps the first great insurrection against the existi”A fateful year for the Middle East

In 1988, Khomeini ordered mass killings of political prisoners.“authorities, acting on the orders of then-Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, summarily and extrajudicially executed thousands of political prisoners across the country.”Iran: 1988 Mass Executions Evident Crimes Against Humanity | Human Rights Watch + 1 more

What the Reel doesn't tell you

Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International report that thousands of political prisoners were extrajudicially executed in Iran in 1988 following a decree by Ayatollah Khomeini.
The Tudeh Party and other secular leftist groups originally backed the 1979 revolution before being violently purged by the Iranian regime.

How it plays you

It wants you to think: “So current alliances between leftists and political figures will lead to a theocratic takeover in the West.”

The history of the 1979 Iranian Revolution does not mean modern Western political alliances will lead to a theocratic takeover.

Short version

🔀 DOESN'T FOLLOW 👉 While the Reel's facts about leftists in Iran's 1979 revolution and the 1988 executions are true, nothing links them to a future Western theocratic takeover. 👉 Asserting that these historical events mean modern Western political alliances will trigger a local theocratic takeover is an unsubstantiated leap. 🔎 Full check: send this Reel to @checkthis.chat