Iran had been familiar with the failings of political parties and organizations before the Iranian revolution of 1979.
Under the Shah’s regime, the religious, nationalist,and Marxist parties faced intense pressure from the country’s authorities, forcing them to work underground. The situation hardly changed after the revolution, following the defeat of the
liberal and then the socialist movements in the wake of the uprising, with nonreligious parties ultimately failing to attain any parliamentary representation; this became effectively impossible after the new constitution imposed regulations against political parties’ work.
