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Khomeini's activists numbered "perhaps a few hundred in total", but over the coming months they grew to a mass of several thousand demonstrators in most cities of Iran.
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Facing a revolution, the Shah appealed to the United States for support
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The ruling government of Iran reported that Islamic militants set the fire, while the anti-Shah protesters blamed the intelligence service of the nation, SAVAK for setting the fire. The Iranian newspaper Sobhe Emrooz claimed in 2001 that the Cinema Rex fire was set by radical Islamists, later the newspaper was shut down by the Islamic government.
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The Shah's policies alienate the clergy and his authoritarian rule leads to riots, strikes and mass demonstrations. Martial law is imposed.
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As protest against the Shah's rule mounted during the spring and summer of 1978, the Iranian Government declared martial law. On September 8 a huge demonstration was held in Tehran. According to the anti-government sources, the military of Iran used deadly forceto break up the largely peaceful demonstrators. Western journalists reportedly claimed that the Iranian army massacred protestors and left between 88 and several hundred killed.
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On December 2, during the Islamic month of Muharram, over two million people filled the streets of Tehran's Azadi Square (then Shahyad Square), to demand the removal of the Shah and return of Khomeini.
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As the political situation deteriorates, the Shah and his family are forced into exile.
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The Islamic fundamentalist, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, returns to Iran following 14 years of exile in Iraq and France for opposing the regime.
