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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.
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Islamic militants take 52 Americans hostage inside the US embassy in Tehran. They demand the extradition of the Shah, in the US at the time for medical treatment, to face trial in Iran.
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Abolhasan Bani-Sadr is elected the first president of the Islamic Republic. His government begins work on a major nationalization programme.
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Start of Iran-Iraq war which lasts for eight years.
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Iran accepts a ceasefire agreement with Iraq following negotiations in Geneva under the aegis of the UN.
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End of Iran-Iraq war which lasted 8 years.
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290 passengers and the crew of an Iran Air Airbus are mistakenly shot down by the USS Vincennes.
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Ayatollah Khomeini issues a religious edict (fatwa) ordering Muslims to kill British author, Salman Rushdie, for his novel, 'The Satanic Verses', considered blasphemous to Islam.
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Ayatollah Khomeini dies. On 4 June, President Khamene'i is appointed as new supreme leader.
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A major earthquake strikes Iran, killing approximately 40,000 people.
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Iran deploys thousands of troops on its border with Afghanistan after the Taleban admits killing eight Iranian diplomats and a journalist in Mazar-e Sharif.
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Pro-democracy students at Tehran University demonstrate following the closure of the reformist newspaper 'Salam'. Clashes with security forces lead to six days of rioting and the arrest of more than 1,000 students.
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Shirin Ebadi becomes Iran's first Nobel Peace Prize winner; lawyer and human rights campaigner became Iran's first female judge in 1975 but was forced to resign after 1979 revolution.
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President Ahmadinejad makes unprecedented official visit to Iraq, where he calls on foreign troops to leave. He also stresses his government's desire to help rebuild Iraq and signs a number of cooperation agreements.
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Several people are killed in co-ordinated attacks on parliament and the shrine of Ayatollah Khomeini. The Islamic State group claims responsibility.
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Iran reportedly carries out medium-range ballistic missile test. UN Security Council recommends investigation to see whether it violated a UNSC resolution banning tests of missiles designed to deliver nuclear warheads.
