Angus McDowall spent four years in Iran as a correspondent for the Independent and the Economist. His reporting from Iran shed light on the complexities of life and politics in Iran. In an article marking the thirty year anniversary of the revolution in Iran last February, Angus addressed the question on everyone’s minds: Was it worth it?

Yet the Islamic Republic created by Mr Yazdi and his comrades failed to live up to the dreams of a Muslim democracy, in which sagacious ayatollahs would stand as guardians of the democratic wishes of the people.
“What is happening now is a disaster,” says Mahmood Delkhasteh, one of the first young soldiers to heed Khomeini’s call to desert the Shah’s army and join the revolution. “Many people regret participating.”
Within months of the revolution, the euphoria had evaporated as the rival factions began a brutal battle for control of the country, which ended with a repressive state that imprisoned and executed thousands of political prisoners – including many of the revolutionaries themselves.

The article ends with this quote from one of the original revolutionaries, Hamid Reza Jalaiepour:

“Reform is better than revolution, but sometimes revolutions just happen,” he says.

“Iranians are anxious for democracy, but I hope it comes through reform. One revolution was enough.”