The 1977 deaths of the popular and influential modernist Islamist leader Ali Shariati and the Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini 's son Mostafa were believed to be assassinations perpetrated by SAVAK by many Iranians . On 8 September 1978 , ( Black Friday ) troops fired on religious demonstrators in Zhaleh ( or Jaleh ) Square . The clerical leadership announced that " thousands have been massacred by Zionist troops " ( i.e. rumored Israel troops aiding the Shah ) , Michel Foucault reported 4000 had been killed , and another European journalist reported that the military left behind a ` carnage `
Black Friday
Black Friday (1978)
Human rights in Iran