On September 7 , 1978 , in response to public demonstrations protesting the perceived government involvement in the death of the son of Ayatollah Khomeini , Mostafa Khomeini , Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi appointed Chief of Army Staff General Gholam Ali Oveisi as the military governor of the capital city of Tehran . On September 8 , the government effectively declared martial law on the capital along with several other cities throughout the country , after which further protests erupted that lead to the army opening fire on a group of protesters in Tehran 's Jaleh Square on the same day . Estimates on the number of casualties vary ; However , according to Iranian human rights activist Emadeddin Baghi , the number of people killed was 88 of which 64 were gunned down in Jaleh Square . The day is often referred to as Black Friday . Unable to control the unrest , the Shah dissolved the civil government headed by Prime Minister Jafar Sharif-Emami on November 6 and appointed General Gholam Reza Azhari as the prime minister whom ultimately failed in his efforts to restore order to the country . As he was preparing to leave the country , the Shah dissolved the military government and appointed Shapour Bakhtiar , a reformist critic of his rule , as the new prime minister on January 4 , 1979 . Bakhtiar 's government fell on February 11 and gave rise to the Islamic Republic and the creation of a new constitution
Black Friday
Black Friday (1978)
Martial law