Mood:
"Global instability rises sharply."
Events: "Iranian Revolution and Soviet invasion of Afghanistan occur."
Events: "Iranian Revolution and Soviet invasion of Afghanistan occur."
- Jan 16: The Shah Flees Iran – Facing mounting revolutionary protests and widespread civil unrest, Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi flees Iran, paving the way for the triumphant return of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.
- Feb 1: Ayatollah Khomeini Returns – Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini triumphantly returns to Tehran from exile, officially establishing an Islamic Republic and fundamentally altering Middle Eastern geopolitics.
- Mar 28: Three Mile Island Accident – A severe cooling malfunction causes a partial meltdown at the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant in Pennsylvania, severely halting the expansion of nuclear energy in the United States.
- May 4: Margaret Thatcher Becomes PM – Following a decisive Conservative election victory, Margaret Thatcher is officially sworn in as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, becoming the country's first female head of government.
- Jun 18: SALT II Signed – US President Jimmy Carter and Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev sign the SALT II nuclear arms reduction treaty in Vienna, though it ultimately fails to be ratified due to escalating Cold War tensions.
- Jul 17: Sandinista Revolution in Nicaragua – Dictator Anastasio Somoza Debayle resigns and flees Nicaragua as Sandinista rebels successfully seize control of Managua, ending decades of dynastic rule.
- Nov 4: Iran Hostage Crisis Begins – Iranian student militants violently storm the United States Embassy in Tehran, taking 52 American diplomats and citizens hostage for 444 days and crippling Jimmy Carter's presidency.
- Dec 24: Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan – The Soviet Union launches a massive military invasion of Afghanistan to prop up the failing communist government, triggering a brutal decade-long proxy war that drains Soviet resources.