Advocating for a Democratic Iran: Join Our Movement for Change

1978: The Cinema Rex fire in Abadan on August 19, 1978 killed more than 400 people and became a turning point in the Iranian Revolution. Evidence and later testimonies indicate that Islamist militants aligned with Khomeini and the clerical establishment carried out the arson, deliberately locking the doors and setting the theater ablaze. While the Shah’s regime was initially blamed, the new Islamic Republic quickly buried findings that implicated its own supporters. The tragedy thus served as both a horrific crime and a manipulated symbol, fueling the revolution even though its true perpetrators were tied to the clerical movement itself.