The shah and his family flew into exile.

In a referendum, voters overwhelmingly approved the creation of an Islamic Republic. Khomeini declared April 1 the first day of “the government of God.” On May 5, the Revolutionary Guards were established by a Khomeini decree. On June 14, the Bazargan government published a first draft of a new constitution. It did not include the position of velayat-e faqih (guardianship of the jurist or supreme leader). On October 24, a new constitution with a velayat-e faqih as the ultimate power was approved in a public referendum following months of debate over the role of Islam in the state. The new constitution went into effect in early December, and Khomeini officially became supreme leader.

The Carter administration allowed the former shah into the United States for medical treatment. Iran demanded the shah’s return. On November 4, students seized the U.S. Embassy and 52 diplomats in Tehran. The hostage crisis dragged on for 444 days. On November 5, interim Prime Minister Bazargan resigned, along with his cabinet, to protest the embassy seizure. On November 12, Washington cut off oil imports from Iran. On November 14, President Carter issued Executive Order 12170 freezing an estimated $6 billion of Iranian assets and official bank deposits in the United States.

Abolhassan Bani-Sadr was elected Iran’s first president. On February 19, Khomeini appointed Bani-Sadr commander-in-chief of the military too. Between March and May, Iran elected its first revolutionary parliament. Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, a cleric and former political prisoner under the shah, was elected speaker.