Left-wing Iranian students celebrate victory of Islamic Revolution with picture of Ayatollah Khomeini. (1979)

In early 1979, Iran was swept up in a wave of revolutionary fervor that united vastly different factions against Shah’s monarchy — liberals, Islamists and leftists all calling for change. This photograph captures a fleeting moment of optimism as left-wing students celebrate the revolution’s success, proudly holding an image of Khomeini, then viewed by many as a symbol of liberation.