The Pahlavi rule was instrumental in homeland’s nationalisation in line with Persian culture and language which, among other ways, was achieved through the official ban on the use minority languages such as Azerbaijani and successful suppression of separatist movements. Reza Pahlavi is credited for reunification of homeland under a powerful central government. The use of minority languages in schools and newspapers was not tolerated. The succeeding regime – the Islamic Republic of Iran – has adopted a more inclusive approach in relation to the use of ethnic minorities and their language, however the issues as to Azeris, the Iran’s largest ethnic minority, remain and pose considerable challenges for the unity and territorial integrity of homeland.