The Fall of Heaven
Page 71
fifty conversations at a time: Author interview with a former Savak officer, July 2013.
“People worried about Savak”: Author interview with Martin Woollacott, September 3, 2014.
“like a hotel”: Author interview with Parviz Sabeti, September 21, 2013.
“No one dared talk among the prisoners”: A fact confirmed by the author’s interview with Grand Ayatollah Mohammad Ali Gerami in Qom, Iran, July 3, 2013. Gerami was subjected to confinement, whether under house arrest or imprisonment, for most of the period 1965–1978. He told the author that he was tortured by Savak. He explained that in 1976 prison conditions markedly improved as a result of the decision to allow Red Cross inspection teams into Evin. This led to great excitement among the inmates, who assumed the incoming Carter administration had withdrawn its support from the Shah.
“Once inside, he unhitched his tunic”: Sullivan (1981), p. 84.
“Everyone buckled up”: Author interview with Maryam Ansary, April 17, 2013.
“Be careful. Sullivan is trouble”: Author interviews with Farah Pahlavi, March 23–25, 2013.
“I was quite surprised”: Author interview with Farhad Massoudi, April 11, 2015.
“I wonder when we’re going to have a revolution in Iran”: Author interview with Hossein Nasr, August 21, 2013.
Ali Hossein: “Ali Hossein” is the pseudonym for an Iranian clergyman living in Iran and who does not wish to be publicly identified. The author interviewed him in 2013.
60,000 “undergraduates”: Amir Taheri, “Return of the Mosque,” Kayhan International, October 21, 1978.
300 religious schools: Ibid.
180,000 mullahs: Ibid.
“The young had absolutely no interest in religion”: Joseph Kraft, “Letter from Iran,” New Yorker, December 18, 1978, pp. 146–147.
“[Marx] exposes the imperialists”: Ibid., p. 149.
“More and more women”: Marvine Howe, “Iranian Women Return to Veil in a Resurgence of Spirituality,” New York Times, July 30, 1977.
second-best-selling book: Said Amir Arjomand, The Turban for the Crown: The Islamic Revolution in Iran (New York: Oxford University Press, 1988), p. 93.
“thousands of women wearing the veil”: Alam (1991), p. 543.
“We don’t want your civilization!”: Ray Vicker, “Religious Revival: Islamic Conservatives, Increasingly Militant, Stir Worries in the West,” Wall Street Journal, August 15, 1978.
“Afterwards, we found out”: Author interviews with Farah Pahlavi, March 23–25, 2013.
“medieval” ways: “Revolutionary Goals Will Remain Constant,” Kayhan International, September 13, 1977.
to build a new Islamic university: “Teachers’ Bank, Islamic University in Spotlight,” Kayhan International, October 26, 1978.
invited Nasr to enter politics: Author interview with Hossein Nasr, November 18, 2013.
“We have not been allowed”: “The Shah’s Divided Land,” Time, September 18, 1978, p. 35.
“Something is in the air”: A. Pahlavi (1995), p. 11.
She was puzzled to see: Farah Pahlavi, An Enduring Love: My Life with the Shah (New York: Miramax Books, 2004), pp. 264–265.
“And so I asked”: Ibid., p. 271.
handed a cryptic note: Author interview with Hossein Nasr, August 21, 2013.
“I have to stay on an extra day”: Ibid.
“chronic but serious”: F. Pahlavi (2004), p. 264.
“I thought that was the end”: Amir Taheri, The Unknown Life of the Shah (London: Hutchinson, 1991), p. 287.
July 16: Queen Farah remembered the date of her return to Tehran from the United States as June 1977; see F. Pahlavi (2004), p. 265. Hossein Nasr told the author that he accompanied her on her tour of the United States, which took place in the first two weeks of July 1977. He said he was with her on the trip to Paris when she received a note asking to stay behind one day. According to a twelve-month time line constructed by the Kayhan newspaper, Queen Farah returned to Tehran on July 16, 1977. Amir Ali Afshar, “Twelve Months of Transition,” Kayhan International, March 20, 1978.
“We would move in groups”: Quotes attributed to Ali Hossein come from the author’s interviews with him in 2013.
“fanatic religious conservatives”: “Secret: A Comment on Terrorism in a Revolutionary Situation,” February 2, 1979, Iran: The Making of US Policy, 1977–80, document 02353. This remarkable document, captured and published by Iranian revolutionaries in 1980, offers an important insight into what U.S. diplomats and intelligence officials stationed in Iran knew about the capabilities of anti-Shah terror groups.
“the duty of all good Muslims”: Ibid.
“as clergymen”: “The Shah’s Divided Land,” Time, September 18, 1978, p. 35.
“The quantity and sophistication of weapons available”: “The Terrorist Threat Against Americans in Iran,” September 30, 1977, Jimmy Carter Presidential Library, NLC-25-33-9-7-2.
“siphoned off a portion and gave the rest”: “Secret: A Comment on Terrorism.”
infiltrated Ambassador Sullivan’s embassy: Ibid.
in terrorist camps: Ibid.
explosives, machine pistols, revolvers: Ibid.
$400,000 each year: Ibid.
“Most people had still not heard his name”: Author interview with Hassan Shariatmadari, September 21, 2014.
“rabidly anti-Shah”: “Intelligence Memorandum: Khomeini’s Lieutenants in Iran,” Central Intelligence Agency National Foreign Assessment Center, Jimmy Carter Presidential Library, January 10, 1979.
$285,000 or 2 million tomans: Ibid.
“Beheshti also functions”: Ibid.
“The level of organization”: Author interview with Ali Hossein, 2013.
“there are still between”: “Revolutionary Goals Will Remain Constant.”
“We totally destroyed them”: Author interview with Parviz Sabeti, June 17, 2013.
“On the basis of fragmentary information”: “Iran’s Petroleum Vulnerabilities,” February 21, 1978, Jimmy Carter Presidential Library, NLC-132-93-1-5-6.
“have the expertise to assemble”: Ibid.
monitor Savak’s: “Secret: A Comment on Terrorism.”
“We knew firepower was coming in”: Author interview with John Stempel, February 20, 2013.
flew to his rented villa in the south of France: Alam (1991), p. 555.
“His Majesty is not thinking clearly”: Author interview with Maryam Ansary, December 5, 2014.
“The country is lost”: Ibid.
13. LAST DAYS OF POMPEII
“Stop it when gets into the streets”: Author interview with Parviz Sabeti, September 21, 2013.
“This time either Islam triumphs”: Amir Taheri, The Spirit of Allah: Khomeini and the Islamic Revolution (Bethesda, MD: Adler & Adler, 1986), p. 181.
Shiraz-Persepolis Festival of Arts: Mahasti Afshar, “Festival of Arts, Shiraz-Persepolis: Or You Better Believe in as Many as Six Impossible Things Before Breakfast,” unpublished manuscript, October 2013.
Pig, Child, Fire!: Ibid., p. 14.
Princess Mahnaz chanced upon the scene: Author interview with Mahnaz Zahedi, December 13, 2014.
“indecent acts”: Afshar (2013), p. 14.
“speak out and protest”: Ibid.
“plots to create campus unrest”: “Students Blast Campus Plotters,” Kayhan International, September 24, 1977.
“to become acquainted”: Ibid.
“we could become more and more active”: Author interview with Ali Hossein, 2013.
On Sunday, October 9, 1977: A detailed account of the disturbance was published in the Kayhan newspaper, whose English-language edition republished the report. “Women to Fight Campus Bigotry,” Kayhan International, October 12, 1977.
“Warning to the Elements of Corruption”: Ibid.
“revolting attempt”: Ibid.
worst display of violence: “Foreign Agitators ‘Incited Campus Segregation Bid,’” Kayhan International, October 15, 1977.
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appealed to the anonymous: “Students Blast Campus ‘Reactionary Extremists,’” Kayhan International, October 13, 1977.
efforts of student leaders to rouse their peers: Ibid.
self-service cafeteria was segregated: Ibid.
bus drivers refused to drive onto campus grounds: Ibid.
“The only negative article written about me”: Author interview with Mahnaz Afkhami, August 16, 2013.
the streets of Rey: Liz Thurgood, “Shah Says Student Rioters Are Traitors,” Guardian, October 17, 1977.
“All these developments”: “Monarch Lashes Traitorous Acts,” Kayhan International, October 16, 1977.
“They want to set the country back”: Ibid.
poetry readings: Liz Thurgood, “The Shah Finds a Vocal—but Loyal—Opposition,” Guardian, October 26, 1977.
“It was absolutely unbelievable”: James O. Jackson, “Torture Banned in Iran—or Is It?” Chicago Tribune, January 10, 1978.
“His people were well organized”: “Memorandum of Conversation Between Hedayatollah Matin-Daftari, Prominent Dissident and Lawyer (and Grandson of Former Prime Minister Mohammad Mossadeq) and George Lambrakis, Political Counselor, American Embassy Tehran, December 12, 1977,” Iran: The Making of US Policy, 1977–80, National Security Archive (Alexandria, VA: Chadwyck-Healey, 1990), document 1253. The figure of twenty thousand at the religious demonstration in Tehran was also provided in Thurgood, “Shah Finds a Vocal—but Loyal—Opposition.”
hundreds of local development initiatives: “Iran Celebrates Birthday of Empress Farah,” Kayhan International, October 15, 1977.
handing out awards: Ibid.
“A huge filmy sky sculpture”: “Ambitious Addition to Tehran’s Art World,” Kayhan International, October 15, 1977.
“A lot of Iranians”: Ibid.
the first Festival of Popular Traditions: “Empress Opens Iran’s First Traditions Festival,” Kayhan International, October 13, 1977.
she flew to Kerman: “Empress to Open Museum in Kerman,” Kayhan International, October 15, 1977.
to devote more resources: “Empress Urges More Aid for Deaf,” Kayhan International, November 6, 1977.
Eleven of the twelve imams: Sayyed Mohamad Rizvi, Islam: Faith, Practice, and History (Qom: Ansariyam Publications, 2010). The imams are listed by name and cause of death on pages 126 and 127. I included the first imam whose sword wound was infected with poison.
“God’s hidden providence”: Baqer Moin, Khomeini: Life of the Ayatollah (London: I. B. Taurus, 1999), p. 185.
Parviz Sabeti suspected: Author interview with Parviz Sabeti, September 21, 2013.
“Stop it when it gets into the streets”: Ibid.
“our one and only leader”: Taheri (1986), p. 183.
“thunderous cries of ‘Allah Akbar’”: Ibid., p. 183.
“And it spread”: Author interview with Parviz Sabeti, September 21, 2013.
“that unfit element”: Taheri (1986), p. 184.
an anonymous caller: “Bomb Found in Cinema Screening ‘Porno’ Film,” Kayhan International, November 6, 1977.
Isolated acts of violence: “Warrants to Arrest Agitators,” Kayhan International, November 27, 1977.
pro-Khomeini militants rioted: “Protests Reported in Shiraz, Isfahan,” Kayhan International, November 29, 1977.
main synagogue: Ibid.
“There was a lot of panic”: Author interview with Mahnaz Afkhami, August 21, 2013.
leftists broke windows: “Ten Students Held After Campus Clash,” Kayhan International, December 7, 1977.
college wrestling team: “Anti-American Demonstration,” Kayhan International, December 10, 1977.
“Tens of thousands”: Jackson, “Torture Banned in Iran—or Is It?”
“I never had any political experience before now”: Author interview with Parviz Sabeti, May 10, 2014.
“I thought party members would talk”: Ibid.
the commission released reports: “Imperial Commission Submits Reports to Monarch: Delay in Supplies Hits Rail Line Network; Imperial Orders to Speed Up Work on Roads, Ports,” Kayhan International, November 13, 1977.
“incompetence and negligence”: “Moinian Lashes Executive Incompetence, Negligence,” Kayhan International, November 13, 1977.
who assured them: “Memorandum of Conversation Between Hedayatollah Matin-Daftari, Prominent Dissident and Lawyer (and Grandson of Former Prime Minister Mohammad Mossadeq) and George Lambrakis, Political Counselor, American Embassy Tehran, December 12, 1977,” Iran: The Making of us Policy, 1977–80, document 1253.
met privately: Their conversation, in quotes and summarized, is referenced to “Cable from American Embassy Tehran to Secretary of State, Subject: Student Unrest, December 8, 1977,” Iran: The Making of US Policy, 1977–80, document 01374. The cable is included in a pouch of documents dated April 26, 1978.
“Patience is the imperative”: “Don’t Overreact to Minor Unrest: Majidi,” Kayhan International, December 14, 1977.
“I was aware of it”: Author interview with Hassan Ali Mehran, January 13, 2015.
$100 million: Ibid. In his memoir, former British ambassador Anthony Parsons wrote that his embassy put the value of monthly capital outflow at $1 billion each month, starting in 1976. This figure was considerably overblown.
number of Iranians seeking visas: “Secret: Consulate Principal Officers Conference,” June 5, 1978, Iran: The Making of US Policy, 1977–80, document 1438.
“buying up the place”: “Iranians ‘Buying Up’ the Place,” Kayhan International, February 11, 1978.
“pouring”: “Iranian Pioneers Flood into South California,” Kayhan International, May 9, 1978.
“saw the writing on the wall”: Oral history interview with William Lehfeldt, by William Burr, Foundation for Iranian Studies, Washington, DC, April 29, 1987, February 9 and April 19, 1988, pp. 3–167.
“there are things that are happening”: Ibid.
“The men seemed even more hostile”: Notes on life in Pahlavi-era Iran dated May 20, 1982, provided to the author by Chris Westberg in 2013.
issued a public fatwa: Taheri (1986), p. 170.
“a strange handwritten”: Ibid.
“deposed the Shah”: Ibid., p. 171.
“still angry enough”: Ibid., p. 173.
established a special committee: Amir Taheri described the inner workings of the secret committee. See ibid., p. 200.
“The Shah must go”: Ibid., p. 171.
Iranian embassy in Denmark: “Iranians Jailed for Attack on Embassy,” Kayhan International, December 17, 1977.
banks and businesses: “Hooligans in Publishing House Attack,” Kayhan International, December 22, 1977.
exploded in the washroom: “The Bomb Damages IAS Center,” Kayhan International, December 31, 1977.
“Although it was a clear day”: Jimmy Carter, White House Diary (New York: Picador, 2010), p. 156.
ski fields at Dizin: “Come on Up, the Snow’s Fine!” Kayhan International, December 5, 1977.
northern cities: “Snow Covers North Iran as Cold Wave Sweeps In,” Kayhan International, December 15, 1977.
the Kharkeh River: “River Floods Farmland in Khuzestan,” Kayhan International, December 19, 1977, and “Nation Reels Under Impact of Floods and Foul Weather,” Kayhan International, December 23, 1977.
water supply of Ahwaz: “Ahwaz Water Supply Probe,” Kayhan International, December 22, 1977.
victory over Australia: Hushang Nemazee, “Historic Berth,” Kayhan International, November 26, 1977.
A team of Iranian mountaineers: “Iran, China in Joint Effort to Scale Everest,” Kayhan International, December 17, 1978.
temblor in Kerman: “521 Die as ’Quake Rocks Kerman Villages,” Kayhan International, December 22, 1977.
broadcast in color: “TV to Go Color by Next Summer,” Kayhan International, September 20, 1977.
Marcel Marceau: “Marcel’s Loved the World Over,” Kayhan International, April 6,
1978.
Joe Dassin: “France’s Heartthrob Brings Down the House,” Kayhan International, February 26, 1978.
Birgit Nilsson: “Nilsson to Sing ‘Tristan’ in New Rudaki Season,” Kayhan International, September 18, 1977.
Museum of Contemporary Art: “Ambitious Addition to Tehran’s Art World,” Kayhan International, October 15, 1977.
exhibition of African art: “Royal Couple Inaugurates Exhibition of African Art,” Kayhan International, November 2, 1977.
Tenth Festival of Arts and Culture: Kayhan International, October 26, 1978.
Shahpur Gharib: “Iran Wins Top Film Festival Prize,” Kayhan International, November 8, 1977.
Caravans: “Jennifer O’Neill Finds Love and Happiness in Isfahan,” Kayhan International, December 4, 1977.
announced her engagement: Ibid.
Alex Haley: Maryam Kharazmi, “‘Roots’ Author Praises Baghe Ferdows Show,” Kayhan International, November 6, 1977.
Tehran International Film Festival: “Feast of Foreign Movies at This Winter’s Festival,” Kayhan International, November 3, 1977.
Dick Whittington: Amir Ali Afshar, “Dick Whittington—Crown Players Pantomime,” Kayhan International, January 5, 1978.
2,500 to 3,000 rials: Ali Hosseinzadeh, “Fresh Fish Due to Flood Tehran’s Food Markets,” Kayhan International, December 18, 1977.
nylon bags half filled with sand: “Mysterious Shortages Hit City Groceries,” Kayhan International, November 3, 1977.
“Get your milk and yogurt”: “Milk Products Scarce,” Kayhan International, April 17, 1978.
36 percent in just twelve months: Ibid.
two thousand tons of eggs: “Eggs from Overseas,” Kayhan International, January 25, 1978.
rose 10 percent in price: “Prices for Local Beer Allowed to Rise 10 pc,” Kayhan International, April 17, 1978.
eighty-five-mile-square radius: William Graves, “Iran, Desert Miracle,” National Geographic 147, no, 1 (January 1975): 6.
“Private cars, taxis, minibuses”: “Cold Wind, Hot Soup Greet the Early Birds,” Kayhan International, January 24, 1978.
1,200 traffic police: “78 km of Roads for Tehran to Cost 830b Rials,” Kayhan International, June 14, 1978.
12,000 roads: Ibid.
109 filling stations: “Four New Stations to Cut Down City Petrol Queues,” Kayhan International, November 1, 1977.