almost 1.5 million cars: “78 km of Roads for Tehran.”
rates of fatalities involving children: “‘Children at Risk’ in City,” Kayhan International, November 9, 1977.
Crown Prince Reza made front-page news: “A Royal Poser on Mayor’s Phone-In,” Kayhan International, October 29, 1977.
700,000: James G. Scoville, “The Labor Market in Prerevolutionary Iran,” Economic Development and Cultural Change, 34, no. 1 (October 1985): p. 151.
“sewage wells”: “Villagers Should Be Sent Home,” Kayhan International, June 20, 1978.
one street cleaner per sixty: “N. Tehran ‘Favored in Budget’—Councillor,” Kayhan International, March 6, 1978.
one worker for every 540 residents: Ibid.
five-year roadworks plan: “Mayor Presents Five-Year Plan for Tehran Traffic,” Kayhan International, November 14, 1977.
2.8-mile tunnel: “Work Gets Started on City Metro,” Kayhan International, November 14, 1977.
bomb shelters: “Air Raid Shelters to Be Built in Iran Cities,” Kayhan International, February 9, 1978.
nineteen miles south: “Work to Start on New City Airport,” Kayhan International, December 5, 1977.
forested green belt: “Forest Belt Around Tehran,” Kayhan International, November 14, 1977.
installation of new equipment: “NIOC Acts to Save Capital from Pollution,” Kayhan International, February 12, 1978.
20-billion-rial sewage treatment plant: “Sewage Unit to Be Located in S. Tehran,” Kayhan International, January 12, 1978.
forty-two battery-run cars: Ralph Joseph, “Tehran Drivers Give ‘Car of the Future’ the Cold Shoulder,” Kayhan International, December 25, 1977.
14. LIGHTS OVER NIAVARAN
“Caesar, I never stood on ceremonies”: William Shakespeare, edited by Jonathan Bate and Eric Rasmussen, The RSC Shakespeare: Julius Caesar (New York: Modern Library, 2011), p. 37.
“All the elements of trouble”: “Monarch Uneasy on Palestinian State,” Kayhan International, January 4, 1978.
at the home of John Hoyer: “Bloody Mary Stars at Embassy Brunch,” Kayhan International, January 3, 1978.
“busy hive of activity”: “Zahedi Pays a Visit Home,” Kayhan International, December 31, 1977.
Tehran’s hotels anticipated a busy night: The list of New Year’s events at hotels around Tehran was published in “Hotels Promise a Lively New Year’s Eve,” Kayhan International, December 29, 1977.
Abba’s “Name of the Game”: The list of the most popular music tracks of December 1977 was published in “Top of the Pops: Nothing to Stop Soaring Wings,” Kayhan International, December 4, 1977.
After-dinner entertainment: “Hotels Promise a Lively New Year’s Eve,” Kayhan International, December 29, 1977.
$50,000 to disrobe: This report, which first appeared in the Iranian press, was repeated to U.S. diplomats by Iran’s former ambassador to the United States Mahmoud Foroughi as an example of the widening gap in Iran between the “haves” and “have-nots.” “Country Team Minutes,” Iran: The Making of US Policy, 1977–80, National Security Archive (Alexandria, VA: Chadwyck-Healey, 1990), February 22, 1978, document 01312.
“belly dancers, strip teasers”: Advertisement for Vanak nightclub, Kayhan International, March 2, 1978.
blacklisted by Hollywood studios: Hollywood’s boycott of Iran in the mid-1970s is explained in volume two of Hamid Naficy’s four-volume history of Iranian cinema. Hamid Naficy, A Social History of Iranian Cinema, vol. 2, The Industrializing Years, 1941–78 (Durham NC: Duke University Press, 2011), pp. 423–426.
Towering Inferno: “Film Guide,” Kayhan International, November 8, 1977.
Earthquake: Ibid., January 21, 1978.
Jaws: Ibid., August 2, 1978.
slim pickings on New Year’s Eve: For the New Year’s Eve cinema listings see “Film Guide,” Kayhan International, December 31, 1977.
regular nighttime lineup: To learn more about NIRT’s schedule for the 1977–1978 year see Amir Ali Afshar, “NIRT International Looks Ahead to Its Second Year,” Kayhan International, October 26, 1978.
The Pendulum: “Teleguide,” Kayhan International, December 31, 1977.
“a fascist movie”: Roger Ebert, review of Pendulum, February 10, 1969, http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/pendulum-1969.
shortly after ten o’clock: The Daily Diary of President Jimmy Carter, December 31, 1977, http://www.jimmycarterlibrary.gov/documents/diary/1977/d123177t.pdf.
“I looked at his pale face”: Ashraf Pahlavi, Faces in a Mirror: Memoirs from Exile (Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1980).
“The situation in Iran was already bad”: Author interview with Elli Antoniades, October 4, 2013.
habit of laying it on thick: Haynes Johnson, “A Few Ideas for the Next Journey from a Fellow Traveler,” Washington Post, January 8, 1978.
their two countries shared similar values: Paul Eidelberg, “Mr. Carter and the Praise of Tyrants,” Jerusalem Post, April 10, 1978.
“I wish you’d quit saying”: Johnson, “A Few Ideas.”
“delightful”: Toast by President [Carter] at a State Dinner, Tehran, December 31, 1977, Iran: The Making of US Policy, 1977–80, document 01261.
“‘With whom would you like to spend New Year’s Eve?’”: Ibid.
“Iran, because of the great leadership of the Shah”: Eric Hogland, project ed., Iran: The Making of US Policy, 1977–80, document 01261.
“throwing away all the material”: An interview with Jack Shellenberger, April 21, May 12 and July 12, 1990, conducted by Lew Schmidt, The Ability Group, pp. 55–56.
White House speechwriter James Fallows: Mr. Fallows confirmed to this author that he wrote Carter’s speech and also penned the celebrated phrase “island of stability.” Author e-mail exchange with James Fallows, October 2, 2013: “I was indeed the only speechwriter on that trip with Carter, and thus had the memorable responsibility for that quote. I didn’t know then (and don’t know now) the exact lineage of that phrase. But in all matters of foreign policy, the speechwriters would take their guidance from the actual experts.”
loaded history of “island of stability”: Memorandum from the President’s Assistant for National Security Affairs (Kissinger) to President Nixon, Washington, April 16, 1970, FRUS 1969–77, vol. E-4.
for a private conference: “Carter Will Meet Sadat to Discuss Talks on Mideast,” Washington Post, January 1, 1978.
the Queen prevailed on them: William H. Sullivan, Mission to Iran: The Last U.S. Ambassador (New York: Norton, 1981), p. 134.
“I have a happy memory”: Farah Pahlavi, An Enduring Love: My Life with the Shah (New York: Miramax Books, 2004), p. 273.
practiced their dance moves: William Shawcross, The Shah’s Last Ride: The Fate of an Ally (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1988), p. 131.
Their father grimaced: Ibid.
“I went to the InterContinental”: Author interview with Ali Hussein, 2013.
“I wish you were coming with me”: “I Wish You Were Coming Too—Carter,” Kayhan International, January 2, 1978.
“We admired the Shah”: Author interview with Bruce Vernor, March 12, 2013.
“You Americans are really very nice people”: Sullivan (1981), p. 136.
“Period of Trepidation”: “Period of Trepidation Ahead Says the Zodiac Calendar,” Kayhan International, January 1, 1978.
“the past we are condemned to relive”: Gwynne Dyer, “Wild Cards,” Jerusalem Post, January 2, 1978.
“written itself off”: “Arafat Says Bye-Bye to the U.S. in Mideast,” Kayhan International, January 2, 1978.
“It’s not bye-bye PLO, Mr. Brzezinski”: Ibid.
“But the destructive, negative elements”: “Monarch Uneasy on Palestinian State,” Kayhan International, January 4, 1978.
Crown Players’ production: “Tehran Diary,” Kayhan International, January 7, 1978.
Eugene O’Neill’s: Ibid.
staged a fashion show: “Dior Come
s to Kish Island,” Kayhan International, January 4, 1978.
“The new, mechanized way of life”: “Capital City ‘One of World’s Safest,’” Kayhan International, January 2, 1978.
6.4 million barrels: “December Oil Output at Highest for 1977,” Kayhan International, January 8, 1978.
arrived in Bangkok: “Crown Prince Arrives in Bangkok,” Kayhan International, January 5, 1978.
“hunting for pleasure”: “Monarch Urges Criteria for Protection of Wildlife,” Kayhan International, January 7, 1978.
global hub for science: “Iran’s Medical Challenge,” Kayhan International, January 8, 1978.
three hundred computers: “New Uses Are Urged for Iran’s Idle Computers,” Kayhan International, June 4, 1978.
300 percent: Ibid.
$500 million: “Iran Computer Market to Hit Record $500M Mark,” Kayhan International, July 24, 1978.
This at a time: “New Uses Are Urged.”
computerized ticketing center: “Iran Air to Boost Flights,” Kayhan International, January 14, 1978.
Concorde flying to Kish: “December Paris–Kish Debut for Concorde,” Kayhan International, November 24, 1977.
“subversive intrigues”: “Monarch Stresses Need for Political Education,” Kayhan International, January 5, 1978.
“red and black reactionaries”: “Amouzegar Slams Vicious Conspiracy by Colonialists,” Kayhan International, January 5, 1978.
“a few innocent deceived youths”: Ibid.
Damavand College: To learn more about this Iranian institution for women’s learning see D. Ray Heisey, “Reflections on a Persian Jewel: Damavand College, Tehran,” Journal of Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies (in Asia) 5, no. 1 (2011): 19–44.
“a great deal to prepare”: Maria Khonsary, “Ceremony at Damavand Recalls Lifting of the Veil,” Kayhan International, January 8, 1978.
“Iranian women were hidden”: Ibid.
a third of all university students: Marvine Howe, “Iranian Women Return to Veil in a Resurgence of Spirituality,” New York Times, July 30, 1977.
half of all medical school applicants: Ibid.
twenty female members of parliament: Ibid.
four hundred female city councillors: Ibid.
Iran Air appointed: “Computers Keep Iran Air in Vanguard of Progress,” Kayhan International, January 15, 1978.
singer Aki Banai: “Aki Banai Takes States by Storm,” Kayhan International, January 15, 1978.
first hair salon: Ali Hosseinzadeh, “Stylist with a Difference Keeps Tehran Men Trim,” Kayhan International, January 1, 1978.
one hundred women: “‘Bring Back Veil’ Protest in Mashad,” Kayhan International, January 9, 1978.
protested in Isfahan and Mashad: From Ambassador Sullivan to Secretary of State Vance, January 11, 1978, cable 1300Z, Iran: The Making of US Policy, 1977–80, document 01277.
“Their demonstration was in effect”: “Female Emancipation,” Kayhan International, January 9, 1978.
“There is nothing to be afraid of”: “Kayhan Photo Prompts Threat,” Kayhan International, January 17, 1978.
“IRAN AND RED-AND-BLACK COLONIALISM”: James Buchan, Days of God: The Revolution in Iran and Its Consequences (London: Murray, 2012), p. 198.
“Hoveyda wrote the letter”: Author interview with Ardeshir Zahedi, October 27, 2012.
“Homayoun was leaving the conference hall”: Author interview with Farhad Massoudi, April 11, 2015.
“Writing such an article”: Author interview with Ali Hossein, 2013.
setting fire to Ettelaat’s newsstands: Amir Taheri, The Spirit of Allah: Khomeini and the Islamic Revolution (Bethesda, MD: Adler & Adler, 1986), p. 201.
the Shah was in Aswan: “Ball in Israel’s Court: Monarch,” Kayhan International, January 11, 1978.
Queen Farah was en route to Paris: “Empress Trip,” Kayhan International, January 12, 1978.
“banks, government offices, girls’ schools”: Taheri (1986), p. 201.
twenty thousand: Ibid.
“Death to the Shah!”: Ibid.
Police Station Number One: “Six Killed as Qom Mob Turns Violent,” Kayhan International, January 11, 1978.
killing six people: “6 Killed as Iranian Police Quell Moslem Dissidents,” Washington Post, January 11, 1978.
crushed underfoot: Ibid.
evening reception: Telegram from Embassy Tehran to Secretary of State, Washington, DC, “Serious Religious Dissidence in Qom,” January 11, 1978, Iran: The Making of US Policy, 1977–80, document 01277.
six visiting American senators: The six senators were Harrison A. Williams Jr., Ted Stevens, Howard Cannon, Abraham Ribicoff, Ernest F. Hollings, and Jacob K. Javits. Letter from Jack C. Miklos, Deputy Chief of Mission, to Aslan Afshar, January 5, 1978, Iran: The Making of US Policy, 1977–80, document 01267.
Hoveyda took aside: Telegram from Embassy Tehran to Secretary of State, Washington, DC, “Serious Religious Dissidence in Qom.”
seventy religious students: William Branigan, “Iran’s Most Powerful Moslem Leaders Angry at Government,” Washington Post, January 20, 1978.
“stones, iron bars, and wooden staves”: Telegram from Embassy Tehran to Secretary of State, Washington, DC, “Serious Religious Dissidence in Qom.”
scattered outbreaks of violence and strikes: See, for example, “6 Killed as Iranian Police Quell Moslem Dissidents”; Branigan, “Iran’s Powerful Moslem Leaders Angry at Government”; “Religious Rites Incite Attack on Cinema,” Kayhan International, January 15, 1978; “Two Held in After-Sermon Vandalism,” Kayhan International, January 15, 1978; and Telegram from Embassy Tehran to Secretary of State, Washington, DC, “Dissidence: Qom Aftermath and Other Events,” January 16, 1978, Iran: The Making of US Policy, 1977–80, document 01282.
Arya Cinema: “Religious Riots Incite Attack on Cinema,” Kayhan International, January 15, 1978.
hurled rocks at police: “Two Held in After-Sermon Vandalism,” Kayhan International, January 15, 1978.
protest marches reported: Telegram from Embassy Tehran to Secretary of State, Washington, DC, “Dissidence: Qom Aftermath and Other Events.”
stage a large progovernment: “Qom Protest Condemns ‘Return to Stone Age,’” Kayhan International, January 16, 1978.
The Princess phoned Parviz Sabeti: Author interview with Parviz Sabeti, September 21, 2013.
“I counted the crisis”: Author interview with George Lambrakis, September 13, 2014.
“in most serious incident”: Telegram from Embassy Tehran to Secretary of State, Washington, DC, “Serious Religious Dissidence in Qom.”
“fundamentalist religious leaders”: Telegram from Embassy Tehran to Secretary of State, Washington, DC, January 26, 1978, “Religion and Politics: Qom and Its Aftermath,” Iran: The Making of US Policy, 1977–80, document 01291.
follow-up airgram: Airgram, from American Embassy Tehran to Department of State, “The Iranian Opposition,” February 1, 1978, Iran: The Making of US Policy, 1977–80, document 01296.
“At the present time”: Ibid.
“The true leader of the Shia faithful”: Ibid.
waving female undergarments: Author interview with Parviz Sabeti, September 21, 2013.
$35 million: Taheri (1986), p. 214.
“Austerity during liberalization”: Author interview with Parviz Sabeti, May 10, 2014.
“The sudden cut”: Taheri (1986), p. 214.
“un-Islamic and inhumane”: Branigan, “Iran’s Most Powerful Moslem Leaders Angry at Government.”
“The Shah is the son-in-law of the Ayatollah”: Author interview with Reza Ghotbi, May 9, 2013.
“Do you mean that you want to run the state?”: Ibid.
Mustafa Chamran: To read more about Mustafa Chamran and his role in the anti-Shah opposition movement in Lebanon see H. E. Chahabi, ed., Distant Relations: Iran and Lebanon in the Last 500 Years (London: Centre for Lebanese Studies in association with I. B. Tauris, 2006), pp. 137–200.
He
bitterly complained: Musa Sadr’s efforts to repair his relations with the Shah were confirmed in author interviews with Ali Kani, February 12, 2013; with Ambassador Khalil al-Khalil, June 21–24, 2013; and with Ambassador Abbas Nayeri, July 12, 2013.
“Ahmad was someone thinking”: Author interview with Abolhassan Banisadr, July 11, 2013.
“Many Iranians appear to have ceased”: Telegram from Embassy Tehran to Secretary of State, Washington, DC, “Religion and Politics: Qom and Its Aftermath.”
“raged for hours”: “Bowling Club Fire,” Kayhan International, January 21, 1978.
three-story Sabouri furniture store: “Furniture Shop Goes Up in Flames After Bog Blast,” Kayhan International, January 29, 1978.
a run on Iran’s largest private commercial bank: Jonathan Randal, “Post-Riot Tabriz Retreats into a World of Rumors,” Washington Post, March 5, 1978.
largest private commercial bank: Author interview with Hassan Ali Mehran, January 13, 2015.
three thousand branches: Ibid.
“the southern end of the city”: “Colored UFO Seen over City,” Kayhan International, January 29, 1978.
“extraterrestrial being”: “Girl Says She Met ‘a Being from Space,’” Kayhan International, January 8, 1978. UFO sightings and end times have often been connected in the popular mind. “This pattern extends back through the Middle Ages and back to Biblical times,” noted Curtis Peebles. “Ezkiel’s Wheel is often described by believers as a UFO. What is left out is the social situation of 592 BC—the people of Israel had been defeated, the Babylonians had taken Jerusalem and the Israelites had been reduced to slavery. Their society was spiritually and politically bankrupt. Then, as now, people looked to the skies, seeking salvation and escape from dark and threatening forces.” See Curtis Peebles, Watch the Skies: A Chronicle of the Flying Saucer Myth (Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1994), p. 286.
The most notorious incident: The author’s account of this dramatic episode is taken from his interview with Lieutenant General Mohammad Hossein Mehrmand, January 13, 2015, the Hamadan base commander at the time.
“Yes,” he said, “for sure there was something out there”: Ibid.
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