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The Fall of Heaven

Page 74

by Andrew Scott Cooper


  The Queen had done the honors: Author interview with Farah Pahlavi, November 12, 2014.

  Crown Prince Reza raised cheers: “Prince’s First Solo,” Kayhan International, May 27, 1978.

  standing in the back of an open car: “Warm Welcome Given to Shah, Empress,” Hartford Courant, May 29, 1978. See also “Royal Tour of Khorassan Underlines Ties to Islam,” Kayhan International, June 1, 1978.

  “Greetings to the king of kings”: “Warm Welcome Given to Shah, Empress.”

  “You know about my faith in Islam”: “Mashad Fetes Royal Couple: Monarch Warns Clergy of Threat to Islam,” Kayhan International, May 29, 1978.

  “sufficient understanding of the true principles”: Ibid.

  The Queen made spontaneous walkabouts: “Royal Tour of Khorassan Underlines Ties to Islam.”

  “If the principles of the [White] Revolution”: “Workers ‘Are the Builders of Revolution,’” Kayhan International, May 30, 1978.

  “why some Iranians felt scared”: “Patriots Will Save Us from Communism,” Kayhan International, June 1, 1978.

  “What point is there in living abroad”: Ibid.

  “My God, we would like a decent opposition”: Colin Smith, “Mullahs’ Mobs Fight Shah,” Observer, May 28, 1978.

  “much of the [religious] protest movement”: Ibid.

  throwing acid in the faces of women: Ibid.

  “Bankers suggest that wealthy”: Jonathan Randal, “Iran’s Slow-Motion Crisis Triggers Fears About Future,” Washington Post, May 29, 1978.

  “will play itself out”: Nicholas Gage, “Shah of Iran Faces Challenge Headed by Muslim Clergy,” New York Times, June 4, 1978.

  “Many Iranians are not so sure”: Ibid.

  17. INTO THE STORM

  “Nobody can overthrow me”: “Nobody Can Overthrow Me—I Have the Power,” U.S. News & World Report, June 26, 1978.

  “The Shah will be gone before I leave”: Author interview with Charlie Naas, March 14, 2013.

  “Rumors and alarmist reports notwithstanding”: “Yesterday’s Quiet Non-Event Shows Lack of Support for Intimidation,” Kayhan International, June 6, 1978.

  “Political sources said the surprise dismissal”: “Shah of Iran Fires Feared Security Chief,” Washington Post, June 7, 1978.

  “I’m sure you know your job”: Hushang Nahavandi, The Last Shah of Iran (London: Aquilion, 2005).

  “Well, I hope you’re satisfied”: Ibid., p. 114.

  “Who says the intellectuals don’t like us?”: Ibid.

  “the stability and unity of Iran”: Ibid., p. 115.

  “gratified to see you here again”: Ibid.

  “Eighteen months ago”: Amir Taheri, “Why the Shahanshah Has Endorsed Liberalization: New Frame for a New Picture,” Kayhan International, June 10, 1978.

  “This was the first time”: Ibid.

  “unthinkable in a totalitarian system”: “Dissent ‘Proves Liberalization Is a Success,’” Kayhan International, May 2, 1978.

  “Many feel that an accelerated process”: Uri-Bar Joseph, “Forecasting a Hurricane: Israeli and American Estimates of the Khomeini Revolution,” Journal of Strategic Studies 36, issue 5 (2013): 13.

  “out of the woods”: Airgram, Ambassador Sullivan to Secretary of State, “Subject: Why the Sudden Quiet?” May 28, 1978, Iran: The Making of US Policy, 1977–80, National Security Archive (Alexandria, VA: Chadwyck-Healey, 1990), document 01401.

  Sullivan played tennis on Tuesdays: Author interview with Hossein Nasr, August 21, 2013.

  “began to pester me”: Ibid.

  Stempel was introduced to Bazargan: Memorandum of Conversation, “Liberation Movement of Iran (LMI)—Views on Politics in Iran,” Engineer Mehdi Bazargan, Dr. Yadollah Sahabi, Mohammad Tavakoli, John Stempel, May 25, 1978, Iran: The Making of US Policy, 1977–80, document 01399.

  “looked forward to a dialogue”: Ibid.

  “indicating the LMI”: Ibid.

  “The fix is in”: Author interview with Henry Precht, March 13, 2013.

  Deputy Chief of Mission Charlie Naas: Details of Charlie Naas’s biography taken from his interview with the author, March 14, 2013.

  “raised the question whether [he]”: Secret: Consulate Principal Officers’ Conference, June 5, 1978, Iran: The Making of US Policy, 1977–80, document 1438. Note: Document is dated June 5, but actual date of conference was July 5, 1978.

  “fall guy for Iran’s problems”: Ibid.

  “What do you think, Mike?”: Author interview with Charlie Naas, March 14, 2013.

  124-degree Fahrenheit: “Eight Dead in Abadan’s Unprecedented Heatwave,” Kayhan International, June 11, 1978.

  40-mile-per-hour wind gusts: “Ahwaz Brought to Standstill by Heatwave,” Kayhan International, June 12, 1978.

  burning freshwater melons: Ibid.

  Television antennae: Ibid.

  “the city was left in total silence”: Ibid.

  eight hours a day: “Eight Dead in Abadan’s Unprecedented Heatwave.”

  “to see if there is enough water”: “No Power or Water Cuts, City Promised,” Kayhan International, February 6, 1978.

  “The national power network”: “Electricity Cuts Unlikely—‘but No Promises,’” Kayhan International, March 16, 1978.

  “forced to shut down”: “Ahwaz Brought to Standstill by Heatwave.”

  ten heat-related deaths: Ibid.

  numerous cases of food poisoning: “Eight Dead in Abadan’s Unprecedented Heatwave.”

  thousands of residents: “Ahwaz Brought to Standstill by Heatwave.”

  “a shortage of drinking water”: Ibid.

  the United Nations warned Iran: “Locust Plague Threatens Iran,” Kayhan International, June 13, 1978.

  Observation posts were erected: “Full Alert Against Locusts Ordered,” Kayhan International, June 24, 1978.

  seventeen hundred staff laid off: “Job Cuts at Customs,” Kayhan International, March 11, 1978.

  eight hundred employees retired: Ibid.

  “trucks importing materials for a firm”: “Newsbriefs,” Kayhan International, June 27, 1978.

  “There were no controls”: Author interview with former Savak agent, July 2013.

  tax burden would increase: “New Air-Tight System to Catch Tax Dodgers,” Kayhan International, June 11, 1978.

  “hunt down” tax cheats: Ibid.

  a traveler who paid $30: Gregory Lima, “Iranians Go Further Afield in Search of Big Bargain,” Kayhan International, July 6, 1978.

  the most punitive in the world: Ibid.

  “The further abroad you go”: Ibid.

  Shah sent several intermediaries: Details of the Shah’s efforts to forge common ground with moderate ulama during June and July can be gleaned from U.S. embassy documents. See, for example, Memorandum of Conversation, Hedayat Eslaminia and George Lambrakis, June 21, 1978, Iran: The Making of US Policy, 1977–80, document 1427, and Memorandum of Conversation Between Mehdi Bazargan, Mohammad Tavakoli, Yadollah Sahebi, and John Stempel, “Liberation Movement of Iran (LMI)—Uncertainty over Iranian Politics, Reticence in American Contact,” ibid., July 18, 1978, document 1442.

  shocked his own rank and file: Author interview with Parviz Sabeti, May 10, 2014.

  “When he came back”: Ibid.

  “His Majesty said this is wrong”: Ibid.

  “I control this city”: “Peaceful Iran Protest Breaks Six-Month Cycle of Violence,” Washington Post, June 18, 1978.

  demonstrations were reported in Isfahan: Ibid.

  saboteurs attacked Ferdowsi University: “Attackers Kill Guard at Mashad University,” Kayhan International, June 19, 1978.

  incinerated one guard: “Guard Dies,” Kayhan International, June 25, 1978.

  fire quickly spread from the basement: “Cinema Blaze,” Kayhan International, June 20, 1978.

  meant “no new ‘martyrs’”: “Peaceful Iran Protest Breaks Six-Month Cycle of Violence.”

  “This morning I had an audience”: Author interview wit
h Kambiz Atabai, February 15, 2013.

  “The liberalization will continue”: “Nobody Can Overthrow Me—I Have the Power.”

  “escorted to the Imperial Stand”: Soumaya Saikali, “Fourth Tus Festival Opened by Empress,” Kayhan International, July 8, 1978.

  bearing a secret communication from Musa Sadr: Author interview with Khalil al-Khalil, April 8, 2013. Al-Khalil’s account was backed up by Parviz Sabeti in the author’s interview of June 15, 2013.

  “In the letter, Musa Sadr offered to help the Shah”: Author interview with Parviz Sabeti, June 15, 2013.

  250,000 Shia villagers: John K. Cooley, “Shah Promotes Security in Lebanon,” Christian Science Monitor, April 19, 1978.

  The Shah condemned the Israeli action: “Lebanon Grateful for Prompt Iranian Aid,” Kayhan International, March 25, 1978.

  “By responding quickly to the material needs”: Cooley, “Shah Promotes Security in Lebanon.”

  Savak agents who operated under cover: Ibid.

  “plans to end if he can”: Ibid.

  “Musa Sadr was not considered as someone”: Author interview with Abolhassan Banisadr, July 11, 2013.

  “[Musa Sadr] promised Gadhafi to take action”: Author interview with Khalil al-Khalil, April 8, 2013.

  Gadhafi offered to broker: Kai Bird, The Good Spy: The Life and Death of Robert Ames (New York: Crown, 2014), p. 205.

  “He actually had a great ambition”: Author interview with Khalil al-Khalil, April 8, 2013.

  At his farewell luncheon: Author interviews with Khalil al-Khalil, June 21–24, 2013.

  “He wants to improve relations”: Ibid.

  “I am ready to help you”: Author interview with Ali Reza Nourizadeh, May 1, 2015. Nourizadeh was briefed on the contents of the secret message by the Savak agent who carried it from Beirut to Tehran.

  “And why not?”: Author interviews with Khalil al-Khalil, June 21–24, 2013.

  knew of the message but not the conditions: Author interview with Ali Reza Nourizadeh, May 1, 2015.

  “The holidays of the summer of 1978”: Nahavandi (2005), p. 131.

  “He would work until one o’clock”: Author interview with Elli Antoniades, April 3, 2013.

  “the elder folk would play cards”: Nahavandi (2005), p. 131.

  “awash with rumors of the Shah’s health”: Telegram, Embassy Tehran to Secretary of State, July 26, 1978, Iran: The Making of US Policy, 1977–80, document 01449. Alteration to the Shah’s official schedule was announced by the Imperial Court and published on the front page of Kayhan International on July 4, 1978.

  “At every social occasion embassy officers”: Telegram, Embassy Tehran to Secretary of State, July 26, 1978.

  escorted Lady Bird Johnson: Lady Bird visited visited Niavaran on Saturday, July 1, 1978. A photograph of her meeting with the Shah and Queen was published the following day on the front page of Kayhan International.

  “to see if the rumors were true”: Author interview with Amir Pourshaja, March 16, 2013.

  “We sent Charlie up to see the Shah”: Author interview with John Stempel, February 20, 2013.

  six hundred to seven hundred nonimmigrant visas: “Country Team Minutes: July 19, 1978,” Iran: The Making of US Policy, 1977–80, document 01488.

  inflation fell to 12 percent: “Iran Slashed Inflation by Two-Thirds—Yeganeh,” Kayhan International, June 25, 1978.

  2.4 percent increase: “GNP growth 2.4 pc, CBI Reports,” Kayhan International, June 28, 1978.

  a million people flocked to beaches: “Over a Million Flock Back to Seaside ‘Joys,’” Kayhan International, July 9, 1978.

  granted favorable trade status: “EC Aide Raises Hopes of Special Status for Iran,” Kayhan International, June 26, 1978.

  “advanced technologies”: “Irano-German Technology Pact,” Kayhan International, June 15, 1978.

  $12 million date processing plant: “Hungary Gets Iran Deal,” Kayhan International, June 18, 1978.

  Tehran’s underground metro: “Metro Digs Slowly Under the Capital’s Traffic Chaos,” Kayhan International, June 20, 1978.

  the Trans-Iranian Gas Pipeline: “Prague Set for a Big Iran Gas Role,” Kayhan International, June 26, 1978. The Shah had mentioned the pipeline to President Nixon during their July 1973 discussions in Washington, DC. See Memorandum of Conversation, Meeting with His Imperial Majesty Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi, Shahanshah of Iran on Tuesday, the 24th of July, 1973 at 10:43 a.m.–12:35 p.m., in the Oval Office, National Security Archive.

  transit rights of $100 million: “Prague Set for a Big Iran Gas Role.”

  four nuclear power plants: “Iran Agrees to Buy French Nuclear Plants,” Wall Street Journal, June 27, 1978.

  “has been running into increasing financial difficulties”: Ibid.

  Close Encounters of the Third Kind: “Film Guide,” Kayhan International, August 2, 1978.

  “Suddenly, we spotted something flashing”: “UFO … or Goofo?” Kayhan International, July 26, 1978.

  “We think Ali and Amir are having us on”: Ibid.

  duty officers in the control tower: “Newsbriefs,” Kayhan International, July 18, 1978.

  “pleading a return from vacation”: Memorandum of Conversation, John Stempel and Guennady Kazankin, July 18, 1978, Iran: The Making of US Policy, 1977–80, document 1443.

  18. RAMADAN RISING

  “What do you think is going on?”: Author interview with Elli Antoniades, April 4, 2013.

  “Iran is not in a revolutionary”: Memorandum for the President from Zbigniew Brzezinski, NSC Weekly Report 78, November 3, 1978, Jimmy Carter Presidential Library.

  fatal car crash: “Policeman Killed in Mashad Funeral Riot,” Kayhan International, July 26, 1978.

  Sheikh Kafi’s funeral procession: Ibid.

  mourners in southern Tehran: “Tear Gas Used to Quell Demonstrations,” Kayhan International, July 31, 1978.

  buses ferrying American workers: Charles Ismail Semkus, The Fall of Iran 1978–79: An Historical Anthology (New York: Copen, 1979), 46.

  teargassed demonstrators: “Tear Gas Used to Quell Demonstrations.”

  a police officer was blown up: Ibid.

  Rioters in Shiraz: Ibid.

  six deaths and three hundred arrests: “Six Deaths, 300 Arrests Reported in Riots,” Kayhan International, August 1, 1978.

  “The relative calm”: Prepared by Major Don Adamick, “Intelligence Appraisal: Renewal of Civil Disturbances,” August 16, 1978, Iran: The Making of US Policy, 1977–80, National Security Archive, (Alexandria, VA: Chadwyck-Healey, 1990), document 1472, p. 3.

  “The preachers took advantage”: Author interview with Ali Hossein, 2013.

  “Oh, that old man!”: Hushang Nahavandi, The Last Shah of Iran (London: Aquilion, 2005), p. 131.

  “Within [the] past few days”: Telegram from U.S. Embassy to Secretary of State, “Increase in Religious Pressure on Government,” August 17, 1978, Iran: The Making of US Policy, 1977–80, document 01474.

  “Source who has been involved”: William Branigan, “Thousands Demand Shah End the Exile of Moslem Leader,” Washington Post, September 5, 1978.

  “My father was not pro-monarchy”: Author interview with Hassan Shariatmadari, September 21, 2014.

  “I can’t just ring him up”: Nahavandi (2005), p. 134.

  “Shariatmadari was very weak”: Author interview with Ali Kani, February 23, 2013.

  “The failure of the Shah”: Author interview with Hassan Shariatmadari, September 21, 2014.

  the situation in Iran: “Confidential: Conversation with Iranians Dissident,” July 17, 1978, Iran: The Making of US Policy, 1977–80, document 1439.

  “We have a constitution”: Nahavandi (2005), p. 140.

  “to come to some sort of”: Cable from Embassy Tehran to Secretary of State, “Implications of Iran’s Religious Unrest,” August, 2, 1978, Iran: The Making of US Policy, 1977–80, document 01460.

  “The paradigm we were working under”: Author interview with
John Stempel, February 20, 2013.

  “Still one finds [Prime Minister Amuzegar] to be relaxed”: Ray Vicker, “The Opposition in Iran,” Wall Street Journal, August 3, 1978.

  disappearance of Ayatollah Jalal Al-Din Taheri: Cable from Embassy Tehran to Secretary of State, “Implications of Iran’s Religious Unrest.”

  seized control of the streets: Author e-mail exchange with Hassan Shariatmadari, March 29, 2015.

  “one child was hit”: “Country Team Minutes,” August 2, 1978, Iran: The Making of US Policy, 1977–80, document 01461.

  American Club was firebombed: Ibid.

  “Every day His Majesty”: Author interview with Amir Pourshaja, March 16, 2013.

  Reza Ghotbi flew to Nowshahr: Author interview with Reza Ghotbi, May 9, 2013.

  “He talked about when he and his father”: Ibid.

  “is serious about opening up”: Cable from Embassy Tehran to Secretary of State, “Shah’s Constitution Day Speech Calls for Full Political Liberalization, Free Elections,” August 7, 1978, Iran: The Making of US Policy, 1977–80, document 1464.

  “in terms of political liberties”: Ibid.

  “They are glad the Shah”: Ibid.

  fanned out from Pahlavi Square: “Ayatollah’s Isfahan Home Cordoned Off,” Kayhan International, August 14, 1978.

  “proceeded to pour benzene”: Ibid.

  Amid scenes of complete anarchy: Ibid.

  running gun battles: “Riots Situation ‘Under Control,’” Kayhan International, August 15, 1978.

  Five police officers died: “Martial Law, Curfew Follow Isfahan Riots,” Kayhan International, August 12, 1978.

  At 8:00 p.m. on Friday evening: Ibid.

  outside the New Mosque: “Background to Days of Violence,” Kayhan International, August 14, 1978.

  ramming them through police lines: Ibid.

  “a number of deaths”: Ibid.

  “that said someone had thrown”: Author interview with Bruce Vernor, March 12, 2013.

  “In Babol on the Caspian Sea”: “After the Abadan Fire,” Time, September 4, 1978.

  a man carrying a black bag: “Blast Victims Describe Horror,” Kayhan International, August 15, 1978.

  “While I was going to help the injured”: Ibid.

 

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