The Fall of Heaven

by Andrew Scott Cooper

  “If you have too many midwives”: Ibid.

  “They recalled the crisis in 1963”: Author interview with Kambiz Atabai, May 17, 2013.

  quiet visit to southern Tehran: Ibid.

  Operation Kach: Ibid. Details of the plan were confirmed by Parviz Sabeti and Kambiz Atabai to the author.

  “The police would have a list”: Author interviews with Ardeshir Zahedi, October 27–28, 2013.

  raid on a police barracks: Tony Allaway, “Terror Raid on Tehran Police Post,” Times (London), September 7, 1978, and “Public Meetings Curbed by Iran,” Washington Post, September 7, 1978.

  ban on all unauthorized rallies: “Unauthorized Rallies Banned,” Kayhan International, September 7, 1978.

  twenty thousand people: Ibid.

  tossed a pipe bomb under a bus: “Bomb Hurled at Bus with 18 Britons,” Kayhan International, September 7, 1978.

  tens of thousands: Though most accounts agreed on a figure of a hundred thousand protesters (“The Shah’s Divided Land,” Time, September 18, 1978, p. 32), French diplomats in Tehran put the number much lower, at fifty thousand. See Memorandum of Conversation: “Internal Situation,” September 15, 1978, Iran: The Making of US Policy, 1977–80, National Security Archive (Alexandria, VA: Chadwyck-Healey, 1990), document 1523.

  “Death to the Shah!”: “Iran Explodes,” Newsweek, September 18, 1978, p. 41.

  “dreaming of an ocean”: Jonathan Kirkendall, personal scrapbook: “A Senior and a Revolution,” May 1979.

  “The ball has started rolling”: Ibid.

  held a working lunch: “Shahanshah, Japan PM Hold Talks over Lunch,” Kayhan International, September 9, 1978.

  “visibly shaken”: “Iran Explodes,” p. 41.

  “who argued that the demonstrations”: “The Shah’s Divided Land,” p. 32.

  appointed the Islamic scholar Hossein Nasr: “Empress Bureau Chief Introduced to Monarch,” Kayhan International, September 9, 1978.

  “Ayatollahs Shariatmadari and Khonsari”: Author interview with Hossein Nasr, August 21, 2013.

  “As I flew over the Shahyad Monument”: Ashraf Pahlavi, Faces in a Mirror (Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1980), p. 205.

  “Why aren’t we doing anything about it?”: Author interview with Reza Golsorkhi, May 13, 2013.

  a small group came to Ashraf’s residence: Ibid.

  “His Majesty is in control”: Ibid.

  Iranian guests attending: “Missing Party Guest Has Everyone in a Dither,” Kayhan International, September 9, 1978.

  handed a note: Nahavandi (2005), p. 188.

  plot by Khomeini’s agents: Joe Alex Morris Jr., “Iran in Turmoil as Shah Begins 38th Year of Rule,” Los Angeles Times, September 17, 1978.

  In the debate that followed: Accounts of the cabinet meeting appear in Afkhami (2009), p. 464; Nahavandi (2005), pp. 189–190; and Telegram from Ambassador Sullivan to Secretary of State, “Situation in Iran,” September 10, 1978, Iran: The Making of US Policy, 1977–80, document 1507.

  He expressed ambivalence: Nahavandi (2005), p. 190.

  Ardeshir Zahedi made clear: Author interviews with Ardeshir Zahedi, October 27–28, 2013.

  The Queen worried: Author interviews with Farah Pahlavi, March 23–25, 2013.

  finishing up his last day at work: Author interview with Reza Ghotbi, March 25, 2013.

  received another harried call: Ibid.

  instructed that a helicopter be readied: Author interview with Reza Ghotbi, March 25, 2013.

  the modest traffic circle: During his 2013 visit to Iran the author walked through Jaleh Square to gain a sense of its size and proportions.

  several thousand people converged: William Branigan, “Iranian Troops Fire on Crowds; Scores Killed,” Washington Post, September 9, 1978.

  “Khomeini did not believe in armed struggle”: Author interview with Ali Hossein, 2013.

  “According to witnesses”: Branigan, “Iranian Troops Fire.” The author reviewed every available account he could and found Branigan’s to be the most immediate and dispassionate of those filed by reporters from the scene.

  “At Jaleh Square there were people”: Author interview with Ali Hossein, 2013.

  sent a ballistics expert: Author interview with Bruce Vernor, March 12, 2013.

  “troops were attacked”: Telegram from Ambassador Sullivan to Secretary of State, “Crowd Control Equipment in Iran,” September 14, 1978, Iran: The Making of US Policy, 1977–80, document 01521.

  “Shortly after the shooting”: Branigan, “Iranian Troops Fire.”

  “angrily shouted anti-Shah slogans”: Ibid.

  Charlie Naas was leaving: Author interview with Charlie Naas, March 14, 2013.

  “heard the radio announce”: Memorandum for the Files, “Dinner Conversation at DCM’s Residence,” October 16, 1978, Iran: The Making of US Policy, 1977–80, document 01612.

  He set out in an ambulance: Author interview with Fereydoun Ala, May 8, 2013.

  dragged in mattresses: Ibid.

  “The hospital’s ramp”: Liz Thurgood, “Shah’s Men Turn Guns on Crowds,” Guardian, September 9, 1978.

  more than a hundred fires: “100 Fires Set During Friday Disturbances,” Kayhan International, September 10, 1978.

  Flames engulfed the Armstrong Hotel: Ibid.

  Twelve banks, two supermarkets, etc.: Ibid.

  “South-east Tehran”: Tony Allaway, “Protesters Shot Down as Iran Imposes Martial Law in 12 Cities,” Times (London), September 9, 1978.

  “Unless the government makes a bigger show of force”: Branigan, “Iranian Troops Fire.”

  Khomeini’s men were quick: Thurgood, “Shah’s Men Turn Guns on Crowds,” and Branigan, “Iranian Troops Fire.”

  “It’s the Israelis!”: Liz Thurgood, “Shah’s Men Turn Guns on Crowds.”

  Ayatollah Nouri had been murdered: Liz Thurgood, “The Shah Goes Back to Rule by the Bullet,” Guardian, September 11, 1978.

  eighty-six deaths: “Tehran Calm as Toll Hits 86 Dead,” Kayhan International, September 10, 1978.

  three thousand killed: Liz Thurgood, “3,000 Deaths in Iran Say Shah’s Opponents,” Guardian, September 13, 1978.

  “3,000 DEATHS IN IRAN”: Ibid.

  “a gross underestimate”: Thurgood, “The Shah Goes Back.”

  three thousand bodies buried in a “mass grave”: Thurgood, “3,000 Deaths.”

  forty new bodies: Kurzman (2004), p. 75.

  eighty-eight: http://www.emadbaghi.com/en/archives/000592.php#more.

  “an immensely saddened man”: “An Interview with the Shah,” Time, September 18, 1979.

  “the Shah looked awful”: Evening Report, National Security Council, September 10, 1978, Jimmy Carter Presidential Library.

  “I would like to wave goodbye”: Ibid.

  Princess Ashraf went to see her brother: Author interview with Reza Golsorkhi, May 13, 2013.

  “completely calm on the surface”: A. Pahlavi (1980), p. 205.

  “What will you do?”: Ibid.

  “His Majesty has asked me to leave”: Author interview with Reza Golsorkhi, May 13, 2013.

  The call from Camp David: President Carter Telephone Conversation with the Shah, National Security Council, September 10, 1978, Jimmy Carter Presidential Library.

  “flat, almost mechanical voice”: Gary Sick, All Fall Down: America’s Tragic Encounter with Iran (New York: Random House, 1985), p. 51.

  “smell the burning tires”: Uri-Bar Joseph, “Forecasting a Hurricane: Israeli and American Estimates of the Khomeini Revolution,” Journal of Strategic Studies 36, issue 5 (2013): 15.

  reduced by a third: Ibid., p. 16.

  “In many parts of the city”: William Claiborne, “Army Intensifies Patrols in Tehran,” Washington Post, September 12, 1978.

  forty thousand travelers: “Tourists Flock to Caspian Beaches,” Kayhan International, September 17, 1978.

  Valiahd Cup: Ibid.

  Association of Girl Guides: “Global Gathering of Gu
ides Gets to Grips with Important Agenda,” Kayhan International, September 12, 1978.

  “Traffic was chaotic”: James Underwood, “Curfew Hits Shops, Restaurants,” Kayhan International, September 14, 1978.

  “because in its latest issue”: “Magazine Ban,” Kayhan International, September 18, 1978.

  “Sentries in battle dress”: Joe Alex Morris, “Iran’s Capital Quiet Under Martial Law,” Los Angeles Times, September 16, 1978.

  “People hardly glanced”: Underwood, “Curfew Hits Shops, Restaurants.”

  Outbound flights were booked up: Parviz C. Radji, In the Service of the Peacock Throne: The Diaries of the Shah’s Last Ambassador to London (London: Hamish Hamilton, 1983), p. 227.

  flow of capital to safe havens: Telegram from Ambassador Sullivan to Secretary of State, “Economic Impact of Iran’s Political Upheaval,” September 13, 1978, Iran: The Making of US Policy, 1977–80, document 01515.

  “As previously reported”: Ibid.

  21. STATE OF SIEGE

  “Evil has come to our great house”: Abolqasem Ferdowsi, Shahnameh: The Persian Book of Kings, trans. Dick Davis (New York: Penguin, 2006), p. 798.

  “I am fighting for my son”: “Je Me Force a Oublier la Peur,” Paris Match, September 22, 1978, p. 57.

  replaced Amir Abbas Hoveyda: “Thousands of Iran Troops, Tanks Enforce Martial Law,” Los Angeles Times, September 10, 1978.

  Ali Qoli Ardalan: “Statesman Ardalan New Court Minister,” Kayhan International, September 27, 1978.

  code of conduct: “Shahanshah Bans Royal Influence-Peddling,” Kayhan International, September 27, 1978. See also “Shah Tells Family to End Ties with Public Bodies,” Washington Post, September 27, 1978.

  “We have always thought”: John K. Cooley, “Shah of Iran Voices Liberalization Goal,” Christian Science Monitor, September 19, 1978.

  allowed broadcasters to film: “Uproar in Majlis,” Kayhan International, September 14, 1978.

  shortened curfew hours: “Curfew Reduced,” Kayhan International, September 18, 1978.

  suppressed the military investigation: Hushang Nahavandi, The Last Shah of Iran (London: Aquilion, 2005), p. 195.

  hajj pilgrimages: “Haj Controls to be Abandoned,” Kayhan International, September 20, 1978.

  electricity and water prices: “Water and Power Prices to be Frozen,” Kayhan International, September 21, 1978.

  national health insurance: Vida Moattar, “Full Health Insurance October 23—Minister,” Kayhan International, September 26, 1978.

  arrested 1,106 people: “Martial Law to be Lifted ‘Soon as Possible’,” Kayhan International, September 25, 1978.

  “I don’t want any Iranian”: Author interview with Fereydoun Djavadi, July 13, 2013.

  “I overheard the Shah say to Oveissi”: Author interview with Shahin Fatemi, July 16, 2013.

  “What kind of general was I?”: Ibid.

  “How many times have I said to you”: Ibid.

  “There was a lot of pressure”: Author interview with Kambiz Atabai, February 15, 2013.

  “we checked His Majesty’s office”: Author interview with Kiomars Djahinbini, March 25, 2013.

  “She is the one with guts”: Anthony Parsons, The Pride and the Fall: Iran 1974–1979 (London: Jonathan Cape, 1984), p. 75.

  “gripped by a deep sadness”: “Je Me Force a Oublier la Peur,” p. 57.

  “had been kidnapped”: “Shiite Chiefs Kidnap Fear,” Kayhan International, September 12, 1978.

  dispatched a team of investigators: “Beirut Team Off to Libya to Find Sadr,” Kayhan International, September 14, 1978.

  Interpol issued a worldwide bulletin: Ibid.

  insisted that Musa Sadr had left: Ibid.

  “hotels, boarding houses”: “An Imam Is Missing,” Time, October 9, 1978.

  Rumors surfaced: Ibid. See also “Beirut Team Off to Libya to Find Sadr.”

  “Certainly he is no friend of the Shah”: Colin Smith, “Mystery of the Missing Imam,” Guardian, October 1, 1978.

  “We strongly believe”: “Beirut Team Off to Libya to Find Sadr.”

  “According to Your Majesty”: Author interview with Ali Kani, February 12, 2013.

  “Islam holds the Libyan government”: “Qom Concern over Sadr,” Kayhan International, September 17, 1978.

  measuring 7.7 on the Richter scale: “Killer Quake,” Kayhan International, September 18, 1978. See also “The Town That Disappeared,” Time, October 2, 1978.

  “nothing standing except the palm trees”: “11,000 Killed in Iran Earthquake,” Times (London), September 18, 1978.

  “Mr. Sharif-Emami did not know”: Farah Pahlavi, An Enduring Love: My Life with the Shah (New York: Miramax, 2004), p. 283.

  conduct a nuclear test in the desert: Curiously, rumors that a Soviet nuclear test had triggered the quake did not cause a similar amount of outrage in Tabas. See “Experts Deny Soviet Quake Link,” Kayhan International, September 21, 1978.

  “Dig out the dead!”: “Pleas Deluge Iran Empress in Quake Region,” Los Angeles Times, September 18, 1978.

  “Don’t go sightseeing!”: Ibid.

  “sat motionless”: Ibid.

  “They gave him the sort of treatment”: Colin Smith, “When Even the King of Kings Can’t Help,” Guardian, September 24, 1978.

  “I do not want anything”: “Monarch Gives Tabas Hope,” Kayhan International, September 21, 1978.

  “I’ve always been the top student”: Ibid.

  “There is nothing to talk about”: John K. Cooley, “Shia Moslem Foes Reject Sitting Down with Shah,” Christian Science Monitor, September 29, 1978.

  “after the initial ambush”: “Nine Killed in Ambush on Tabriz Patrol,” Kayhan International, September 17, 1978.

  “go and see Fardust for a talk”: Author interview with Kambiz Atabai, February 15, 2013.

  several men in plainclothes: Author interview with Ali Hossein, 2013.

  “I was allowed to stay”: Ibid.

  “Gadhafi arrested him”: Author interview with Ali Kani, February 12, 2013.

  “every right to interfere”: “Monarch Concerned at Fate of Imam,” Kayhan International, September 23, 1978.

  “We are convinced” “Iran Clergy Join Hunt for Sadr,” Kayhan International, September 23, 1978.

  “has a better than even chance”: Uri-Bar Joseph, “Forecasting a Hurricane: Israeli and American Estimates of the Khomeini Revolution,” Journal of Strategic Studies 36, issue 5 (2013): 16.

  Precht made contact with Ibrahim Yazdi: Author interview with Henry Precht, March 13, 2013.

  drafted reports and even talking points: Ibid.

  “peaceful accommodation”: Ibid.

  “may have taken my reporting”: Author interview with George Lambrakis, September 13, 2014.

  “astute”: Author interview with Henry Precht, March 13, 2013.

  “was really pissed off”: Author interview with John Stempel, February 20, 2013.

  “They were of no help at all”: Author interview with George Lambrakis, September 13, 2014.

  “of U.S. support for the Iranian opposition”: Ibid.

  “did have occasional low-level”: Ibid.

  “depressive episodes ever so severe”: Letter from Henry Precht to Ambassador Sullivan, October 10, 1978, Iran: The Making of US Policy, 1977–80, National Security Archive (Alexandria, VA: Chadwyck-Healey, 1990), document 01576.

  under house arrest: “Protests to Iraq Against Khomeini’s House Arrest,” Kayhan International, September 30, 1978. See also Liz Thurgood, “Iraq Backs Silencing of Shah’s Critic,” Guardian, September 27, 1978.

  relented on September 25: “Iraq Lists Restrictions on Shia Leader,” Times (London), September 26, 1978.

  blocked his entry: Baqer Moin, Khomeini: Life of the Ayatollah (London: I. B. Taurus, 1999), p. 189.

  approved higher salaries: Tony Allaway, “Iran Strikers’ Demands to be Met,” Times (London), October 4, 1978. See also “NIOC, Bank Strikes End, Kayhan Interna
tional, October 4, 1978.

  “In the spirit of accommodation”: Telegram, Ambassador Sullivan to Secretary of State, “The Sharif-Emami Government: An Analysis and Projection,” October 16, 1978, Iran: The Making of US Policy, 1977–80, document 01593.

  He continued to insist: “Shahanshah Urges ‘Unity and Oneness,’” Kayhan International, October 7, 1978.

  “Whatever the regime said”: Author interview with Ali Hossein, 2013.

  the Caspian towns of Babol and Amol: “Four Die in Caspian Towns as Demonstrations Continue,” Kayhan International, October 10, 1978.

  “I became aware in the second week”: Author interview with Reza Ghotbi, May 9, 2013.

  “The Shah hardly spoke”: Author interviews with Khalil al-Khalil, June 21–24, 2013.

  “Source with good access”: Telegram from Ambassador Sullivan to Secretary of State, “Ayatollah Khomeini’s Plans,” October 8, 1978, Iran: The Making of US Policy, 1977–80, document 01577.

  screened Khomeini’s visitors, handled media requests: Author interview with Abolhassan Banisadr, July 11, 2013.

  In his first press interview: Ibid.

  deliberately mistranslated: Ibid.

  “if you don’t want to become”: Ibid.

  “What is an Islamic republic?”: Ibid.

  “calm him down”: Ibid.

  22. TEHRAN IS BURNING

  “There is nothing”: Author interview with Maryam Ansary, April 17, 2013.

  “I have the feeling there is no hope anymore”: Farah Pahlavi, An Enduring Love: My Life with the Shah (New York: Miramax, 2004), p. 285.

  strikes closing: “Over 2,000 Workers at Sarcheshmeh Join Strike,” Kayhan International, October 11, 1978.

  attacked the Iraqi consulate: “Gunmen Hit Iraq Mission in South,” Kayhan International, October 11, 1978.

  $50 million a day: “The Shah’s Fight for Survival,” Time, November 20, 1978, p. 53.

  $3 billion since Jaleh Square: Ibid., p. 52.

  the ambassadors: Konjkav, “Town Talk—Envoy Bids Farewell to Second Home,” Kayhan International, October 22, 1978.

  sent their families out: “Premier Mobbed by Pressmen,” Kayhan International, October 5, 1978.