MOHAMMAD REZA PAHLAVI

'Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, Shah of Iran' ( ) (October 26, 1919, Tehran – July 27, 1980, Cairo), styled 'His Imperial Majesty', and holding the imperial titles of 'Shahanshah' (''King of Kings''), and 'Aryamehr' (''Light of the Aryans''), was the monarch of Iran from September 16, 1941 until the Iranian Revolution on February 11, 1979. He was the second monarch of the Pahlavi dynasty and the last Shah of the Iranian monarchy.
The Shah came to power during World War II, after an Anglo-Soviet invasion forced the abdication of his father, Reza Shah. Mohammad Reza Shah's rule oversaw the nationalization of the Iranian oil industry under prime minister Mohammad Mossadegh. During the Shah's reign, Iran celebrated 2,500 years of continuous monarchy since the founding of the Persian Empire by Cyrus the Great. His White Revolution, a series of economic and social reforms intended to transform Iran into a global power, succeeded in modernizing the nation, nationalizing many natural resources and extending suffrage to women, among other things. However, a partial failure of the land reform, the lack of democratization as criticized by some of his opponents, as well as the decline of the traditional power of the Shi'a clergy due to parts of the reforms, increased opposition to his authority.
While a Muslim himself, the Shah gradually lost support with the Shi'a clergy of Iran, particularly due to his strong policy of Westernization and recognition of Israel. Clashes with the religious right, increased communist activity, Western interference in the economy, and a 1953 period of political disagreements with Mohammad Mossadegh (in which each side accused the other of staging a coup, eventually leading to Mossadegh's downfall) would cause an increasingly autocratic rule. Various controversial policies were enacted, including the banning of the Tudeh Party and the oppression of dissent by Iran's intelligence agency, SAVAK; Amnesty International reported that Iran had as many as 2,200 political prisoners in 1978. By 1979, the political unrest had transformed into a revolution which, on January 16, forced the Shah to leave Iran after 37 years of rule. Soon thereafter, the revolutionary forces transformed the government into an Islamic republic.

Early life

Born in Tehran to Reza Pahlavi and his second wife, Tadj ol-Molouk, Mohammad Reza was the eldest son of the first Shah of the Pahlavi dynasty, and the third of his eleven children. He was born with a twin sister, Ashraf Pahlavi. However, Mohammad Reza, Ashraf, Ali Reza, and their older half-sister, Fatemeh, were born as non-royals, as their father did not become Shah until 1925.
On February 21, 1921, Reza Khan together with Seyyed Zia'eddin Tabatabaee staged a successful coup d'état against the reigning Qajar dynasty of Persia. Years later, on December 12, 1925, Reza Khan was declared Shah by the country's National Assembly, the Majlis of Iran. He was crowned in a ceremony on April 25, 1926; at the same time, his son Mohammad Reza was proclaimed Crown Prince of Persia.
As a child, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi attended Institut Le Rosey, a Swiss boarding school, completing his studies there in 1935. Around the same time, his father officially asked the international community to refer to Persia by its internal name, "Iran". Upon Mohammad Reza's return to the country, he enrolled in the local military academy in Tehran; he remained in the academy until 1938.

Early reign

Deposition of his father

During World War II, Reza Shah was forced to abdicate in favor of his son.

In the midst of World War II in 1941, Nazi Germany began Operation Barbarossa and invaded the Soviet Union, breaking the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact. The act had a huge impact on Iran , as the country had declared neutrality in the conflict.^[1]
During the subsequent military invasion and occupation, the joint Allied and Soviet command forced Reza Shah to abdicate in favor of his son, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. He replaced his father on the throne on September 16, 1941. It was hoped that the younger prince would be more open to influence from the pro-Allied West, which later proved to be the case.
Subsequent to his succession as Shah, Iran became a major conduit for British and, later, American aid to the USSR during the war. This massive supply effort became known as the Persian Corridor and marked the first large-scale American and Western involvement in Iran, an involvement that would continue to grow until the successful revolution against the Iranian monarchy in 1979.

Oil nationalization and the 1953 coup

Dr. Mohammad Mossadegh was named Prime Minister of Iran following the nationalization of Iran's oil industry in 1951.

In the early 1950s, there was a political crisis centered in Iran that commanded the focused attention of British and American intelligence outfits.In 1951 Dr. Mossadegh came to office, committed to re-establish the democracy, constitutional monarchy, and nationalizing the Iranian petroleum industry. From the start he erroneously believed that the Americans, who had no interest in Anglo-Iranian Oil company, would support his nationalization plan. He was buoyed by the American Ambassador, Henry Grady. In the events, Americans supported the British, and fearing that the Communists with the help of Soviets are posed to overthrow the government they decided to remove Mossadegh from the office. Shortly before the 1952 presidential election in the US the British government invited Kermit Roosevelt of the CIA to London and proposed that they cooperate under the code name “Operation Ajax” to cause the downfall of Mossadegh from office. ^[2].

In 1951, under the leadership of the nationalist movement of Dr. Mohammed Mossadegh, the Iranian parliament voted unanimously to nationalize the oil industry. This shut out the immensely profitable Anglo-Iranian Oil Company (AIOC), which was a pillar of Britain's economy and political clout. A month after that vote, Mossadegh was named Prime Minister of Iran.
Under the direction of Kermit Roosevelt, Jr., a senior CIA officer and grandson of the former U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt, the CIA and British intelligence funded and led a covert operation to depose Mossadegh with the help of military forces loyal to the Shah, known as Operation Ajax.^[3] The plot hinged on orders signed by the Shah to dismiss Mossadegh as prime minister and replace him with General Fazlollah Zahedi, a choice agreed on by the British and Americans.
Despite the high-level coordination and planning, the coup initially failed, causing the Shah to flee to Baghdad, later leaving for Rome. After a brief exile in Italy, the Shah returned to Iran, this time through a successful counter-coup. The deposed Mossadegh was arrested, given a show trial, and condemned to death. The Shah commuted this sentence to solitary confinement for three years in a military prison, followed by house arrest for life. Zahedi was installed to succeed Prime Minister Mossadegh.
The American Embassy in Tehran was reporting that Mossadegh had near total support from the nation and was unlikely to fall. The prime minister asked Majles to give him direct control of the army. Given the situation, alongside the strong personal support of Eden and Churchill for covert action, the American government gave a go-ahead to a committee, attended by the Secretary of State, John Foster Dulles, Allen Dulles, Kermit Roosevelt, Ambassador Henderson, and Secretary of Defense Charles Wilson. Kermit Roosevelt returned to Iran on July 13 and on August 1 in his first meeting with the shah. A car picked him up in the midnight and drove him to the palace. He lay down on the seat and covered himself with a blanket as guards waved his driver through the gates. The shah got into the car and Roosevelt explained the mission. The CIA provided $1 million in Iranian currency, which Roosevelt had stored in a large safe, a bulky cache given the exchange rate 1000 rial = 15 dollars at the time. ^[4].

The Communists staged massive demonstrations to hijack the prime minister’s initiatives. The United States had announced its total lack of confidence in him; and his followers were drifting to indifference. On August 16, 1953, the right wing of the Army reacted. Armed with an order by the shah, appointing General Fazlollah Zahedi as prime minister, a coalition of mobs and retired officers close to the Palace, attempting what could be counted as a coup d’etat. They failed dismally. The shah fled the country in an humiliating haste. Even Ettelaat, the nation’s largest daily newspaper, and its pro-shah publisher Abbas Masudi, published negative commentaries on the shah ^[5].

In the following two days the Communists turned against Mossadegh. They roamed Tehran raising red flags and pulling down statues of Reza Shah. This frightened the conservative clergies like Kashani and National Front leaders like Makki, who sided with the shah. On August 18, Mossadegh hit back. Tudeh Partisans were clubbed to be dispersed^[6].

Tudeh had no choice but to accept the defeat. In the meantime, according to the CIA plot, Zahedi appealed to the military, and claimed to be the legitimate prime minister and charged Mossadegh with staging a coup by ignoring the shah’s decree. Zahedi’s son Ardeshir acted as the go-between for the CIA and his father. On August 19th the thugs organized with $100,000 of the CIA funds finally appeared, marched out of south Tehran into the city center, other mobs joined in. Gang with clubs, knives, and rocks controlled the street overturning Tudeh trucks and beating up anti-shah activists. As Roosevelt was congratulating Zahedi in the basement of his hiding place the new prime minister’s mobs burst in and carried him upstairs on their shoulders. That evening Ambassador Henderson suggested to Ardashir that Mossadegh not be harmed. Roosevelt furnished Zahedi with $900,000 left from the operation Ajax funds. The shah returned to power, but never extended the elitism of the court to the technocrats and intellectuals who emerged from Iranian and Western universities. Indeed, his system irritated the new classes, for they were barred from partaking in real power. ^[7]

Assassination attempts

The Shah was the victim of two assassination attempts. On February 4, 1949, the Shah attended an annual ceremony to commemorate the founding of Tehran University.^[8] At the ceremony, Fakhr-Arai fired five shots at the Shah from a ten foot range. Only one of the shots hit the Shah and his cheek was mildly wounded. Fakhr-Arai was instantly shot by nearby officers. After some investigations, it was found that Fakhr-Arai was a member of the Tudeh party,^[9] which was subsequently banned.^[10] However, there is evidence that the would-be assassin was not a Tudeh member but a religious fundamentalist.^[11]^[12] The Tudeh was nonetheless blamed and persecuted. The second attempt on the Shah's life was on April 10, 1965.^[13] A soldier shot his way through the Marble Palace. The assailant was killed before he reached the Shah's quarters. Two civilian guards died protecting the Shah.
According to Vladimir Kuzichkin, a former KGB officer who defected to the SIS, the Shah was also allegedly targeted by Soviet Union, who tried to use a TV remote control to detonate a Volkswagen which was turned into an IED. The TV remote failed to function.^[14]

Later years

Foreign relations

Pakistan's first President Major-General Iskander Mirza and First Lady Begum Rafat Iskander Ali Mirza Visiting The Shah of Iran at his palace in Tehran. Being Personaly Greeted by The Shah himself.

The Shah supported the Yemeni royalists against republican forces in the Yemen Civil War (1962-70) and assisted the sultan of Oman in putting down a rebellion in Dhofar (1971). Concerning the fate of Bahrain (which Britain had controlled since the 19th century, but which Iran claimed as its own territory) and three small Persian Gulf islands, the Shah negotiated an agreement with the British, which, by means of a public consensus, ultimately led to the independence of Bahrain (against the wishes of Iranian nationalists). Iran still lays claim to Greater and Lesser Tunbs and Abu Musa, three (strategically sensitive) islands in the Strait of Hormuz, however, which are claimed by the United Arab Emirates.
During this period, the Shah maintained cordial relations with the Persian Gulf states and established closer diplomatic ties with Saudi Arabia. Relations with Iraq, however, were often difficult until 1975 when both countries signed the Algiers Accord, which granted Iraq equal navigation rights in the Shatt al-Arab river, with the Shah also agreeing to end his support for Iraqi Kurdish rebels. [1]
The Shah also maintained close relations with King Hussein of Jordan, Anwar Sadat of Egypt, and King Hassan II of Morocco. [2]
In July 1964, Shah Pahlavi, Turkish President Cemal Gürsel and Pakistani President Ayub Khan announced in Istanbul the establishment of the Regional Cooperation for Development (RCD) organization to promote joint transportation and economic projects also envisioning Afghanistan joining some time in the future. The Shah maintained close relations with Pakistan. During the 1965 war of Pakistan with India the Shah provided free fuel to the Pakistani planes who used to land on Iranian soil, refuel and then take off.
The Shah of Iran was the first Muslim leader to recognize the State of Israel. The relations would deteriorate after the creation of the Islamic Republic.

Westernization and autocracy

The Shah with President Richard Nixon of the United States and First Lady Pat Nixon during a state visit in 1971.

Mohammed Reza Pahlavi and his wife, Empress Farah, prepare to depart Andrews Air Force Base after a visit to the United States on November 16, 1977.

With Iran's great oil wealth, Mohammad Reza Shah became the pre-eminent leader of the Middle East, and self-styled "Guardian" of the Persian Gulf. He became increasingly despotic during the last years of his regime. In the words a US Embassy dispatch “The shah’s picture is everywhere. The beginning of all film showings in public theaters presents the shah in various regal poses accompanied by the strains of the National anthem… The monarch also actively extends his influence to all phases of social affairs…there is hardly any activity or vocation which the shah or members of his family or his closest friends do not have a direct or at least a symbolic involvement. In the past, he had claimed to take a two party-system seriously and declared “If I were a dictator rather than a constitutional monarch, then I might be tempted to sponsor a single dominant party such as Hitler organized” ^[15]. However, by 1975, he abolished the multi-party system of government so that he could rule through a one-party state under the Rastakhiz (''Resurrection'') Party in autocratic fashion. All Iranians were pressured to join in. The shah’s own words on its justification was; “We must straighten out Iranians’ ranks. To do so, we divide them into two categories: those who believe in Monarchy, the constitution and the Six Bahman Revolution and those who don’t… A person who does not enter the new political party and does not believe in the three cardinal principles will have only two choices. He is either an individual who belongs to an illegal organization, or is related to the outlawed Tudeh Party, or in other words a traitor. Such an individual belongs to an Iranian prison, or if he desires he can leave the country tomorrow, without even paying exit fees; he can go anywhere he likes, because he is not Iranian, he has no nation, and his activities are illegal and punishable according to the law” ^[16].
In addition, the Shah had decreed that all Iranian citizens and the few remaining political parties must become part of Rastakhiz. [3]

Achievements

The Shah made major changes to curb the power of certain ancient elite factions by expropriating large and medium-sized estates for the benefit of more than four million small farmers. In the ''White Revolution'', he took a number of major modernization measures, including extending suffrage to women, much to the discontent and opposition of the Islamic clergy. He instituted exams for Islamic theologians to become established clerics, which were widely unpopular and broke centuries-old religious traditions. The mullahs were accustomed to having total control over admission to their ranks.
He was notorious for his murderous acts (e.g the execution of the poet Khosrow Golsorkhi, the intellectual Bijan Jazani and the Foreign Minister Dr. Fatemi as well as the assassination of the journalist Mohammad Masood, among many others), his extravagant expenses (such as the Persepolice carnival or Aryamehr Tennis Tournament in the face of dire poverty in the country), and his socio-economic blunders (for example forced removal of low-income families from the prosperous parts of various cities to the remote distict such as Kooye Nohom-e Aban in Tehran which was far away from the economic centre of city where these workers could have found jobs as gardeners, janitors and cleaners. This created a drug-based crime-nourished economy).

In October 1971 the Shah celebrated the twenty-five-hundredth anniversary of the Iranian monarchy. The New York Times, reported that $100 million was spent. ^[17] Next to the ruins of Persepolis , the Shah gave orders to build a city covering 160 acres, studded with three huge royal tents and fifty-nine lesser ones arranged in a star-shaped design . French chefs from Maxim’s of Paris prepared breast of peacock for royalty and dignitaries around the world, the buildings were decorated by Jensen’s (the same firm that helped Jacqueline Kennedy redecorate the White House), the guests ate off Ceraline Limoges china and drank from Baccarat crystal glasses. This became a major scandal for the contrast between the dazzling elegance of celebration and the misery of the nearby villages was so dramatic that no one could ignore it. Months before the festivities, university students struck in protest. Indeed, the cost was sufficiently impressive that the shah forbade his associates to discuss the actual figures.^[18] ^[19]

Cottam have argued that the longevity of the Shah’s rule was due largely to his success in balancing his security chiefs against each other. Although the shah was clearly willing to utilize instruments of terror to remain in power, he nevertheless was probably sincere about wishing to bring economic, social, and political reform to his country.

Corruption and Wealth

The Shah accumulated an immense wealth gathered through his corruption. Shah's own figure for the size of his fortune, given to Barbara Walters of ABC, was $50 million to $100 million. Even that would represent a spectacular increase over the years. Much of the Shah's wealth was funneled into the Pahlavi Foundation and several others, established ostensibly to fund charitable activities, like aid to the handicapped. In his book, Iran: The Illusion of Power, British Journalist Robert Graham published a 3½-page list of holdings of the Pahlavi Foundation that he was able to track down as of the end of 1977 and that he estimated to be worth $2.8 billion to $3.2 billion. They included total ownership of Bank Omran, one of Iran's largest banks; 80% ownership of Bimeh Melli, the nation's third largest insurance company; and full or partial interests in auto factories (10% of GM Iran), cement plants, sugar mills, housing projects and a string of hotels, including the Tehran Hilton. Indeed, Graham estimates that the Shah, through the foundation, once owned 70% of all the hotel beds in Iran. Whatever the size of the Shah's personal fortune.
According to TIME he ran a corrupt government from first to last. Foreign companies frequently had to pay "commissions" to government officials or members of the royal family to get any kind of contract in Iran. One example: between 1973 and 1975 the Bell Helicopter division of Textron Inc., which was selling choppers to the Iranian air force, paid a $3 million commission to a company that turned out to be secretly owned in part by a brother-in-law of the Shah. The Shah indirectly acknowledged the corruption by periodically announcing drives to root it out, but he never succeeded in doing so—if, in fact, he ever really tried. ^[20]

Author Graham believes that the Shah's motives in tolerating the corruption, and in guiding the network of investments of the Pahlavi Foundation, were less personal aggrandizement than a desire to retain tight control of the Iranian economy and win the loyalty of subordinates by lavish financial favors.

Nonetheless, the Shah in power lived very well, to put it mildly according to TIME. He shuttled among five palaces in Iran. Journalist Fallaci, interviewing the Shah in 1973 in one of them, noted that "almost everything in the place was gold: the ashtray that you didn't dare dirty, the box inlaid with emeralds, the knickknacks covered with rubies and sapphires." The ruler's sisters also basked in opulence. Princess Ashraf Pahlavi owns two town houses and a lavish triplex coop apartment in Manhattan. Princess Shams is said to have bought a seaside showplace in Acapulco and to have once planned a gold-domed palace overlooking Beverly Hills, Calif. ^[21]

Attitude Towards Women

The Shah had no great regard for women. In 1973 he exploded at Italian Journalist Oriana Fallaci: "Does it seem right to you that a King, that an Emperor of Persia, should waste time talking about such things? Talking about wives, women? Women are important in a man's life only if they're beautiful and keep their femininity. You're equal in the eyes of the law but not, excuse my saying so, in ability." --former Secretary of the Treasury William Simon once called him "a nut". The middle class was angered by the lack of political rights and by the corruption and inefficiency of a government system in which top jobs were awarded on the basis of loyalty to the Shah rather than ability.^[22]

Revolution

The Iranian Shah, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi meeting with Arthur Atherton, William H. Sullivan, Cyrus Vance, President Jimmy Carter, and Zbigniew Brzezinski,1977.

His policies led to strong economic growth during the 1960s and 1970s but at the same time, opposition to his autocratic pro-Western rule increased. His good relations with Israel and the United States and his active support for women's rights were moreover a reason for Islamic fundamentalist groups to attack his policies.
On January 16, 1979 he and his wife left Iran at the behest of Prime Minister Shapour Bakhtiar (a long time opposition leader himself), who sought to calm down the situation. 1979: Shah of Iran flees into exile Bakhtiar dissolved SAVAK and freed all political prisoners, and allowed Ayatollah Khomeini to return to Iran after years in exile, asking him to create a Vatican-like state in Qom, promised free elections and called upon the opposition to help preserve the constitution proposing a `national unity` including Khomeini's followers. Khomeini fiercely rejected Dr. Bakhtiar's demands and appointed his own interim government, with Mehdi Bazargan as prime minister, demanding `since I have appointed he must be obeyed." In February, pro-Khomeini Revolutionary guerrilla and rebel soldiers gained the upperhand in street fighting and the military announced their neutrality. On the evening of February 11 the dissolution of the monarchy was complete.

Exile and death

The exiled monarch had become unpopular in much of the world, especially in the liberal West, ironically his original backers and those who had most to lose from his downfall. He travelled from country to country in his second exile seeking what he hoped would be a temporary residence.
First he went to Egypt, and got an invitation and warm welcome from president Anwar el-Sadat. He later lived in Morocco, the Bahamas, and Mexico. But his non-Hodgkin's lymphoma began to grow worse, and required immediate and sophisticated treatment.
Reluctantly, on October 22, 1979, President Jimmy Carter allowed the Shah to make a brief stopover in the United States to undergo medical treatment. The compromise was extremely unpopular with the revolutionary movement, which were against the United States' years of support of the Shah's rule, and demanded his return to Iran to stand trial.
This resulted in the kidnapping of a number of American diplomats, military personnel and intelligence officers at the American embassy in Tehran, which soon became known as the Iran hostage crisis. Once the Shah's course of treatment had finished, the American government, eager to avoid further controversy, pressed the former monarch to leave the country.
He left the United States on December 15, 1979 and lived for a short time in the Isla Contadora in Panama. Finally he went back to Egypt, where he died on July 27, 1980, at the age of 60. Egyptian President Sadat gave the Shah a state funeral.
Mohammad Reza Pahlavi is buried in the Al Rifa'i Mosque in Cairo, a mosque of great symbolic value. The last royal rulers of two monarchies are buried here, Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi of Iran and King Farouk of Egypt, his former brother-in-law. The tombs lie off to the left of the entrance.
Shortly after his overthrow, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi wrote an autobiographical memoir entitled ''Answer to History'' (ISBN 0-8128-2755-4), which was translated from the original French (''Réponse à l'histoire'') into both English and Persian (''Pasukh bih Tarikh'') as well as other languages, and was later published posthumously in 1980. The book is his personal account of his reign and accomplishments, as well as his perspective on issues related to the Iranian Revolution and Western foreign policy toward Iran. His love for his country vividly come through in his final memoirs, and it is clear that at the end of his life, he realized some of the mistakes he had made. However, the Shah places some of the blame for the wrongdoings of SAVAK and the failures of various democratic and social reforms (particularly through the White Revolution) upon Amir Abbas Hoveyda and his administration.

Marriages and children

Mohammad Reza Pahlavi was married three times.

Fawzia of Egypt

His first wife was Princess Fawzia of Egypt (born November 5, 1921), a daughter of King Fuad I of Egypt and Nazli Sabri; she also was a sister of King Farouk I of Egypt. They married in 1939 and were divorced in 1945 (Egyptian divorce) and 1948 (Iranian divorce). They had one daughter, Princess 'Shahnaz Pahlavi' (born October 27, 1940).

Soraya Esfandiary

His second wife was Soraya Esfandiary (June 22, 1932-October 26, 2001), the only daughter of Khalil Esfandiary, Ambassador of Iran to the Federal Republic of Germany, and his wife, the former Eva Karl. They married in 1951 and divorced in 1958 when it became apparent that she could not bear children. Soraya later told The New York Times that the Shah had no choice but to divorce her, and that he was heavyhearted about the decision.^[23]
After his second divorce, the Shah, who told a reporter who asked about his feelings for the former queen that "nobody can carry a torch longer than me," indicated his interest in marrying Princess Maria Gabriella of Savoy, a daughter of the deposed Italian king Umberto II. Pope John XXIII reportedly vetoed the suggestion. In an editorial about the rumors surrounding the marriage of "a Muslim sovereign and a Catholic princess", the Vatican newspaper, L'Osservatore Romano, considered the match "a grave danger,"^[24] especially considering that under the 1917 Code of Canon Law a Catholic who attempted to contract a marriage with a divorced person could incur the penalty of excommunication.

Farah Diba

Pahlavi eventually found his third and final wife, Farah Diba (born October 14, 1938), the only child of Sohrab Diba, Captain in the Imperial Iranian Army, and his wife, the former Faredeh Ghotbi. They were married in 1959, and Queen Farah was crowned Shahbanu, or Empress, a title created especially for her in 1967. Previous royal consorts had been known as "Malakeh" (Arabic: Malika), or Queen. The couple remained together for twenty years, until the Shah's death. Farah Diba bore him four children:
# 'Reza Pahlavi', the Crown Prince (born October 31, 1960)
# 'Farahnaz Pahlavi' (born March 12, 1963)
# 'Ali Reza Pahlavi' (born April 28, 1966)
# 'Leila Pahlavi' (March 27, 1970 – June 10, 2001)

Quotes

On the revolution

★ ''The role of the U.S.:'' I did not know it then – perhaps I did not want to know – but it is clear to me now that the Americans wanted me out. Clearly this is what the human rights advocates in the State Department wanted … What was I to make of the Administration's sudden decision to call former Under Secretary of State George Ball to the White House as an adviser on Iran? … Ball was among those Americans who wanted to abandon me and ultimately my country.^[25]

★ ''Promise to the nation:'' You, the people of Iran, rose against injustice and corruption… I too, have heard the voice of your revolution. As the Shah of Iran, and as an Iranian, I will support the revolution of my people. I promise that the previous mistakes, unlawful acts and injustice will not be repeated.^[26]^[27]

On the role of women

★ Women are important in a man’s life only if they’re beautiful and charming and keep their femininity and ... this business of feminism, for instance. What do these feminists want? What do you want? You say equality. Oh! I don’t want to seem rude, but.. you’re equal in the eyes of the law but not, excuse my saying so, in ability ... You've never produced a Michelangelo or a Bach. You've never even produced a great chef. And if you talk to me about opportunity, all I can say is, Are you joking? Have you ever lacked the opportunity to give history a great chef? You've produced nothing great, nothing! … You're schemers, you are evil. All of you.^[28]^[29]
- When later he was asked in an interview by Barbara Walters if he had said this, he answered "Not with the same words, no." ^[30]

★ ... women- who after all make up half the population- should be treated as equals...^[31]

★ I have never believed that women were diabolical creatures if they showed their faces or arms, or went swimming, or skied or played basketball. If some women wish to live veiled, then it is their choice, but why deprive half of our youth of the healthy pleasure of sports?^[31]

References

1. Pierre Renouvin, ''World War II and Its Origins: International Relations, 1929-1945''. page 329
2. Kermit Roosevelt, Counter coup, New York, 1979
3. Secrets of History: The C.I.A. in Iran James Risen
4. Robert Graham, Iran: The Illusion of Power, p. 66
5. New York Times, July 23, 1953, 1:5
6. New York Times, August 19, 1951, 1:4,5
7. R.W Cottam, Nationalism in Iran
8. http://www.geocities.com/ali_vazirsafavi/IranLing.htm
9. http://persepolis.free.fr/iran/personalities/shah.html
10. http://www.iranchamber.com/history/mohammad_rezashah/mohammad_rezashah.php
11. Stephen Kinzer, ''All The Shah's Men: An American Coup and the Roots of Middle East Terror'', John Wiley & Sons, 2003, ISBN 0-471-26517-9
12. Devil's Game: How the United States Helped Unleash Fundamentalist Islam, , Robert, Dreyfuss, Owl Books, 2006,
13. http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0022-3816(197002)32%3A1%3C19%3AMARFAT%3E2.0.CO%3B2-Q
14. Inside the KGB: My Life in Soviet Espionage, , Vladimir, Kuzichkin, Ballantine Books, 1990,
15. Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, Mission for my Country, London, 1961, page 173
16. Fred Halliday, Iran; Dictatorship and Development, Penguin, ISBN 0-14-02.2010-0)
17. The New York Times, October 12, 1971, 39:2
18. (R.W Cottam, Nationalism in Iran P.329)
19. Michael Ledeen & William Lewis, Debacle: The American Failure in Iran, Knopf, p. 22)
20. Nobody Influences Me, Time, Monday, Dec.10, 1979
21. Nobody Influences Me, ([4]), TIME Monday, Dec.10, 1979
22. Nobody Influences Me, TIME, Monday, Dec.10, 1979
23. Soraya Arrives for U.S. Holiday
24. Paul Hofmann, ''Pope Bans Marriage of Princess to Shah'', The New York Times, 24 February 1959, p. 1.
25. What Really Happed to the Shah of Iran - [5]
26. Iranian State Radio, 5 Nov. 1978 - Partial transcript (in Persian)
27. Audio of Mohammad Reza Shah's televized speech, November 6, 1978
28. Oriana Fallaci, Interview with History. New York; Liveright Publishing, 1976. pp. 270-272.
29. Excerpt available in the introduction to an interview with Grand Ayatollah Montazeri by Golbarg Bashi
30. Barbara Walters interview, cited in Elaine Sciolino, The Last Empress, May 2, 2004
31. Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, ''Answer to History'', Stein & Day Pub, 1980, ISBN 0-8128-2755-4.
32. Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, ''Answer to History'', Stein & Day Pub, 1980, ISBN 0-8128-2755-4.

External links

★ A web site in Persian dedicated to Reza Shah including video clip and photos March 2007).

★ A web site in Persian dedicated to Ardeshir Zahedi including video clip of marriage with Princess Shahnaz and photos of Shah Mrach 2007).

★ The Shah's last interview (conducted by David Frost in Panama).

★ Interview with Mike Wallace - YouTube Video

★ Azadi TV: The Shah

★ The Shah's last interview (conducted by David Frost in Panama).

★ The Iranian constitution of 1906 (Persian).

★ ISNA interview with Dr. Mahmood Kashani (Persian)

★ Mossadegh saved the Shah, by Fereydoun Hoveyda

★ The CIA and Iran, Ardeshir Zahedi, May 22, 2000.

★ James Risen: Secrets of History: The C.I.A. in Iran -- A special report.; How a Plot Convulsed Iran in '53 (and in '79). ''The New York Times'', April 16, 2000.

★ Stephen Fleischman. Shah knew what he was talking about: Oil is too valuable to burn, ''CommonDreams'', November 29, 2005.

★ Roger Scruton. [6] In Memory of Iran by Roger Scruton, from 'Untimely tracts' (NY: St. Martin's Press, 1987), pp. 190-1

★ Brzezinski's role in overthrow of the Shah, Payvand News, March 10, 2006.

★ 'Free elections in 1979, my last audience with the Shah', by Fereydoun Hoveyda

★ Shah of Iran and US Presidents

★ Toasts of the President and Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, Shah of Iran, at a State Dinner in Tehran: May 30, 1972

★ A large amount of relevant historical pictures

★ A History Channel video, presented in the context of comments made during a recent debate

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