MER Article "The Only Serious Obstacle Is Khomeini Himself" I conducted this interview with Manuchehr Hezarkani after his departure from Iran in October 1981. He is a medical doctor trained in France, and has been among the founders of three important Iranian political forces: the Confederation of Iranian Students, which led the opposition in Europe to the S (Author not identified) • 4 min read
MER Article "We Are Living Between Two Tides" Shokrallah Paknejad, one of the most prominent and far-sighted of modern Iranian socialists, was executed in Evin prison, Tehran, during December 1981. Although his death was not officially announced, his family was given a number for his grave in the cemetery of Behesht-e Zahra, and the prison auth (Author not identified) • 6 min read
MER Article "All the People Who Are Opposed to Our Solution Must Die" Sadeq Khalkhali is the representative from Qom in the Majles. Although not himself a leading element in the Islamic Republican Party, he has a small following among the extreme right-wing clergy. He wielded considerable influence within the regime, particularly in its formative period, and consisten (Author not identified) • 3 min read
MER Article "We Started to Feel Cold Sweat on Our Brows" Ali Reza Nobari studied mathematics in France and was finishing a Ph.D. in operations research at Stanford University in California when the Iranian revolution occurred. He helped to fund the newspaper Enqelab-e Islami and served as governor of Iran's Central Bank during Bani-Sadr’s presidency. Eric (Author not identified) • 12 min read
MER Article "The Americans Played a Disgusting Role" Shahpour Bakhtiar served as prime minister in the last weeks of the Shah’s regime. Since escaping from Iran after February 1979 he has been living in exile. Fred Halliday spoke with him in Paris in August 1981. Mr. Bakhtiar, what is your estimation of the current strength of the Iranian regime? (Author not identified) • 12 min read
MER Article "We Are the Only Real Threat to Khomeini" Masoud Rajavi was the only one of the original leadership of the Mojahedin-e Khalq to escape execution by the Shah. Imprisoned from 1971 until December 1978, he emerged to reorganize the Mojahedin. He ran for president in the election of January 1980 but Khomeini declared him ineligible. He escaped (Author not identified) • 11 min read
MER Article "I Defeated the Ideology of the Regime" Abol-Hassan Bani-Sadr was elected president of the Islamic Republic of Iran in January 1980, but was subsequently impeached in June 1981. Fred Halliday interviewed him in France in August 1981, several weeks after he escaped from Iran. He has formed a government in exile, and is part of the Council (Author not identified) • 10 min read
MER Article Government's Nabavi on Inflation and Labor Unrest Edited text of Tehran Radio interview with Behzad Nabavi, minister of state for executive affairs and chief government spokesman, February 23, 1981: What practical steps has the government taken to combat inflation? What you mean in fact is the high cost of living. Incidentally, we have been follo (Author not identified) • 3 min read
MER Article Khomeini Workers' Day Message Text of message by Ayatollah Khomeini on the occasion of Workers’ Day, May 1, 1981, as read by announcer on Tehran Radio: In the name of God, the compassionate, the merciful. Blessed be Workers Day for the ranks of the valuable workers, for the nation in general and for the oppressed the world over (Author not identified) • 2 min read
MER Article Mojahed: "At the Beginning of the Third Year" Edited text of lead article in Mojahed (February 12, 1981), the organ of the Mojahedin-e Khalq: Having celebrated the second anniversary of the revolution, we are at the brink of the third year. The anniversary of the revolution and the days of Bahman remind us of...the days of great victories and (Author not identified) • 4 min read
MER Article "Tudeh's Policy Is a Betrayal of the Working Class" Fereidun Keshavarz was elected to the Tudeh politburo at the Party’s first congress in 1942. He was elected to the Iranian parliament in 1944 and in 1946 served as minister of in the short-lived government of Prime Minister Qavam. In 1958 he resigned from the Tudeh politburo and central committee. H (Author not identified) • 7 min read
MER Article "The Clergy Have Confiscated the Revolution" Abdulrahman Qassemlu is secretary-general of the Kurdish Democratic Party (KDP) in Iran. He is the author of Kurdistan and the Kurds (7965) and Problems of Economic Growth in the Developing Countries (1969). From 1960 to 1975 he taught at the Ecole Superieure d’Economie in Prague. He met with Fred H (Author not identified) • 9 min read
