Revolution in Iran
Parviz Daneshvar First published in Great Britain 1996 by MACMILLAN PRESS LTD I dedicate this work to the memory of Houndmills. Basingstoke. Hampshire RG2 I 6XS all those Iranians who and London Companies and representatives gave their lives for throughout the world their country A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. ISBN 0-333-65965-1
First published in the United States of America 1996 by ST. MARTIN'S PRESS, INC., Scholarly and Reference Division. 175 Fifth Avenue. New York. N.Y. 10010 ISBN 0-312-16270-7 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Daneshvar, Parviz, 1946- Revolution in Iran I Parviz Daneshvar. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references (p. ) and index. ISBN 0-312-16270-7 (cloth) I. Iran-Politics and govemment-1979- 2. Iran-Politics and govemment-1941-79. I. Title. DS3 J 8.825.D36 1996 955.05-dc20 %--8633 CIP © Parviz Daneshvar 1996 All rights reserved. No reproduction. copy or transmission of this publication may be made without written permission. No paragraph of this publication may be reproduced, copied or transmitted save with written permission or in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, or und!!r the terms of any licence permitting limited copying issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency, 90 Tottenham Court Road. London WI P 9HE. Any person who does any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil cl aims for damages. 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 I 05 04 03 02 01 00 99 98 97 96 Printed and bound in Great Britain by Antony Rowe Ltd, Chippenham. Wiltshire 70 Revolution in Iran Dictatorship and Pseudo-Modernism 71
3) That merit rather than connections be recognized as the basis for he owed his prominence to his affiliation to Bahaism and informal promotion and responsibility. (JJ.S.E Documents, Vol. 7, Document contacts, rather than purely to his abilities and experience. However, No. 76-10017, p. 73) while this may be true in part, it was mainly his close friendship with Hassan Ali Mansur and his membership of the same dowreh as Mansur Empress Farah's recommendations not only showed the extent of the which contributed to his success. problem facing the Shah in 1976 but that those recommendations must The word dowreh is widely used in Iran to describe an informal but have been ignored. The date of the CIA reports is also significant, for regular gathering of people who have a common purpose or interest at the time the Shah was still very much in charge. The group's common factor may be anything - political, religious, pro- fessional, family or simply poker or bridge playing. What is significant about the dowreh is that its members may come from different social INDIVIDUALS AND INSTITUTIONS backgrounds. The dowreh is a normal means of exchanging ideas and information in a society which is addicted to gossip because of lack of It is often said that Iran is a 1000-family country. If the 1000 refers to public information and free media Some prominent dowrehs were the number of elite families, it is a great exaggeration. Below the Shah known to be affiliated to foreign governments, and several dowrehs and his family, there were only 'a relatively small group of elite families were associated with Freemasonry. Some very prominent and influen- which wielded power and influence not only in politics but also in tial politicians were known to be Freemasons and members of dowrehs-, business, commerce and the professions' (US.E Documents, Vol. 7, these included Hossein Ala, Manouchehr Eqbal and Dr Jafar Sharif-. Documents No. 76-10017, p. 20). They held key positions within the gov- Emami. It was also significant that when Eqbal was prime minister in ernment, political appointments and private pursuits. They moved 1958, eleven members of his cabinet belonged to a dowreh associated from one to the other and indeed kept their monopoly of important with Freemasonry, the Hafez Club (US.E Documents, Vol. 20, Docu- posts. Bill has estimated that the top national elite families numbered ment No. A-351, pp. 16-17). no more than 40, with an additional 15~0 provincial families whose Hoveyda had become a member of the dowreh that Mansur had organ- influence was deep in a relatively limited area (Bill, quoted in US. E ized in 1959. That dowreh had been formed from a 'youngish group of mid- Documents, Vol. 1, Document No. 76-10017, p. 21). dle-level bureaucrats interested in the problems of the Iranian One of the key players in the Shah's political system was his longest development' (U S.E. Documents,Vol. 1, pp. 11-20). Within two years, it be- serving prime minister, Amir Abbas Hoveyda. Hoveyda was appointed came a progressive club and had received the Shah's approval; by 1964 it to the post after the assassination of Hassan Ali Mansur in 1965. He had developed into the Iran-e Novin Party, which was later headed by Ho- survived his 13 years of tenure not only because of his complete subser- veyda who succeeded Mansur in 1965. The dowreh system shows the im- vience and obedience to the Shah, but because of his ability 'to man- portance of such institutions in the formation of the political elite and the oeuvre among conflicting personal ambitions of other officials who Iranian political system. One dowreh was the 'French-doctorate group', were in at least covert competition for his job; to avoid any serious er- which met weekly for 25 years. In a 'three-year period its eleven members rors in interpreting and carrying out the Shah's wishes; and, perhaps included a prime minister, three cabinet ministers, three ambassadors, more important; the ability to play second fiddle to the Shah' (JJ.S.E the director of the NIOC and the president of the Teheran Chamber of Documents, Vol. 7, Document No. 76-10017, p. 11). Commerce' (U S.E Documents,Vol. 1, Document No. 76-10017, p. 20). Hoveyda came from humble origins. His father, having served as a The Iran-e Novin Party (INP) remained the largest party in the secretary to a Bahai leader, entered the diplomatic service. Hoveyda's country. Ostensibly, the Mardom Party was in opposition to the INP, affiliation to Bahaism, a religious sect regarded by the ulama as hereti- but neither the Shah nor the prime minister tolerated the criticism of cal, was something that was not openly publicized However, his reli- its party chief, Nasser Ameri. gious background did much damage to the Shah's standing amongst A Despite its lack of influence over foreign policy, the INP wielded the ulama. Hoveyda's rise to power illustrated a rare case of upward '1f power throughout the country through its network of influential mem- mobility in the Iranian system. It was widely believed at the time that bers in high places. According to the US embassy in Teheran,