Government-sponsored
protesters lampoon President Barack Obama,
at an annual demonstration held to commemorate the storming of
the
U.S. Embassy in Tehran. Nov. 4 was the 30th anniversary of
the event.
Islamic
Republic of Iran Broadcasting, Islamic Republic of Iran
Why was the U.S. Embassy in Tehran Captured in 1978?
Is there
any justification for the storming of the U.S. Embassy in Iran and the taking
of 53 American hostages by militant Iranian students in 1978? According this editorial
from Iran's state-run Islamic
Republic of Iran Broadcasting, the act, which took place 30 years ago, was not only justified
- it was necessary to stop decades of foreign meddling in that country.
Followers of the late Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini storm the U.S. Embassy in Tehran, taking a majority of the embassy staff hostage. They were held 444 days, doing great damage to the presidency of Jimmy Carter. They were finally realeased on the day of the inauguration of President Ronald Reagan.
Five years before the victory
of the Islamic Revolution in Iran, the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency, launched a
coup in Chile to overthrow the government of Salvador Allende. The plot was implemented successfully.
Twenty seven years later, the
CIA released documents that revealed how the U.S. Embassy in Chile was behind
the plot and that the plan for the coup had been drawn up by American officials,
including Henry Kissinger, ZbigniewBrezezinski and the then-U.S.
ambassador to the country [Edward Korry].
In December 1979, disappointed
by the Pahlavi
regime [the Shah of Iran] - just five years after the Chile coup - the U.S.
government appointed Heiser and Gast
to launch a similar coup in Iran. [Editor's Note: The identities of Heiser or Gast could not be confirmed].
U.S. embassies that were behind the overthrow of legal governments in Santiago,
Athens, Prague and Tehran planned to topple the newly-established Islamic
Republic of Iran.
According to the documents
released by the CIA, U.S. Embassy staff in Tehran violated international
protocol by seeking to establish connections with opponents of the Islamic
Republic. These measures prompted Iranian students to capture this den of
espionage and bring an end to the plots being hatched there.
The late Imam Khomeini approved of
the move [see video, below] and stated that their decision to capture the U.S. Embassy
was correct, calling it a "second revolution."
Documents recovered from the
U.S. Embassy showed hidden relationships with several prominent Iranian figures
and their activities as spies.
The U.S. has a long history
of interfering in Iranian affairs. In November 4, 1964, Imam Khomeini (Peace Be
Upon Him) was sent into exile for protesting a bill by
the Shah's regime nicknamed the "capitulation bill," which granted U.S.
nationals in Iran immunity from any offense.
On January 26, 1963 under U.S.
orders, a series of measures were adopted by the Shah (within the framework of the
Kennedy era initiative called the Alliance for Progress),
which in many ways destroyed the economic basis of this country. Imam Khomeini
urged the nation to protest.
The national protest that
began under the leadership of Imam Khomeini (PBUH) alarmed the United States,
which realized that this movement would lead to bloody, long-term revolution
against the United States and its protégé, the regime of the Shah.
This prompted the U.S.
administration to revive the previously abandoned "capitulation bill"
and establish "consular judicial rights" in Iran, so that without hindrance,
U.S. personnel could protect the Shah's throne and American interests in this
part of the world. They were now immune from any legal prosecution.
Posted by WORLDMEETS.US
The approval of the capitulation
bill by the Iranian Senate and Parliament was never made public. The media, censored
by the government, refrained from divulging it.
A short time later, internal
parliamentary documents containing the full text of the speeches and
discussions on this matter by the Prime Minister members of Parliament reached
Imam Khomeini, disturbing and upsetting him. The news of the Imam's distress
gradually spread and people began traveling to Qum in order to hear the reasons
for his concern.
Opposition protesters near the site of the former U.S. Embassy
in
Tehran. It was a counter-demonstration to a regime-staged
event on the 30th anniversary of the taking of U.S. Embassy.
On October 26, 1964, the day
of the birthday of Hazrat Fatima [daughter of the Prophet Muhammad] and Imam
Khomeini himself arrived. A deluge of people descended on Qum from around the
country to hear the Imam's speech.
As he spoke his voice rose:
"Gentlemen, I warn you
of danger! Iranian Army, I warn you of danger! Iranian politicians, I warn you
of danger! Iranian merchants, I warn you of danger! Iran's Ulama
[the most educated Islamic Scholars], maraji [teachers]
of Islam, I warn you of danger! Scholars, religious students! Centers of
religious learning in Najaf, Qum, Mashhad, Tehran, Shiraz! I warn you of danger! …
"If our country is under
American occupation, then tell us ... All of our troubles today are caused by
this America. All of our troubles today are caused by this Israel. Israel is
itself derived from America."
At the end of his epic
speech, Imam Khomeini criticized the approval of the bill by representatives in
the two houses of Parliament.
Posted by WORLDMEETS.US
This passionate,
revolutionary discourse was, until that day, without precedent in the history
of the movement, and it shook not only the foundations of the Shah's despotic
rule but the White House in Washington.
In this speech, Imam Khomeini
made clear his categorical and uncompromising stance against both the eastern
and western blocks, and confirmed the "No East, No West" policy to which
he adhered until the end of his life.
He illustrated his position in
regard to imperialist governments in this way:
"America is worse than
Britain, Britain is no better than America and the Soviet Union is worse than
both. Each is worse than the other; each is more abominable than the other. But
today we are concerned with this malicious entity that is America. Let the
American president know that in the eyes of the Iranian nation, he is the most
repulsive member of the human race for all the injustice he has imposed on our
Muslim nation."
In addition to this historic
speech, Imam Khomeini issued a declaration that revealed more fully the [Pahlavi]
regime's ties to the U.S. and the latter's interference in the internal affairs
of Iran.
On the night of November 3,
1964, hundreds of commandos and armed paratroopers surrounded the Imam's house
in Qum, abducted him and transported him to Tehran. On November 4, the leader
of the movement was expelled from his own country for the "crime" of
defending the independence of his homeland and protesting U.S. interference.
Fourteen years later
(November 4, 1978), tens of thousands of high school and university students on
the grounds of Tehran University and the surrounding streets shook Tehran with cries
of "Death to the Shah," "Long Live Khomeini" and
"Death to America."
The U.S.-backed military
clamped down on the protests and many were martyred, but the revolution ran its
course to victory on February 11, 1979 (Bahman 22,
1357 AHS).
The revolution gave vent to
the anti-arrogance energy of the masses and provided the needed motivation for
the capture of a place that had long violated the rights of the Iranian nation
and trampled its interests.
November 4, the day that the Den
of Espionage was captured, has been designated on the Iranian calendar as a day
of combat against world arrogance.
Every year, thousands of
students and others gather near the site of the former embassy to protest the
hostile policies and historic interference of the United States with the
Islamic Republic.
