Iranian-American scholar Ray Takeyh says new evidence indicates Ayatollah Kho-meini knew all about student plans to seize the American embassy in November 1979 and gave his full approval in advance.
The generally accepted history until now has held that many of the students thought Khomeini approved their plans but that he had actually not been told in advance and only agreed to approve the takeover after it was an accomplished fact.
Writing in the February 2 issue of “The Weekly Standard,” Takeyh said: “Evidence has come to light to suggest that this was a fiction of political convenience. The truth is that Khomeini was informed beforehand about the attack on the US embassy, and hoped that it would solidify Iran’s antagonism toward the United States.”
Takeyh is a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations and was born in Iran.
He wrote:
“It is often suggested that the revolutionaries meant to undermine the provisional government led by moderate Prime Minister Mehdi Bazargan, and thus needed to provoke a crisis. The evidence to support this claim is not inconsiderable as many of the students have asserted that, although they had hoped that Khomeini would approve of their action, he did not provide them with an explicit green light. In recent years, however, evidence has gradually come forth to make a cogent case that Khomeini did approve the plot in advance.
“In his published memoirs, the late Ayatollah Mohammad-Reza Mahdavi-Kani, a member of the Revolutionary Council and the head of the Revolutionary Committees, offers an intriguing insight into the events surrounding the hostage crisis.
“Soon after the occupation of the embassy, in his role as the head of the Revolutionary Committees, which were largely responsible for internal security, he contacted Khomeini’s son, Ahmad, who acted as his father’s chief of staff and intermediary between Khomeini and his advisers, to inquire about the developments surrounding the embassy,” Takeyh wrote.
He then quoted Mahdavi-Kani as writing: “The night of the embassy’s occupation I contacted Ahmad and asked him what is happening? Initially, he just laughed and would not answer. I asked him: did you know about this? He laughed. Finally, after I insisted, he said the Imam [Khomeini] is satisfied with this and you should not get involved.
Takeyh concluded: “Mahdavi-Kani’s pointed questions to Ahmad about his knowledge of the events only elicited bemused laughter, suggesting a prior understanding.”
Citing other evidence, Takeyh writes: “And then there is the students’ spiritual leader, Ayatollah Mohammad Musavi-Khoiniha. The ayatollah was Khomeini’s former student and disciple, and was also known to be in close touch with Ahmad Khomeini. His pivotal role in securing Ayatollah Khomeini’s consent is asserted by Habibollah Bitaraf, a former hostage taker who went on to serve as minister of energy.”
Takeyh quotes Bitaraf as saying last year: “For us, particularly the students of the University of Tehran, Imam’s opinion on this issue was important and many of our friends said that if Imam is against this we will not participate in this affair. The opinion of the students was transmitted to Musavi-Khoiniha who agreed to take the issue to Imam. If Imam was against it, his views would be given to us immediately or in two days. Two days passed, Khomeini did not respond but he issued a statement encouraging attack on America. We, the students, accepted this statement as a positive response.”
Takeyh notes that shortly before the attack on the embassy, Khomeini’s office did issue a statement saying, “It is incumbent upon students in the secondary schools and universities and the theology schools to expand their attack against America and Israel. Thus America will be forced to return the criminal, deposed Shah.”
Takeyh says, “This must have been the signal that the students were waiting for. Indeed, shortly after the embassy takeover, Ahmad arrived at the compound and acknowledged the students’ contribution to the cause of the revolution.
“Last month,” Takeyh continues, “another hostage-taker, Mohammad Hashemi-Esfehani, stepped forth with his own confession of Khomeini’s complicity. In an interview, he claimed that ‘prior to attacking the US embassy, Ahmad Khomeini, the son of Ruhollah Khomeini, was involved in our operations and he also informed Imam Khomeini.’ As with many of his collaborators, Hashemi-Esfehani seems proud of the role he played in ensuring the vitality of the revolution.”