Teymur Bakhtiar
Encyclopedia
Teymur Bakhtiar (1914 – August 12, 1970) was an Iran
ian general and the founder and head of SAVAK
from 1958 to 1961, when he was dismissed by the Shah
. In 1970, SAVAK agents assassinated him in Iraq
.
(many Iranians were Francophiles at the time: e. g. Amir Abbas Hoveyda and General Hassan Pakravan
) from 1928 to 1933, whereupon he was accepted to the renowned Saint-Cyr
military academy. When he returned to Iran, he was made a first lieutenant and dispatched to Zahedan
. Bakhtiar's first wife was Iran Khanom, the daughter of the powerful Bakhtiari chieftain Sardar-e Zafar. At this time, the Bakhtiaris were extremely influential; Muhammad Reza Shah's second wife, Soraya Esfandiary Bakhtiari, and the Shah's last prime minister, Shapour Bakhtiar
, were both related to Teymour Bakhtiar.
, he was promoted to military governor of Tehran
. One of his first major successes was the capture and trial of Mossadeq's Minister of Foreign Affairs, Hossein Fatemi
, who had actively fought the military government that succeeded Mossadegh's period in office.
Bakhtiar waged an extensive campaign against the communist Tudeh party; he arrested and had 24 Tudeh leaders summarily tried and executed, including Khalil Tahmasebi
, the assassin of former Prime Minister Ali Razmara. For these accomplishments, he was appointed modern Iran's youngest three-star general in 1954. Bakhtiar was made head of the newly formed intelligence and security service SAVAK
in February 1958. He ruthlessly crushed any opposition to the regime, including communists, Islamic fundamentalists, and any other anti-monarchists.
as prime minister in 1961, the Shah began to distrust Bakhtiar. Amini warned the Shah of Bakhtiar's contacts with John F. Kennedy
, and Bakhtiar was dismissed in 1961. Ironically, Amini himself was a Kennedy supporter and was dismissed in 1963 partly because of the Shah's growing distrust of Kennedy. Initially from his self chosen exile
in Geneva
, Bakhtiar retaliated by establishing contacts with Iranian dissidents in Europe, Iraq
, and Lebanon
, using the contacts he had built during his time at SAVAK. He met not only Ayatollah Khomeini but also Reza Radmanesh, the General Secretary of the Tudeh party, and Mahmud Panahian, the "War Minister" of autonomy-seeking state Azerbaijan People's Government
, that had emerged briefly after the Soviet forces withdrew from Iran, following World War II. The Shah issued a warrant for Bakhtiar's arrest, but the general sought refuge in Iraq. On August 12, 1970, during a hunting party, he was shot and killed by an Iranian Savak agent, feigning to be a sympathizer. As a cover for the plot, the assassin and a colleague had hijacked an Iranian passenger plane, forcing it to land in Baghdad. Disguised as dissidents of the Iranian government, the two assassins duped the Iraqi regime and gained access to Teymur Bakhtiar and his entourage. The truth behind these circumstances emerged only years later. Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi himself has been quoted as claiming the assassination a personal success. In an Interview with the acclaimed French author and biographer, Gerard de Villiers, the Shah publicly made a statement to this effect.
After being expelled from the ranks of Tudeh party, Gen., Dr. Mahmoud Panahian, in May 1970, came to Baghdad Iraq, by the invitation of former Iraqi government officials. Upon arrival in Baghdad, Dr. Mahmoud Panahian had very fruitful discussions with a number of Iranian dissidents, as well as Iranian opposition leaders, namely Major, Dr. Morad Aziz Razmavar, as well as Gen. Teymur Bakhtiar. Within the next few months, Mahmoud Panahian started recruiting people, organizing anti-Shah radio broadcasts and publishing his lifetime work started in Baku, Azerbaijan: “The Geographical Dictionary of Iranian Nationalities”.
Shortly before Gen. Bakhtiar’s assassination, Mahmoud Panahian, received a personal invitation from Gen. Bakhtiar to attend the same hunting party, but respectfully declined. Gen. Bahktiar’s would be assassin was a trusted person, living on the premises of Bakhtiar mansion in Baghdad and could have had the General assassinated at a much earlier time. However, the chances for escape were slim, as Teymur Bakhtiar was a VIP guest of the Iraqi government and was both watched and protected by Iraqi bodyguards.
General Bakhtiar’s murder was investigated on the highest level. There was only one assassin. Once out hunting in the field, the assassin fired a shot at the General from a pistol hitting him in the shoulder, thus making Gen. Bakhtiar drop his rifle. Immediately, Gen. Bakhtiar’s Iraqi bodyguard attempted to shoot the assassin with an AK-47, but was shot in the forehead first. The general reached for his revolver with his left hand but was shot 5 times in the torso and left hand by the assassin. Gen. Bakhtiar was brought to a hospital, underwent surgery, but died shortly from massive internal bleeding.
The assassin quickly left the scene, heading towards the Iranian border. He passed out just several kilometers before reaching the border crossing, due to the heat. He was captured by Iraqi border patrol and brought to Baghdad alive. The fate of this person remains unknown. It is also not known where he obtained his small arms training as well as the pistol used.
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
ian general and the founder and head of SAVAK
SAVAK
SAVAK was the secret police, domestic security and intelligence service established by Iran's Mohammad Reza Shah on the recommendation of the British Government and with the help of the United States' Central Intelligence Agency SAVAK (Persian: ساواک, short for سازمان اطلاعات و امنیت کشور...
from 1958 to 1961, when he was dismissed by the Shah
Mohammad Reza Pahlavi
Mohammad Rezā Shāh Pahlavi, Shah of Iran, Shah of Persia , ruled Iran from 16 September 1941 until his overthrow by the Iranian Revolution on 11 February 1979...
. In 1970, SAVAK agents assassinated him in Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
.
Early life
Bakhtiar was born in 1914 to Sardar Moazzam Bakhtiari, a chieftain of the eminent Bakhtiari tribe. He studied at a French school in BeirutBeirut
Beirut is the capital and largest city of Lebanon, with a population ranging from 1 million to more than 2 million . Located on a peninsula at the midpoint of Lebanon's Mediterranean coastline, it serves as the country's largest and main seaport, and also forms the Beirut Metropolitan...
(many Iranians were Francophiles at the time: e. g. Amir Abbas Hoveyda and General Hassan Pakravan
Hassan Pakravan
Hassan Pakravan was a well known diplomat and minister in the Pahlavi pre-revolutionary government of Iran...
) from 1928 to 1933, whereupon he was accepted to the renowned Saint-Cyr
École Spéciale Militaire de Saint-Cyr
The École Spéciale Militaire de Saint-Cyr is the foremost French military academy. Its official name is . It is often referred to as Saint-Cyr . Its motto is "Ils s'instruisent pour vaincre": literally "They study to vanquish" or "Training for victory"...
military academy. When he returned to Iran, he was made a first lieutenant and dispatched to Zahedan
Zahedan
Zahedan is a city in and the capital of Sistan and Baluchestan Province, Iran. At the 2006 census, its population was 552,706, in 109,488 families.-Geography:...
. Bakhtiar's first wife was Iran Khanom, the daughter of the powerful Bakhtiari chieftain Sardar-e Zafar. At this time, the Bakhtiaris were extremely influential; Muhammad Reza Shah's second wife, Soraya Esfandiary Bakhtiari, and the Shah's last prime minister, Shapour Bakhtiar
Shapour Bakhtiar
Shapour Bakhtiar was an Iranian political scientist, writer and the last Prime Minister of Iran under Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi...
, were both related to Teymour Bakhtiar.
Rise to power
Bakhtiar rose rapidly in Iran's military after the fall of Prime Minister Mohammad Mossadeq in 1953. A close associate of Prime Minister Fazlollah ZahediFazlollah Zahedi
Mohammad Fazlollah Zahedi was an Iranian general and statesman who replaced democratically elected Iranian Prime Minister Mohammed Mossadeq through a western-backed coup d'état, in which he played a major role.-Early years:Born in Hamedan in 1897, Fazlollah Zahedi was the son of Abol Hassan...
, he was promoted to military governor of Tehran
Tehran
Tehran , sometimes spelled Teheran, is the capital of Iran and Tehran Province. With an estimated population of 8,429,807; it is also Iran's largest urban area and city, one of the largest cities in Western Asia, and is the world's 19th largest city.In the 20th century, Tehran was subject to...
. One of his first major successes was the capture and trial of Mossadeq's Minister of Foreign Affairs, Hossein Fatemi
Hossein Fatemi
Hossein Fatemi was a scholar, journalist, and famous politician of Iran. A close associate of Prime Minister Mohammad Mosaddegh, he proposed nationalization of Iranian oil and gas assets. Initially a journalist, he served as Foreign Affairs Minister of Iran from 1951 to 1953...
, who had actively fought the military government that succeeded Mossadegh's period in office.
Bakhtiar waged an extensive campaign against the communist Tudeh party; he arrested and had 24 Tudeh leaders summarily tried and executed, including Khalil Tahmasebi
Khalil Tahmasebi
Khalil Tahmasebi was the 26 year-old carpenter and member of the fanatical Islamic organization, Fadayan-e Islam who assassinated Iranian Prime Minister Ali Razmara on March 7, 1951.-References:...
, the assassin of former Prime Minister Ali Razmara. For these accomplishments, he was appointed modern Iran's youngest three-star general in 1954. Bakhtiar was made head of the newly formed intelligence and security service SAVAK
SAVAK
SAVAK was the secret police, domestic security and intelligence service established by Iran's Mohammad Reza Shah on the recommendation of the British Government and with the help of the United States' Central Intelligence Agency SAVAK (Persian: ساواک, short for سازمان اطلاعات و امنیت کشور...
in February 1958. He ruthlessly crushed any opposition to the regime, including communists, Islamic fundamentalists, and any other anti-monarchists.
Fall
With the appointment of Dr. Ali AminiAli Amini
Ali Amini was an Iranian politician and writer who was the Prime Minister of Iran from May 6, 1961 to July 19, 1962.-Early life:...
as prime minister in 1961, the Shah began to distrust Bakhtiar. Amini warned the Shah of Bakhtiar's contacts with John F. Kennedy
John F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....
, and Bakhtiar was dismissed in 1961. Ironically, Amini himself was a Kennedy supporter and was dismissed in 1963 partly because of the Shah's growing distrust of Kennedy. Initially from his self chosen exile
Exile
Exile means to be away from one's home , while either being explicitly refused permission to return and/or being threatened with imprisonment or death upon return...
in Geneva
Geneva
Geneva In the national languages of Switzerland the city is known as Genf , Ginevra and Genevra is the second-most-populous city in Switzerland and is the most populous city of Romandie, the French-speaking part of Switzerland...
, Bakhtiar retaliated by establishing contacts with Iranian dissidents in Europe, Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
, and Lebanon
Lebanon
Lebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...
, using the contacts he had built during his time at SAVAK. He met not only Ayatollah Khomeini but also Reza Radmanesh, the General Secretary of the Tudeh party, and Mahmud Panahian, the "War Minister" of autonomy-seeking state Azerbaijan People's Government
Azerbaijan People's Government
The Azerbaijan People's Government was a short-lived, Soviet-backed client state in northern Iran. Established in Iranian Azerbaijan, the APG's capital was the city of Tabriz...
, that had emerged briefly after the Soviet forces withdrew from Iran, following World War II. The Shah issued a warrant for Bakhtiar's arrest, but the general sought refuge in Iraq. On August 12, 1970, during a hunting party, he was shot and killed by an Iranian Savak agent, feigning to be a sympathizer. As a cover for the plot, the assassin and a colleague had hijacked an Iranian passenger plane, forcing it to land in Baghdad. Disguised as dissidents of the Iranian government, the two assassins duped the Iraqi regime and gained access to Teymur Bakhtiar and his entourage. The truth behind these circumstances emerged only years later. Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi himself has been quoted as claiming the assassination a personal success. In an Interview with the acclaimed French author and biographer, Gerard de Villiers, the Shah publicly made a statement to this effect.
After being expelled from the ranks of Tudeh party, Gen., Dr. Mahmoud Panahian, in May 1970, came to Baghdad Iraq, by the invitation of former Iraqi government officials. Upon arrival in Baghdad, Dr. Mahmoud Panahian had very fruitful discussions with a number of Iranian dissidents, as well as Iranian opposition leaders, namely Major, Dr. Morad Aziz Razmavar, as well as Gen. Teymur Bakhtiar. Within the next few months, Mahmoud Panahian started recruiting people, organizing anti-Shah radio broadcasts and publishing his lifetime work started in Baku, Azerbaijan: “The Geographical Dictionary of Iranian Nationalities”.
Shortly before Gen. Bakhtiar’s assassination, Mahmoud Panahian, received a personal invitation from Gen. Bakhtiar to attend the same hunting party, but respectfully declined. Gen. Bahktiar’s would be assassin was a trusted person, living on the premises of Bakhtiar mansion in Baghdad and could have had the General assassinated at a much earlier time. However, the chances for escape were slim, as Teymur Bakhtiar was a VIP guest of the Iraqi government and was both watched and protected by Iraqi bodyguards.
General Bakhtiar’s murder was investigated on the highest level. There was only one assassin. Once out hunting in the field, the assassin fired a shot at the General from a pistol hitting him in the shoulder, thus making Gen. Bakhtiar drop his rifle. Immediately, Gen. Bakhtiar’s Iraqi bodyguard attempted to shoot the assassin with an AK-47, but was shot in the forehead first. The general reached for his revolver with his left hand but was shot 5 times in the torso and left hand by the assassin. Gen. Bakhtiar was brought to a hospital, underwent surgery, but died shortly from massive internal bleeding.
The assassin quickly left the scene, heading towards the Iranian border. He passed out just several kilometers before reaching the border crossing, due to the heat. He was captured by Iraqi border patrol and brought to Baghdad alive. The fate of this person remains unknown. It is also not known where he obtained his small arms training as well as the pistol used.