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ANNOUNCER:
This program contains content

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which may not be suitable
for all audiences.

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Viewer discretion is advised.

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♪ ♪

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♪ ♪

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(passing traffic whooshes)

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(distant, muffled chanting
in Farsi)

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BARRY ROSEN:
The morning of November 4,

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I'm in my office.

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(crowd chanting)

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It started to rain a little bit.

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(chanting continues)

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We heard the crowds
in front of the embassy.

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I looked up and saw someone
climbing over the gate.

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Some young woman cut the chain

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and several hundred protesters,

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some with weapons,

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started moving
all over the embassy.

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Before I knew it,

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15 to 20 people are pounding
on my door.

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Just barged through.

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And there I am

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facing these people.

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And I said, "Who are you?"

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He says, "I'm a part of

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"the Students Following the Line
of the Imam.

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"You're in the nest of spies.

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"You are part
of U.S. imperialism,

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"and you're the corruptors
of the Earth.

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You are our prisoner."

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REPORTER:
The hostages are apparently
in the main building.

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The embassy is occupied by about
400 students

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and Islamic Revolutionary
Guards.

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ED BRADLEY:
Good evening--
in Tehran tonight,

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the American embassy
is in the hands

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of several hundred Iranian
students who took control

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after a three-hour skirmish
with U.S. Marines.

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They are holding hostages

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and are demanding that the
exiled shah of Iran,

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now undergoing cancer treatment
at a New York hospital,

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be returned to stand trial.

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CROWD (chanting in Farsi):

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(crowd shouting)

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♪ ♪

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♪ ♪

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♪ ♪

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GARY SICK:
On November 4, when the hostages
were taken,

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I was at home in bed,

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and I got a call from
Brzezinski.

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He said they took our people at
the embassy.

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I got in my VW and drove over
to the State Department

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MAN (over phone):
The American Embassy...

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SICK:
We were getting reports directly
from inside the embassy.

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MAN (over phone):
Please open the door...

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They didn't accept.

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SICK:
So here we were

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with all of these open phones.

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MAN (over phone):
They get angry

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and shout to them,
"If you don't open the door,

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we will open it ourselves."

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After that,
a student has gone up,

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and arrest all of them, okay?

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And tied their hands.

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SICK:
And then one by one,
as the day went on,

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the phones were shut down.

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So we lost contact.

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SAM DONALDSON:
The action against the embassy
may or may not have been ordered

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by Iran's religious leader,
the Ayatollah Khomeini,

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which adds
to Washington's difficulty

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in trying to resolve
this dangerous situation.

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The State Department is doing
what it can.

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But for the moment, at least,
that doesn't appear to be much.

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SICK:
From my position in the White
House, I'm not a decision maker.

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But I'm watching everything

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and I'm relaying what I learn to
the president.

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So I have a straight line
to him.

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One of the things that was
discussed

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was possibly imposing
a blockade against

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Iranian ports or cutting off
their oil exports.

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But it was very likely that
it would bring the Soviets in.

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And it could, in fact,
lead to World War III.

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TED KOPPEL:
Washington is tremendously
concerned

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about Iran's oil supplies
and our need for them

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and, of course, concerned about
the safety of those Americans

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still at the embassy.

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REPORTER:
The demonstrators
burned the American flag,

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blindfolded and handcuffed at
least some

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of their American hostages,

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and paraded them in front
of the embassy building.

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(people chanting)

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BARRY ROSEN:
Here I had in my mind,

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"Okay, it's over,
we're out of here."

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They'll just put us on a plane,

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and take us out of here
by tomorrow.

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Diplomatic immunity.

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Well, I was tied up

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and they start beating me up.

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(distant chanting)

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There I started to really
think about,

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what the hell is going on now?

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(phone ringing)

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BARBARA ROSEN:
It was an early Sunday morning

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and the phone rang downstairs,
it was my mother-in-law

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and she was very, very upset.

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"Something's happened
at the embassy."

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She had heard it on the news.

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REPORTER (archival):
... U.S. embassy say his name is
Barry Rosen.

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He is the embassy's
press attaché.

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Because of the blindfold,
Rosen could not see...

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BARBARA ROSEN:
The Iranians were saying

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they had a certain number
of people being held,

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and the Carter administration
would neither confirm or deny.

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And I got on the phone
to Washington

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and started making phone calls

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trying to find out
what was going on.

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FRANK REYNOLDS:
The Iran Crisis:
America Held Hostage,

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tonight at 11:30,
10:30 Central time.

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SICK:
This was the first American
foreign policy crisis

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that had been televised live
from start to stop.

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PRESIDENT JIMMY CARTER:
We will not rest or deviate
from our efforts

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until all have been freed
from...

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SICK:
The reality is that every
American

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was sitting in their homes

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talking to other Americans
about this situation.

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REYNOLDS:
Radio broadcasts by Khomeini
and his supporters

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have now become ugly
and violently anti-American.

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PRESIDENT JIMMY CARTER:
I've just gotten a report

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that there are maybe 80,000
Iranians demonstrating

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outside our embassy
in a highly emotional state

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and we are trying as best we can

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to protect the honor
of our country

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and to protect the lives
of the hostages

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who deserve every protection
that we can give them.

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"MARY" EBTEKAR:
The hostages are in our hands,

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and we are ready so that
in the case

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of any military intervention,
we will destroy them.

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♪ ♪

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(crowd chanting)

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♪ ♪

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BARRY ROSEN:
I first came to Iran in August
of 1967

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as a Peace Corps volunteer.

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I knew nothing about Iran.

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I had to run over to the map
and find it.

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NEWSREEL NARRATOR:
This is the Middle East,

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where three continents join.

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At the hub of this junction is
Iran, formerly known as Persia.

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Iran is a country of contrasts.

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It is actually a land of great
wealth and of great interest.

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In biblical times, a great
civilization thrived here

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and left the marks
of its splendor.

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BARRY ROSEN:
I looked forward to going
to the Peace Corps.

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It was something about actually
finding yourself

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more than knowing the culture
you were going into.

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I was religious
as a, as a young child.

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I went to a Hebrew day school,
yeshiva.

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Ah, kind of traditional.

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Maybe two years of excitement
out there somewhere

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doing something might make some
difference in people's lives,

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but maybe, most of all, my own.

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I think I was seeking that more
than anything else.

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♪ ♪

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After our three months
of studying Farsi

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and customs of Iran
and reading about Iran,

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I was then sent to Tehran.

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We flew directly to Tehran
from New York.

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♪ ♪

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My job was to teach English at
the police academy in Iran.

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(whistle blowing)

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I was told by members
of the Peace Corps

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that Jewish kids did very well
in Iran,

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and I felt to a certain degree
there was a certain warmth there

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that I could see
in my own family.

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And there was a certain sense
of kinship

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that I, I felt for Iranians.

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I was trying to learn as much
Farsi as possible.

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NEWSREEL NARRATOR:
You listen, then you repeat.

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You listen, then you repeat.

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Listen, repeat.

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(man repeating phrase in
non-English language)

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BARRY ROSEN:
I loved walking into the bazaar.

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Miles and miles and miles

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of different stands,
all of the same products

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piled together.

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♪ ♪

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There I used to experiment
with what they call bargaining,

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(speaking Farsi),
the hitting of chins,

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that's what it means.

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All this was part and parcel
of the life force of Iran.

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♪ ♪

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As a Peace Corps volunteer,

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I felt, you know,
I was accepted.

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I was really accepted.

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(newsreel music playing)

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NEWSREEL NARRATOR:
Tehran, the glittering capital
of Iran,

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prepared itself
for a coronation day,

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such as it had never before
witnessed.

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Even the magnificence of its
mosques was overshadowed

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by the spectacular preparations
that transformed the city

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into a wonderland of color

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befitting the greatest day in
the life of the Persian monarch.

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♪ ♪

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BARRY ROSEN:
During the time I was in Iran,

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that was the Shah's coronation
as a Shahanshah.

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He was the king of kings.

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NEWSREEL NARRATOR:
After 26 years of steering
his country

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from what he described
as a nation of beggars

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into a thriving
and prosperous realm,

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the Shah was ascending
the fabled Peacock Throne

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to crown himself king of kings.

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♪ ♪

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BARRY ROSEN:
When he became king in 1941,
he said,

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"I don't want any coronation,"
his father abdicated,

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"until and when I think
I am ready,

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and when the country is ready
for it."

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By '67, he said, "I am ready."

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He was consolidating his power.

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But he was, in fact,

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a dictator,
there's no doubt about it.

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I don't think that there was

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anti-Americanism at that time
that was palpable.

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But I have to tell you that

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throughout my Peace Corps years,

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I was able to get enough
of a background

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even then to know what was
irking Iranians

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about the United States.

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The '53 coup was talked
about in Peace Corps training.

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The issue of Mosaddegh came up,

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and the idea of knowing more

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about Mosaddegh
was something that

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always seemed
to stir my curiosity

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about what was going on in Iran.

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ERIC SEVERIDE:
One of the new books about
the CIA, Mr. Dulles,

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makes the claim that in Iran
a few years ago,

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at the time of Mosaddegh,

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the C.I.A. people spent
literally millions of dollars

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hiring people to riot
in the streets

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and do other things
to get rid of Mosaddegh.

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Is there anything
you can say about that?

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Well, I can say that
the statement

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that we spent many dollars
doing that is utterly false.

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SICK:
I knew about '53

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and the coup that overthrew
Mosaddegh

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with the help of the British MI6
and the American C.I.A.

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I knew a lot of people
who were in the C.I.A,

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or I met people who were
involved in organizing it,

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and some of them became friends
of mine

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at the time of the revolution.

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00:15:21,466 --> 00:15:22,866
GARRICK UTLEY:
It's almost 30 years ago.

249
00:15:22,866 --> 00:15:26,166
How do you feel about it
when you look back?

250
00:15:26,166 --> 00:15:27,633
Well, I feel terribly sorry

251
00:15:27,633 --> 00:15:29,766
about what has happened
in Iran recently,

252
00:15:29,766 --> 00:15:32,800
but I don't think it was
predictable then.

253
00:15:32,800 --> 00:15:35,200
And if I had to do it
all over again,

254
00:15:35,200 --> 00:15:38,000
I would still do it without,
without regret.

255
00:15:44,333 --> 00:15:49,933
SICK:
I didn't understand the degree
to which Iranians felt

256
00:15:49,933 --> 00:15:52,800
that this was really a
fundamental turning point.

257
00:15:52,800 --> 00:15:57,100
And I think everybody
in the White House

258
00:15:57,100 --> 00:16:02,466
at the time of the hostage
crisis was equally ignorant.

259
00:16:04,833 --> 00:16:08,900
BARRY ROSEN:
The most democratic period in
post-war Iran

260
00:16:08,900 --> 00:16:14,066
was between 1941 and 1953.

261
00:16:14,066 --> 00:16:17,000
Iran was a budding democracy.

262
00:16:20,100 --> 00:16:21,900
STEPHEN KINZER:
Mosaddegh came to power

263
00:16:21,900 --> 00:16:25,700
as the embodiment
of a popular movement

264
00:16:25,700 --> 00:16:32,566
based on two principals:
democracy and nationalism.

265
00:16:32,566 --> 00:16:36,733
Democracy meant we should be
ruled by elected leaders,

266
00:16:36,733 --> 00:16:38,233
and the Shah

267
00:16:38,233 --> 00:16:39,933
should just be a symbol
of the nation,

268
00:16:39,933 --> 00:16:43,333
like queen of England, and
not make political decisions.

269
00:16:44,800 --> 00:16:50,633
Nationalism meant we have
to take back control of our oil.

270
00:16:53,800 --> 00:16:57,266
NEWSREEL NARRATOR:
The world's largest oil refinery
at Abadan, Iran,

271
00:16:57,266 --> 00:16:59,500
becomes the center of a major
international crisis

272
00:16:59,500 --> 00:17:02,566
as Iran's parliament votes
unanimously

273
00:17:02,566 --> 00:17:05,300
to nationalize
her vast oil fields,

274
00:17:05,300 --> 00:17:06,366
fields which, by lease,

275
00:17:06,366 --> 00:17:08,400
are owned by
the British government.

276
00:17:08,400 --> 00:17:10,566
(ship horn blares)

277
00:17:13,300 --> 00:17:17,700
KINZER:
The British built the biggest
oil refinery in the world

278
00:17:17,700 --> 00:17:20,133
at Abadan on the Persian Gulf.

279
00:17:20,133 --> 00:17:24,033
It was an immense facility.

280
00:17:28,033 --> 00:17:32,266
It was a classic
colonial enclave.

281
00:17:33,966 --> 00:17:36,100
All the British administrators

282
00:17:36,100 --> 00:17:40,566
lived in nice houses
with trimmed lawns.

283
00:17:40,566 --> 00:17:42,033
There were swimming pools.

284
00:17:42,033 --> 00:17:44,233
There were restaurants,

285
00:17:44,233 --> 00:17:47,100
tennis clubs,
all the amenities of home.

286
00:17:47,100 --> 00:17:50,666
Meanwhile, Iranians were living

287
00:17:50,666 --> 00:17:53,833
in some of the most
miserable conditions

288
00:17:53,833 --> 00:17:56,433
of any people on Earth.

289
00:17:56,433 --> 00:18:01,300
BARRY ROSEN:
Iranian workers were living
in hovels.

290
00:18:01,300 --> 00:18:04,633
The Brits controlled
the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company

291
00:18:04,633 --> 00:18:06,033
since 1906,

292
00:18:06,033 --> 00:18:08,233
and the Iranian governments

293
00:18:08,233 --> 00:18:11,333
were getting mere pittance
of profit.

294
00:18:11,333 --> 00:18:15,633
Mosaddegh wanted Iran
to be independent.

295
00:18:17,333 --> 00:18:20,200
KINZER:
Mosaddegh, with the overwhelming
support

296
00:18:20,200 --> 00:18:21,766
of the Iranian people,

297
00:18:21,766 --> 00:18:24,333
the Iranian political class,
and both houses

298
00:18:24,333 --> 00:18:26,400
of the Iranian parliament,
signed a bill

299
00:18:26,400 --> 00:18:31,366
nationalizing Iranian oil.

300
00:18:31,833 --> 00:18:33,533
In other words,

301
00:18:33,533 --> 00:18:35,933
he seized control of an asset

302
00:18:35,933 --> 00:18:38,300
that the British considered
theirs.

303
00:18:42,133 --> 00:18:44,100
BARRY ROSEN:
This was the first time

304
00:18:44,100 --> 00:18:46,266
that anyone in the Middle East

305
00:18:46,266 --> 00:18:48,766
had ever done anything against
imperial powers,

306
00:18:48,766 --> 00:18:51,266
colonial powers.

307
00:18:51,266 --> 00:18:53,966
NASROLLAH ENTEZAM:
For 50 years, the oil resources
of my country

308
00:18:53,966 --> 00:18:57,566
have been exploited
by a foreign company

309
00:18:57,566 --> 00:19:00,233
whose profits have gone
overseas.

310
00:19:00,233 --> 00:19:04,666
The time has now come to put an
end to these painful practices,

311
00:19:04,666 --> 00:19:08,133
and to put Iran
natural resources

312
00:19:08,133 --> 00:19:14,433
to use of the well-being
and benefit of her own people.

313
00:19:14,433 --> 00:19:18,066
LORD JOHN WILMOT:
This agreement with the
Anglo-Iranian Oil Company

314
00:19:18,066 --> 00:19:23,133
has meant immense benefits
for the people of Iran.

315
00:19:23,133 --> 00:19:25,333
And it's a tragedy, really,
that this thing

316
00:19:25,333 --> 00:19:27,666
should have been torn up
in the way that it has.

317
00:19:30,866 --> 00:19:32,933
KINZER:
The British froze Iranian assets

318
00:19:32,933 --> 00:19:34,366
that were being held
in British banks.

319
00:19:34,366 --> 00:19:36,000
They imposed what we would
today call

320
00:19:36,000 --> 00:19:37,866
economic sanctions on Iran.

321
00:19:37,866 --> 00:19:42,933
At one point, they considered
an actual invasion.

322
00:19:47,433 --> 00:19:49,466
REPORTER:
I'd like to introduce
Mr. and Mrs. Sutcliffe

323
00:19:49,466 --> 00:19:50,700
who've just flown into London
Airport here

324
00:19:50,700 --> 00:19:52,066
on the airlift from Abadan.

325
00:19:52,066 --> 00:19:55,300
And how were things there
when you left, Mr. Sutcliffe?

326
00:19:55,300 --> 00:19:57,166
Well, they're not too good.

327
00:19:57,166 --> 00:19:58,400
People are all packing up,

328
00:19:58,400 --> 00:20:00,966
packing all their belongings.

329
00:20:00,966 --> 00:20:03,700
KINZER:
The British had instructed
all their employees

330
00:20:03,700 --> 00:20:06,833
at Abadan to leave.

331
00:20:08,233 --> 00:20:11,600
The British then took Iran
to the world court

332
00:20:11,600 --> 00:20:13,633
in The Hague.

333
00:20:13,633 --> 00:20:14,866
BARRISTER:
The present actions

334
00:20:14,866 --> 00:20:19,100
and threats
of the Iranian government

335
00:20:19,100 --> 00:20:22,466
may render it impossible

336
00:20:22,466 --> 00:20:29,933
to execute a judgment in favor
of the United Kingdom.

337
00:20:29,933 --> 00:20:31,933
KINZER:
The British, then,

338
00:20:31,933 --> 00:20:33,833
with all
of these measures failing,

339
00:20:33,833 --> 00:20:39,433
brought Iran
to the U.N. Security Council.

340
00:20:39,433 --> 00:20:42,600
Britain was in a rising panic.

341
00:20:46,000 --> 00:20:51,466
MOHAMMAD MOSADDEGH (in French):

342
00:21:01,166 --> 00:21:05,066
KINZER:
When Mosaddegh came to the
United Nations in 1951,

343
00:21:05,066 --> 00:21:07,466
it was the first time

344
00:21:07,466 --> 00:21:14,100
the leader of a country
that was poor, developing,

345
00:21:14,100 --> 00:21:17,366
and possessed resources
that the West was exploiting,

346
00:21:17,366 --> 00:21:20,366
ever got to speak to the world
on such a stage.

347
00:21:23,466 --> 00:21:26,600
(indistinct, muffled speech)

348
00:21:26,600 --> 00:21:30,133
KINZER:
Mosaddegh spoke about
the injustice

349
00:21:30,133 --> 00:21:32,900
that poor countries feel

350
00:21:32,900 --> 00:21:34,866
at having their resources
exploited

351
00:21:34,866 --> 00:21:37,300
for the benefit
of imperial powers,

352
00:21:37,300 --> 00:21:42,666
and tied his struggle to that
of other nations in the world.

353
00:21:46,400 --> 00:21:47,766
(bell tolls)

354
00:21:47,766 --> 00:21:50,066
He went to Philadelphia

355
00:21:50,066 --> 00:21:53,500
and he posed alongside
the Liberty Bell.

356
00:21:53,500 --> 00:21:58,166
He asked to visit Mount Vernon,
George Washington's home.

357
00:21:58,166 --> 00:21:59,300
He was trying to make a point

358
00:21:59,300 --> 00:22:02,466
to Americans that they should be
on his side

359
00:22:02,466 --> 00:22:05,766
because he was only doing what
Americans had themselves done

360
00:22:05,766 --> 00:22:08,566
several generations earlier.

361
00:22:10,466 --> 00:22:13,733
Why are we losing ground
in the Middle East?

362
00:22:13,733 --> 00:22:16,400
Because the people of the
Middle East feel

363
00:22:16,400 --> 00:22:19,400
that we are not sympathetic
to their problems.

364
00:22:19,400 --> 00:22:23,366
That we are supporting
a colonial policy

365
00:22:23,366 --> 00:22:24,566
on the part of the British.

366
00:22:24,566 --> 00:22:25,700
WILLIAM BRADFORD HUEY:
And when you say "we" there,

367
00:22:25,700 --> 00:22:27,233
you mean the United States?
Our government.

368
00:22:27,233 --> 00:22:28,233
GRADY:
Yes.

369
00:22:28,233 --> 00:22:29,900
HUEY:
Our own government.

370
00:22:29,900 --> 00:22:30,933
HARLEY BURT:
What's the greatest trouble spot
in the Middle East?

371
00:22:30,933 --> 00:22:32,766
GRADY:
Iran, at the moment.

372
00:22:32,766 --> 00:22:35,966
And I think there are tensions
all through the Middle East

373
00:22:35,966 --> 00:22:39,133
because of a coming up of
nationalism,

374
00:22:39,133 --> 00:22:42,366
which I think can be quite
legitimate.

375
00:22:44,433 --> 00:22:46,833
BARRY ROSEN:
He was, in fact,

376
00:22:46,833 --> 00:22:51,833
made Man of the Year by
"Time" magazine.

377
00:22:51,833 --> 00:22:53,033
♪ ♪

378
00:22:53,033 --> 00:22:58,000
The Truman administration backed
him solidly.

379
00:22:59,800 --> 00:23:01,266
Because in Truman's mind,

380
00:23:01,266 --> 00:23:03,833
the United States was
anti-colonial.

381
00:23:06,633 --> 00:23:08,433
KINZER:
Truman was sympathetic

382
00:23:08,433 --> 00:23:11,266
to the anti-colonial idea.

383
00:23:11,266 --> 00:23:15,666
But in the end, people like
Mosaddegh,

384
00:23:15,666 --> 00:23:19,066
who first of all refused

385
00:23:19,066 --> 00:23:22,033
to fully embrace the American
cause in the Cold War,

386
00:23:22,033 --> 00:23:25,666
and secondly,
were involved in movements

387
00:23:25,666 --> 00:23:27,633
aimed at weakening the power

388
00:23:27,633 --> 00:23:31,366
of giant multinational
corporations,

389
00:23:31,366 --> 00:23:33,900
became enemies
of the United States.

390
00:23:36,666 --> 00:23:39,833
HARLEY BURT:
Uh, do you see the trend toward
nationalization,

391
00:23:39,833 --> 00:23:41,400
this thing that's
occurred in Iran,

392
00:23:41,400 --> 00:23:43,066
spreading through
the Middle East?

393
00:23:43,066 --> 00:23:44,333
GRADY:
I see no indication of this yet.

394
00:23:44,333 --> 00:23:48,500
But nationalization is like
any other movement,

395
00:23:48,500 --> 00:23:51,300
it could spread.

396
00:23:51,300 --> 00:23:56,533
♪ ♪

397
00:23:56,533 --> 00:23:59,100
KINZER:
It was a period
of considerable disillusionment

398
00:23:59,100 --> 00:24:01,766
when many of these countries
came to realize

399
00:24:01,766 --> 00:24:04,666
that the United States was not
going to come to their aid,

400
00:24:04,666 --> 00:24:09,633
and in fact was seeing them
as dangerous threats.

401
00:24:09,633 --> 00:24:14,100
The C.I.A., initially
at the time of the coup,

402
00:24:14,100 --> 00:24:16,633
had basically come
to the conclusion

403
00:24:16,633 --> 00:24:19,666
that we could change governments
in different countries,

404
00:24:19,666 --> 00:24:23,133
throwing out one government
and putting in another.

405
00:24:23,133 --> 00:24:24,600
♪ ♪

406
00:24:24,600 --> 00:24:31,033
That any government in the world
was potentially susceptible.

407
00:24:32,200 --> 00:24:35,566
And they were quite confident
of that.

408
00:24:37,833 --> 00:24:40,166
UTLEY:
The planning for your mission
occurred

409
00:24:40,166 --> 00:24:41,800
as the Truman administration
was ending

410
00:24:41,800 --> 00:24:43,000
and the new Eisenhower
administration

411
00:24:43,000 --> 00:24:44,900
was coming into office.

412
00:24:44,900 --> 00:24:48,566
What did John Foster Dulles
and the others tell Truman?

413
00:24:48,566 --> 00:24:50,533
They didn't tell him
anything.

414
00:24:50,533 --> 00:24:54,566
The planning didn't actually
take place

415
00:24:54,566 --> 00:24:55,900
until after the election.

416
00:24:55,900 --> 00:24:57,966
(helicopter whirring)

417
00:25:02,033 --> 00:25:04,733
KINZER:
John Foster Dulles, who became
the secretary of state,

418
00:25:04,733 --> 00:25:09,566
and his brother, Allen Dulles,
head of the C.I.A.,

419
00:25:09,566 --> 00:25:12,366
were pushing Eisenhower
from the very beginning

420
00:25:12,366 --> 00:25:16,866
to realize Mosaddegh
as a threat.

421
00:25:16,866 --> 00:25:19,500
At a National Security Council
meeting,

422
00:25:19,500 --> 00:25:22,733
Eisenhower asks Dulles
to explain why

423
00:25:22,733 --> 00:25:27,000
we should be overthrowing this
guy who's not a communist.

424
00:25:27,000 --> 00:25:30,400
He wonders why
we can't do things

425
00:25:30,400 --> 00:25:33,066
that make people
in poor countries like us

426
00:25:33,066 --> 00:25:34,366
instead of hate us.

427
00:25:34,366 --> 00:25:40,733
But in the end, Eisenhower was
persuaded to go along.

428
00:25:42,533 --> 00:25:48,033
Eisenhower assigned the CIA
to overthrow Mosaddegh,

429
00:25:48,033 --> 00:25:49,833
and the person it chose

430
00:25:49,833 --> 00:25:55,333
was the Middle East chief of CIA
operations, Kermit Roosevelt.

431
00:25:58,066 --> 00:26:00,333
KERMIT ROOSEVELT:
I had convinced myself

432
00:26:00,333 --> 00:26:02,666
that all you needed to do

433
00:26:02,666 --> 00:26:05,800
was to make it clear to the Army
and to the people

434
00:26:05,800 --> 00:26:09,833
that there was a conflict
between Mosaddegh and the Shah.

435
00:26:09,833 --> 00:26:12,733
And that was what
I set myself to do,

436
00:26:12,733 --> 00:26:15,033
to dramatize the conflict.

437
00:26:15,033 --> 00:26:19,800
KINZER:
As long as Mosaddegh was
in power,

438
00:26:19,800 --> 00:26:22,100
the Shah was going to be

439
00:26:22,100 --> 00:26:24,033
more of a symbolic figure

440
00:26:24,033 --> 00:26:27,000
than someone who exercised
real authority.

441
00:26:27,000 --> 00:26:29,433
So the C.I.A. had decided

442
00:26:29,433 --> 00:26:31,566
that the outcome of the coup
should be,

443
00:26:31,566 --> 00:26:33,566
let's give the Shah
complete power.

444
00:26:33,566 --> 00:26:37,400
He'll be so grateful to us,
he'll do everything we want.

445
00:26:37,400 --> 00:26:40,100
Which all turned out to be true.

446
00:26:42,066 --> 00:26:47,400
The problem was that the Shah
was so afraid to get involved

447
00:26:47,400 --> 00:26:49,766
that he wouldn't agree
to participate in the coup.

448
00:26:49,766 --> 00:26:51,666
He was afraid it would fail,

449
00:26:51,666 --> 00:26:53,666
and then he would have to leave
the country.

450
00:26:58,200 --> 00:27:01,966
♪ ♪

451
00:27:01,966 --> 00:27:03,600
By that time,

452
00:27:03,600 --> 00:27:08,833
British and American agents had
devised a plan.

453
00:27:11,966 --> 00:27:15,333
But the coup was orchestrated
from inside

454
00:27:15,333 --> 00:27:17,800
the American embassy in Tehran.

455
00:27:19,300 --> 00:27:21,000
(typewriter keys clacking)

456
00:27:21,000 --> 00:27:24,166
♪ ♪

457
00:27:24,166 --> 00:27:26,800
Kermit Roosevelt
and his C.I.A. crew

458
00:27:26,800 --> 00:27:31,000
began bribing
Iranian newspaper editors,

459
00:27:31,000 --> 00:27:32,166
columnists, and publishers.

460
00:27:32,166 --> 00:27:34,233
They were printing all sorts

461
00:27:34,233 --> 00:27:37,400
of scurrilous denunciations
of Mosaddegh, all of a sudden.

462
00:27:37,400 --> 00:27:40,233
Mosaddegh was a Jew,
a communist, a homosexual,

463
00:27:40,233 --> 00:27:42,933
a British agent--
anything you could imagine

464
00:27:42,933 --> 00:27:45,000
that would blacken his
reputation.

465
00:27:45,000 --> 00:27:47,566
♪ ♪

466
00:27:47,566 --> 00:27:52,566
The C.I.A. bribed mullahs
to give sermons

467
00:27:52,566 --> 00:27:55,033
denouncing Mosaddegh.

468
00:27:55,033 --> 00:27:56,233
♪ ♪

469
00:27:56,233 --> 00:27:59,766
One way he could destabilize
the government

470
00:27:59,766 --> 00:28:01,966
was to show people in Iran

471
00:28:01,966 --> 00:28:05,066
that Mosaddegh had lost control

472
00:28:05,066 --> 00:28:08,233
of public safety.

473
00:28:08,233 --> 00:28:13,866
The capital city was exploding
in terror and chaos.

474
00:28:13,866 --> 00:28:16,100
Mosadegh didn't want
to send police

475
00:28:16,100 --> 00:28:18,466
out to crush protests,

476
00:28:18,466 --> 00:28:20,866
because he believed that protest
was everybody's right.

477
00:28:20,866 --> 00:28:24,266
He didn't understand that these
protests were all being

478
00:28:24,266 --> 00:28:25,800
fomented by somebody

479
00:28:25,800 --> 00:28:29,900
in the basement
of the American embassy.

480
00:28:29,900 --> 00:28:32,400
People began to think Mosaddegh
couldn't control the streets.

481
00:28:32,400 --> 00:28:35,533
♪ ♪

482
00:28:35,533 --> 00:28:37,633
SICK:
I remembered quite vividly

483
00:28:37,633 --> 00:28:41,933
that the Shah had fled to Italy.

484
00:28:41,933 --> 00:28:45,633
He got cold feet and ran.

485
00:28:45,633 --> 00:28:49,266
It looked like the whole coup
was falling apart

486
00:28:49,266 --> 00:28:52,333
and was not going to work.

487
00:28:52,333 --> 00:28:53,966
Then within 24 hours,

488
00:28:53,966 --> 00:28:59,333
it got turned around
and Mosaddegh was overthrown.

489
00:29:04,566 --> 00:29:08,100
(newsreel music playing)

490
00:29:08,100 --> 00:29:10,300
NEWSREEL NARRATOR:
The stay of the Shah of Persia

491
00:29:10,300 --> 00:29:12,733
and Queen Soraya in Rome was
of short duration.

492
00:29:12,733 --> 00:29:14,433
For first reports of
Dr. Mosaddegh

493
00:29:14,433 --> 00:29:16,733
having won a victory
were quickly reversed,

494
00:29:16,733 --> 00:29:19,200
and from the turmoil of Tehran,
news came

495
00:29:19,200 --> 00:29:22,766
that the royalist coup had been
successful after all.

496
00:29:28,366 --> 00:29:31,700
♪ ♪

497
00:29:45,066 --> 00:29:50,500
(distant gun fire
growing louder)

498
00:29:57,400 --> 00:30:01,433
KINZER:
Mosaddegh gave himself up
soon after the coup.

499
00:30:01,433 --> 00:30:04,900
He was placed on trial.

500
00:30:08,800 --> 00:30:14,666
At the Shah's order, he was
sentenced to home imprisonment

501
00:30:14,666 --> 00:30:17,100
from essentially the time
of his release from prison

502
00:30:17,100 --> 00:30:21,800
in the mid 1950s
until his death in 1967.

503
00:30:21,800 --> 00:30:28,700
♪ ♪

504
00:30:30,900 --> 00:30:32,766
(car horns honking)

505
00:30:32,766 --> 00:30:34,866
BARRY ROSEN:
After '53 and the coup, yes,

506
00:30:34,866 --> 00:30:38,066
the Shah had political parties
and all that,

507
00:30:38,066 --> 00:30:40,233
but they really had no power.

508
00:30:40,233 --> 00:30:43,400
The real power was always
in the Shah's hands.

509
00:30:48,833 --> 00:30:51,533
SICK:
From that point on,
the Iranian people

510
00:30:51,533 --> 00:30:56,666
felt that the Shah
was clearly beholden

511
00:30:56,666 --> 00:30:59,166
to the United States,
and pretty much assumed

512
00:30:59,166 --> 00:31:01,933
that anything that the Shah did,

513
00:31:01,933 --> 00:31:04,133
he was getting orders from
Washington.

514
00:31:04,133 --> 00:31:07,900
♪ ♪

515
00:31:07,900 --> 00:31:10,666
UTLEY:
The Shah once told you,

516
00:31:10,666 --> 00:31:14,500
I owe my throne to God,
my people,

517
00:31:14,500 --> 00:31:17,333
the army, and to you,
Kermit Roosevelt.

518
00:31:17,333 --> 00:31:19,966
Well, he didn't say
"Kermit Roosevelt."

519
00:31:19,966 --> 00:31:23,433
I chose to interpret it
as including the British,

520
00:31:23,433 --> 00:31:27,566
the United States
and me to some extent.

521
00:31:27,566 --> 00:31:28,700
But he said it
to you.

522
00:31:28,700 --> 00:31:31,033
He said it to me, yes.

523
00:31:44,866 --> 00:31:48,966
SICK:
My first visit to Iran

524
00:31:48,966 --> 00:31:53,100
had to be about 1959.

525
00:31:53,100 --> 00:31:55,633
I was a very junior
naval officer

526
00:31:55,633 --> 00:32:00,666
accompanying a delegation
of senior military advisors.

527
00:32:00,666 --> 00:32:04,233
The Shah was, in fact,
carrying out reforms

528
00:32:04,233 --> 00:32:09,000
which on the surface of them, at
least, looked very attractive.

529
00:32:10,900 --> 00:32:13,933
This was a period
in the '50s and '60s

530
00:32:13,933 --> 00:32:16,600
when this whole idea of
take off,

531
00:32:16,600 --> 00:32:20,533
of countries putting lots
of money into development,

532
00:32:20,533 --> 00:32:21,900
building institutions,

533
00:32:21,900 --> 00:32:23,566
building infrastructure,

534
00:32:23,566 --> 00:32:25,866
and then a country got to
a certain point and suddenly,

535
00:32:25,866 --> 00:32:27,533
magically, it would lift off.

536
00:32:27,533 --> 00:32:32,600
I mean, this was very popular
stuff in those days.

537
00:32:32,600 --> 00:32:35,333
The Shah was doing the kinds
of things

538
00:32:35,333 --> 00:32:38,000
that Western academics
and Western politicians

539
00:32:38,000 --> 00:32:41,900
saw as useful, and so Iran was
getting ready for takeoff.

540
00:32:41,900 --> 00:32:45,233
(speaking Farsi)

541
00:32:45,233 --> 00:32:49,666
BARRY ROSEN:
The Shah was introducing what
he called the White Revolution,

542
00:32:49,666 --> 00:32:52,500
as opposed
to the red revolution,

543
00:32:52,500 --> 00:32:56,266
a communist revolution.

544
00:32:57,233 --> 00:32:59,000
The White Revolution,

545
00:32:59,000 --> 00:33:03,200
it was a revolution
from the top.

546
00:33:03,200 --> 00:33:05,600
BERNARD KALB:
Your Majesty,

547
00:33:05,600 --> 00:33:07,433
what are the basic points of
your revolution?

548
00:33:07,433 --> 00:33:10,166
MOHAMMAD REZA PAHLAVI:
Land reform.

549
00:33:12,066 --> 00:33:16,300
To fight and combat illiteracy
in the country.

550
00:33:16,300 --> 00:33:20,700
And, uh, electoral reform.

551
00:33:20,700 --> 00:33:23,366
The drive and the move

552
00:33:23,366 --> 00:33:25,300
is so tremendous

553
00:33:25,300 --> 00:33:30,600
that everybody in this country
will have to confine itself

554
00:33:30,600 --> 00:33:34,000
to this new society that we are
trying to build.

555
00:33:37,333 --> 00:33:41,000
♪ ♪

556
00:33:41,000 --> 00:33:47,100
BARRY ROSEN:
All these things were very
revolutionary in Iran,

557
00:33:47,100 --> 00:33:50,000
going against Islamic law,

558
00:33:50,000 --> 00:33:53,533
going against
the clerical class.

559
00:33:53,533 --> 00:33:58,633
It was an attempt
to remake Iran.

560
00:34:01,166 --> 00:34:05,300
This meant land reform,
parceling out pieces of land.

561
00:34:05,300 --> 00:34:08,400
But what happened is that
dirt poor peasants

562
00:34:08,400 --> 00:34:12,800
could not really survive
with those pieces of land,

563
00:34:12,800 --> 00:34:16,033
and they were bought up

564
00:34:16,033 --> 00:34:21,933
by the wealthier people
or Iranian oligarchs.

565
00:34:21,933 --> 00:34:25,200
And people were moving
to the cities.

566
00:34:25,200 --> 00:34:28,533
Because of that,
what you had was

567
00:34:28,533 --> 00:34:32,700
the growth on the periphery
of Tehran of tin towns,

568
00:34:32,700 --> 00:34:37,766
and the saying in Persian,
"paper cities of the poor."

569
00:34:37,766 --> 00:34:45,600
And so you had lots
of dislocation of people.

570
00:34:45,600 --> 00:34:48,366
(distant praying)

571
00:34:52,233 --> 00:34:54,133
KINZER:
It was at this moment that
Khomeini emerged

572
00:34:54,133 --> 00:34:55,633
in the early 1960s

573
00:34:55,633 --> 00:34:59,733
as a protester against
the White Revolution.

574
00:34:59,733 --> 00:35:05,266
One of the main reasons
was resentment

575
00:35:05,266 --> 00:35:08,933
at the Shah's servility
to the United States.

576
00:35:08,933 --> 00:35:12,666
He was seen as a pillar
of Western power

577
00:35:12,666 --> 00:35:15,433
who had sold out the interests
of Iran

578
00:35:15,433 --> 00:35:19,466
in ways that Mosaddegh
had refused to do.

579
00:35:19,466 --> 00:35:24,400
♪ ♪

580
00:35:24,400 --> 00:35:30,666
BARRY ROSEN:
Khomeini made himself out as
this Gandhi-like figure.

581
00:35:32,200 --> 00:35:35,366
And he started this in 1963

582
00:35:35,366 --> 00:35:37,166
against the United States
military.

583
00:35:37,166 --> 00:35:39,700
United States military
had immunity.

584
00:35:39,700 --> 00:35:44,000
That is, if any American soldier
would hurt an Iranian,

585
00:35:44,000 --> 00:35:46,366
he would be judged by an
American court,

586
00:35:46,366 --> 00:35:47,700
not by an Iranian court.

587
00:35:47,700 --> 00:35:49,533
Khomeini made hay
out of that one,

588
00:35:49,533 --> 00:35:54,400
and accused the Americans
of controlling the Shah.

589
00:35:57,333 --> 00:36:01,566
All of a sudden,
there was this movement afoot,

590
00:36:01,566 --> 00:36:04,500
and demonstrations
against the Shah

591
00:36:04,500 --> 00:36:07,500
were all over Iran.

592
00:36:07,500 --> 00:36:09,566
♪ ♪

593
00:36:09,566 --> 00:36:13,633
SICK:
We started the process
after 1953

594
00:36:13,633 --> 00:36:15,200
of building up
a security service,

595
00:36:15,200 --> 00:36:19,333
the Iranian SAVAK.

596
00:36:19,333 --> 00:36:23,300
The C.I.A. taught the SAVAK
how to function.

597
00:36:23,300 --> 00:36:26,733
And, of course,
the Shah had the military.

598
00:36:26,733 --> 00:36:31,733
So in the uprising in '63,

599
00:36:31,733 --> 00:36:33,866
the Shah cracked down,
he killed a number of people.

600
00:36:33,866 --> 00:36:37,066
And from Washington's
perspective,

601
00:36:37,066 --> 00:36:39,833
this was confirmation,
if you like,

602
00:36:39,833 --> 00:36:43,433
that a strong man in place
in Iran

603
00:36:43,433 --> 00:36:44,833
would take care of the problem.

604
00:36:44,833 --> 00:36:46,533
(gunshots)

605
00:36:46,533 --> 00:36:51,800
BARRY ROSEN:
After his criticism against
the Shah, for being so corrupt,

606
00:36:51,800 --> 00:36:55,766
the Shah said that he had
to leave.

607
00:36:55,766 --> 00:36:59,500
And Ayatollah Khomeini was sent
to Iraq.

608
00:37:01,233 --> 00:37:06,166
So the idea is we're going
to get rid of him forever.

609
00:37:08,033 --> 00:37:11,133
PAHLAVI:
There are some isolated priests

610
00:37:11,133 --> 00:37:18,866
with whom I had
to take some strong measures.

611
00:37:20,566 --> 00:37:23,800
BARRY ROSEN:
It was a very tumultuous time

612
00:37:23,800 --> 00:37:27,666
in Iran in the 1960s,
but there was also this feeling

613
00:37:27,666 --> 00:37:31,633
that Iran was moving out of
poverty, too.

614
00:37:31,633 --> 00:37:34,433
There was a sense
of movement up,

615
00:37:34,433 --> 00:37:36,433
and the Shah felt very secure
at that time.

616
00:37:36,433 --> 00:37:41,433
♪ ♪

617
00:37:45,233 --> 00:37:47,166
REPORTER:
This is celebration time,

618
00:37:47,166 --> 00:37:50,166
and here at Persepolis in the
middle of the Iranian desert,

619
00:37:50,166 --> 00:37:53,233
it's been decreed that
the 25th centenary

620
00:37:53,233 --> 00:37:54,533
of the founding of Persia has
to be

621
00:37:54,533 --> 00:37:58,633
a suitably memorable occasion.

622
00:37:58,633 --> 00:38:00,966
For three days,
his Imperial Majesty,

623
00:38:00,966 --> 00:38:04,566
the Shahenshah Iliama of Iran,
will be setting himself back

624
00:38:04,566 --> 00:38:07,100
some lavish 15 million pounds
or so

625
00:38:07,100 --> 00:38:08,533
for what's obviously going to be

626
00:38:08,533 --> 00:38:10,000
one of the most fantastic
parties

627
00:38:10,000 --> 00:38:11,566
that the world's ever seen.

628
00:38:11,566 --> 00:38:14,400
And all of it against this
Hollywood-type background

629
00:38:14,400 --> 00:38:16,200
of 2,500 years

630
00:38:16,200 --> 00:38:18,400
of Persian military history.
(traditional music playing)

631
00:38:18,400 --> 00:38:19,966
Ooh, and the dancing.

632
00:38:19,966 --> 00:38:21,433
(laughter)

633
00:38:21,433 --> 00:38:23,100
(indistinct chatter)

634
00:38:23,100 --> 00:38:27,866
HILARY BROWN:
I was invited to accompany
the Canadian Governor General

635
00:38:27,866 --> 00:38:31,633
on his plane to Persepolis.

636
00:38:31,633 --> 00:38:35,933
This was this extraordinary
2,500th anniversary

637
00:38:35,933 --> 00:38:39,500
of the Persian Empire.

638
00:38:39,500 --> 00:38:40,600
It was unprecedented.

639
00:38:40,600 --> 00:38:41,800
It got into the Guinness Book

640
00:38:41,800 --> 00:38:43,533
of Records, you know,

641
00:38:43,533 --> 00:38:45,133
for the amount of money spent,

642
00:38:45,133 --> 00:38:48,533
for the, the guest list,
which was,

643
00:38:48,533 --> 00:38:50,600
you know, heads of state
from around the world.

644
00:38:52,666 --> 00:38:56,733
It was billed as the biggest
party in history.

645
00:38:56,733 --> 00:38:59,033
♪ ♪

646
00:38:59,033 --> 00:39:01,433
We had absolutely no idea

647
00:39:01,433 --> 00:39:03,666
that so many people, you know,

648
00:39:03,666 --> 00:39:06,233
thought this was wrong.

649
00:39:09,366 --> 00:39:12,733
And, of course,
as we realized later,

650
00:39:12,733 --> 00:39:15,833
it probably sowed the seeds
of the Shah's downfall.

651
00:39:15,833 --> 00:39:19,333
(indistinct chatter)

652
00:39:19,333 --> 00:39:22,833
(birds chirping)

653
00:39:22,833 --> 00:39:25,866
ARCHITECT:
So here we are in the club.

654
00:39:25,866 --> 00:39:28,566
Put the bar here
with easy chairs.

655
00:39:28,566 --> 00:39:33,433
You are going to have a piano
here to have some smooth music.

656
00:39:33,433 --> 00:39:34,566
What about down here?

657
00:39:34,566 --> 00:39:36,533
Down here,
it's a salon...

658
00:39:36,533 --> 00:39:38,100
BROWN:
They imported French architects

659
00:39:38,100 --> 00:39:41,433
and decorators and couturiers
to design

660
00:39:41,433 --> 00:39:44,633
and build and furnish
these tent-like suites.

661
00:39:44,633 --> 00:39:46,933
(birds chirping)

662
00:39:46,933 --> 00:39:48,966
They flew in 50,000 songbirds

663
00:39:48,966 --> 00:39:51,200
from Europe to provide

664
00:39:51,200 --> 00:39:54,000
a morning chorus
for the illustrious visitors.

665
00:39:54,000 --> 00:39:55,933
And all these birds later died.

666
00:39:55,933 --> 00:39:58,466
They couldn't take
the blistering heat.

667
00:39:58,466 --> 00:40:03,600
And the guests were all
heads of state or royalty.

668
00:40:03,600 --> 00:40:07,200
There were no ordinary Iranians
there at all.

669
00:40:07,200 --> 00:40:12,233
It was just the invited guests,
the Shah, and the Shahbanu

670
00:40:12,233 --> 00:40:13,866
and the press.

671
00:40:13,866 --> 00:40:16,800
FRANK MCGEE:
We may be sitting in on a
television first this morning.

672
00:40:16,800 --> 00:40:18,900
Barbara Walters is in Iran,

673
00:40:18,900 --> 00:40:20,500
she's been there all week,
as a matter of fact.

674
00:40:20,500 --> 00:40:24,966
And this morning she will bring
this all to us via satellite.

675
00:40:26,500 --> 00:40:30,366
It's a blazing hot afternoon,
late afternoon, here in Iran.

676
00:40:30,366 --> 00:40:32,933
And the most exciting part
of a celebration

677
00:40:32,933 --> 00:40:35,633
that was planned 13 years ago
is about to begin.

678
00:40:35,633 --> 00:40:39,633
The 5,000 soldiers
are going to be marching

679
00:40:39,633 --> 00:40:40,866
in their ancient costumes

680
00:40:40,866 --> 00:40:44,000
behind us, with their shields
and their spears,

681
00:40:44,000 --> 00:40:48,900
for what is an event
unequaled in world history.

682
00:40:48,900 --> 00:40:54,166
(parade music playing)

683
00:40:54,166 --> 00:40:56,500
BROWN:
The event itself,

684
00:40:56,500 --> 00:40:59,800
the purpose was really
to glorify the Shah.

685
00:40:59,800 --> 00:41:02,300
Shahanshah, King of Kings,
Light of the Aryans,

686
00:41:02,300 --> 00:41:05,500
Shadow of the Almighty,
and to celebrate

687
00:41:05,500 --> 00:41:09,000
2,500 years of unbroken rule,

688
00:41:09,000 --> 00:41:12,066
which of course was
not the case,

689
00:41:12,066 --> 00:41:16,500
but that was the illusion.

690
00:41:16,500 --> 00:41:20,266
(parade music continues)

691
00:41:20,266 --> 00:41:21,433
(fountains gently splashing)

692
00:41:27,000 --> 00:41:31,633
The banquet had something
like seven courses,

693
00:41:31,633 --> 00:41:34,900
including crayfish mousse,

694
00:41:34,900 --> 00:41:39,200
and peacock's tongue
stuffed with foie gras.

695
00:41:39,200 --> 00:41:43,366
2,500 bottles of fine wine.

696
00:41:43,366 --> 00:41:47,233
The banquet took five-and-a-half
hours to consume.

697
00:41:47,233 --> 00:41:50,866
♪ ♪

698
00:41:54,733 --> 00:41:56,800
The Ayatollah Khomeini
described it

699
00:41:56,800 --> 00:42:00,333
as the "Devil's festival."

700
00:42:00,333 --> 00:42:02,000
You know, there were people
in the country

701
00:42:02,000 --> 00:42:04,466
who weren't getting enough
food to eat.

702
00:42:06,500 --> 00:42:10,266
(music playing from film)

703
00:42:13,166 --> 00:42:17,133
SICK:
I remember as a young naval
officer in the Pentagon,

704
00:42:17,133 --> 00:42:19,666
a whole group of us were brought
into a room

705
00:42:19,666 --> 00:42:22,800
and were shown this movie
that was...

706
00:42:22,800 --> 00:42:24,033
that had been prepared

707
00:42:24,033 --> 00:42:30,666
as a result of the Shah's
huge Persepolis blowout.

708
00:42:30,666 --> 00:42:35,433
(music continues)

709
00:42:38,066 --> 00:42:40,533
ROBERT STONE:
Why was this being shown
at the Pentagon?

710
00:42:40,533 --> 00:42:41,700
I have no idea.

711
00:42:41,700 --> 00:42:47,366
(cannon firing, bell ringing)

712
00:42:47,366 --> 00:42:52,600
ORSON WELLES:
In celebration of 2,500 years
of nationhood,

713
00:42:52,600 --> 00:42:55,133
the Persian people,
led by their Shah,

714
00:42:55,133 --> 00:42:59,300
his Imperial Majesty
Mohammad Reza Pahlavi,

715
00:42:59,300 --> 00:43:05,966
Ayamir, Shahenshah, make homage
at the tomb of Cyrus the Great,

716
00:43:05,966 --> 00:43:10,500
the first shah of all.

717
00:43:10,500 --> 00:43:16,333
(music resumes)

718
00:43:27,300 --> 00:43:29,700
(speaking Farsi)

719
00:43:33,600 --> 00:43:38,766
(fanfare)

720
00:43:52,166 --> 00:43:53,566
Your Imperial Majesty,

721
00:43:53,566 --> 00:43:57,800
as you leave this capital
after your visit here,

722
00:43:57,800 --> 00:43:59,433
I believe that

723
00:43:59,433 --> 00:44:02,466
the relations between Iran
and the United States

724
00:44:02,466 --> 00:44:04,500
have never been better.

725
00:44:04,500 --> 00:44:06,233
That is due
to your leadership.

726
00:44:06,233 --> 00:44:08,100
It's due also to the fact

727
00:44:08,100 --> 00:44:10,166
that we feel
a special relationship

728
00:44:10,166 --> 00:44:13,100
not only to your country,
but to you.

729
00:44:13,100 --> 00:44:15,766
A relationship which, in my
case, goes back many years.

730
00:44:17,233 --> 00:44:20,066
SICK:
Nixon came into office at a time

731
00:44:20,066 --> 00:44:22,066
when the British had just
decided

732
00:44:22,066 --> 00:44:23,600
to withdraw from the
Persian Gulf.

733
00:44:23,600 --> 00:44:27,800
And this was a big deal,
because the British

734
00:44:27,800 --> 00:44:29,300
actually were responsible

735
00:44:29,300 --> 00:44:31,666
for maintaining stability
in the Gulf, and so

736
00:44:31,666 --> 00:44:33,566
everybody assumed, okay,
the British go,

737
00:44:33,566 --> 00:44:37,400
the Americans will step in
and take over responsibility.

738
00:44:41,066 --> 00:44:43,600
As you very well mentioned,

739
00:44:43,600 --> 00:44:47,566
our relations have never been
as good as they are now,

740
00:44:47,566 --> 00:44:53,233
because they are based on
an absolute trust

741
00:44:53,233 --> 00:44:54,466
and mutual interests.

742
00:44:54,466 --> 00:44:58,933
SICK:
The idea of the Americans
stepping in

743
00:44:58,933 --> 00:45:03,466
and assuming responsibility for
the stability of a whole area

744
00:45:03,466 --> 00:45:06,900
that was clearly not an easy one
to deal with,

745
00:45:06,900 --> 00:45:11,233
at a time when we were fighting
a war in Southeast Asia,

746
00:45:11,233 --> 00:45:14,100
was sort of unthinkable.

747
00:45:14,100 --> 00:45:16,133
And Nixon
really understood that.

748
00:45:16,133 --> 00:45:18,700
He knew that the American people
were just not going to buy it.

749
00:45:18,700 --> 00:45:21,633
So he and Henry Kissinger
came up with the idea

750
00:45:21,633 --> 00:45:23,666
of the Twin Pillar Policy,

751
00:45:23,666 --> 00:45:27,633
which was that the
United States would, in effect,

752
00:45:27,633 --> 00:45:32,500
arrange with Iran to protect
our interests in the region

753
00:45:32,500 --> 00:45:35,633
and take on that responsibility,

754
00:45:35,633 --> 00:45:41,433
based on deterring a Soviet move
to the Persian Gulf.

755
00:45:43,033 --> 00:45:45,666
So we would cooperate with
the Shah

756
00:45:45,666 --> 00:45:49,233
to protect American security
interests.

757
00:45:49,233 --> 00:45:51,800
And the second pillar was
Saudi Arabia.

758
00:45:51,800 --> 00:45:53,733
We would cooperate
with the Saudis

759
00:45:53,733 --> 00:45:58,933
to make sure that oil policy
stayed reasonably stable.

760
00:45:58,933 --> 00:46:00,033
NIXON:
I would say that

761
00:46:00,033 --> 00:46:05,566
today American ties
with Saudi Arabia

762
00:46:05,566 --> 00:46:08,033
have never been stronger

763
00:46:08,033 --> 00:46:11,800
and have never more solidly
been based than they are now.

764
00:46:11,800 --> 00:46:15,766
So those were our twin pillars
in the region.

765
00:46:15,766 --> 00:46:20,866
And that was agreed to
by Nixon and Kissinger

766
00:46:20,866 --> 00:46:24,500
meeting with the Shah in 1972.

767
00:46:24,500 --> 00:46:26,533
(engines puttering,
people cheering)

768
00:46:26,533 --> 00:46:29,166
NIXON:
And we know, Your Majesty,
that the talks that

769
00:46:29,166 --> 00:46:32,866
I should be privileged to have
with you

770
00:46:32,866 --> 00:46:35,633
will provide counsel and wisdom

771
00:46:35,633 --> 00:46:39,666
also for the cause of peace
and progress for all people

772
00:46:39,666 --> 00:46:44,066
to which you have dedicated
your life,

773
00:46:44,066 --> 00:46:45,866
and a cause with which we,

774
00:46:45,866 --> 00:46:49,133
all the people
of the United States,

775
00:46:49,133 --> 00:46:50,566
are honored to cooperate
with you.

776
00:46:50,566 --> 00:46:52,466
Thank you.

777
00:46:52,933 --> 00:46:55,533
(flags rustling)

778
00:46:55,533 --> 00:46:58,066
♪ ♪

779
00:47:01,800 --> 00:47:03,300
SICK:
When Nixon was sitting

780
00:47:03,300 --> 00:47:06,600
across the table from the Shah
in this meeting,

781
00:47:06,600 --> 00:47:09,833
asking the Shah to take on
responsibility

782
00:47:09,833 --> 00:47:12,533
for American interests
in the region,

783
00:47:12,533 --> 00:47:15,266
Nixon looked across the table
at the Shah

784
00:47:15,266 --> 00:47:16,866
and said to him, "Protect me."

785
00:47:16,866 --> 00:47:19,800
This is the President
of the United States

786
00:47:19,800 --> 00:47:22,333
talking to the Shah of Iran.

787
00:47:22,333 --> 00:47:24,866
He was protecting us.

788
00:47:24,866 --> 00:47:28,366
It was a blank check
for military equipment,

789
00:47:28,366 --> 00:47:33,133
with the exception
of anything to do

790
00:47:33,133 --> 00:47:36,866
with nuclear weapons
or delivery systems.

791
00:47:36,866 --> 00:47:38,933
Anything else below that,

792
00:47:38,933 --> 00:47:41,600
including the highest
technology fighters

793
00:47:41,600 --> 00:47:46,566
and everything else we produced,
our answer would be yes.

794
00:47:46,566 --> 00:47:52,966
(siren blaring)

795
00:47:52,966 --> 00:47:55,400
REPORTER:
At every airbase in Iran,

796
00:47:55,400 --> 00:47:58,333
fully armed jet fighters
wait outside

797
00:47:58,333 --> 00:47:59,733
their blast-proof hangars.

798
00:48:00,733 --> 00:48:05,766
These drills go on every day.

799
00:48:05,766 --> 00:48:08,433
Iran sees herself as surrounded
by unstable

800
00:48:08,433 --> 00:48:10,966
and not-so-friendly neighbors.

801
00:48:10,966 --> 00:48:14,600
And the Shah of Iran sees his
massive investment

802
00:48:14,600 --> 00:48:18,633
in modern weapons
as an absolute necessity.

803
00:48:18,633 --> 00:48:23,100
I think that the reasons
are there, loud and clear.

804
00:48:24,500 --> 00:48:27,933
I'm not taking any chances.

805
00:48:27,933 --> 00:48:31,766
(soldiers shouting)

806
00:48:31,766 --> 00:48:35,433
BROWN:
He was the biggest single buyer

807
00:48:35,433 --> 00:48:38,666
of American weapons in the
world.

808
00:48:38,666 --> 00:48:42,200
(jet engines idling)

809
00:48:42,200 --> 00:48:47,833
REPORTER:
Each of these planes costs
around $5 million dollars.

810
00:48:47,833 --> 00:48:51,166
While the West seems only
too delighted

811
00:48:51,166 --> 00:48:52,966
to fuel the Shah's military
ambitions,

812
00:48:52,966 --> 00:48:54,266
his growing war machine

813
00:48:54,266 --> 00:48:58,566
looks absurdly disproportionate
to his defense needs,

814
00:48:58,566 --> 00:49:02,700
a positive danger to stability
in the Gulf.

815
00:49:02,700 --> 00:49:04,800
SICK:
He was obsessed
with military hardware.

816
00:49:04,800 --> 00:49:08,200
And he was very smart,
he was very knowledgeable.

817
00:49:08,200 --> 00:49:11,133
And the White House would
back up the Shah

818
00:49:11,133 --> 00:49:13,266
and give him whatever he wanted,

819
00:49:13,266 --> 00:49:15,166
because that was what we had
promised him.

820
00:49:18,333 --> 00:49:21,833
REPORTER:
As commander-in-chief,
why is it that you need

821
00:49:21,833 --> 00:49:24,200
a fighter-bomber force
of 300 planes?

822
00:49:24,200 --> 00:49:28,066
Why do you need 700 helicopters,
1,700 tanks?

823
00:49:28,066 --> 00:49:29,933
Where exactly is the threat

824
00:49:29,933 --> 00:49:32,466
the demands of a war machine
of this size?

825
00:49:34,366 --> 00:49:37,133
SICK:
I basically was hired

826
00:49:37,133 --> 00:49:42,366
at the National Security Council
because the Shah was spending

827
00:49:42,366 --> 00:49:45,700
so much of his wealth on
military equipment,

828
00:49:45,700 --> 00:49:47,600
that everybody was worried

829
00:49:47,600 --> 00:49:49,200
all the way up
and down the line,

830
00:49:49,200 --> 00:49:51,000
and this was up to the level
of the White House by this time,

831
00:49:51,000 --> 00:49:55,000
that he was creating trouble
for himself

832
00:49:55,000 --> 00:50:00,600
by not paying enough attention
to his domestic constituents.

833
00:50:03,000 --> 00:50:08,100
The United States had been
worried about this from day one.

834
00:50:09,166 --> 00:50:11,800
(explosion)

835
00:50:20,400 --> 00:50:22,000
PAHLAVI:
I think that we can...

836
00:50:24,233 --> 00:50:29,466
say very firmly
and with absolute certainty

837
00:50:29,466 --> 00:50:34,233
that Iran will not only become
an industrial nation,

838
00:50:34,233 --> 00:50:39,266
but, in my assessment,
in 12 years time,

839
00:50:39,266 --> 00:50:43,700
enter what we say "the era
of the Great Civilization."

840
00:50:45,833 --> 00:50:50,600
SICK:
The Shah desperately wanted
the price of oil to go up.

841
00:50:50,600 --> 00:50:53,933
He needed the money

842
00:50:53,933 --> 00:51:00,833
to carry out his very ambitious
development plans.

843
00:51:00,833 --> 00:51:03,933
When the massive breakthrough

844
00:51:03,933 --> 00:51:07,300
in terms of oil prices took
place in the '70s,

845
00:51:07,300 --> 00:51:10,766
he quit taking orders from
us entirely.

846
00:51:10,766 --> 00:51:14,900
Suddenly, the Shah was one of
the richest people in the world.

847
00:51:14,900 --> 00:51:17,466
He had tremendous resources
to work with,

848
00:51:17,466 --> 00:51:19,466
and the price went sky high.

849
00:51:22,400 --> 00:51:25,800
BARRY ROSEN:
He was supposedly our friend,
our ally.

850
00:51:25,800 --> 00:51:27,566
But at the same time, the Shah

851
00:51:27,566 --> 00:51:29,666
had his own sense of
independence.

852
00:51:29,666 --> 00:51:34,166
"I am the Light of the Aryans,
and so why can't I start

853
00:51:34,166 --> 00:51:36,966
squeezing the American economy?"

854
00:51:36,966 --> 00:51:39,400
And the huge sums of money

855
00:51:39,400 --> 00:51:40,766
piling up with the oil
producers?

856
00:51:40,766 --> 00:51:42,766
Well, it's new to you.

857
00:51:42,766 --> 00:51:46,133
It's maybe a little shock
at the beginning,

858
00:51:46,133 --> 00:51:49,266
but you are going to get used
to it.

859
00:51:49,266 --> 00:51:51,100
BARRY ROSEN:
In the early 1970s,

860
00:51:51,100 --> 00:51:56,966
I remember people were lining up
all the time to get gasoline

861
00:51:56,966 --> 00:51:59,166
and the prices were going
higher and higher

862
00:51:59,166 --> 00:52:01,400
and the Shah was part
of that process,

863
00:52:01,400 --> 00:52:05,566
leading OPEC in raising
the prices of oil.

864
00:52:05,566 --> 00:52:08,500
REPORTER:
As the fuel shortage continues
to grow,

865
00:52:08,500 --> 00:52:10,366
the strongest suggestion to come
from Capitol Hill

866
00:52:10,366 --> 00:52:12,833
is for an all-out crash program,

867
00:52:12,833 --> 00:52:14,800
like the one to put
a man on the moon,

868
00:52:14,800 --> 00:52:17,233
as a way to solve
the energy crisis.

869
00:52:20,233 --> 00:52:21,500
SICK:
It was a huge shock all at once,

870
00:52:21,500 --> 00:52:28,200
and completely upset the
finances of most countries

871
00:52:28,200 --> 00:52:31,066
in the world who had
to import their oil.

872
00:52:36,433 --> 00:52:38,400
BROWN (archival):
OPEC members will continue
to meet

873
00:52:38,400 --> 00:52:41,300
and set oil prices
as they see fit.

874
00:52:41,300 --> 00:52:42,966
This will almost certainly mean

875
00:52:42,966 --> 00:52:44,933
more expensive gasoline
in the United States.

876
00:52:44,933 --> 00:52:46,466
(interview):
My husband was a BBC
correspondent,

877
00:52:46,466 --> 00:52:50,300
and he was, in 1972,

878
00:52:50,300 --> 00:52:51,633
he was asked to open

879
00:52:51,633 --> 00:52:54,233
the first BBC bureau in Tehran.

880
00:52:55,600 --> 00:52:59,300
It was a very interesting
period for us.

881
00:52:59,300 --> 00:53:01,466
We lived there
in what we now call

882
00:53:01,466 --> 00:53:03,466
the bad old days of the Shah,

883
00:53:03,466 --> 00:53:06,800
but in many ways,
it was a fantastic time.

884
00:53:06,800 --> 00:53:10,533
Hilary Brown, ABC News, Tehran.

885
00:53:10,533 --> 00:53:11,900
(interview):
On the surface,

886
00:53:11,900 --> 00:53:14,800
the country seemed very,
very westernized.

887
00:53:15,900 --> 00:53:18,600
Oil revenues went up enormously

888
00:53:18,600 --> 00:53:20,600
under the Shah.

889
00:53:22,466 --> 00:53:25,000
(tires screeching)

890
00:53:27,233 --> 00:53:31,333
Western businessmen
were doing business in Iran,

891
00:53:31,333 --> 00:53:33,700
and it was said that

892
00:53:33,700 --> 00:53:36,600
the Pahlavis took
a 15 percent cut

893
00:53:36,600 --> 00:53:42,233
of any contract
that was signed in Iran.

894
00:53:45,766 --> 00:53:48,866
BARRY ROSEN:
A good deal of corruption
started.

895
00:53:48,866 --> 00:53:51,066
And the Pahlavis themselves,

896
00:53:51,066 --> 00:53:54,733
that Mohammad Reza Shah
was the head of,

897
00:53:54,733 --> 00:53:59,666
owned a great deal
of real estate.

898
00:53:59,666 --> 00:54:04,333
A lot of the oil money started
to move in that direction.

899
00:54:04,333 --> 00:54:08,066
There was no accountability
at all.

900
00:54:10,800 --> 00:54:13,533
BROWN:
He was certainly a celebrity,

901
00:54:13,533 --> 00:54:16,866
and his wife
was extremely beautiful.

902
00:54:16,866 --> 00:54:20,233
They sparkled,
they were very glamorous

903
00:54:20,233 --> 00:54:23,033
and that added to their allure.

904
00:54:24,300 --> 00:54:26,900
(people cheering)

905
00:54:28,500 --> 00:54:31,200
You know, the extravagance
of the Pahlavis

906
00:54:31,200 --> 00:54:33,733
and their court were well-known.

907
00:54:33,733 --> 00:54:37,100
But the middle class,

908
00:54:37,100 --> 00:54:40,266
the Iranian middle class
did like him.

909
00:54:41,933 --> 00:54:46,300
♪ ♪

910
00:54:50,733 --> 00:54:51,933
NEWSREEL NARRATOR:
Tehran,

911
00:54:51,933 --> 00:54:54,966
a waterhole when Persia was
mighty,

912
00:54:54,966 --> 00:54:57,866
and now the capital
of the new Iran.

913
00:54:57,866 --> 00:54:59,700
♪ ♪

914
00:54:59,700 --> 00:55:04,133
The tempo here is much
the same as in any other city.

915
00:55:04,133 --> 00:55:07,000
The traffic just as thick.

916
00:55:07,000 --> 00:55:08,800
The working population

917
00:55:08,800 --> 00:55:13,366
equally burdened by office hours
and the clock.

918
00:55:13,366 --> 00:55:17,633
The miniskirt is here,

919
00:55:17,633 --> 00:55:19,166
with all its consequences.
(tires screech)

920
00:55:19,166 --> 00:55:25,600
♪ ♪

921
00:55:25,600 --> 00:55:29,733
BROWN:
The role of women in Iran in the
Shah's Iran was pretty unique.

922
00:55:29,733 --> 00:55:33,233
And the Shah's father,
Reza Shah,

923
00:55:33,233 --> 00:55:36,200
actually began the sort of
emancipation of women

924
00:55:36,200 --> 00:55:38,533
when he abolished the veil.

925
00:55:39,866 --> 00:55:42,600
CAROLE JEROME:
The Shah's efforts to emancipate
women

926
00:55:42,600 --> 00:55:44,100
had actually started
with his father,

927
00:55:44,100 --> 00:55:47,133
who did it by force.

928
00:55:47,133 --> 00:55:49,600
He tried to liberate women

929
00:55:49,600 --> 00:55:52,600
by having his soldiers

930
00:55:52,600 --> 00:55:54,666
ride along on their horses

931
00:55:54,666 --> 00:55:56,633
and rip their chadors from them.

932
00:55:56,633 --> 00:56:00,000
And the women were terrified.

933
00:56:00,000 --> 00:56:03,400
That really wasn't the way
to bring Iranian women

934
00:56:03,400 --> 00:56:07,366
into a new century.

935
00:56:07,366 --> 00:56:11,800
The Shah did it a different way;
what he chose to do

936
00:56:11,800 --> 00:56:13,400
was to educate women.

937
00:56:13,400 --> 00:56:15,833
♪ ♪

938
00:56:15,833 --> 00:56:20,100
And give them a possibility
to take part in society

939
00:56:20,100 --> 00:56:22,366
as educated citizens,

940
00:56:22,366 --> 00:56:24,700
as professionals, as lawyers,

941
00:56:24,700 --> 00:56:26,833
as doctors.

942
00:56:26,833 --> 00:56:28,833
(speaking Farsi)

943
00:56:28,833 --> 00:56:30,600
BROWN:
Under the Shah,

944
00:56:30,600 --> 00:56:35,233
they introduced equal rights
in marriage and divorce,

945
00:56:35,233 --> 00:56:37,033
pretty much abolished polygamy,

946
00:56:37,033 --> 00:56:39,366
because Iranian men could have
four wives if they wished,

947
00:56:39,366 --> 00:56:42,200
raised the, you know,
legal marriage age

948
00:56:42,200 --> 00:56:46,233
to, I think, 16 from 13.

949
00:56:46,233 --> 00:56:48,566
They could drive, and they did.

950
00:56:48,566 --> 00:56:53,433
Hold public office,
go to university,

951
00:56:53,433 --> 00:56:54,900
and wear Western dress,

952
00:56:54,900 --> 00:56:56,533
which they did with great flair,

953
00:56:56,533 --> 00:56:57,866
wear makeup.

954
00:56:57,866 --> 00:57:00,700
And they had the right to vote,

955
00:57:00,700 --> 00:57:05,133
and they also had rights
to abortion-- so, yes,

956
00:57:05,133 --> 00:57:09,066
they were relatively free
under the Shah.

957
00:57:13,866 --> 00:57:15,533
(car horns honking)

958
00:57:15,533 --> 00:57:20,300
What was different and strange
in the Shah's Iran

959
00:57:20,300 --> 00:57:22,266
was the security police,

960
00:57:22,266 --> 00:57:27,366
and the degree to which people
were watched.

961
00:57:27,366 --> 00:57:31,000
(engine buzzing)

962
00:57:31,000 --> 00:57:33,033
REPORTER:
Your Majesty, there's been
considerable criticism

963
00:57:33,033 --> 00:57:34,866
in certain segments
of the foreign press

964
00:57:34,866 --> 00:57:36,966
about political repression,
censorship,

965
00:57:36,966 --> 00:57:39,066
the role of
the security police

966
00:57:39,066 --> 00:57:42,033
in controlling potential
opposition in Iran.

967
00:57:42,033 --> 00:57:45,166
PAHLAVI:
My only answer is that,

968
00:57:45,166 --> 00:57:46,533
who cares?

969
00:57:46,533 --> 00:57:48,066
They can say whatever they want.

970
00:57:48,066 --> 00:57:51,666
BROWN: Iran under the Shah
was a police state.

971
00:57:51,666 --> 00:57:54,200
I mean, a very nasty
police state,

972
00:57:54,200 --> 00:57:58,166
and with a secret service known
as the SAVAK,

973
00:57:58,166 --> 00:58:01,466
which was everywhere,
which was all-pervasive.

974
00:58:01,466 --> 00:58:05,166
There were SAVAK informers
absolutely everywhere.

975
00:58:05,166 --> 00:58:06,966
Why do you need a SAVAK at all?

976
00:58:06,966 --> 00:58:07,833
Why do you need
this secret police?

977
00:58:07,833 --> 00:58:10,533
What?
Everybody has.

978
00:58:10,533 --> 00:58:13,033
Who has... who hasn't
got a secret police?

979
00:58:13,033 --> 00:58:15,466
♪ ♪

980
00:58:18,800 --> 00:58:20,600
REPORTER:
Filmed secretly,

981
00:58:20,600 --> 00:58:22,800
the political prison of Evin,

982
00:58:22,800 --> 00:58:25,500
its cells and torture chambers
buried underground.

983
00:58:25,500 --> 00:58:26,900
One girl was sent there for

984
00:58:26,900 --> 00:58:29,800
owning a copy of
"The Thoughts of Mao Zedong."

985
00:58:29,800 --> 00:58:32,266
For months, they asked her
a single question:

986
00:58:32,266 --> 00:58:34,366
"Who gave you the book?"

987
00:58:34,366 --> 00:58:36,633
They started to torture me.

988
00:58:36,633 --> 00:58:39,600
 
They flog,

989
00:58:39,600 --> 00:58:43,366
and they hang me from a ceiling.

990
00:58:43,366 --> 00:58:45,733
They shocked with elec...
electric shock.

991
00:58:45,733 --> 00:58:47,100
REPORTER:
They hung you from the ceiling?

992
00:58:47,100 --> 00:58:48,966
Yes, here by the hand,
by the wrists.

993
00:58:48,966 --> 00:58:52,300
For three months,
they tortured me,

994
00:58:52,300 --> 00:58:54,300
about 38 or 40 times,

995
00:58:54,300 --> 00:58:55,566
every morning
and every afternoon.

996
00:58:57,566 --> 00:58:59,066
BROWN:
I don't think we really ever

997
00:58:59,066 --> 00:59:01,433
understood just how
all-pervasive and terrifying

998
00:59:01,433 --> 00:59:05,500
SAVAK was for ordinary Iranians.

999
00:59:05,500 --> 00:59:09,133
They lived in a perpetual state
of fear and paranoia

1000
00:59:09,133 --> 00:59:12,666
because there were
so many informers.

1001
00:59:12,666 --> 00:59:15,166
They knew that they could be
arrested at any moment

1002
00:59:15,166 --> 00:59:19,400
just for a single slip of
the tongue or a misplaced word.

1003
00:59:19,400 --> 00:59:24,433
And part of SAVAK's role was
to elicit criticism,

1004
00:59:24,433 --> 00:59:27,233
to provoke someone
into saying something

1005
00:59:27,233 --> 00:59:31,966
that could be vaguely critical
of the monarchy, for example.

1006
00:59:31,966 --> 00:59:33,966
Then they would be
arrested or disappeared

1007
00:59:33,966 --> 00:59:36,766
or tortured or even executed.

1008
00:59:36,766 --> 00:59:40,600
♪ ♪

1009
00:59:40,600 --> 00:59:43,533
In 1975, when the Shah
was at the peak of his powers,

1010
00:59:43,533 --> 00:59:45,866
ABC thought that,
you know, we should go in

1011
00:59:45,866 --> 00:59:47,900
and do a series of stories
on Iran,

1012
00:59:47,900 --> 00:59:51,066
on pro-Western,
pro-American Iran,

1013
00:59:51,066 --> 00:59:54,333
and they thought that
I'd be the person to do it

1014
00:59:54,333 --> 00:59:56,800
because, you know,
I had lived there.

1015
00:59:56,800 --> 01:00:01,733
I was then ABC's first
female foreign correspondent.

1016
01:00:03,733 --> 01:00:07,066
So we started off with
an interview with the Shah.

1017
01:00:07,066 --> 01:00:09,066
(birds chirping)

1018
01:00:09,066 --> 01:00:11,200
You know, the Shah had to know
about these abuses,

1019
01:00:11,200 --> 01:00:16,100
since nothing was done
without his orders.

1020
01:00:16,100 --> 01:00:17,433
Your Majesty,
you were speaking of

1021
01:00:17,433 --> 01:00:19,000
activities in the Gulf,
subversion...

1022
01:00:19,000 --> 01:00:21,666
(voiceover):
And I began by asking

1023
01:00:21,666 --> 01:00:24,933
the sort of softball questions
about the economy,

1024
01:00:24,933 --> 01:00:26,600
his ambitions to turn Iran

1025
01:00:26,600 --> 01:00:29,566
into a great nation.

1026
01:00:29,566 --> 01:00:31,866
And then I sort of switched
to the less convenient questions

1027
01:00:31,866 --> 01:00:33,166
about the arrest of dissidents

1028
01:00:33,166 --> 01:00:35,333
who have criticized you
for your policies.

1029
01:00:35,333 --> 01:00:38,033
But there is no opposition
to the regime,

1030
01:00:38,033 --> 01:00:39,700
except those who are
the terrorists.

1031
01:00:39,700 --> 01:00:41,933
Yes, we have. We have them.

1032
01:00:41,933 --> 01:00:43,133
BROWN:
You're saying that there's
no opposition?

1033
01:00:44,733 --> 01:00:48,466
And then I moved into
the question of human rights.

1034
01:00:48,466 --> 01:00:51,166
I know you've been
frequently questioned about

1035
01:00:51,166 --> 01:00:55,100
allegations of torture
practiced by your secret police,

1036
01:00:55,100 --> 01:00:56,533
and I must ask you this,

1037
01:00:56,533 --> 01:01:00,133
because it does
concern Americans.

1038
01:01:00,133 --> 01:01:02,933
Could I refer to an article
in "The Sunday Times"

1039
01:01:02,933 --> 01:01:04,866
which describes
an instrument of torture

1040
01:01:04,866 --> 01:01:06,700
called "the hot table,"

1041
01:01:06,700 --> 01:01:08,900
which is said
to be used by SAVAK.

1042
01:01:08,900 --> 01:01:10,566
And they say that
it's an iron frame

1043
01:01:10,566 --> 01:01:12,033
covered with wire mesh

1044
01:01:12,033 --> 01:01:14,433
that's electrically heated
like a toaster.

1045
01:01:14,433 --> 01:01:16,300
And prisoners would
be strapped to the table

1046
01:01:16,300 --> 01:01:19,200
while it was heated
until it became red hot.

1047
01:01:19,200 --> 01:01:20,933
Do you have any comment
to make on that?

1048
01:01:20,933 --> 01:01:22,033
I mean, it's a terrifying
allegation...

1049
01:01:22,033 --> 01:01:24,633
Is it really something
that you will ask

1050
01:01:24,633 --> 01:01:28,233
in a television interview
from a responsible man like me?

1051
01:01:28,233 --> 01:01:29,800
Yes, I think you're
precisely

1052
01:01:29,800 --> 01:01:31,300
the person
I should ask about it.

1053
01:01:31,300 --> 01:01:33,600
It's so rubbish
that I'm not even going to

1054
01:01:33,600 --> 01:01:34,800
bother to answer to you.

1055
01:01:34,800 --> 01:01:36,333
It's rubbish,
uh-huh.

1056
01:01:36,333 --> 01:01:39,933
The article also referred
to the trial of an engineer

1057
01:01:39,933 --> 01:01:42,533
who was tried,
and the trial was attended by

1058
01:01:42,533 --> 01:01:45,266
a couple of French lawyers,
and they say that

1059
01:01:45,266 --> 01:01:49,100
this man showed them
the scars from such a table.

1060
01:01:49,100 --> 01:01:50,600
Where?
Here in Tehran.

1061
01:01:50,600 --> 01:01:52,366
Where? Where were--
the scars, where?

1062
01:01:52,366 --> 01:01:54,133
In... on his back
and on his chest.

1063
01:01:54,133 --> 01:01:55,833
You can scratch yourself
very easily.

1064
01:01:55,833 --> 01:01:58,300
No, the lawyers said...

1065
01:01:58,300 --> 01:01:59,900
The lawyers.
Which kind of lawyers?

1066
01:02:00,700 --> 01:02:02,566
That was
considered to be...

1067
01:02:02,566 --> 01:02:05,400
Really, honestly, never heard
anything like this.

1068
01:02:05,400 --> 01:02:07,333
But you are really exaggerating.

1069
01:02:07,333 --> 01:02:09,333
This is not serious,
this kind of interview.

1070
01:02:09,333 --> 01:02:12,100
I'm not going to
answer to you any more.

1071
01:02:12,100 --> 01:02:13,366
Fine.
Well, perhaps

1072
01:02:13,366 --> 01:02:14,466
we could go on
to something else...

1073
01:02:14,466 --> 01:02:15,700
No, I'm finished.

1074
01:02:15,700 --> 01:02:17,666
Oh, please, Your Majesty.
I'm finished with you.

1075
01:02:17,666 --> 01:02:18,966
It's ridiculous.
Don't you think we must

1076
01:02:18,966 --> 01:02:19,966
ask you
this sort of thing?

1077
01:02:19,966 --> 01:02:21,233
No.

1078
01:02:21,233 --> 01:02:22,400
Well, can I ask you

1079
01:02:22,400 --> 01:02:24,933
about your personal sense
of mission,

1080
01:02:24,933 --> 01:02:26,300
which you obviously have.

1081
01:02:26,300 --> 01:02:28,600
I'm not going to
answer to you anymore.

1082
01:02:28,600 --> 01:02:30,166
You are so used to
these questions.

1083
01:02:30,166 --> 01:02:31,200
Not from...

1084
01:02:31,200 --> 01:02:32,300
Don't you think that...

1085
01:02:32,300 --> 01:02:34,433
(rustling, static)

1086
01:02:34,433 --> 01:02:36,666
The Shah then got up,
shook my hand,

1087
01:02:36,666 --> 01:02:38,033
and walked out.

1088
01:02:40,366 --> 01:02:43,533
♪ ♪

1089
01:02:48,500 --> 01:02:51,300
BARRY ROSEN:
For the first time in
Iranian history,

1090
01:02:51,300 --> 01:02:54,733
a shah of Iran
tried to control everything.

1091
01:02:54,733 --> 01:02:58,200
Shahs before him
didn't control everything.

1092
01:02:58,200 --> 01:03:01,300
They controlled parts of
society, but not everything.

1093
01:03:02,266 --> 01:03:05,333
♪ ♪

1094
01:03:12,733 --> 01:03:16,166
The United States
made a deal with Iran,

1095
01:03:16,166 --> 01:03:17,600
with the Shah explicitly,

1096
01:03:17,600 --> 01:03:22,700
that we would not interfere
in internal politics in Iran.

1097
01:03:22,700 --> 01:03:25,866
And this was
an active ingredient

1098
01:03:25,866 --> 01:03:28,700
in U.S.-Iran relations,
up and until

1099
01:03:28,700 --> 01:03:30,866
and including Jimmy Carter.

1100
01:03:30,866 --> 01:03:34,500
♪ ♪

1101
01:03:43,500 --> 01:03:46,800
Our destiny was set.

1102
01:03:46,800 --> 01:03:51,200
We were with the Shah
and there was no other way out.

1103
01:03:57,833 --> 01:04:03,000
♪ ♪

1104
01:04:03,000 --> 01:04:05,066
After I came back from
the Peace Corps,

1105
01:04:05,066 --> 01:04:08,333
I was invited through a friend

1106
01:04:08,333 --> 01:04:11,233
to go to Kennedy Airport

1107
01:04:11,233 --> 01:04:15,100
to be part of
the inaugural ceremony

1108
01:04:15,100 --> 01:04:19,666
of the new 747 jumbo jet.

1109
01:04:21,166 --> 01:04:23,500
BARBARA ROSEN:
There was a singles gathering

1110
01:04:23,500 --> 01:04:26,000
on the 747s when they first came
out,

1111
01:04:26,000 --> 01:04:27,666
and it was at Kennedy Airport.

1112
01:04:27,666 --> 01:04:31,700
And as I walked
through the plane, Barry,

1113
01:04:31,700 --> 01:04:33,000
he approached me and said,

1114
01:04:33,000 --> 01:04:35,866
"Is that an Iranian blouse
you're wearing?"

1115
01:04:35,866 --> 01:04:37,100
It sort of set the stage

1116
01:04:37,100 --> 01:04:40,833
for what our whole life
was going to revolve around.

1117
01:04:43,266 --> 01:04:46,733
He was a graduate student
at Columbia

1118
01:04:46,733 --> 01:04:49,266
going for his doctorate in
Iranian studies,

1119
01:04:49,266 --> 01:04:52,033
and I was just
a person from Brooklyn.

1120
01:04:52,033 --> 01:04:54,866
You know, I'd never
met anyone like that,

1121
01:04:54,866 --> 01:04:57,200
and it was very...

1122
01:04:57,200 --> 01:04:59,266
intriguing.

1123
01:04:59,266 --> 01:05:00,533
When we started dating,

1124
01:05:00,533 --> 01:05:03,066
he spoke a lot
about the Peace Corps

1125
01:05:03,066 --> 01:05:04,500
and how much he loved Iran

1126
01:05:04,500 --> 01:05:07,533
and what a beautiful country
it was.

1127
01:05:07,533 --> 01:05:09,433
And it was just so amazing,

1128
01:05:09,433 --> 01:05:11,333
all of the things
that he had done.

1129
01:05:13,566 --> 01:05:17,266
Eventually, Barry and I,
we got married.

1130
01:05:19,866 --> 01:05:20,966
I was always interested

1131
01:05:20,966 --> 01:05:23,466
in that part of the world,

1132
01:05:23,466 --> 01:05:24,666
but always specifically wanted

1133
01:05:24,666 --> 01:05:26,233
to get back to Iran.

1134
01:05:27,533 --> 01:05:29,933
And I wanted Barbara
and the kids

1135
01:05:29,933 --> 01:05:34,366
to feel what I felt
about the place.

1136
01:05:34,366 --> 01:05:38,933
The opportunity arose
to serve as

1137
01:05:38,933 --> 01:05:43,366
the press attaché at
the U.S. embassy in Tehran.

1138
01:05:43,366 --> 01:05:47,366
And that meant
a whole bunch of problems

1139
01:05:47,366 --> 01:05:50,133
in terms of
Barbara's and my life,

1140
01:05:50,133 --> 01:05:52,333
because I had
to train in Washington

1141
01:05:52,333 --> 01:05:55,733
and she had
to move to Brooklyn.

1142
01:05:55,733 --> 01:05:59,033
But I was committed to
go back to Iran.

1143
01:05:59,033 --> 01:06:01,500
(ambient traffic,
distant fanfare)

1144
01:06:01,500 --> 01:06:03,333
DAVID BRINKLEY:
The Shah of Iran

1145
01:06:03,333 --> 01:06:05,533
arrived in the U.S. today,
coming to Washington tomorrow.

1146
01:06:05,533 --> 01:06:08,900
He says if
the United States wants

1147
01:06:08,900 --> 01:06:11,466
a strong ally
on the Persian Gulf,

1148
01:06:11,466 --> 01:06:14,200
it ought to be glad
he is building a huge,

1149
01:06:14,200 --> 01:06:17,733
formidable military machine.

1150
01:06:17,733 --> 01:06:20,266
BARRY ROSEN:
During this time, I said,

1151
01:06:20,266 --> 01:06:22,500
"Well, you know,
the Shah's coming,

1152
01:06:22,500 --> 01:06:25,133
I'd like to
see what's going on."

1153
01:06:25,133 --> 01:06:26,366
WALTER CRONKITE (archive):
Mr. Carter won't be

1154
01:06:26,366 --> 01:06:28,166
the only one greeting
the Shah in Washington.

1155
01:06:28,166 --> 01:06:30,366
(Iranian students protesting)

1156
01:06:30,366 --> 01:06:32,233
STUDENT LEADER:
Shah is a U.S. puppet!

1157
01:06:32,233 --> 01:06:33,700
Down with the Shah!

1158
01:06:33,700 --> 01:06:35,166
STUDENTS:
Shah is a U.S. puppet!

1159
01:06:35,166 --> 01:06:36,266
Down with the Shah!

1160
01:06:36,266 --> 01:06:38,500
STUDENT LEADER:
Shah is a fascist butcher!

1161
01:06:38,500 --> 01:06:40,033
Down with the Shah!

1162
01:06:40,033 --> 01:06:41,833
STUDENTS:
Shah is a fascist butcher!

1163
01:06:41,833 --> 01:06:43,033
Down with the Shah!

1164
01:06:43,033 --> 01:06:45,266
STUDENT LEADER:
U.S., get out of Iran!

1165
01:06:45,266 --> 01:06:47,066
STUDENTS:
U.S., get out of Iran!

1166
01:06:47,066 --> 01:06:48,733
STUDENT LEADER:
U.S., get out of Iran!

1167
01:06:48,733 --> 01:06:51,133
STUDENTS:
U.S., get out of Iran!

1168
01:06:51,133 --> 01:06:54,100
(crowd clamoring)

1169
01:06:54,100 --> 01:06:56,700
SICK:
When the Shah arrived
in Washington,

1170
01:06:56,700 --> 01:07:00,233
his visit was preceded by

1171
01:07:00,233 --> 01:07:04,400
days and days of groups
of Iranian students

1172
01:07:04,400 --> 01:07:06,300
across the street
from the White House

1173
01:07:06,300 --> 01:07:07,933
just bombarding us with noise.

1174
01:07:07,933 --> 01:07:12,966
(indistinct clamoring)

1175
01:07:12,966 --> 01:07:15,966
COUNTER-PROTESTER:
Iran is a leader in the fight

1176
01:07:15,966 --> 01:07:19,066
against communist aggression
around the world.

1177
01:07:19,066 --> 01:07:23,300
REPORTER:
At least five planeloads of
pro-Shah demonstrators

1178
01:07:23,300 --> 01:07:24,533
are arriving in Washington,

1179
01:07:24,533 --> 01:07:28,200
along with
over 400 Iranian military men

1180
01:07:28,200 --> 01:07:30,133
who are in training here
in the United States.

1181
01:07:30,133 --> 01:07:32,533
COUNTER-PROTESTERS:
We love the Shah!

1182
01:07:32,533 --> 01:07:33,900
WOMAN:
Long live Shah!

1183
01:07:33,900 --> 01:07:34,900
COUNTER-PROTESTERS:
Long live Shah!

1184
01:07:34,900 --> 01:07:36,533
REPORTER:
And there have been ads

1185
01:07:36,533 --> 01:07:38,400
in major American newspapers

1186
01:07:38,400 --> 01:07:39,833
in support of the Shah.

1187
01:07:39,833 --> 01:07:41,566
Just who is paying for
all of this

1188
01:07:41,566 --> 01:07:43,400
is somewhat of a mystery.

1189
01:07:43,400 --> 01:07:44,600
MAN:
Long live Shah!

1190
01:07:44,600 --> 01:07:45,766
COUNTER-PROTESTERS:
Long live Shah!

1191
01:07:45,766 --> 01:07:47,433
BARRY ROSEN:
The Iranian government

1192
01:07:47,433 --> 01:07:48,433
sent in their own people

1193
01:07:48,433 --> 01:07:51,500
as a counterweight against

1194
01:07:51,500 --> 01:07:55,100
these student protesters,
students who felt that

1195
01:07:55,100 --> 01:07:57,533
they had no voice in Iran.

1196
01:07:57,533 --> 01:07:59,366
(clattering)

1197
01:07:59,366 --> 01:08:01,133
SICK:
The students, of course,
wore masks,

1198
01:08:01,133 --> 01:08:04,233
so that SAVAK
couldn't identify them

1199
01:08:04,233 --> 01:08:06,200
and know who to come after.

1200
01:08:06,200 --> 01:08:09,900
(indistinct yelling)

1201
01:08:09,900 --> 01:08:11,733
OFFICER:
Get away from him!

1202
01:08:15,500 --> 01:08:17,466
(fanfare playing)

1203
01:08:17,466 --> 01:08:20,100
(helicopter blades churning)

1204
01:08:20,100 --> 01:08:22,733
(fanfare continues)

1205
01:08:22,733 --> 01:08:26,866
(tear gas bursting)

1206
01:08:30,233 --> 01:08:31,700
BARRY ROSEN:
I stood there,

1207
01:08:31,700 --> 01:08:34,766
and I was trying to listen,

1208
01:08:34,766 --> 01:08:37,066
and then there was
this cloud of tear gas.

1209
01:08:37,066 --> 01:08:39,100
(popping)

1210
01:08:39,100 --> 01:08:42,666
I couldn't really see anything.

1211
01:08:42,666 --> 01:08:43,933
It was a fiasco.

1212
01:08:45,366 --> 01:08:46,800
SICK:
They got out of control,

1213
01:08:46,800 --> 01:08:50,466
and so the police used some
tear gas to quell the crowds.

1214
01:08:50,466 --> 01:08:53,166
JIMMY CARTER:
This morning,

1215
01:08:53,166 --> 01:08:57,266
our nation and its people
are indeed honored

1216
01:08:57,266 --> 01:08:58,733
to have visiting us from Iran...

1217
01:08:58,733 --> 01:09:01,100
MAN (quietly):
Clouds of tear gas...

1218
01:09:01,100 --> 01:09:03,000
...his Imperial Majesty and
Empress Farah.

1219
01:09:03,000 --> 01:09:06,033
SICK:
And that tear gas came

1220
01:09:06,033 --> 01:09:07,766
wafting over the lawn.

1221
01:09:07,766 --> 01:09:09,933
Everybody was
coughing and sneezing.

1222
01:09:09,933 --> 01:09:11,700
CARTER:
Historically bound together...

1223
01:09:11,700 --> 01:09:13,466
SICK:
I was in one of the front rows

1224
01:09:13,466 --> 01:09:15,733
in the audience,

1225
01:09:15,733 --> 01:09:17,966
and it was my very
first experience with tear gas.

1226
01:09:17,966 --> 01:09:20,600
CARTER:
Your Imperial Majesty,

1227
01:09:20,600 --> 01:09:23,333
we welcome you to our country.

1228
01:09:23,333 --> 01:09:24,600
(woman gasping for air)

1229
01:09:24,600 --> 01:09:27,233
MAN:
Hell of a welcome.

1230
01:09:27,233 --> 01:09:28,500
SICK:
The Shah was up there

1231
01:09:28,500 --> 01:09:31,700
trying to make his speech
and wiping his eyes.

1232
01:09:31,700 --> 01:09:35,366
Mr. President, Mrs. Carter...

1233
01:09:35,366 --> 01:09:37,233
WOMAN (inhaling):
Oh, God.

1234
01:09:37,233 --> 01:09:41,533
(crowd murmuring indistinctly)

1235
01:09:41,533 --> 01:09:43,433
Thank you very much for

1236
01:09:43,433 --> 01:09:47,733
your very warm words of welcome.

1237
01:09:47,733 --> 01:09:51,700
(shouting)

1238
01:09:51,700 --> 01:09:53,500
(indistinct yelling)

1239
01:09:53,500 --> 01:09:56,033
CROWD (chanting):
Down with the Shah!

1240
01:09:56,033 --> 01:09:58,833
Down with the Shah!
Down with the Shah!

1241
01:09:58,833 --> 01:10:00,833
SICK:
It was certainly my first
acquaintance

1242
01:10:00,833 --> 01:10:05,566
with the fact that there were
a lot of young Iranians

1243
01:10:05,566 --> 01:10:08,833
who were very, very unhappy

1244
01:10:08,833 --> 01:10:11,200
with the Shah and his rule.

1245
01:10:11,200 --> 01:10:13,566
♪ ♪

1246
01:10:13,566 --> 01:10:14,633
PROTESTORS:
Down with the Shah!

1247
01:10:14,633 --> 01:10:16,300
Down with the Shah!

1248
01:10:16,300 --> 01:10:18,200
REPORTER:
For 30 minutes,
they fought one another

1249
01:10:18,200 --> 01:10:20,400
and police,
moving back and forth

1250
01:10:20,400 --> 01:10:22,600
across the Ellipse
behind the White House.

1251
01:10:22,600 --> 01:10:25,833
(pained crying, yelling)

1252
01:10:27,366 --> 01:10:29,466
The Shah should
kill them one by one.

1253
01:10:29,466 --> 01:10:31,533
REPORTER:
It took police reinforcements

1254
01:10:31,533 --> 01:10:32,966
and tear gas to end the
fighting,

1255
01:10:32,966 --> 01:10:37,000
but not until more than 80
people had been injured.

1256
01:10:37,000 --> 01:10:40,933
PROTESTERS:
Down with the Shah!

1257
01:10:40,933 --> 01:10:44,000
(indistinct radio chatter)

1258
01:10:44,000 --> 01:10:46,433
For me...

1259
01:10:46,433 --> 01:10:49,266
it was one of the first
portents of

1260
01:10:49,266 --> 01:10:51,566
"things are not going right."

1261
01:10:54,333 --> 01:10:56,300
This movement within Iran

1262
01:10:56,300 --> 01:11:00,200
that I kept reading about
was early on.

1263
01:11:00,200 --> 01:11:01,666
But look what happened here
in Washington,

1264
01:11:01,666 --> 01:11:05,600
where everybody is
protected from what's going on.

1265
01:11:05,600 --> 01:11:08,200
(birds cawing)

1266
01:11:08,200 --> 01:11:09,933
SICK:
You go through these things.

1267
01:11:09,933 --> 01:11:12,433
It's not that, that it didn't
register; it did register.

1268
01:11:12,433 --> 01:11:15,166
I mean, this was
a very powerful moment.

1269
01:11:16,166 --> 01:11:20,233
But...

1270
01:11:20,233 --> 01:11:22,866
it doesn't
translate into saying

1271
01:11:22,866 --> 01:11:25,500
that this ruler is doomed.

1272
01:11:25,500 --> 01:11:28,000
(indistinct clamoring)

1273
01:11:28,000 --> 01:11:30,900
You looked at
that group of people

1274
01:11:30,900 --> 01:11:33,433
clustered across the street
from the White House

1275
01:11:33,433 --> 01:11:37,400
and you put that against
a well-oiled regime

1276
01:11:37,400 --> 01:11:41,266
with lots of soldiers
and the like,

1277
01:11:41,266 --> 01:11:43,066
and it was going to take
more than that

1278
01:11:43,066 --> 01:11:44,200
to bring him down.

1279
01:11:44,200 --> 01:11:47,466
(crowd cheering)

1280
01:11:47,466 --> 01:11:49,666
REPORTER:
The Shah told reporters

1281
01:11:49,666 --> 01:11:52,033
he wasn't bothered
by the demonstrations.

1282
01:11:52,033 --> 01:11:53,900
The nature of
these demonstrations

1283
01:11:53,900 --> 01:11:56,933
shows that they are violent.

1284
01:11:56,933 --> 01:11:58,933
They are nihilistic.

1285
01:11:58,933 --> 01:12:02,700
They are working for
world disorder.

1286
01:12:02,700 --> 01:12:05,200
Terrorism.

1287
01:12:05,200 --> 01:12:07,766
And...

1288
01:12:07,766 --> 01:12:10,600
we are not a,

1289
01:12:10,600 --> 01:12:12,800
a weakling that is
going to fall.

1290
01:12:14,600 --> 01:12:16,300
SICK:
We met in the Cabinet Room,

1291
01:12:16,300 --> 01:12:17,900
and Carter apologized for this,

1292
01:12:17,900 --> 01:12:20,433
was clearly
embarrassed and aggrieved

1293
01:12:20,433 --> 01:12:23,400
that this could happen
to a guest that was there.

1294
01:12:23,400 --> 01:12:27,666
They sat down and immediately
began talking high policy

1295
01:12:27,666 --> 01:12:30,433
and military security
and across the board.

1296
01:12:30,433 --> 01:12:32,966
REPORTER:
The Shah of Iran said last night

1297
01:12:32,966 --> 01:12:35,300
that President Carter talked him
into changing his position

1298
01:12:35,300 --> 01:12:38,333
from one of neutrality
on keeping oil prices down

1299
01:12:38,333 --> 01:12:39,900
to a position of activism.

1300
01:12:39,900 --> 01:12:43,333
ED BRADLEY:
In a shift from his earlier
public pronouncements,

1301
01:12:43,333 --> 01:12:44,533
the Shah said Iran would

1302
01:12:44,533 --> 01:12:47,266
fight any efforts
to increase the price of oil.

1303
01:12:47,266 --> 01:12:50,800
It's now thought that
the Carter administration

1304
01:12:50,800 --> 01:12:53,700
will seek congressional approval
for the Shah's request

1305
01:12:53,700 --> 01:12:55,866
for sophisticated
military equipment.

1306
01:13:00,866 --> 01:13:04,233
♪ ♪

1307
01:13:05,800 --> 01:13:09,400
CARTER:
Some have asked
why we came to Iran

1308
01:13:09,400 --> 01:13:13,766
so close behind the delightful
visit that we received

1309
01:13:13,766 --> 01:13:18,233
from the Shah and Empress Farah
just a month or so ago.

1310
01:13:18,233 --> 01:13:23,133
After they left our country,
I asked my wife,

1311
01:13:23,133 --> 01:13:27,700
"With whom would you
like to spend New Year's Eve?"

1312
01:13:27,700 --> 01:13:29,200
And she said,
"Above all others,

1313
01:13:29,200 --> 01:13:31,133
I think, with the
Shah and Empress Farah."

1314
01:13:31,133 --> 01:13:33,233
So we arranged
a trip accordingly, and...

1315
01:13:33,233 --> 01:13:35,766
(applause)
...came for the New Year.

1316
01:13:35,766 --> 01:13:38,633
(applause continues, fades)

1317
01:13:42,233 --> 01:13:46,000
SICK:
We didn't see any demonstrations
in Tehran.

1318
01:13:46,000 --> 01:13:48,133
There were
people along the road

1319
01:13:48,133 --> 01:13:50,866
all the way in,

1320
01:13:50,866 --> 01:13:52,833
and at no point along the way

1321
01:13:52,833 --> 01:13:55,366
were we confronted
with protesters at all.

1322
01:13:58,700 --> 01:14:02,900
Iran, because of the great
leadership of the Shah,

1323
01:14:02,900 --> 01:14:08,466
is an island of stability

1324
01:14:08,466 --> 01:14:12,866
in one of the more troubled
areas of the world.

1325
01:14:12,866 --> 01:14:16,033
This is a great tribute to you,

1326
01:14:16,033 --> 01:14:19,233
Your Majesty,
and to the respect

1327
01:14:19,233 --> 01:14:20,600
and the admiration and love

1328
01:14:20,600 --> 01:14:23,533
which your people
give to you.

1329
01:14:23,533 --> 01:14:26,666
I would like to offer a toast,

1330
01:14:26,666 --> 01:14:29,766
and to the world peace
that we hope together

1331
01:14:29,766 --> 01:14:31,200
we can help to bring.

1332
01:14:33,966 --> 01:14:37,200
(glasses clinking,
flash bulbs popping)

1333
01:14:40,266 --> 01:14:44,333
SICK:
The Iranian revolution
started in January of 1978,

1334
01:14:44,333 --> 01:14:47,600
within weeks of when Carter
was actually in Tehran.

1335
01:14:47,600 --> 01:14:49,566
(applause)

1336
01:14:49,566 --> 01:14:52,866
The irony, of course,
was enormous.

1337
01:14:52,866 --> 01:14:55,833
(applause continues)

1338
01:14:58,533 --> 01:15:02,700
♪ ♪

1339
01:15:02,700 --> 01:15:07,566
In January of 1978,
the Shah and SAVAK

1340
01:15:07,566 --> 01:15:11,466
published an article
accusing Khomeini

1341
01:15:11,466 --> 01:15:14,800
of being a British agent,
a homosexual,

1342
01:15:14,800 --> 01:15:16,866
a lot of things.

1343
01:15:16,866 --> 01:15:20,166
And there was
outrage about this.

1344
01:15:24,433 --> 01:15:27,700
(protesters chanting)

1345
01:15:27,700 --> 01:15:29,300
It led to
these demonstrations.

1346
01:15:29,300 --> 01:15:32,066
(indistinct speaking
on megaphone)

1347
01:15:32,066 --> 01:15:34,500
PROTESTERS (in Farsi):

1348
01:15:37,533 --> 01:15:38,866
(distant weapons firing)

1349
01:15:38,866 --> 01:15:41,700
SICK:
And a number of people
were killed.

1350
01:15:44,333 --> 01:15:48,533
In Shia Islam, there's
a tradition that after a death,

1351
01:15:48,533 --> 01:15:50,666
you wait for 40 days
and you have a commemoration.

1352
01:15:50,666 --> 01:15:54,000
(protesters clamoring)

1353
01:15:54,000 --> 01:15:55,500
There would be
another demonstration.

1354
01:15:55,500 --> 01:15:57,800
(distant gunfire)

1355
01:15:57,800 --> 01:15:58,966
More people would get killed,

1356
01:15:58,966 --> 01:16:01,066
and 40 days after that,
there would be another.

1357
01:16:01,066 --> 01:16:05,533
(weapons firing,
crowd shouting)

1358
01:16:05,533 --> 01:16:07,033
REPORTER:
The government says that

1359
01:16:07,033 --> 01:16:08,733
the death toll is
officially 97.

1360
01:16:08,733 --> 01:16:10,700
The people here at
this funeral say

1361
01:16:10,700 --> 01:16:14,533
it was ten or 20 times that
just in Tehran alone.

1362
01:16:14,533 --> 01:16:17,300
SICK:
It was actually this
40-day interval

1363
01:16:17,300 --> 01:16:19,466
that set off this series of

1364
01:16:19,466 --> 01:16:22,800
demonstrations
that got bigger and bigger

1365
01:16:22,800 --> 01:16:25,133
as the year went along.

1366
01:16:25,133 --> 01:16:28,066
(protesters chanting)

1367
01:16:28,066 --> 01:16:32,200
(chanting):

1368
01:16:35,466 --> 01:16:39,333
(weapons firing)

1369
01:16:42,566 --> 01:16:45,233
(helicopter blades whirring)

1370
01:16:45,233 --> 01:16:46,966
(chanting):

1371
01:16:53,433 --> 01:16:57,033
BARRY ROSEN:
I was ready to go to Iran

1372
01:16:57,033 --> 01:17:01,933
with the family
early November of 1978.

1373
01:17:01,933 --> 01:17:05,566
But I was held back
by Washington

1374
01:17:05,566 --> 01:17:08,600
and told there might be
a restriction

1375
01:17:08,600 --> 01:17:10,866
in bringing families.

1376
01:17:10,866 --> 01:17:14,866
BARBARA ROSEN:
By the time we were ready to go,
the revolution started.

1377
01:17:14,866 --> 01:17:18,466
Families were told not to go,
Barry was told not to go.

1378
01:17:18,466 --> 01:17:21,333
I think he delayed until
almost Thanksgiving

1379
01:17:21,333 --> 01:17:22,333
and then he was sent.

1380
01:17:22,333 --> 01:17:24,700
♪ ♪

1381
01:17:28,133 --> 01:17:31,200
BARRY ROSEN:
And I said, "Well, looks like

1382
01:17:31,200 --> 01:17:34,366
I'm going to have to go
without the family."

1383
01:17:34,366 --> 01:17:38,100
But I was duty bound,
I needed to go.

1384
01:17:38,100 --> 01:17:40,200
(horn honks)

1385
01:17:40,200 --> 01:17:42,933
By the time I arrived in Iran,

1386
01:17:42,933 --> 01:17:46,533
Ambassador Sullivan
had already

1387
01:17:46,533 --> 01:17:49,600
started to move
American families out.

1388
01:17:49,600 --> 01:17:54,666
Many, many
members of corporations

1389
01:17:54,666 --> 01:17:56,333
and businesses were leaving.

1390
01:17:56,333 --> 01:17:59,066
PETER JENNINGS:
Martial law has been declared

1391
01:17:59,066 --> 01:18:01,766
in 12 cities,
including the capital.

1392
01:18:01,766 --> 01:18:03,200
Just after it was imposed,

1393
01:18:03,200 --> 01:18:06,266
government troops fired on
demonstrators in Tehran.

1394
01:18:06,266 --> 01:18:08,200
They were defying
a ban on public protest.

1395
01:18:08,200 --> 01:18:14,933
BARRY ROSEN:
The military had already
shot into Iranian crowds,

1396
01:18:14,933 --> 01:18:17,333
in September of 1978
in Jaleh Square.

1397
01:18:17,333 --> 01:18:20,333
Killed many people.
(gunfire)

1398
01:18:20,333 --> 01:18:21,666
JENNINGS:
58 people were killed

1399
01:18:21,666 --> 01:18:24,666
and more than 200 wounded
in today's bloodshed.

1400
01:18:24,666 --> 01:18:27,866
(horns and sirens sounding)

1401
01:18:27,866 --> 01:18:32,100
BARRY ROSEN:
The situation was becoming
somewhat untenable,

1402
01:18:32,100 --> 01:18:35,666
and no one really knew
what was going to happen.

1403
01:18:35,666 --> 01:18:38,500
(crowd clamoring)

1404
01:18:40,166 --> 01:18:43,033
(whistles blaring)

1405
01:18:43,033 --> 01:18:46,900
My office was about a half
a mile away from the embassy.

1406
01:18:46,900 --> 01:18:53,133
I would spend time
walking around

1407
01:18:53,133 --> 01:18:55,333
and trying to
see what was happening

1408
01:18:55,333 --> 01:18:57,300
during the revolutionary period.

1409
01:18:57,300 --> 01:18:59,733
(man speaking indistinctly)

1410
01:18:59,733 --> 01:19:03,233
And so I walked one day

1411
01:19:03,233 --> 01:19:05,433
to the university.

1412
01:19:05,433 --> 01:19:10,233
The faculty was
having a slideshow

1413
01:19:10,233 --> 01:19:17,133
on what was happening to the
people who had been protesting.

1414
01:19:17,133 --> 01:19:20,800
(film slides shuffling)

1415
01:19:20,800 --> 01:19:23,500
Men blown up.

1416
01:19:24,100 --> 01:19:27,066
Women shot in the head.

1417
01:19:29,433 --> 01:19:32,600
It went on and on.

1418
01:19:32,600 --> 01:19:36,166
(film slides shuffling)

1419
01:19:38,966 --> 01:19:41,900
People were
crying in the audience.

1420
01:19:41,900 --> 01:19:46,433
It was nothing fit for children,

1421
01:19:46,433 --> 01:19:48,766
but children were there
with their parents.

1422
01:19:50,900 --> 01:19:53,633
It knocked me out.

1423
01:19:53,633 --> 01:19:56,033
It really knocked me out,

1424
01:19:56,033 --> 01:19:59,800
and I remember writing a cable
to Washington about this

1425
01:19:59,800 --> 01:20:05,100
and saying, "How can we be here

1426
01:20:05,100 --> 01:20:08,233
"and support the Shah
under these circumstances

1427
01:20:08,233 --> 01:20:13,266
that were so
absolutely disgusting?"

1428
01:20:13,266 --> 01:20:16,100
♪ ♪

1429
01:20:22,666 --> 01:20:24,033
(protesters chanting)
REPORTER:
Millions march

1430
01:20:24,033 --> 01:20:25,066
in the streets of Iran

1431
01:20:25,066 --> 01:20:26,233
protesting
the rule of the Shah.

1432
01:20:26,233 --> 01:20:28,733
Violent and bloody clashes
escalate between

1433
01:20:28,733 --> 01:20:31,966
the Shah's militant opposition
and his martial law soldiers.

1434
01:20:31,966 --> 01:20:35,966
Oil workers strikes impose
nationwide fuel rationing,

1435
01:20:35,966 --> 01:20:37,800
stop oil exports,

1436
01:20:37,800 --> 01:20:40,633
and Iran goes to the brink of
economic collapse.

1437
01:20:40,633 --> 01:20:42,300
In each case,

1438
01:20:42,300 --> 01:20:45,966
the calls for mass protests
were issued by this aged man,

1439
01:20:45,966 --> 01:20:48,200
and Iranians eagerly obeyed him.

1440
01:20:53,133 --> 01:20:55,166
(man speaking indistinctly)

1441
01:20:58,933 --> 01:21:01,133
(car passing by)

1442
01:21:04,266 --> 01:21:06,000
JEROME:
I was the producer

1443
01:21:06,000 --> 01:21:08,866
for the CBC bureau in Paris

1444
01:21:08,866 --> 01:21:13,100
when Khomeini arrived in France
from exile in Iraq.

1445
01:21:13,100 --> 01:21:17,066
The Shah had made the mistake
of thinking that

1446
01:21:17,066 --> 01:21:19,100
if he was out of
the Middle East,

1447
01:21:19,100 --> 01:21:21,900
he wouldn't be able to meddle
so much in Iranian affairs.

1448
01:21:21,900 --> 01:21:23,633
It was a huge mistake,

1449
01:21:23,633 --> 01:21:25,133
because then all of a sudden

1450
01:21:25,133 --> 01:21:27,500
Khomeini had
all of the Western media

1451
01:21:27,500 --> 01:21:28,733
right at his doorstep--
literally.

1452
01:21:28,733 --> 01:21:31,000
ROBERT McNEIL:
To protect him from

1453
01:21:31,000 --> 01:21:33,033
possible assassination,
the French police

1454
01:21:33,033 --> 01:21:35,600
are providing heavy,
round-the-clock security.

1455
01:21:35,600 --> 01:21:37,700
JENNINGS:
Khomeini was, by most accounts,

1456
01:21:37,700 --> 01:21:40,000
a relatively obscure
religious teacher until

1457
01:21:40,000 --> 01:21:43,133
his outspoken opposition to
the Shah's modernization program

1458
01:21:43,133 --> 01:21:46,866
led to his exile in 1963.

1459
01:21:46,866 --> 01:21:49,700
He may hold more power over
the fate of Iran

1460
01:21:49,700 --> 01:21:51,833
than any other
single individual.

1461
01:21:51,833 --> 01:21:54,433
What have the Americans
done to you...

1462
01:21:54,433 --> 01:21:57,233
IBRAHIM YAZDI:
(repeating in Farsi)

1463
01:21:57,233 --> 01:21:58,700
McNEIL:
...That you object to?

1464
01:21:58,700 --> 01:22:01,000
YAZDI:
(repeats in Farsi)

1465
01:22:01,000 --> 01:22:03,766
(speaking Farsi)

1466
01:22:03,766 --> 01:22:06,400
YAZDI (translating):
The American government,

1467
01:22:06,400 --> 01:22:11,433
they have committed
the biggest crime

1468
01:22:11,433 --> 01:22:15,466
by imposing on our people
the Pahlavi dynasty.

1469
01:22:15,466 --> 01:22:17,666
JEROME:
Some of his lieutenants

1470
01:22:17,666 --> 01:22:19,766
had been calling
the Western press in Paris

1471
01:22:19,766 --> 01:22:22,266
to publicize
what they were trying to do

1472
01:22:22,266 --> 01:22:23,233
in bringing down the Shah,

1473
01:22:23,233 --> 01:22:25,633
this revolution
they were running.

1474
01:22:25,633 --> 01:22:27,966
REPORTER:
How far must the Shah now go

1475
01:22:27,966 --> 01:22:29,766
before you're able to
call for peace?

1476
01:22:29,766 --> 01:22:31,833
What must he do?

1477
01:22:31,833 --> 01:22:35,366
SADEGH GHOTBZADEH:
He has no place in Iran anymore.

1478
01:22:35,366 --> 01:22:39,633
He perhaps has become wise

1479
01:22:39,633 --> 01:22:41,600
and has understood

1480
01:22:41,600 --> 01:22:45,500
that the sooner he goes,
it is better for himself

1481
01:22:45,500 --> 01:22:46,733
and for the Iranian people.

1482
01:22:46,733 --> 01:22:49,666
(protesters
chanting indistinctly)

1483
01:22:49,666 --> 01:22:52,033
Mr. Carter and the other...

1484
01:22:52,033 --> 01:22:53,966
JEROME:
That was my first introduction

1485
01:22:53,966 --> 01:22:55,400
to the Iranian Revolution

1486
01:22:55,400 --> 01:22:57,833
and to the people
who were running it,

1487
01:22:57,833 --> 01:23:01,500
and especially Ghotbzadeh.

1488
01:23:01,500 --> 01:23:03,566
I first met Sadegh Ghotbzadeh

1489
01:23:03,566 --> 01:23:06,533
when he came to the CBC bureau
to be interviewed by me.

1490
01:23:08,900 --> 01:23:12,566
We had a relationship in Paris,
which carried on.

1491
01:23:13,866 --> 01:23:17,666
I have to confess that I fell
for him the minute I met him.

1492
01:23:17,666 --> 01:23:22,833
He was really quite an
extraordinary, charismatic,

1493
01:23:22,833 --> 01:23:26,033
and impressive person.

1494
01:23:26,033 --> 01:23:27,833
We want to be free.

1495
01:23:27,833 --> 01:23:29,966
and leave alone
to decide for ourselves.

1496
01:23:31,733 --> 01:23:33,900
JEROME:
And that was the beginning of

1497
01:23:33,900 --> 01:23:37,366
a long personal relationship
I had with him.

1498
01:23:37,366 --> 01:23:39,300
♪ ♪

1499
01:23:40,766 --> 01:23:44,066
Being with Sadegh meant

1500
01:23:44,066 --> 01:23:47,733
I had an understanding at
a personal level

1501
01:23:47,733 --> 01:23:50,466
of what was happening with

1502
01:23:50,466 --> 01:23:54,633
the different factions
and rivalries,

1503
01:23:54,633 --> 01:23:57,033
especially among the moderates,

1504
01:23:57,033 --> 01:23:58,866
who could not
get their act together.

1505
01:24:01,800 --> 01:24:02,800
Ghotbzadeh,

1506
01:24:02,800 --> 01:24:04,800
and Bani Sadr,

1507
01:24:04,800 --> 01:24:08,266
and Ibrahim Yazdi--

1508
01:24:08,266 --> 01:24:12,600
they were the secular leaders
of the revolutionary movement

1509
01:24:12,600 --> 01:24:16,133
who had been working
for the revolution

1510
01:24:16,133 --> 01:24:18,733
for a long, long time
in exile.

1511
01:24:18,733 --> 01:24:22,566
Can you tell us how it could be
in Britain's interest

1512
01:24:22,566 --> 01:24:24,300
to support your cause
against the Shah?

1513
01:24:24,300 --> 01:24:27,466
(soldiers marching)

1514
01:24:27,466 --> 01:24:29,566
JEROME:
They realized they weren't
going to overthrow

1515
01:24:29,566 --> 01:24:32,766
someone as powerful as
the Shah of Iran

1516
01:24:32,766 --> 01:24:36,800
without the help of the mosque.

1517
01:24:36,800 --> 01:24:40,766
(soldiers marching)

1518
01:24:40,766 --> 01:24:43,466
A lot of them--
of the moderates--

1519
01:24:43,466 --> 01:24:47,233
were almost willfully blind

1520
01:24:47,233 --> 01:24:50,400
to what Khomeini
really represented,

1521
01:24:50,400 --> 01:24:53,366
because they wanted so badly
for this revolution to work.

1522
01:24:55,800 --> 01:24:58,933
But they completely
underestimated him.

1523
01:25:00,933 --> 01:25:03,066
JOHN CHANCELLOR:
The Ayatollah Khomeini,

1524
01:25:03,066 --> 01:25:05,733
who says he will establish
a new Islamic government,

1525
01:25:05,733 --> 01:25:08,033
is a tough and prejudiced man.

1526
01:25:08,033 --> 01:25:09,133
He has written,

1527
01:25:09,133 --> 01:25:10,666
"We want a ruler who would

1528
01:25:10,666 --> 01:25:13,800
"cut off the hand of
his own son if he steals

1529
01:25:13,800 --> 01:25:17,633
and would flog and stone his
near relative if he fornicates."

1530
01:25:17,633 --> 01:25:20,433
♪ ♪

1531
01:25:21,766 --> 01:25:25,800
JEROME:
One of Khomeini's main
objections to the Shah

1532
01:25:25,800 --> 01:25:28,566
was his emancipation of women.

1533
01:25:28,566 --> 01:25:32,266
So we women
who were reporters

1534
01:25:32,266 --> 01:25:36,833
really saw from the outset
what this man was like.

1535
01:25:44,033 --> 01:25:46,900
KHOMEINI:

1536
01:25:51,566 --> 01:25:53,566
BARRY ROSEN:
The big spark

1537
01:25:53,566 --> 01:25:57,033
in the revolution came from

1538
01:25:57,033 --> 01:26:00,233
mullahs distributing
Khomeini's cassettes

1539
01:26:00,233 --> 01:26:02,066
from Paris.

1540
01:26:02,066 --> 01:26:04,566
KHOMEINI:

1541
01:26:07,733 --> 01:26:10,966
BARRY ROSEN:
These hardcore mullahs

1542
01:26:10,966 --> 01:26:13,166
were willing to oppose the Shah,

1543
01:26:13,166 --> 01:26:17,566
and they had connections with
the poorer people.

1544
01:26:17,566 --> 01:26:19,500
(indistinct chanting)

1545
01:26:19,500 --> 01:26:20,866
The ones who were
trodden upon.

1546
01:26:20,866 --> 01:26:22,933
(indistinct chanting)

1547
01:26:22,933 --> 01:26:25,500
They were
going to lift up Iran.

1548
01:26:25,500 --> 01:26:26,766
(crowd clamoring)

1549
01:26:26,766 --> 01:26:30,900
CROWD:

1550
01:26:32,233 --> 01:26:34,100
BARRY ROSEN:
The Shah didn't understand

1551
01:26:34,100 --> 01:26:36,300
that for most of his reign,

1552
01:26:36,300 --> 01:26:41,266
he destroyed the liberal
opposition so devastatingly,

1553
01:26:41,266 --> 01:26:48,166
that there was no opposition
but the religious opposition.

1554
01:26:48,166 --> 01:26:50,333
♪ ♪

1555
01:26:50,333 --> 01:26:52,933
They are well-organized

1556
01:26:52,933 --> 01:26:55,933
and they're there to
tell the Shah,

1557
01:26:55,933 --> 01:26:57,433
"You're gone.

1558
01:26:57,433 --> 01:26:59,566
You're not going to survive."

1559
01:27:02,566 --> 01:27:04,766
(birds chirping)

1560
01:27:06,300 --> 01:27:08,733
SICK:
I'm watching what was
going on in Iran during

1561
01:27:08,733 --> 01:27:10,866
this whole period time,

1562
01:27:10,866 --> 01:27:13,100
and relaying what I learned
to the president.

1563
01:27:13,100 --> 01:27:14,766
And we had this discussion.

1564
01:27:14,766 --> 01:27:19,200
Things aren't looking good,
but the reality is

1565
01:27:19,200 --> 01:27:22,100
the Shah has a 400,000-man army,

1566
01:27:22,100 --> 01:27:24,600
superbly equipped with
everything

1567
01:27:24,600 --> 01:27:26,266
you could possibly imagine.

1568
01:27:26,266 --> 01:27:31,233
And the opposition
appears to be a bunch of clerics

1569
01:27:31,233 --> 01:27:33,633
operating out of the mosque,

1570
01:27:33,633 --> 01:27:36,466
for the most part, unarmed.

1571
01:27:36,466 --> 01:27:38,400
Oh, well,
who would you bet on?

1572
01:27:38,400 --> 01:27:40,900
We have confidence in the Shah.

1573
01:27:40,900 --> 01:27:42,366
We support him and his efforts.

1574
01:27:42,366 --> 01:27:46,033
BARRY ROSEN:
It seemed clear to me that

1575
01:27:46,033 --> 01:27:48,766
there was a split amongst
the White House,

1576
01:27:48,766 --> 01:27:50,066
the State Department,

1577
01:27:50,066 --> 01:27:52,833
and people on the ground--

1578
01:27:52,833 --> 01:27:55,133
that is, many of us
at the embassy.

1579
01:27:55,133 --> 01:27:58,733
The Shah of Iran had

1580
01:27:58,733 --> 01:28:01,633
one of the largest armies
in the world.

1581
01:28:01,633 --> 01:28:04,733
The officer corps
was devoted to the Shah,

1582
01:28:04,733 --> 01:28:08,866
but most of the soldiers were
conscripts from the villages.

1583
01:28:08,866 --> 01:28:11,433
Two-year service.

1584
01:28:11,433 --> 01:28:12,800
These were the ones

1585
01:28:12,800 --> 01:28:15,133
who would be used to
fire on their own people.

1586
01:28:15,133 --> 01:28:17,100
WALTERS:
Your Majesty,

1587
01:28:17,100 --> 01:28:18,900
there were reports
that your army

1588
01:28:18,900 --> 01:28:19,966
may be disloyal to you.

1589
01:28:19,966 --> 01:28:23,100
Are you concerned about this?

1590
01:28:23,100 --> 01:28:25,466
 
The Army?

1591
01:28:25,466 --> 01:28:27,066
How could that be possible?

1592
01:28:27,066 --> 01:28:30,000
So the army
you feel certain about?

1593
01:28:30,000 --> 01:28:32,333
You feel loyalty?

1594
01:28:32,333 --> 01:28:35,266
If it was so, it would be
the end of the country.

1595
01:28:38,933 --> 01:28:40,233
BARRY ROSEN:
Ambassador Sullivan

1596
01:28:40,233 --> 01:28:43,800
was talking about the issue
in a long memo,

1597
01:28:43,800 --> 01:28:47,866
"Thinking the Unthinkable,"

1598
01:28:47,866 --> 01:28:52,900
where he outlined
the possibility that

1599
01:28:52,900 --> 01:28:54,600
the Shah may not survive,

1600
01:28:54,600 --> 01:28:56,000
but that
the most important thing

1601
01:28:56,000 --> 01:28:58,566
was to keep the army intact.

1602
01:28:58,566 --> 01:29:02,466
(typewriter keys clattering)

1603
01:29:02,466 --> 01:29:05,133
(indistinct yelling)

1604
01:29:05,133 --> 01:29:07,200
"Thinking the Unthinkable"

1605
01:29:07,200 --> 01:29:11,866
means we need to
keep Iran working with us,

1606
01:29:11,866 --> 01:29:13,866
even if there's
a change in government.

1607
01:29:13,866 --> 01:29:16,833
♪ ♪

1608
01:29:16,833 --> 01:29:20,600
Whereas National Security
Adviser Zbigniew Brzezinski

1609
01:29:20,600 --> 01:29:24,833
was not in favor of
hearing that.

1610
01:29:24,833 --> 01:29:31,400
He was thinking about
the survivability of the Shah.

1611
01:29:31,400 --> 01:29:35,700
SICK:
Brzezinski was an
unreconstructed Cold Warrior,

1612
01:29:35,700 --> 01:29:38,333
so I think he did see
the Iranian revolution

1613
01:29:38,333 --> 01:29:39,500
in Cold War terms.

1614
01:29:42,300 --> 01:29:43,566
He was tough,

1615
01:29:43,566 --> 01:29:45,766
he was competitive to
the nth degree.

1616
01:29:45,766 --> 01:29:49,733
As an example,
he had a picnic

1617
01:29:49,733 --> 01:29:52,600
for the members of the
National Security Council staff

1618
01:29:52,600 --> 01:29:54,533
and he said, "Why don't we
have a soccer match?"

1619
01:29:54,533 --> 01:29:58,633
I was the goalie, actually,
on Brzezinski's side

1620
01:29:58,633 --> 01:30:01,166
and the game began
and what everybody realizes

1621
01:30:01,166 --> 01:30:04,366
is that everybody else was
wearing sneakers and the like

1622
01:30:04,366 --> 01:30:06,100
and Brzezinski had showed up
in combat boots.

1623
01:30:06,100 --> 01:30:07,300
♪ ♪

1624
01:30:07,300 --> 01:30:10,066
He was not
a lovable character.

1625
01:30:10,066 --> 01:30:14,033
We had long conversations
about what was going on in Iran,

1626
01:30:14,033 --> 01:30:17,866
and we came to
the same conclusion every time.

1627
01:30:17,866 --> 01:30:20,166
Yes, there was trouble...

1628
01:30:20,166 --> 01:30:23,066
(protesters chanting)

1629
01:30:23,066 --> 01:30:25,100
...but the Shah had
the capacity to deal with it

1630
01:30:25,100 --> 01:30:27,066
if he chose to do so.

1631
01:30:27,066 --> 01:30:30,900
(crowd clamoring)

1632
01:30:30,900 --> 01:30:35,200
(chanting)

1633
01:30:37,600 --> 01:30:42,766
(chanting continues)

1634
01:30:43,733 --> 01:30:46,333
We misjudged him tremendously.

1635
01:30:53,800 --> 01:30:55,866
The Shah wanted everybody

1636
01:30:55,866 --> 01:30:58,266
to believe in the image
that he created for himself.

1637
01:30:58,266 --> 01:31:01,166
He worked hard at that.

1638
01:31:01,166 --> 01:31:04,466
And where we were really wrong
in our intelligence analyses

1639
01:31:04,466 --> 01:31:09,033
is that the Shah was
unwilling,

1640
01:31:09,033 --> 01:31:12,133
deliberately unwilling,

1641
01:31:12,133 --> 01:31:14,433
to take the kind of
severe action

1642
01:31:14,433 --> 01:31:17,500
that was necessary
to stop the revolution.

1643
01:31:17,500 --> 01:31:18,966
(indistinct radio chatter)

1644
01:31:18,966 --> 01:31:20,500
JUDY WOODRUFF:
There are persistent reports

1645
01:31:20,500 --> 01:31:23,900
tonight that the Shah of Iran
will indeed leave the country.

1646
01:31:23,900 --> 01:31:27,833
Official Iranian radio says
he will go for medical treatment

1647
01:31:27,833 --> 01:31:29,233
and relaxation.

1648
01:31:29,233 --> 01:31:30,400
(protesters chanting)

1649
01:31:32,000 --> 01:31:35,266
(in Farsi):

1650
01:31:36,566 --> 01:31:39,300
REPORTER:

1651
01:31:39,300 --> 01:31:42,733
SHAH:

1652
01:31:48,033 --> 01:31:50,333
♪ ♪

1653
01:31:50,333 --> 01:31:54,000
BARRY ROSEN:
January 16, 1979.

1654
01:31:54,000 --> 01:31:59,900
He goes to Mehrabad Airport.

1655
01:31:59,900 --> 01:32:02,133
He's met by
a member of the military.

1656
01:32:02,133 --> 01:32:06,900
The officer
tries to kiss his feet.

1657
01:32:08,733 --> 01:32:13,000
And he's given
a small little chest

1658
01:32:13,000 --> 01:32:15,733
of the earth of Iran.

1659
01:32:19,233 --> 01:32:24,433
That was the last time he ever
saw Iran in his lifetime.

1660
01:32:28,100 --> 01:32:30,866
SICK:
The amazing thing is how fast.

1661
01:32:30,866 --> 01:32:33,866
Hundreds of years of
Iranian history,

1662
01:32:33,866 --> 01:32:37,000
and it's all over in a year.

1663
01:32:37,000 --> 01:32:42,166
♪ ♪

1664
01:32:43,633 --> 01:32:47,800
(muffed whistling)

1665
01:32:47,800 --> 01:32:51,233
♪ ♪

1666
01:32:51,233 --> 01:32:56,933
BARRY ROSEN:
The entire city of Teheran went
wild.

1667
01:32:56,933 --> 01:32:59,600
Absolutely celebratory.

1668
01:32:59,600 --> 01:33:02,133
People were just overjoyed.

1669
01:33:02,133 --> 01:33:05,133
♪ ♪
(cheering)

1670
01:33:09,466 --> 01:33:11,866
♪ ♪

1671
01:33:11,866 --> 01:33:14,000
REPORTER:
At the Ayatollah's headquarters
outside Paris,

1672
01:33:14,000 --> 01:33:16,000
the word is that he's going.

1673
01:33:18,300 --> 01:33:22,400
IBRAHIM YAZDI:
Ayatollah has made
the following statement

1674
01:33:22,400 --> 01:33:24,666
on the occasion of his
departure.

1675
01:33:26,466 --> 01:33:30,366
(in French):

1676
01:33:40,166 --> 01:33:41,800
(reporters chattering
indistinctly)

1677
01:33:41,800 --> 01:33:45,966
JEROME:
Those of us who were part of the
press corps in Paris,

1678
01:33:45,966 --> 01:33:49,900
we all had the possibility of
getting on that plane.

1679
01:33:49,900 --> 01:33:52,100
And I was one of those

1680
01:33:52,100 --> 01:33:55,666
who was issued a ticket.

1681
01:33:55,666 --> 01:33:58,433
(plane engine droning)

1682
01:33:58,433 --> 01:34:00,500
NEWS ANCHOR:
"Sunday Morning's"
Carole R. Jerome

1683
01:34:00,500 --> 01:34:02,933
is on the Air France 747
with Khomeini.

1684
01:34:05,233 --> 01:34:07,033
JEROME (archive):
It's tempting to try to imagine

1685
01:34:07,033 --> 01:34:08,700
the feelings of Khomeini
right now

1686
01:34:08,700 --> 01:34:10,200
as he sits up there ahead of us.

1687
01:34:10,200 --> 01:34:12,966
During the weeks
we've seen him

1688
01:34:12,966 --> 01:34:14,900
at his exile headquarters
in France,

1689
01:34:14,900 --> 01:34:17,200
we have never seen him smile

1690
01:34:17,200 --> 01:34:19,166
or show the slightest sign
of emotion.

1691
01:34:19,166 --> 01:34:22,466
(speaking indistinctly)

1692
01:34:22,466 --> 01:34:26,833
JEROME (archive):
Sadegh Ghotbzadeh says he is
calm right now.

1693
01:34:26,833 --> 01:34:28,266
(voiceover):
There were many, many

1694
01:34:28,266 --> 01:34:29,900
journalists on that flight.

1695
01:34:29,900 --> 01:34:32,033
This is an historic moment,

1696
01:34:32,033 --> 01:34:36,233
and we felt very fortunate
to be on that plane.

1697
01:34:36,233 --> 01:34:40,000
(archive):
None of us are really very sure

1698
01:34:40,000 --> 01:34:44,066
of just what awaits him
and us down there.

1699
01:34:44,066 --> 01:34:46,900
(plane rumbling)

1700
01:34:46,900 --> 01:34:48,333
We've touched down.

1701
01:34:48,333 --> 01:34:51,300
(voiceover):
When the Ayatollah
set foot again in Iran,

1702
01:34:51,300 --> 01:34:52,366
someone said to him,

1703
01:34:52,366 --> 01:34:55,233
as he came off the plane,
actually,

1704
01:34:55,233 --> 01:34:57,033
"How do you feel
now you're back in Iran

1705
01:34:57,033 --> 01:34:58,733
after so many years in exile?"

1706
01:34:58,733 --> 01:35:01,966
And he said, "Nothing."

1707
01:35:01,966 --> 01:35:03,966
He said he felt nothing.

1708
01:35:07,066 --> 01:35:12,500
(crowd cheering)

1709
01:35:12,500 --> 01:35:16,833
BARRY ROSEN:
I've never seen a crowd that
large, and that exuberant,

1710
01:35:16,833 --> 01:35:20,400
and that in love with someone.

1711
01:35:20,400 --> 01:35:24,466
(crowd cheering)

1712
01:35:29,233 --> 01:35:32,800
(cheering, sirens blaring)

1713
01:35:32,800 --> 01:35:38,600
It's extraordinary how one man
can command such adoration,

1714
01:35:38,600 --> 01:35:41,433
how so many people can believe
that this frail old priest

1715
01:35:41,433 --> 01:35:45,066
holds all the answers
to Iran's problems.

1716
01:35:48,666 --> 01:35:50,066
(crowd chanting)

1717
01:35:50,066 --> 01:35:53,333
KHOMEINI:

1718
01:35:58,766 --> 01:36:02,566
(cheers and applause)

1719
01:36:03,600 --> 01:36:05,366
JEROME (archive):
This is a day of victory.

1720
01:36:05,366 --> 01:36:09,166
But there is
a grim sullenness here too.

1721
01:36:09,166 --> 01:36:11,733
It's not over yet.

1722
01:36:11,733 --> 01:36:13,633
(voiceover):
There must have been ten million
people there.

1723
01:36:16,800 --> 01:36:18,600
And we realized,

1724
01:36:18,600 --> 01:36:21,000
this is what a revolution
looks like.

1725
01:36:21,000 --> 01:36:22,400
This is it.

1726
01:36:22,400 --> 01:36:25,566
REPORTER:
The army, once loyal to
the Shah,

1727
01:36:25,566 --> 01:36:27,466
has now declared itself
neutral,

1728
01:36:27,466 --> 01:36:29,600
and the soldiers have been
ordered back to their barracks.

1729
01:36:29,600 --> 01:36:31,633
REPORTER:
Army barracks were plundered

1730
01:36:31,633 --> 01:36:33,233
and guns distributed

1731
01:36:33,233 --> 01:36:35,066
almost like confetti.

1732
01:36:35,066 --> 01:36:36,600
They ransacked police stations

1733
01:36:36,600 --> 01:36:38,666
and commandeered
abandoned tanks.

1734
01:36:38,666 --> 01:36:40,433
The atmosphere was euphoric.

1735
01:36:40,433 --> 01:36:42,200
Gunmen were everywhere.

1736
01:36:42,200 --> 01:36:45,600
BARRY ROSEN:
The police force was totally
disorganized,

1737
01:36:45,600 --> 01:36:47,566
really didn't play a part

1738
01:36:47,566 --> 01:36:49,600
in Iranian society
at that time.

1739
01:36:49,600 --> 01:36:51,366
(flames roaring)

1740
01:36:51,366 --> 01:36:52,533
JEROME:
It was anarchy.

1741
01:36:54,733 --> 01:36:56,933
They often say if you put
five revolutionaries

1742
01:36:56,933 --> 01:36:58,833
in a jail cell together,

1743
01:36:58,833 --> 01:37:02,433
they'll emerge with
six different points of view.

1744
01:37:02,433 --> 01:37:05,066
There were so many factions.

1745
01:37:05,066 --> 01:37:06,666
(indistinct yelling)

1746
01:37:06,666 --> 01:37:08,100
(cheering)

1747
01:37:08,100 --> 01:37:09,566
REPORTER:
A mass of people this size

1748
01:37:09,566 --> 01:37:11,666
may look united and purposeful,

1749
01:37:11,666 --> 01:37:14,900
but on the ground it's a
shifting and volatile coalition

1750
01:37:14,900 --> 01:37:18,033
of different and
sometimes conflicting groups.

1751
01:37:18,033 --> 01:37:21,400
JEROME:
There were first
the Muslim students.

1752
01:37:21,400 --> 01:37:27,366
They wanted this Islamic
Democratic Republic.

1753
01:37:27,366 --> 01:37:30,100
And Bani Sadir and Ghotbzadeh
and the other moderates

1754
01:37:30,100 --> 01:37:32,366
had been part of that.

1755
01:37:32,366 --> 01:37:35,733
There was
the Mujahedeen Khalq--

1756
01:37:35,733 --> 01:37:37,600
the basically
Warriors of God--

1757
01:37:37,600 --> 01:37:43,766
who were very far left,
fanatical extremists.

1758
01:37:43,766 --> 01:37:48,366
There was the Fedayeen,
another Islamist group

1759
01:37:48,366 --> 01:37:50,800
that was more Marxist.

1760
01:37:50,800 --> 01:37:53,500
(singing):

1761
01:37:56,700 --> 01:37:58,700
JEROME:
There was the Tudeh,

1762
01:37:58,700 --> 01:38:02,933
the Moscow-backed
Iranian Communist Party.

1763
01:38:02,933 --> 01:38:07,200
And at first you had
certain pro-Shah groups.

1764
01:38:07,200 --> 01:38:11,766
(chanting):

1765
01:38:11,766 --> 01:38:15,866
JEROME:
But they just melted away very,
very quickly.

1766
01:38:15,866 --> 01:38:17,900
(weapons firing)

1767
01:38:17,900 --> 01:38:21,200
It was like being
a reporter with a camera crew

1768
01:38:21,200 --> 01:38:22,800
at the French Revolution.

1769
01:38:22,800 --> 01:38:26,266
It's as though you were
there at the guillotine

1770
01:38:26,266 --> 01:38:28,366
with your camera.

1771
01:38:31,833 --> 01:38:34,033
BARRY ROSEN:
Most of the executions

1772
01:38:34,033 --> 01:38:35,766
were televised.

1773
01:38:35,766 --> 01:38:38,633
Whether it was
a former member of SAVAK,

1774
01:38:38,633 --> 01:38:42,533
whether it was the former
prime minister of Iran, Hoveyda,

1775
01:38:42,533 --> 01:38:47,566
and a large coterie of generals,

1776
01:38:47,566 --> 01:38:49,100
they were being executed

1777
01:38:49,100 --> 01:38:53,000
day in and day out

1778
01:38:53,000 --> 01:38:56,366
by revolutionary courts.

1779
01:38:56,366 --> 01:39:00,633
One of the worst of all
was Ayatollah Khalkhali.

1780
01:39:00,633 --> 01:39:03,566
He was called
the Hanging Judge.

1781
01:39:03,566 --> 01:39:06,300
And you knew once
you were in front of him,

1782
01:39:06,300 --> 01:39:08,400
you were a dead man.

1783
01:39:11,266 --> 01:39:14,366
(weapons firing)

1784
01:39:14,366 --> 01:39:18,066
Vigilantes, gangster-like
guerrilla forces,

1785
01:39:18,066 --> 01:39:20,333
were all over Tehran.

1786
01:39:20,333 --> 01:39:22,366
(flames roaring)

1787
01:39:22,366 --> 01:39:24,233
(weapons firing,
indistinct yelling)

1788
01:39:24,233 --> 01:39:26,600
There were these battles
going on.

1789
01:39:26,600 --> 01:39:30,333
And your incidents
around the embassy

1790
01:39:30,333 --> 01:39:33,366
that were becoming

1791
01:39:33,366 --> 01:39:35,700
very, very tense.

1792
01:39:35,700 --> 01:39:39,233
(yelling, chanting in Farsi)

1793
01:39:43,133 --> 01:39:45,133
JAMES ROBERTS:
February 14, 1979,

1794
01:39:45,133 --> 01:39:48,666
we were witnessing
massive demonstrations.

1795
01:39:50,500 --> 01:39:52,500
I was a trained
intelligence officer

1796
01:39:52,500 --> 01:39:55,033
settling into the embassy
in Tehran.

1797
01:39:57,266 --> 01:39:59,266
(protestors chanting)

1798
01:39:59,266 --> 01:40:03,200
There were long throngs of
crowds chanting in the street.

1799
01:40:03,200 --> 01:40:04,700
"Long live Khomeini,"

1800
01:40:04,700 --> 01:40:07,733
"Death to the Shah," though
the Shah was already gone,

1801
01:40:07,733 --> 01:40:08,833
and "Death to America."

1802
01:40:13,733 --> 01:40:16,666
BARRY ROSEN:
I was with the ambassador

1803
01:40:16,666 --> 01:40:18,966
at his desk,

1804
01:40:18,966 --> 01:40:22,100
when all of a sudden...

1805
01:40:22,100 --> 01:40:24,600
(loud crashing)

1806
01:40:24,600 --> 01:40:26,600
(flames roaring)

1807
01:40:26,600 --> 01:40:28,300
...rocket propelled grenades

1808
01:40:28,300 --> 01:40:29,633
fly through his window.

1809
01:40:29,633 --> 01:40:34,733
Put a hole in the wall
about ten feet wide.

1810
01:40:34,733 --> 01:40:36,666
(weapons firing)

1811
01:40:36,666 --> 01:40:41,400
ROBERTS:
When we were under
direct attack,

1812
01:40:41,400 --> 01:40:43,766
we asked the ambassador,
"Should we return fire?"

1813
01:40:43,766 --> 01:40:44,800
He said no.

1814
01:40:44,800 --> 01:40:46,266
(weapons firing)

1815
01:40:46,266 --> 01:40:49,433
(clamoring)

1816
01:40:49,433 --> 01:40:51,666
(weapons firing,
indistinct yelling)

1817
01:40:51,666 --> 01:40:53,933
REYNOLDS:
This has been a dark,
indeed, a devastating day

1818
01:40:53,933 --> 01:40:55,200
for the United States in Iran.

1819
01:40:55,200 --> 01:40:57,933
An embassy seized by
an armed mob.

1820
01:40:57,933 --> 01:41:00,433
BARRY ROSEN:
Within moments,
they were upstairs.

1821
01:41:00,433 --> 01:41:03,100
I surrendered the embassy,

1822
01:41:03,100 --> 01:41:05,100
I said, "We give up."

1823
01:41:05,100 --> 01:41:06,700
ROBERTS:
And they marched us out

1824
01:41:06,700 --> 01:41:09,200
into the main parking lot

1825
01:41:09,200 --> 01:41:11,400
and stood us up
against the wall.

1826
01:41:11,400 --> 01:41:12,966
It would have been easy
for us all

1827
01:41:12,966 --> 01:41:14,533
to have been shot right there.

1828
01:41:17,033 --> 01:41:19,133
(sirens blaring,
indistinct yelling)

1829
01:41:19,133 --> 01:41:21,833
JENNINGS:
It was certainly an interesting
Valentine's Day

1830
01:41:21,833 --> 01:41:23,700
at the American embassy
compound--

1831
01:41:23,700 --> 01:41:24,833
left-wing Iranians stormed it,

1832
01:41:24,833 --> 01:41:27,766
Khomeini's man rescued them.

1833
01:41:27,766 --> 01:41:32,966
ROBERTS:
A negotiation occurred
and we were "free."

1834
01:41:32,966 --> 01:41:34,866
But we still had these

1835
01:41:34,866 --> 01:41:37,833
Iranian government officials
in our midst.

1836
01:41:37,833 --> 01:41:40,133
REPORTER:
The United States embassy here

1837
01:41:40,133 --> 01:41:43,200
is in the hands of Iran's
revolutionary forces.

1838
01:41:43,200 --> 01:41:45,133
The embassy
is being guarded by

1839
01:41:45,133 --> 01:41:48,033
Ayatollah Khomeini's
ragtag militiamen.

1840
01:41:48,033 --> 01:41:52,300
ROBERTS:
That first takeover was
absolutely unprecedented.

1841
01:41:52,300 --> 01:41:55,766
Diplomats are
supposed to be off-limits

1842
01:41:55,766 --> 01:41:58,966
to the political vagaries
of what's going on

1843
01:41:58,966 --> 01:42:02,200
in the country where
they're assigned.

1844
01:42:02,200 --> 01:42:04,166
BARRY ROSEN:
Throughout history,

1845
01:42:04,166 --> 01:42:06,566
embassies represent the place

1846
01:42:06,566 --> 01:42:09,600
where the interchange
of cultures and societies

1847
01:42:09,600 --> 01:42:13,533
and politics takes place
between nations.

1848
01:42:13,533 --> 01:42:16,266
It is a sacrosanct area.

1849
01:42:18,300 --> 01:42:20,500
SICK:
Valentine's Day was a warning

1850
01:42:20,500 --> 01:42:23,133
of what we were up against.

1851
01:42:24,266 --> 01:42:26,233
Embassies operate on
the trust that

1852
01:42:26,233 --> 01:42:28,166
the government around them
will protect them.

1853
01:42:28,166 --> 01:42:31,300
 
And if they don't,

1854
01:42:31,300 --> 01:42:32,900
there's very little
that you can actually do.

1855
01:42:32,900 --> 01:42:36,266
You cannot turn the embassy
into a fortress

1856
01:42:36,266 --> 01:42:38,033
and have it defend itself
against a whole country.

1857
01:42:41,933 --> 01:42:45,266
(sirens blaring)

1858
01:42:45,266 --> 01:42:46,866
BARRY ROSEN:
Between February 14

1859
01:42:46,866 --> 01:42:51,633
and November 4, 1979,

1860
01:42:51,633 --> 01:42:54,800
the level of violence
was enormous.

1861
01:42:54,800 --> 01:42:57,166
(flames roaring distantly,
gunfire)

1862
01:42:57,166 --> 01:43:02,733
It was a maelstrom of
insecurity.

1863
01:43:02,733 --> 01:43:04,233
(demonstrators chanting)

1864
01:43:04,233 --> 01:43:07,900
REPORTER:
Anti-Americanism, particularly
among the leftists,

1865
01:43:07,900 --> 01:43:10,900
has flourished because of
what is perceived by many

1866
01:43:10,900 --> 01:43:13,566
as President Carter's
too strong and too long

1867
01:43:13,566 --> 01:43:15,200
support of the Shah.

1868
01:43:15,200 --> 01:43:16,933
PROTESTER:
We are not opposite

1869
01:43:16,933 --> 01:43:18,033
with the American people.

1870
01:43:18,033 --> 01:43:20,700
We are opposite with government,

1871
01:43:20,700 --> 01:43:22,366
American government
all over the world.

1872
01:43:22,366 --> 01:43:23,833
We are opposite.

1873
01:43:23,833 --> 01:43:27,233
And we want to kick out
all imperialism.

1874
01:43:27,233 --> 01:43:29,500
We want this country
for ourselves.

1875
01:43:29,500 --> 01:43:32,500
ROBERTS:
I came back to the States

1876
01:43:32,500 --> 01:43:35,900
and was debriefed
by a number of agencies.

1877
01:43:35,900 --> 01:43:40,166
My advice was we should
break our diplomatic relations,

1878
01:43:40,166 --> 01:43:42,333
close the compound.

1879
01:43:42,333 --> 01:43:44,666
Too big, too visible,
too much bad blood.

1880
01:43:44,666 --> 01:43:46,933
(gate rattling)

1881
01:43:46,933 --> 01:43:51,033
I was convinced that
our relationship was going to

1882
01:43:51,033 --> 01:43:54,700
continue to deteriorate.

1883
01:43:54,700 --> 01:43:56,866
(indistinct chatter)

1884
01:44:00,833 --> 01:44:03,400
♪ ♪

1885
01:44:03,400 --> 01:44:05,500
REPORTER:
There's been a lot of
speculation about

1886
01:44:05,500 --> 01:44:07,233
where the Shah himself
and his empress

1887
01:44:07,233 --> 01:44:09,033
might stay
in the United States.

1888
01:44:09,033 --> 01:44:11,833
This is one of the places
considered very likely.

1889
01:44:11,833 --> 01:44:14,633
It's the estate of
publisher Walter Annenberg

1890
01:44:14,633 --> 01:44:17,266
in Palm Springs, California.

1891
01:44:18,800 --> 01:44:21,733
BARRY ROSEN:
When the Shah left Iran,

1892
01:44:21,733 --> 01:44:26,533
he had requested to
go to the United States.

1893
01:44:27,600 --> 01:44:31,766
There was this debate
in Washington.

1894
01:44:31,766 --> 01:44:36,433
The ambassador said it would be
a big mistake to do it.

1895
01:44:39,433 --> 01:44:41,866
The decision to
accept the Shah was rescinded.

1896
01:44:41,866 --> 01:44:48,233
The Shah was asked
to find another place to go.

1897
01:44:48,233 --> 01:44:51,433
(jet engine droning)

1898
01:44:51,433 --> 01:44:54,633
SICK:
Well, initially,

1899
01:44:54,633 --> 01:44:56,900
he flew to Egypt,

1900
01:44:56,900 --> 01:44:59,800
and met with Sadat.

1901
01:44:59,800 --> 01:45:01,233
REPORTER:
This is probably the Shah's

1902
01:45:01,233 --> 01:45:03,133
first stop on his road to exile.

1903
01:45:03,133 --> 01:45:05,333
He invited himself to Egypt,

1904
01:45:05,333 --> 01:45:09,100
officials said, and President
Sadat went along,

1905
01:45:09,100 --> 01:45:11,900
perhaps with some nudging
from the U.S.

1906
01:45:11,900 --> 01:45:15,866
SICK:
He then flew on to Morocco.

1907
01:45:15,866 --> 01:45:18,300
The king of Morocco
was a friend.

1908
01:45:18,300 --> 01:45:20,400
(wildlife chittering)

1909
01:45:20,400 --> 01:45:22,100
But he way
overstayed his welcome,

1910
01:45:22,100 --> 01:45:25,300
and eventually the United States
had to come

1911
01:45:25,300 --> 01:45:29,233
and quietly suggest that
maybe he ought to move on.

1912
01:45:32,200 --> 01:45:35,800
He left there
and went to the Bahamas.

1913
01:45:35,800 --> 01:45:37,433
REPORTER:
Your Majesty, can you say

1914
01:45:37,433 --> 01:45:39,166
how long you intend
to stay here?

1915
01:45:40,666 --> 01:45:42,700
Well, I'm afraid not.

1916
01:45:42,700 --> 01:45:46,200
But it's a
beautiful place.

1917
01:45:46,200 --> 01:45:49,100
Do you expect to settle
permanently here, sir?

1918
01:45:49,100 --> 01:45:52,100
We are visiting.

1919
01:45:52,100 --> 01:45:54,033
SICK:
He hadn't told anybody
that he was ill.

1920
01:45:54,033 --> 01:45:55,400
Thank you.

1921
01:45:55,400 --> 01:45:59,300
He kept that a secret
at the risk of his own life.

1922
01:46:01,066 --> 01:46:05,833
It was only while
he was in exile in Mexico

1923
01:46:05,833 --> 01:46:10,633
that we discovered that he was
apparently dying

1924
01:46:10,633 --> 01:46:14,400
and he needs
medical treatment urgently.

1925
01:46:15,333 --> 01:46:17,800
(car horns honking)

1926
01:46:19,000 --> 01:46:21,666
Carter was faced with
a situation about

1927
01:46:21,666 --> 01:46:24,000
bringing the Shah
into the country.

1928
01:46:24,000 --> 01:46:27,300
And, he called a meeting:
vice president,

1929
01:46:27,300 --> 01:46:29,000
secretary of the defense,

1930
01:46:29,000 --> 01:46:30,600
secretary of state, et cetera.

1931
01:46:31,600 --> 01:46:32,933
One after another,

1932
01:46:32,933 --> 01:46:35,033
they went around the room
telling the president that

1933
01:46:35,033 --> 01:46:36,833
for political reasons,

1934
01:46:36,833 --> 01:46:38,766
he simply
couldn't say no to the Shah.

1935
01:46:38,766 --> 01:46:43,533
And at the end he said,
"Well, okay,

1936
01:46:43,533 --> 01:46:45,366
"I hear what you're saying.

1937
01:46:45,366 --> 01:46:48,233
"You're all unanimous that
we should let the Shah come in.

1938
01:46:48,233 --> 01:46:50,900
"But I wonder what
you're going to tell me

1939
01:46:50,900 --> 01:46:55,133
when they take our people
hostage in Iran."

1940
01:46:55,133 --> 01:46:59,233
♪ ♪

1941
01:46:59,233 --> 01:47:03,166
(siren wailing)

1942
01:47:03,166 --> 01:47:05,633
CHANCELLOR:
The Shah of Iran is in a
New York City hospital tonight.

1943
01:47:05,633 --> 01:47:08,666
An American government source
in Washington says

1944
01:47:08,666 --> 01:47:11,066
the deposed Iranian monarch
is suffering from cancer

1945
01:47:11,066 --> 01:47:12,366
and a blocked bile duct.

1946
01:47:12,366 --> 01:47:14,600
The Shah arrived last night

1947
01:47:14,600 --> 01:47:16,833
after getting special approval
from the U.S. government

1948
01:47:16,833 --> 01:47:18,466
to be treated at
New York Hospital

1949
01:47:18,466 --> 01:47:20,266
Cornell Medical Center,

1950
01:47:20,266 --> 01:47:22,733
one of the country's
best hospitals.

1951
01:47:22,733 --> 01:47:27,600
BARRY ROSEN:
When we heard that
the decision was made

1952
01:47:27,600 --> 01:47:31,366
to permit the Shah
to come to the United States,

1953
01:47:31,366 --> 01:47:34,300
we were astonished.

1954
01:47:34,300 --> 01:47:37,633
(indistinct yelling)

1955
01:47:37,633 --> 01:47:39,000
(chanting)

1956
01:47:39,000 --> 01:47:41,200
Why did they not listen to us?

1957
01:47:41,200 --> 01:47:45,433
(crowd chanting)

1958
01:47:45,433 --> 01:47:47,633
BARBARA ROSEN:
The families,

1959
01:47:47,633 --> 01:47:49,666
as well as the people
who were in the embassy,

1960
01:47:49,666 --> 01:47:53,433
always felt that if the Shah
was truly a sick person

1961
01:47:53,433 --> 01:47:57,900
and needed to be admitted to
the United States

1962
01:47:57,900 --> 01:48:02,466
for medical reasons,
that was legitimate.

1963
01:48:02,466 --> 01:48:06,600
However, we also
all felt families,

1964
01:48:06,600 --> 01:48:07,800
as well as people
at the embassy,

1965
01:48:07,800 --> 01:48:11,466
that they should have
been evacuated

1966
01:48:11,466 --> 01:48:14,666
before the Shah was
admitted to the United States.

1967
01:48:14,666 --> 01:48:16,500
There was no reason
to keep the embassy open

1968
01:48:16,500 --> 01:48:19,566
knowing the threats
that had been made

1969
01:48:19,566 --> 01:48:21,566
against our people.

1970
01:48:25,300 --> 01:48:28,433
BIERMAN:
It may seem like paranoia
to the rest of the world,

1971
01:48:28,433 --> 01:48:29,933
but from everything
the Ayatollah,

1972
01:48:29,933 --> 01:48:31,666
his followers, and the press
have been saying,

1973
01:48:31,666 --> 01:48:35,200
it seems they really do believe
that the Shah's sickness

1974
01:48:35,200 --> 01:48:38,200
is just a cover, and
that he's in the United States

1975
01:48:38,200 --> 01:48:41,333
to plot a counter-revolution
with the Americans.

1976
01:48:41,333 --> 01:48:45,533
(chanting)

1977
01:48:45,533 --> 01:48:49,500
(car horns honking)

1978
01:48:49,500 --> 01:48:54,266
BARRY ROSEN:
Conspiracy theories within Iran
are rampant.

1979
01:48:54,266 --> 01:48:57,400
And they're based in some fact.

1980
01:48:58,300 --> 01:49:03,166
They're based on 1953,

1981
01:49:03,166 --> 01:49:06,366
on the coup against Mosaddegh.

1982
01:49:06,366 --> 01:49:11,266
♪ ♪

1983
01:49:11,266 --> 01:49:14,033
Many people were saying
this is the United States

1984
01:49:14,033 --> 01:49:19,600
doing it once again,
bringing the Shah back--

1985
01:49:19,600 --> 01:49:20,866
to rule.

1986
01:49:20,866 --> 01:49:23,400
And he will murder us all.

1987
01:49:23,400 --> 01:49:25,366
♪ ♪

1988
01:49:30,900 --> 01:49:32,300
For those students,

1989
01:49:32,300 --> 01:49:35,733
following the Line of the Imam,

1990
01:49:35,733 --> 01:49:40,133
who were preparing already
for something to happen,

1991
01:49:40,133 --> 01:49:42,600
who already were
coalescing and meeting,

1992
01:49:42,600 --> 01:49:47,333
and they had groups of people
organized in different ways,

1993
01:49:47,333 --> 01:49:49,466
this was a perfect conspiracy.

1994
01:49:49,466 --> 01:49:52,766
(crowd singing and clapping
indistinctly)

1995
01:49:52,766 --> 01:49:55,266
(singing continues)

1996
01:49:55,266 --> 01:49:57,566
REPORTER:
The embassy is occupied by
about 400 students.

1997
01:49:57,566 --> 01:49:59,000
On the outside there are...

1998
01:49:59,000 --> 01:50:00,433
REPORTER:
His name is Barry Rosen,

1999
01:50:00,433 --> 01:50:02,533
he is the embassy's
press attaché.

2000
01:50:02,533 --> 01:50:04,933
(indistinct radio chatter)

2001
01:50:09,200 --> 01:50:11,500
BARRY ROSEN:
I only served in Iran

2002
01:50:11,500 --> 01:50:13,466
all these many years because

2003
01:50:13,466 --> 01:50:16,966
I cared so much for a culture

2004
01:50:16,966 --> 01:50:19,933
and a people who...

2005
01:50:21,033 --> 01:50:22,800
I really admired.

2006
01:50:25,766 --> 01:50:27,166
I said to myself,

2007
01:50:27,166 --> 01:50:29,700
"Why am I a prisoner?

2008
01:50:29,700 --> 01:50:33,333
"Why shouldn't Henry Kissinger
be the prisoner?

2009
01:50:33,333 --> 01:50:34,866
Why me?

2010
01:50:40,200 --> 01:50:42,266
SICK:
As far as the Iranian people
were concerned,

2011
01:50:42,266 --> 01:50:44,300
we were just as guilty
as the Shah

2012
01:50:44,300 --> 01:50:45,900
about anything that happened.

2013
01:50:48,033 --> 01:50:50,866
So when Americans asked,
"Why do they hate us so much?"

2014
01:50:50,866 --> 01:50:53,500
which was a reasonable question,

2015
01:50:53,500 --> 01:50:56,266
it just meant
we had very short memories.

2016
01:50:58,966 --> 01:51:02,200
You didn't have to go back
more than 30 years

2017
01:51:02,200 --> 01:51:05,733
to figure out
why they didn't like us.

2018
01:51:07,033 --> 01:51:10,200
(crowd clamoring)

2019
01:51:14,633 --> 01:51:20,100
(crowd chanting)

2020
01:51:32,966 --> 01:51:40,033
(chanting continues)

2021
01:51:42,966 --> 01:51:45,700
♪ ♪

2022
01:51:45,700 --> 01:51:47,333
ANNOUNCER:
Next time...

2023
01:51:47,333 --> 01:51:49,066
MAN: The hostages were going
to be there

2024
01:51:49,066 --> 01:51:51,000
until Khomeini decided
to let them go.

2025
01:51:51,000 --> 01:51:52,433
WOMAN:
He realized this was a way

2026
01:51:52,433 --> 01:51:54,966
to hold the Americans
over a barrel.

2027
01:51:54,966 --> 01:51:57,800
WOMAN: I never thought
that the United States

2028
01:51:57,800 --> 01:52:00,333
would try to free the hostages
with military action.

2029
01:52:00,333 --> 01:52:02,200
WOMAN: You've never seen
two countries

2030
01:52:02,200 --> 01:52:04,866
that understood each other
so little.

2031
01:52:04,866 --> 01:52:07,600
ANNOUNCER: The conclusion
of "Taken Hostage,"

2032
01:52:07,600 --> 01:52:10,066
next time
on "American Experience."

2033
01:52:10,066 --> 01:52:12,633
Made possible in part
by Liberty Mutual Insurance.

2034
01:52:13,800 --> 01:52:23,366
♪ ♪♪