Ebrahim Yazdi - yesterdays terrorists/criminals today's "reformists/dissidents"

Ebrahim Yazdi was born 1931 in the Iranian city of Qazvin, 165km northwest of the capital Tehran.

In 1953 Mohammad Mossadegh was removed from his Premiership (by Royal decree) due to his illegal acts against the constitution, appeasement of groups connected to the Soviet Union, and a disastrous economic policy. This event has falsely and erroneously been referred to as a coup d’ètat by the Shah and the American CIA which can’t be farther from the truth. The Shah of Iran was never “deposed” as these uninformed western sources and lying Iranian factions try to portray it as, the Shah had in fact appointed Mossadegh to the Premiership, so in effect no “coup” could come from the Shah’s part as he was the Chief of State and Head of the Armed Forces. If the term “coup” is to be used it can only be used in the context of PM Mossadegh going against the Iranian constitution of that time and suspending the Iranian Parliament. These factions who use such erroneous and revisionist statements to malign the late Shah of Iran do so under the protection of Mossadegh’s achievement of nationalizing Iranian oil – this makes it difficult for many Iranians to criticize Mossadegh since the overwhelming majority of Iranians support the nationalization of Iranian oil; having said that though, the way in which this nationalization went about was totally contrary to Iran’s interests and notably there were leaders before Mossadegh who had already brought up the idea of oil nationalization (PM Razmara) but through more pragmatic ways ensuring the national interests of Iran were taken into consideration without taking any hasty and radical decisions. Many Iranians still don’t understand the negative consequences of the way PM Mossadegh acted in the oil nationalization issue let alone domestic policy such as on the economy and illegal closure of the Parliament as well as appeasement of proxy groups of the Soviet Union seeking to undermine Iran’s national sovereignty and integrity. As for the CIA’s involvement in the events of 1953 there was an unsuccessful attempt to create unrest to topple PM Mossadegh and only after this unsuccessful attempt (whose documents are publically available) is it that Iranian masses take to the streets demanding the resignation of PM Mossadegh.

With this context in mind, it is after 1953 which Ebrahim Yazdi begins his involvement in activities undermining the state under the false excuse of being a “pro-democracy activist”. At this stage he joins a group called “The National Resistance Movement of Iran” of which one of its notable members is the notorious Islamist “intellectual” Ali Shariati. He is officially member of this group from 1953-1960. In 1960, thanks to the opportunities created for Iranian students by the Pahlavi Dynasty, Ebrahim Yazdi then 29 years old decides to continue his education in the United States. During his years in the U.S. Ebrahim Yazdi becomes a naturalized U.S. citizen - which has allowed him to travel back and forth to the U.S. unhindered (from 2000-2002 Ebrahim Yazdi was living in the U.S. and receiving cancer treatment before he returned to his colleagues in the Islamic Republic). A year after his arrival in the U.S. (1961) he becomes a founding member of a new organization referred to as the “Freedom Movement of Iran”, once again along notorious Islamo-Leftist “intellectuals” like Mostafa Chamran, Ali Shariati, and Sadegh Qotbzadeh. The term Islamo-Leftist is oxymoronic in itself as the Islamic and leftist ideology have vast ideological differences but nonetheless the common goal of undermining the Iranian government and maligning the late Shah of Iran had brought these two backward forces together in a common cause. Ebrahim Yazdi would stay in the U.S. (on and off spending time in various countries in Europe and the Middle East as well) until the Islamic coup d’état/Islamic revolution of 1979. The term Islamic in this context can be a bit misleading as it was an “unholy union by the reactionary forces of Red and Black” (as the late Shah of Iran referred to it as) which constituted the backbone of this black period in Iran’s modern history. By “black and red” it is meant the Islamic and Leftist forces respectively. It is only after the victory of the coup d’ètat/revolution that the Islamists usurp power and dissolve the unholy alliance which they had forged with the leftists (which constituted parties ranging from Communists, Marxists, Maoists etc).

During his years in the U.S. (1961-1979) Ebrahim Yazdi actively participated in the creation and running of numerous Muslim and so-called “Iranian” student association (this in addition to his political role in the “Freedom Movement of Iran”). Amongst these organizations which Ebrahim Yazdi assisted to form were the “Confederation of Iranian Students” (1960), “Muslim Students Association of the United States and Canada” (1963), the “Islamic Medical Association of the United States and Canada” (1967), and the “Islamic Society of Greater Houston” (1968).

Again the most prominent of these association in relation to the 1979 Islamic coup d’ètat/revolution in Iran was the “Confederation of Iranian Students”. This was an association whose membership was composed of none other than the leftist and islamic opposition united in their common goal of undermining the Iranian state and maligning the late Shah of Iran. As time passed this movement became further and further radicalized. Towards the second half of the 1960’s the leftist and islamist factions in Iran had launched an urban guerilla war against the Iranian state which claimed many innocent lives. Members of the “Confederation of Iranian Students” inside Iran had also attempted an assassination on the late Shah of Iran which was unsuccessful. Since their inception abroad the Confederation of Iranian students had engaged in heavy propaganda efforts against the Iranian state by gross exaggerations of the human rights situation inside the country and maligning the late Shah of Iran with false and misleading terms such as “bloodthirsty dictator”, “torturer”, “puppet” etc. As part of their propaganda efforts this group capitalized on the young, youthful, leftist movement in the west and actively built networks within their western counterparts’ associations and together orchestrated demonstrations against the Iranian government based on false propaganda and exaggerations. In Europe for example a visit by the late Shah of Iran to Germany in 1967 sparked militant student upheavals (from leftist factions) across the country and Europe-wide leftist student protests were very active in the period 1968-1969. In the U.S. members of the “Confederation of Iranian Students” joined the antiwar and radical student movements of the 1960’s and 1970’s to pursue their goals. In addition to being highly active in Germany and the U.S. other countries were this organization was vigorously involved in propaganda activities included France, England, Austria, Italy, Sweden, Turkey, Canada and even India! The goals of the “Confederation of Iranian Students” was alleviated by the fact that almost a half of Iran’s university-level student population was studying abroad – again thanks to the opportunities opened up by the Iranian government and the late Shah of Iran. Many students were indoctrinated into believing the false propaganda that this detrimental group propagated and were in this way recruited to participate in demonstrations and other efforts seeking to undermine the Iranian government. Ebrahim Yazdi also distributed cash payments to Iranian students for demonstrating against the Shah in the U.S.. In the 1970’s Ebrahim Yazdi became the primary liaison between Ayatollah Khomeini and the CIA. From this point onwards he would become a close confident of Ayatollah Khomeini and would even arrange the plans to transfer Khomeini from Iraq to France after the latter declared his presence in that country unwanted. In 1971 the activities of the “Confederation of Iranian Students” compelled the Iranian government to declare it an illegal organization. In 1975 Ebrahim Yazdi was tried in absentia by an Iranian military court for his activities against the Iranian state and was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment, with orders of arrest upon his return to Iran.

By having such an active and broad network across so many countries the “Confederation of Iranian Students” was able to the major role of influencing the public media in these countries. Soon international attention on Iran began focusing less on the rapid progress being made in the social and economic development of the country and instead began introducing terms used by the “Confederation of Iran Students” (and other opposition groups) into their reports such as “the Shah’s ruthless dictatorship”, “insurmountable repression”, “horrific torture”, “the Shah’s merciless secret police SAVAK” etc. These false and exaggerated terms were a direct result of the propaganda efforts by the Islamic and Leftist opposition groups to the Iranian government, and were quickly picked up by human rights organizations, news media, political circles, and governments each with their own interests and agenda in mind and how to exploit this.


Terrorist camp

Towards the late 1970’s militant activity by these groups against the Iranian government was prevalent and many had returned back to Iran to pursue the ongoing guerilla warfare with western human rights organizations, news media, and political circles cheering them on! In the period 1961-1979 Ebrahim Yazdi has later proudly admitted that he participated and spent time in Yasser Arafat’s terrorist PLO training camps in Lebanon in preparation for his role in the Islamic coup d’ètat/revolution; similar training camps were also provided by the Libyan government of Mohammad Qaddafi. The Shah was astounded to how old “friends” and “allies” were all of a sudden turning their backs towards Iran and supporting these terrorist factions. The Shah had underestimated the strength this radical movement possessed and in his state of terminal cancer was from the early 1970’s onwards in no state to be in a decision-making position.

From left to right: Ebrahim Yazdi, Yasser Arafat, Hassan Khomeini, unidentified mullah



After the victory of the terrorist militants in 1979 Ebrahim Yazdi was elected as Deputy Foreign Minister of the Islamic Republic in an interim government. In this same year Ebrahim Yazdi celebrated the victory of the Islamist/Leftist revolutionaries by handing over the former Israeli Embassy in Iran to the notorious Arab criminal and head of the PLO Yasser Arafat.


This year marked the formation of kangaroo courts or “revolutionary courts” were summary trials of former statesmen, politicians, military officials, artists, political activists, and ordinary people who actively voiced their rejection the terrorist system were held – in which the entire process constituted the deliverance of execution sentences without defendants being given any legal aide or assistance to prove that the accusations against them were false and incorrect. The justice of these revolutionary courts were a mockery of justice itself. When Khomeini was asked in very early days what should be done to reorganize the Ministry of Justice, he replied: “anyone who is against me is against God and should be killed immediately on the spot as waging war against Allah. We do not need any other justice”. Yazdi was happy to oblige this mind set. The bloodbath that Khomeini and his minions like Ebrahim Yazdi let loose immediately after their takeover caused the deaths of tens of thousands of people, who were executed in the period 1980-1989, amongst them many of their former “brothers in arms” and allies from the leftist groups. In 1979 alone thousands were executed in these type of kangaroo/revolutionary courts primarily top diplomats, statesmen, military officials, and other notable personalities associated with the Iranian government and the Monarchy. In these kangaroo courts, Ebrahim Yazdi acted as Prosecutor General and in some instances held televised interrogations of principal military and civilian leaders of the Shah’s monarchy like Prime Minister Abbas Hoveyda, Police Chief General Mehdi Rahimi, Security Chief General Nematollah Nassiri, Army Air Wing commander General Manouchehr Khosrowdad, and paraded them, often bleeding and bruised, while taunting, threatening and humiliating them with instructions to confess their sins, all for Iran’s television viewers – and to strike widespread fear into anyone not immediately joining the Islamic take over.

Also in 1979, Ebrahim Yazdi led the Islamic Republic’s delegation to the 6th Summit of “Non-Aligned Nations” in Havana, Cuba, and later that year the Islamic Republic’s delegation to the United Nations 34th General Assembly. It is noteworthy to point out here that other than enthusiastically being received by President Castro of Cuba and having photo-ops with this “great revolutionary”, as Ebrahim Yazdi considers him, the purpose of the “Non-Aligned Nations” organization as stated in the Havana Declaration of 1979 is to ensure "the national independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity and security of non-aligned countries" in their "struggle against imperialism, colonialism, neo-colonialism, racism, Zionism, and all forms of foreign aggression, occupation, domination, interference or hegemony as well as against great power and bloc politics. Again this is not terminology that we are unfamiliar with almost 30 years onwards from the inception of the first terrorist theocratic state in modern history and the beginning of Islamic terrorism as we know and experience it today.

These events allowed Ebrahim Yazdi to serve as a spokesperson on behalf of Ayatollah Khomeini (the leader of the Islamic Republic) and to try and legitimize the illegal and occupational revolutionary regime. In November 1979, Ebrahim Yazdi resigns from his post as the Islamic Republic’s Foreign Minister in protest to the U.S. Embassy takeover which he said was “contrary to the national interest of Iran”. Again these are nothing but superficial statements from a man concerned about the preservation of the terrorist Islamic system which he has created through such hard dedication throughout his life. After resigning to save face from this embarrassing event (hostage taking of U.S. embassy personnel) he decides to instead run for a less high-profile position in the first post-revolutionary “Islamic Consultative Assembly”. Formerly this body was referred to as the Iranian Parliament or the “National Consultative Assembly” – emphasis is stressed on the term “Islamic” (used post-1979) and “National” (used pre-1979). Ebrahim Yazdi is successful in this bid and along other members of the “Freedom Movement of Iran”, such as Mehdi Bazarga, Mustafa Chamran, Ahmad Sadr, Hashem Sabbaghian, and Yadollah Sahabi, become elected to serve in this newly formed Islamic parliament; Yazdi serves from 1980-1984. After his term in the Islamic Republic’s parliament ran out in 1984 Ebrahim Yazdi does not seek re-election based on the fact that he considers Ayatollah Khomeini’s insistence on continuing the war with Iraq as not being in the interest of the revolution and the Islamic Republic. Yet again Ebrahim Yazdi tries to save face and credibility despite the physical and cultural genocide that had taken place on a daily basis upto that period. His steadfast support and loyalty and concern for the system he has helped create is clearly visible. Ebrahim Yazdi later sought to nominate himself in Presidential (2005), parliamentary, and city council elections but was barred by the senior theocratic leadership due to his public objections in the past. He did however serve as head of Keyhan for a short period which is a regime-sponsored publishing group. Ebrahim Yazdi's most recent affirmation of support for the Islamic Republic came when he became concerned about the Islamic Republic's President AhmadiNejad's comments on "wiping Israel off the map" - these statements Ebrahim Yazdi is quoted as saying "provoke the international community against us. It's not to Iran's interests at all. It's harmful to Iran to make such statements. These comments give Israel justification for urging the world to take a tougher stand against Iran and refer its nuclear programme to the UN Security Council [for possible sanctions]".


Ebrahim Yazdi running for the Islamic Republic's sham Presidential elections in 2005

In regards to the revolutionary courts, Ebrahim Yazdi has of late began refuting the notion that he had any part in them or with the murder’s/executions” which took place in them. Specifically he has recently brought up General Rahimi’s trial were he acted as nothing less than Prosecutor General! He has gone on record saying he “is not a lawyer” to be in the position to give legal advise on what course of action should have been taken. He has also said that he was against the execution of General Rahimi and other leaders of the Iranian government related to the Monarchy! This is nothing new from Ebrahim Yazdi and the like, in fact another criminal who participated in the creation of this terrorist establishment – Abolhassan Bani-Sadr who served as President for the Islamic Republic and who also as of late has gone on record trying to clear his name by saying he had no idea what kind of man Ayatollah Khomeini was going to be! This despite the Ayatollah’s documented speeches and statements against modernity, democracy, women, and especially his sick Islamic thoughts spelled out in his written and published books. In effect what Abolhassan Bani-Sadr is saying is that he was a naïve, incompetent politician, and uninformed person who miraculously became President of the Islamic Republic in a system created by a man he had no information on! Also noteworthy is that Abolhassan Bani-Sadr in a recent interview states that Ebrahim Yazdi was the man who suggested the creation of a “revolutionary justice system” and the establishment of the “revolutionary guards of the Islamic Republic”. The blame-game is in full swing! And everyone is trying to whitewash their involvement and crimes under this barbaric and terrorist regime that has occupied Iran and held innocent Iranians hostage for nearly three decades!


General Rahimi - Commander of Martial Law in Tehran

Despite Ebrahim Yazdi’s claims that he had no involvement in General Rahimi’s trial and that he even opposed the execution of this brave and honorable General there is documented evidence showing Ebrahim Yazdi’s involvement in this sham trial in a revolutionary tribunal in which he himself acts as General Prosecutor! In the film clip available for the public to see Ebrahim Yazdi acting as the prosecutor of General Rahimi clearly states: “We know that Mr [General] Rahimi is guilty and has to be punished…and this has to be done according to sharia law”. And make no mistakes General Rahimi was executed according to correct Islamic fashion under strict shariah law.

Since it is clear from the documented evidence that Ebrahim Yazdi is acting as the prosecutor in this revolutionary tribunal one should ask this man who today tries to whitewash his crimes and distance himself from them; where was General Rahimi’s defense lawyer in the revolutionary tribunal which you were participatory of? Who was the judge in this tribunal? Where are the public records of this trial? Where was the freedom and justice at the time he was giving execution-orders to Iran’s finest statesmen and honorable military officials? Where was this freedom and justice which he speak of today, to once again misled people?

During the trial of General Rahimi a psychologically deranged mullah, Ayatollah Khalkhali, tells the General to order the Imperial Armed Forces to express their loyalty to the leader of the Islamic coup d’ètat (Ayatollah Khomeini). General Rahimi defiantly replies that he will take no orders but that of his “Commander in Chief His Imperial Majesty Shahanshah Aryamehr Mohammad Reza Pahlavi”. General Rahimi would at the end of his trial punch Ebrahim Yazdi in the face and call him a SOB - which lead to Ebrahim Yazdi ordering that the General's right hand be cut off before his execution. Later on when he is facing his execution squad, right before the execution order is given by a mullah, the General loudly reaffirms for the last time his allegiance to his country and King by shouting out “Javid Iran! Javid Shah!” (“Long Live Iran! Long Live the King”). General Rahimi was executed because he refused to break his oath and allegiance to protect and serve his Country and King.


General Jahanbani

Another honorable and prominent military official, General Jahanbani, entered his sham trial with severe bruising across his face from beatings he had received at the hands of the Islamists/Leftists. He was soft-spoken and gentle man who had clearly been beaten and tortured. He refused to honor the bogus and illegal kangaroo court and thus refused to defend himself in front of the mullah’s. He was subsequently taken out into a courtyard and shot several times.

Empress Farah Pahlavi of Iran writes in her memoirs "An Enduring Love - My Life with the Shah" (p.307):

"A bit later, I managed to contact by phone a dear friend whose husband, Air Force General Nader Jahanbani, had just been executed. Insulted by one of the guardians of the revolution, he had the courage to slap him in the face before dying. She was sobbing and I, who should have been able to find words to comfort her, could do nothing but cry with her. That evening, in despair, I wrote these few lines in my notebook: "I don't feel I have the strength in me to go on fighting. I would prefer to die for my country with honor rather than be dragged toward death by the depression that is overtaking me. Dear God, if you are there, give me the strength to go on."


General Rahimi's lifeless body with his right hand clearly having been amputated

(p.339):

"As for Ibrahim Yazdi, he sat with the judges and torturers who had, among other things, given the death sentence to men who were remarkable for their courage, dignity, and their loyalty, among them Generals Mehdi Rahimi* and Nematollah Nassiri.

*General Rahimi had his right arm cut off before his execution for having saluted when the King's name was spoken."

The amputated right arm of General Rahimi can be seen on photos showing the life-less body of the General.

Apart from General Rahimi’s sham trial, Ebrahim Yazdi’s participated in the trial and subsequently executions of General Jahanbani, General Khosrowdad, General Mohaqeqhi. Ebrahim Yazdi also helped organize the trial of ex Prime Minister H.E. Amir-Abbas Hoveyda who was shot from the back by yet another mullah (purportedly Ayatollah Ghaffari).

Ebrahim Yazdi is also said to have expressed his displeasure as to why the late Shah of Iran did not order the Imperial Armed Forces of Iran to open fire on demonstrators because this would have helped further support to his cause of establishing an Islamic Republic and make Islam victorious! Ebrahim Yazdi and the revolutionaries used every tactic in the book to fuel public anger against the state and one such method was importing terrorist from foreign countries like Palestine, dress them with Iranian military uniforms and open fire on both the public and the Imperial Armed Forces. One such instance is the events surrounding the “Jaleh Square” were Palestinian gunmen (of which there were a few thousand in the country by that time) opened fire at Iranian soldiers from buildings adjacent to were large crowds had gathered. The soldiers had received strict orders not to open fire unless they were in lethal danger and this situation required them to act, and the only logical conclusion was that the shots were coming from gunmen from within the demonstrators. These kind of events further radicalized public sentiment to favor that of the revolutionaries.

Ebrahim Yazdi shakes hands with former colleague Mohsen Sazegara (one of the founders of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps.)


Cold blooded criminals such as Ebrahim Yazdi and his likes who today are trying to distance themselves from their past crimes need to be exposed. Individuals such as Ebrahim Yazdi who personally presided over the most inhumane sham trials of thousands of innocent Iranians who were beaten and executed under his orders need to be held accountable! When Ebrahim Yazdi was to give a speech at the University of Westminister in England (2005) on “The Future of Islamic Democracy”, Iranian exiles mobilized and filed charges of “crimes against humanity” against this criminal which subsequently led to him canceling his trip.


Ebrahim Yazdi sitting next to the former Islamic Republic Foreign Minister Seyed Kamal Kharazi

Let us not be fooled about this criminals’ unsuccessful attempts to run for further political seats in the Islamic Republic. This man despite how western media try to make him look victimized and despite his self-proclaimed status as a “dissident” lives a luxurious life (from the state funds appropriated by the revolutionaries after the victory of the Islamic coup d’ètat), participates in sessions of the Islamic parliament (!), roams freely, and is nothing but a tool kept by the Islamic Republic as a back-up plan to once again fool people in case his services (and those of his organization “Freedom Movement of Iran”) should be needed to preserve the revolution and the Islamic Republic; that is afterall what Ebrahim Yazdi’s goal has been since day one of the Islamic Republic’s inception. He lives a comfortable life and occasionally makes some noise to please his followers and to deceive others. If anything he can be referred to as the “loyal opposition” to the Islamic Republic occupying Iran. These terrorists of yesterday have today changed colors into becoming “reformists” and even “dissidents”! It should not come as a surprise that Ayatollah Khalkhali one of the revolutions most fervent and most bloodthirsty servants who personally executed many prominent Iranians towards his latter days began associating himself with the so-called “reformist-faction” which is nothing but a charade the Islamic Republic has created to keep people busy and to prolong its own longevity/survival!


Ebrahim Yazdi attending a student conference; if only these students knew who this person is and what role he played in killings of thousands of Iranians!

We will not rest until these criminals stand trial in legitimate Iranian courts of law where they will be answerable to their past actions.


Ebrahim Yazdi with mullah's in the Islamic parliament