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Fazlollah Zahedi
63rd Prime Minister of Iran
In office 19 August 1953 – 7 April 1955
Monarch	Mohammad-Reza Pahlavi
Preceded by	Mohammed Mosaddeq
Succeeded by	Hossein Ala'
Foreign Affairs Minister of Iran
In office 7 April 1953 – 29 April 1953
Prime Minister	Mohammed Mosaddeq
Preceded by	Abdol-Hossein Meftah
Succeeded by	Abdollah Entezam
Personal details
Born	1897 Hamedan, Iran
Died	2 September 1963 Geneva, Switzerland
Political party	Military
Military service
Allegiance	IAI
Years of service	1920-1963
Commands	General and statesman

Mohammad Fazlollah Zahedi (Persian: محمد فضل الله زاهدی) (c. 1897- 2 September 1963) was an Iranian general and statesman.

Biography

Early years

Born in Hamedan in 1897, Fazlollah Zahedi was the son of Abol Hassan "Bassir Diwan" Zahedi, a wealthy land owner at the city of Hamedan. During his service at the Imperial Russian-trained Iranian Cossack Brigade, one of his military superiors was Reza Khan, who later became the Iranian monarch. Zahedi was among the officers dispatched to Gilan to put an end to the Jangal movement of Mirza Kuchak Khan. At the age of 23, as a company commander, Zahedi led troops into battle against rebel tribesmen in the northern provinces. Two years later Reza Shah promoted him to the rank of brigadier general. The alliance forged between the two men was to endure a lifetime and continued to bind their sons, personally as well as politically.

He was also involved in the overthrow of Seyyed Zia'eddin Tabatabaee's government in 1920. It was Colonel Zahedi who arrested Sheikh Khaz'al Khan and brought him to Tehran.

During Reza Shah's reign, General Zahedi was named (1926) military governor of Khuzestan province, holding the hub of Iran's oil industry, and in 1932 chief of national police, one of the nation's top internal posts. During World War II he was appointed (1941) commanding general of the Isfahan Division. Following the forced abdication of Reza Shah in 1941, Zahedi was arrested by British forces, allegedly for his sympathy for Nazi Germany He was arrested in his own office by Fitzroy Maclean, who details the adventure in his 1949 memoir Eastern Approaches. Zahedi was flown out of the country and interned in Palestine until the end of the war.

Return from Internment

Returned from internment in Palestine in 1945, during the reign of Mohammad Reza Shah (Reza Shah's son and successor), General Zahedi became Inspector of military forces in southern Iran. He became once more chief of national police (Shahrbani) in 1949, when Mohammad Reza Shah appointed him as chief of the Shahrbani Police Forces, in order to counter the growing threat of Sepahbod Haj Ali Razmara.

1950s

After retiring from the army, he was named Senator in 1950. Zahedi was appointed Minister of the Interior (1951) in Hossein Ala''s administration, a post he would retain when Dr. Mohammad Mossadegh became Prime Minister. Zahedi actively supported the new government's nationalisation of the oil industry, which had previously been owned by the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company, now BP. However, he was at odds with Mossadegh over his increasing tolerance for the outlawed communist party Tudeh, which had boldly demonstrated in favor of nationalisation. Both of these moves antagonised the Western Powers, especially the United Kingdom and the United States. Zahedi was dismissed by Prime Minister Mossadegh after a bloody crackdown on anti-American protesters in mid 1951 in which 20 people were killed and 2000 wounded. + After retiring from the army, he was named Senator in 1950. Zahedi was appointed Minister of the Interior (1951) in Hossein Ala''s administration, a post he would retain when Dr. Mohammad Mossadegh became Prime Minister. Zahedi actively supported the new government's nationalisation of the oil industry, which had previously been owned by the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company, now BP. However, he was at odds with Mossadegh over his increasing tolerance for the outlawed communist party Tudeh, which had boldly demonstrated in favor of nationalisation. Both of these moves antagonised the Western Powers, especially the United Kingdom and the United States. Zahedi was dismissed by Prime Minister Mossadegh after a bloody crackdown on pro-nationalization protesters in mid 1951 in which 20 people were killed and 2000 wounded. - Zahedi finally broke with Mossadegh, with the latter accusing him of fostering plans for a coup. Meanwhile, sanctions levied by the Western Powers significantly curtailed Iranian oil exports, leading to an economic crisis. Disorder among several ethnic groups in southern Iran and labor unrest among oil-field workers put further pressures on the government. The United States under President Eisenhower, citing Mossadegh's allegedly pro-Moscow inclination, came to view the prevailing situation as a strategic threat. + Zahedi finally broke with Mossadegh, with the latter accusing him of fostering plans for a coup. Meanwhile, sanctions levied by the Western Powers significantly curtailed Iranian oil exports, leading to an economic crisis. Disorder among several ethnic groups in southern Iran and labor unrest among oil-field workers put further pressures on the government. The United States under President Eisenhower, citing Mossadegh's allegedly pro-Moscow inclination, came to view the prevailing situation as a strategic threat.

1953 Coup

- At the behest of the British and American government, and assured of their support, the Shah demanded Mossadegh's resignation in February 1953. Mossadegh refused, bringing to head a crisis that would end the era of constitutional monarchy and would replace it by direct rule of the Shah. The newly-formed CIA, along with the British 'spy' agency MI6, took an active role in the developments, terming their involvement Operation Ajax. Zahedi and his followers, financed by the foreign intelligence services, organised supporters of the Shah onto the streets, calling for the Prime Minister's ousting. There were such riots in Tehran and other cities. Fearing his arrest, Zahedi went into hiding. + At the behest of the British and American government, the Iranian military carried out a coup d'état which put an end to Mossadeq's rule and the era of constitutional monarchy and replaced it by direct rule of the Shah. The newly-formed CIA, along with the British intelligence agency MI6, took an active role in the developments, terming their involvement Operation Ajax. Zahedi and his followers, financed by the foreign intelligence services, planted newspaper articles in Iranian publications and paid agent provocateurs to start riots. There were such riots in Tehran and other cities. Fearing his arrest, Zahedi went into hiding. - In August 1953, Mossadegh attempted to convince the Shah to leave the country. The Shah refused, and formally dismissed the Prime Minister, in accordance with the Constitution. Mossadegh refused to resign, however, and when it became apparent that he was going to fight, the Shah, as a precautionary measure foreseen by the British/American plan, on 15 August fled first to Baghdad and then to Rome, Italy, after signing two decrees, one dismissing Mossadegh and the other naming Zahedi to replace him as Prime Minister. Mossadegh again refused to step down. + On August 15, after the first attempted coup d'état failed, the Shah fled first to Baghdad and then to Rome, Italy, after signing two decrees, one dismissing Mossadegh and the other naming Zahedi to replace him as Prime Minister. Both decrees were in direct violation of the Iranian constitution which stated that only the Parliament had the right to elect and dismiss Prime Ministers. - Supported by the United Kingdom and the United States, and encouraged by the intelligence agents Kermit Roosevelt Jr and Donald Wilber, Zahedi staged a counter coup on the 19 August 1953, drawing supporters from the military as well as the public. Relying for his legitimacy on the Shah's decrees, Zahedi sent out thousands of copies, along with the proclamation of himself as Prime Minister. The Shah returned triumphantly from exile on 22 August 1953. + Supported by the United Kingdom and the United States, and encouraged by the intelligence agents Kermit Roosevelt Jr and Donald Wilber, Zahedi staged a second coup on the 19 August 1953. Military units arrested Mossadeq at his home at night. The Shah returned from exile on 22 August 1953. - - Many contemporary authors attribute the coup, or counter coup, entirely to the American CIA and agents of the British MI6 who are portrayed to have organized and paid for it. Given the fact, however, that only two foreigners, namely Donald Wilber and Kermit Roosevelt Jr (according to the latter's official accounts), were locally active, together with just a handful of local Iranian agents (such as Shahpur Reporter and the Rashidian brothers) in their pay, it is clear that Iranian activists (often referred to as paid mobs), prominent clerics (e.g. Ayatollah Kashani), and military leaders, backed by troops loyal to them, brought about the turn of events leading to the toppling of Mossadeq and his government. A number of historians consequently argue the counter coup could not have taken place without both CIA organizing and Iranian support.

Final Exile

Having acquired an unprecedented power-base and, as a consequence, evoking increasing unease at home, the Premiership of General Zahedi ended in 1955. His final exile was sweetened by his last post, as Ambassador to the United Nations, in Geneva.

Family

Zahedi was a descendant of the Sufi mystics Sheikh Zahed Gilani (1216 - 1301) and Sheikh Safi-ad-din Ardabili, the eponym of the Safavid Dynasty, and through his mother, Djavaher Khanom, he traced his descent to the dynastic ruler Karim Khan Zand.

Zahedi married Khadijeh Pirnia, daughter of Mirza Hussein Khan Pirnia (titled Motamen-ol-Molk), and granddaughter to Mozzafar-al-Din Shah Qajar (1853 - 1907). They had a son, Ardeshir, and a daughter, Homa.

His son Ardeshir became a politician and diplomat and married Princess Shahnaz Pahlavi, the daughter of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi from his first marriage to Princess Fawzia of Egypt, daughter of King Fuad I.

His daughter Homa Zahedi was a member of Parliament, representing the constituency of the region of Hamadan.

According to The New York Times report a day after the 1953 coup, "General Zahedi has been married twice, but it is not known here whether his second wife is living. By his second wife he had two sons, one of whom lives in Sydney, Australia, while the second son, an air force officer, was killed in a crash."

See also

• Pahlavi Dynasty
• List of Prime Ministers of Iran
• Monarchism in Iran

References used

• 'Alí Rizā Awsatí (عليرضا اوسطى), Iran in the past three centuries (Irān dar Se Qarn-e Goz̲ashteh - ايران در سه قرن گذشته), Volumes 1 and 2 (Paktāb Publishing - انتشارات پاکتاب, Tehran, Iran, 2003). ISBN 9-649340-661 (Vol. 1), ISBN 9-649340-653 (Vol. 2).
• Encyclopædia Britannica

References

1. Kinzer, Stephen, All the Shah's Men: An American Coup and the Roots of Middle East Terror, Stephen Kinzer, John Wiley and Sons, 2003 p.142
2. Kinzer, Stephen, All the Shah's Men: An American Coup and the Roots of Middle East Terror, Stephen Kinzer, John Wiley and Sons, 2003, p.102
3. Kinzer, Stephen, All the Shah's Men: An American Coup and the Roots of Middle East Terror, Stephen Kinzer, John Wiley and Sons, 2003, p.102
4. Kinzer, Stephen, All the Shah's Men: An American Coup and the Roots of Middle East Terror, Stephen Kinzer, John Wiley and Sons, 2003
5. Kinzer, Stephen, All the Shah's Men: An American Coup and the Roots of Middle East Terror, Stephen Kinzer, John Wiley and Sons, 2003, p.5, 6, 210
6. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/08/17/AR2010081704944.html
7. http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/aug/16/how-the-shah-came-to-power/
8. Keddie, Nikki R., Roots of Revolution, Yale University Press, 1981, p.140
9. Kinzer, Stephen, All the Shah's Men: An American Coup and the Roots of Middle East Terror, Stephen Kinzer, John Wiley and Sons, 2003, p.211

External links

• Secrets of History: The C.I.A. in Iran -- A special report.; How a Plot Convulsed Iran in '53 (and in '79). The New York Times, April 16, 2000.
• New york Times article of 20 August 1953
• Images of General Zahedi
• Good historical Picture source
• Washington Post article of 18 August 2010
• Washington Times Article of 16 August 2010

v t e Commanders of Iran's regular military
Chiefs of the Joint Staff	Jahanbani (1925–26) Sheibani (1926–27) Nakhjavan (1927–34) Zarghami (1934–41) Yazdanpanah (1941–42) Arfaʿ (1942–43) Razmara (1943) Riazi (1943–44) Razmara (1944) Arfaʿ (1944–46) Aghevli (1946) Razmara (1946–50) Garzan (1950–52) Yazdanpanah (1952) Baharmast (1952–53) Riahi (1953) Batmanghelidj (1953–55) Hedayat (1955–61) Hejazi (1961–65) Aryana (1965–69) Djam (1969–71) Azhari (1971–78) Gharabaghi (1978–79) Gharani (1979) Farbod (1979) Shaker (1979) Shadmehr (1980) Fallahi (1980–81) Zahirnejad (1981–84) Sohrabi (1984–88) Shahbazi (1988–98)
Commanders-in-Chief	Shahbazi (1998–2000) Salimi (2000–05) Salehi (2005–17) Mousavi (2017–present)

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• Prime Ministers of Iran
• Iranian generals
• Field Marshals of Iran
• People from Hamedan
• 1897 births
• 1963 deaths
• Government ministers of Iran