इन्किलाब खवाह कितना ही पुराना कयों न होजाये, उसकी दास्तान हमेशा ताज़ा रहती है. ज़माना उसको बार बार दोहराता है, फरक सिर्फ नाम मक़ाम और वक़्त का होता है.
The once-powerful monarch who had ruled from the majestic Peacock Throne
As
the Shah of Iran, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi Aryamehr, 59, flew out with his queen,
Farah, for a 'holiday' abroad; a fairy tale came to an end. His Imperial
Highness, whose claim of belonging to a 2,500-year-old dynasty of emperors.
The Shah left Iran in exile on 16 January 1979, as the last
Persian monarch, leaving his duties to a regency council and Shapour Bakhtiar,
who was an opposition-based prime minister.
Ayatollah Khomeini was invited back to
Iran by the government, and returned to Tehran to a greeting by several
thousand Iranians.
The
royal reign collapsed shortly after, on 11 February, when guerrillas and rebel
troops overwhelmed troops loyal to the Shah in armed street fighting, bringing
Khomeini to official power.
The Shah never returned to Iran. He died
in exile in Egypt in 1980.
Ayatollah Khomeini
returned to Iran on 1 February after 14 years' exile.
He
threw out Dr Bahktiar's government on 11 February and, after a referendum,
declared an Islamic Republic on 1 April. Khomeini guided his country's
revolutionary social, legal, and political development until his death in 1989.
The year was 1979. His Imperial Majesty,
the Shahanshah, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi of Iran, was homeless and gravely ill.
The once-powerful monarch who had ruled a
modern prosperous country for 37 years from the majestic Peacock Throne,
commanded a powerful army and controlled massive oil wealth, had been driven
out of Iran by the followers of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.
 |
| Queen Farha Pahlavi |
He
was now desperately seeking refuge, wandering from country to country, while
battling a terminal illness, Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, a form of cancer of the
immune system.
The Pahlavi dynasty
The
Pahlavi family reigned over Iran from 1925 to 1979. Founding father Reza Shah
Pahlavi was born Reza Khan and came from a humble background.
He
soon rose up the ranks from soldier to military leader to oust the last ruler
of the Qajar dynasty, which consolidated power in the late 1780s.
Reza Shah held court until 1941, when a
British and Russian invasion forced him to abdicate. His son, Mohammad Reza
Pahlavi, took over.
The
younger Pahlavi wasn’t as beloved or as confident a ruler as his father. But
then the tides turned, at least for a bit, in his favor. In 1953, the United
States and Britain were confronted with a problem:
Iranian nationalist leader Mohammad
Mossadegh had been elected prime minister and was pushing to nationalize Iran’s
oil industry, in which the two Western powers were heavily invested.
In
the political upheaval, the shah fled. So the CIA and M16, loath to lose access
to Iran’s markets, orchestrated a coup to oust Mossadegh and return the shah.
Iran’s ruler was now back — and determined to hold on to power.
“At the
same time, there is a reason there was a popular revolution against the shah.
The monarchy was facing a crisis of legitimacy because of the political
repression of the shah’s regime.”
In
February, pro-Khomeini revolutionary guerrilla and rebel soldiers had taken
over the street fighting. The military stepped to the side and, on the evening
of 11th February 1977, the Shah’s reign was over.
The
revolutionaries had won. The Iranian monarchy was formally abolished, and Iran
was declared an Islamic Republic led by Khomeini, who took over the reins of
power.
 |
| Shah Reza Shah Pahlavi of Iran Leaving Iran |
The Revolutionary government in Iran
ordered the arrest (and later execution) of the Shah and the Shahbanu.
The Shah and his family had already fled into exile to Egypt on
16th January 1979, as Egyptian President Anwar El Sadat and First Lady Jehan Al
Sadat were personal friends.
However,
Iran started pressing for extradition. Over the next 14 months, to keep trouble
at bay, one by one country around the world shut their doors on the royal
family. After Egypt, the Pahlavis stayed briefly in Morocco as guests of King
Hassan II.
It was estimated that the Shah
had a personal fortune of $1 billion. Despite this wealth, the family had
nowhere to go.
The
Pahlavis headed to the Caribbean, where they were granted temporary refuge in
the Bahamas on Paradise Island, which the Empress recalled as the “darkest days
in her life.
” The Shah tried to
buy the island for $425 million, but his offer was rejected. Next stop was
South America.
 |
| Khomeini Returned to IRAN .1979 After 14 Years of Exile |
Mexico
issued them a short visa and they moved into a rented villa in Cuernavaca near
Mexico City.
The
stress took a toll and the Shah’s long-term illness of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma,
a cancer of the immune system, rapidly got worse.
They got permission to seek medical
treatment in the U.S. Iranis became incensed with the U.S. government for
harboring the Shah and they attacked the American Embassy in Tehran.
Khomeini returned to Iran in 1979 after
14 years of exile
The
bungled attempt by the U.S. to rescue the Americans Embassy staff and citizens
that were held hostage for 444 days became known as the Iran hostage crisis.
Again,
the Shah and his family became a liability to the host nation and were asked to
leave. This time, they headed to Contadora Island, Panama.
Learning
that, succumbing to Irani pressure, the Panamanian Government wanted to arrest
the Shah and extradite him to Iran, Farah pleaded with Jehan Al Sadat to let
them return to Egypt.
With the Shah engaged in a life-and-death
struggle with cancer, the US Government wanted him to leave the country. Former
queen Farah Pahlavi in desperation contacted Jehan Sadat, wife of the President
of Egypt for help.
In the face of dire threats from Iran
and opposition from domestic extremists, President Sadat bravely extended an
invitation to them to come to Egypt. He personally welcomed the bedraggled
royal family at the airport and lodged them at the stately Koubbeh Palace.
Life of Her Imperial Majesty Queen Farah
Pahlavi in exile
After
the Shah's death, the exiled Shahbanu remained in Egypt for nearly two years.
She was the regent in pretence from 27 July to 31 October 1980.President Anwar
Sadat gave her and her family use of Koubbeh Palace in Cairo.
A
few months after President Sadat's assassination in October 1981, the Shahbanu
and her family left Egypt. President Ronald Reagan informed her that she was
welcome in the United States.
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