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The Guardian
19 hours ago
- Politics
- The Guardian
King of Kings by Scott Anderson review – how the last shah of Iran sealed his own fate
The last shah of Iran was a figure from Shakespearean tragedy: outwardly haughty and magnificent, inwardly insecure and indecisive, a Persian Richard II, self-regarding even in his own downfall. When he stood at the foot of his aircraft steps as he left Iran for the last time in January 1979, tears streaming down his cheeks and killer cancer working away inside him, surely even the stoniest heart must have felt some pity for this fallen autocrat? Not so. The stony heart of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini contained only rage and a desire for vengeance towards the King of Kings (the Iranian monarch's official designation). 'This man has no place in Iran, and no place on Earth,' Khomeini told me in a chilling television interview before leaving Paris for Tehran. On the plane bringing him back from a 15-year exile a few days later to overthrow the shah's regime, Khomeini muttered that he felt nothing – hichi – on returning home. The fact is, not many of the people close to him really loved the shah. He let his friends down, he dithered, he habitually took the advice of the last person he spoke to. 'He was a difficult man to like,' said Sir Anthony Parsons, the British ambassador during the shah's last days, who was closer to him than any other foreign diplomat. 'He was so suspicious, so certain we were all trying to do him down. And yet there was a naked vulnerability about him which made you feel genuinely sorry for him.' King of Kings is a good and worthwhile account of his undoing, even if part of the subtitle – The Unmaking of the Modern Middle East – promises more than it delivers. It amply demonstrates the ways in which the shah was the author of his own downfall, constantly interfering in things he should have stayed away from. Of course there were broader causes of the Islamic revolution, chiefly the tidal wave of corruption that overwhelmed Iran when the oil price quadrupled after 1973; though the shah was partly responsible even for that, urging OPEC to screw more and more money from the battered west. But the revolution's immediate cause was a single foolish brainwave of his own, at the very start of 1978 – exactly a year before he was dethroned. That was when the shah entertained Jimmy Carter, and his wife, Rosalynn, at the Niavaran Palace in Tehran. There they celebrated the apparent fact that for the first time in years there was no major threat to either of their nations. Peace and stability seemed entrenched. As Anderson notes, it was the last time an American president would set foot on Iranian soil. Days, perhaps hours after the Carters left, the shah called a senior minister and told him to organise a pseudonymous, innuendo-laden newspaper article accusing the exiled Ayatollah Khomeini of being a British agent. The minister, an intelligent and rational man, complained that publishing the article would stir up trouble. But the shah, buoyed up by Carter's compliments, refused to listen. The article did stir up trouble. Khomeini's followers in the religious schools of Qom and other centres poured out on to the streets in violent protest, and the army and police shot some of them down. In Shia Islam and Persian custom, each burial is followed 40 days later by another public commemoration, and every time, the police and army killed more demonstrators. Even when the demonstrations were a regular and growing occurrence, the Ayatollah Khomeini, the absentee leader of the demonstrations, had long been a virtual prisoner in the Shia religious centre of Najaf, in neighbouring Iraq, then ruled by Saddam Hussein. It was impossible for outsiders to get to Najaf and speak to Khomeini; but for no good reason the shah put immense pressure on Hussein to get rid of him. Hussein (who had no time for the shah and could see how this would end) duly threw Khomeini out. Khomeini's more worldly-wise advisers persuaded him to take shelter near Paris, in the village of Neauphle-le-Château, where, as Anderson puts it 'the residents [adjusted] to the sight of the old man in his black turban and brown robes given to morning strolls along the surrounding country lanes'. Suddenly, the world's press could visit him and interview him whenever they wanted, and every word was beamed back to Iran. By November 1978 the shah's downfall was inescapable. Anderson's book suffers, in a way so many accounts by American writers seem to do, from concentrating on the Iran-US relationship to the virtual exclusion of any other (his excellent book Lawrence in Arabia' was naturally free of this limitation). But he has interviewed some of the key people, including the genuinely tragic figure of the shahbanu, Farah Pahlavi, who understood what was happening in Iran but failed to influence her husband sufficiently, and gives a thorough overview of the sweep of events. From the Middle East to the war in Ukraine, the world is still experiencing the aftershocks of the fall of the shah, and it's not over yet. And all, one is tempted to say, because this latter-day Richard II couldn't help meddling in things best left alone. It was a tragedy – and not just for him. Sign up to Bookmarks Discover new books and learn more about your favourite authors with our expert reviews, interviews and news stories. Literary delights delivered direct to you after newsletter promotion King of Kings: The Fall of the Shah, the 1979 Iranian Revolution and the Unmaking of the Modern Middle East by Scott Anderson is published by Hutchinson Heinemann (£25). To support the Guardian buy a copy at Delivery charges may apply.
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First Post
2 days ago
- Politics
- First Post
Is Iran's supreme leader spending his days sleeping and ‘getting high'?
An account on X purportedly linked to the Israeli intelligence agency Mossad has alleged that Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, spends half of the day sleeping and the other half 'getting high'. Is there any truth to the claims made by the Mossad Farsi account? read more An account on the social media platform X, which is purportedly linked to Israel's national intelligence agency, has made sensational claims about Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The Mossad's Farsi account has alleged that the 86-year-old conservative cleric is addicted to drugs. However, there are doubts about the authenticity of the account itself. Mossad has also not officially confirmed that its affiliation. Let's take a closer look. What has Mossad Farsi claimed? The Mossad's Farsi social media account alleged on Friday (July 25) that Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, spends his time sleeping and high on drugs. 'How can a leader lead when they sleep half the day and spend the other half high on substances?' the account wrote on Friday on X. 'Water, electricity, life!' STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD چگونه یک رهبر میتواند رهبری کند وقتی نصف روز می خوابد و نصف دیگر روز از مصرف مواد نعشه است؟ آب، برق، زندگی! — Mossad Farsi (@MossadSpokesman) July 25, 2025 The account made a similar claim on July 9, saying: 'Consuming drugs and conversing with spirits are not desirable traits for someone leading a country.' The account, with a blue tick, is new and was created just last month. It claims to be the official Mossad spokesperson in Farsi, the official language of Iran. However, the Israeli intelligence agency has not officially confirmed the account is linked to it, as per a Fox News report. Two intelligence agents have claimed the account appears to be authentic. 'Some of the information it has shared could only have come from Mossad,' Beny Sabti, an Iran expert at Israel's Institute for National Security Studies, told JFeed, an Israeli news outlet. Is there any truth to the claims? There is no confirmation of the claims, which just seem to be speculations. However, claims about the Iranian supreme leader's alleged drug use have been made in the past. In 2022, an Iranian academic accused Khamenei of using drugs. 'Many viewers do not know this, but Khamenei himself uses drugs,' Nour Mohamed Omara told a television station in Turkey at the time. 'He has a special village in Balochistan, where the drugs used by the leader are produced. This village is run by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and no one is allowed in,' the academic added. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD There have been unfounded claims about Iran's Ayatollah Ali Khamenei using drugs. File Photo/Reuters The claims come even as Iran declared illicit substances 'un-Islamic' in 1979 after the Iranian Revolution. Iranians face the death penalty for drug-related offences. Other posts by Mossad Farsi The Mossad-linked account has made many claims about Iran and Khamenei's health over the last month. The account asks Iranians to contact it through 'private messages, for your own security, please ensure you are using a VPN.' After the 12-day Iran-Israel war, the account wrote on X: 'A ceasefire has been put into effect. Now, the extent of the damage is becoming clear. At this moment, the regime is focused on its senior officials, not on caring for its citizens. 'We stand with you and have formed a team of specialised doctors, including experts in cardiology, diabetes. pulmonary diseases, infectious diseases, oncology, as well as support for pregnant women and psychological assistance.' On June 24, United States President Donald Trump announced a ceasefire between Iran and Israel after 12 days of conflict. The Mossad Farsi account's one of the most viral posts was related to the newly appointed commander of the Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, which is the command headquarters of the Iranian Armed Forces. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD After Iran's semi-official Tasnim News Agency reported that the regime would not disclose the commander's identity 'for his protection,' the X account claimed to already know the name. It also called on Iranians to send in their guesses. The account replied to the 'lucky winner' who guessed the name Ali Abdollahi Aliabadi, asking the user to 'contact us privately to receive your prize.' With inputs from agencies
The Guardian
2 days ago
- Politics
- The Guardian
King of Kings by Scott Anderson review – how the last shah of Iran sealed his own fate
The last shah of Iran was a figure from Shakespearean tragedy: outwardly haughty and magnificent, inwardly insecure and indecisive, a Persian Richard II, self-regarding even in his own downfall. When he stood at the foot of his aircraft steps as he left Iran for the last time in January 1979, tears streaming down his cheeks and killer cancer working away inside him, surely even the stoniest heart must have felt some pity for this fallen autocrat? Not so. The stony heart of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini contained only rage and a desire for vengeance towards the King of Kings (the Iranian monarch's official designation). 'This man has no place in Iran, and no place on Earth,' Khomeini told me in a chilling television interview before leaving Paris for Tehran. On the plane bringing him back from a 15-year exile a few days later to overthrow the shah's regime, Khomeini muttered that he felt nothing – hichi – on returning home. The fact is, not many of the people close to him really loved the shah. He let his friends down, he dithered, he habitually took the advice of the last person he spoke to. 'He was a difficult man to like,' said Sir Anthony Parsons, the British ambassador during the shah's last days, who was closer to him than any other foreign diplomat. 'He was so suspicious, so certain we were all trying to do him down. And yet there was a naked vulnerability about him which made you feel genuinely sorry for him.' King of Kings is a good and worthwhile account of his undoing, even if part of the subtitle – The Unmaking of the Modern Middle East – promises more than it delivers. It amply demonstrates the ways in which the shah was the author of his own downfall, constantly interfering in things he should have stayed away from. Of course there were broader causes of the Islamic revolution, chiefly the tidal wave of corruption that overwhelmed Iran when the oil price quadrupled after 1973; though the shah was partly responsible even for that, urging OPEC to screw more and more money from the battered west. But the revolution's immediate cause was a single foolish brainwave of his own, at the very start of 1978 – exactly a year before he was dethroned. That was when the shah entertained Jimmy Carter, and his wife, Rosalynn, at the Niavaran Palace in Tehran. There they celebrated the apparent fact that for the first time in years there was no major threat to either of their nations. Peace and stability seemed entrenched. As Anderson notes, it was the last time an American president would set foot on Iranian soil. Days, perhaps hours after the Carters left, the shah called a senior minister and told him to organise a pseudonymous, innuendo-laden newspaper article accusing the exiled Ayatollah Khomeini of being a British agent. The minister, an intelligent and rational man, complained that publishing the article would stir up trouble. But the shah, buoyed up by Carter's compliments, refused to listen. The article did stir up trouble. Khomeini's followers in the religious schools of Qom and other centres poured out on to the streets in violent protest, and the army and police shot some of them down. In Shia Islam and Persian custom, each burial is followed 40 days later by another public commemoration, and every time, the police and army killed more demonstrators. Even when the demonstrations were a regular and growing occurrence, the Ayatollah Khomeini, the absentee leader of the demonstrations, had long been a virtual prisoner in the Shia religious centre of Najaf, in shah couldn't leave well alone. neighbouring Iraq, then ruled by Saddam Hussein. It was impossible for outsiders to get to Najaf and speak to Khomeini; but for no good reason the shah put immense pressure on Hussein to get rid of him. Hussein (who had no time for the shah and could see how this would end) duly threw Khomeini out. Khomeini's more worldly-wise advisers persuaded him to take shelter near Paris, in the village of Neauphle-le-Château, where, as Anderson puts it 'the residents [adjusted] to the sight of the old man in his black turban and brown robes given to morning strolls along the surrounding country lanes'. Suddenly, the world's press could visit him and interview him whenever they wanted, and every word was beamed back to Iran. By November 1978 the shah's downfall was inescapable. Anderson's book suffers, in a way so many accounts by American writers seem to do, from concentrating on the Iran-US relationship to the virtual exclusion of any other (his excellent book Lawrence in Arabia' was naturally free of this limitation). But he has interviewed some of the key people, including the genuinely tragic figure of the shahbanu, Farah Pahlavi, who understood what was happening in Iran but failed to influence her husband sufficiently, and gives a thorough overview of the sweep of events. From the Middle East to the war in Ukraine, the world is still experiencing the aftershocks of the fall of the shah, and it's not over yet. And all, one is tempted to say, because this latter-day Richard II couldn't help meddling in things best left alone. It was a tragedy – and not just for him. Sign up to Bookmarks Discover new books and learn more about your favourite authors with our expert reviews, interviews and news stories. Literary delights delivered direct to you after newsletter promotion King of Kings: The Fall of the Shah, the 1979 Iranian Revolution and the Unmaking of the Modern Middle East by Scott Anderson is published by Hutchinson Heinemann (£25). To support the Guardian buy a copy at Delivery charges may apply.
Indian Express
3 days ago
- Politics
- Indian Express
Iran executes 2 members of Marxist-Islamist group: Who are the MEK, what are its ties with the US?
Iran has executed two members of the banned Marxist-Islamist outfit, Mujahideen-e-Khalq (MEK), or the People's Mujahideen, for targeting civilian infrastructure on Sunday. Designated as 'operational elements' of the MEK, Mehdi Hassani and Behrouzi Ehsani-Eslamloo were sentenced to death, and the verdict was upheld by the Supreme Court, news outlet Mizan reported. The defendants were indicted on grounds of 'moharebeh', an Islamic legal term in Iran meaning 'waging war against God', and 'membership in a terrorist organisation with the aim of disrupting national security.' 'The terrorists, in coordination with MEK leaders, had set up a team house in Tehran, where they built launchers and hand-held mortars in line with the group's goals, fired projectiles heedlessly at citizens, homes, service and administrative facilities, educational and charity centres, and also carried out propaganda and information-gathering activities in support of the MEK,' Reuters reported, quoting Mizan. Eslamloo had been arrested in 2022 following an explosion at the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology claimed by the MEK. MEK, also known as the People's Mujahideen Organisation of Iran, are a Marxist-Islamist organisation, founded in the early 1960s by student activists to oppose the government of Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. Known for their notoriety and widespread appeal, the group engaged in guerilla warfare and bombing campaigns against the US-backed Shah government through the '60s and '70s, seeking to overthrow the monarchy. Notably, it participated in the 1979 Iranian Revolution, backing Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, and the attack of the US Embassy in Tehran, where 66 Americans, including diplomats and other civilian personnel, were taken hostage, according to the US Library of Congress. After the establishment of the Islamic Republic, the group fell out of favour with the Supreme Leader, who saw them as an existential threat owing to an ideological clash. After a series of brutal crackdowns and mass executions, the group and its founder, Massoud Rajavi, were exiled. After briefly basing its operations out of Paris, Rajavi and the MEK relocated to Iraq in 1986, where it found support from Saddam Hussein's Ba'athist regime amid the Iran–Iraq War (1980–88), according to the US State Department. The support for the group within Iran diluted during the war, after it helped Saddam quash the Kurdish uprising in the north and Shia unrest in the south (1991). Nevertheless, it demonstrated a global outreach in April 1992, with coordinated raids on diplomatic missions in ten countries, including one at the Iranian Mission to the United Nations in New York. In 1997, the group was put on the US's list of Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTO), which includes more than 50 groups like al-Qaeda and Hezbollah, for these actions and the killing of six Americans in the 1970s. During the 2003 invasion of Iraq, the MEK struck a cease-fire deal with the US and temporarily confined its operations to Camp Ashraf in the Gulf country's northeast. The US has since then viewed the MEK's members as 'noncombatants' and 'protected persons' under the Geneva Conventions. In September 2012, under the Obama administration, the group struck a deal with then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and had itself removed from the FTO, unfreezing its assets. Notably, the group's political arm, the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), which purportedly acts as a government-in-exile, opened its office in Washington DC in April 2013.
News18
3 days ago
- Politics
- News18
'Half Day Sleeping, Other Half High': Mossad-Linked Account Targets Iran's Supreme Leader
Last Updated: Over the past month, the account has made repeated posts about Khamenei's health and criticised Iran's leadership Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has been accused of spending his days sleeping and using drugs, according to a social media account claiming to be linked to Israel's intelligence agency, Mossad. The claim was made on X by a Farsi-language account created last month. The account, which has a premium subscription, has not been officially confirmed by Mossad but presents itself as the agency's spokesperson in Persian. In its first post on Friday, the account wrote, 'How can a leader lead when they sleep half the day and spend the other half high on substances? Water, electricity, life!" چگونه یک رهبر میتواند رهبری کند وقتی نصف روز می خوابد و نصف دیگر روز از مصرف مواد نعشه است؟آب، برق، زندگی!— Mossad Farsi (@MossadSpokesman) July 25, 2025 A second post added, 'Every explosion, fire, and destruction is not our doing. This failed and corrupt regime, with years of neglect and poor prioritization, causes more damage and harm itself. Water, electricity, life!" هر انفجار، آتش سوزی وخرابی کار ما نیست.این رژیم شکستخورده و فاسد، با سالها بی توجهی واولویت بندی های ضعیف، خودش خسارت و آسیب های بیشتری را وارد میکند.آب، برق، زندگی!— Mossad Farsi (@MossadSpokesman) July 25, 2025 Over the past month, the account has made repeated posts about Khamenei's health and criticised Iran's leadership, pointing to ongoing issues with clean water, electricity, and education. The account's bio also advises Iranian users to protect their identity when interacting. 'To everyone contacting us through private messages, for your own security, please ensure you are using a VPN," it reads. Allegations about Khamenei's drug use are not new. In 2022, an Iranian academic, Nour Mohamed Omara, made similar claims during an appearance on a Muslim Brotherhood-affiliated television channel based in Turkey, Fox News reported. 'Many viewers do not know this, but Khamenei himself uses drugs," Omara said. He also claimed the Iranian leader has a private village in Balochistan where the drugs are produced under the supervision of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). According to Omara, the area is tightly controlled and closed off to the public. Khamenei has long denounced drug use, calling it 'un-Islamic" after the 1979 Iranian Revolution. In Iran, drug-related crimes can carry severe penalties, including the death sentence. view comments Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
