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{{Short description|Iranian politician (1936–1982)}}{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2021}}{{Engvar B|date=March 2023}}

factoids

|death_place = Evin Prison, Tehran, Iran|death_cause = Executed by firing squad|nationality = Iranian

• Freedom Movement of Iran {{small|(1961–1978){edih}BOOK, Houchang E. Chehabi, Iranian Politics and Religious Modernism: The Liberation Movement of Iran Under the Shah and Khomeini, I.B.Tauris, 87

isbn=978-1850431985,

• National Front {{small|(1953–1961)}}}}|otherparty = |partner = |relations = |children = |residence =|alma_mater = |occupation =|profession =|cabinet =|committees =|signature =}}

Sadegh Ghotbzadeh (, 24 February 1936 – 15 September 1982) was an Iranian politician who served as a close aide of Ayatollah Khomeini during his 1978 exile in France and was foreign minister (30 November 1979 – August 1980) during the Iran hostage crisis following the Iranian Revolution. In 1982, he was executed for allegedly plotting the assassination of Ayatollah Khomeini and the overthrow of the Islamic Republic.

Early life and education

Ghotbzadeh was born in Isfahan in 1936.NEWS, Ghotbzadeh, Iran hostage crisis figure, executed,www.nytimes.com/1982/09/17/world/ghotbzadeh-iran-hostage-crisis-figure-executed.htmlnewspaper=The New York TimesACCESS-DATE=4 AUGUST 2013DATE=17 SEPTEMBER 1982, His father was a wealthy lumber merchant.As a student, he was active in the student branch of the National Front following the toppling of Mohammad Mosaddegh in 1953. He left Iran in 1959 after being detained twice due to his opposition activities to the Shah’s regime; he lived in Europe, the US and Canada. Ghotbzadeh was a supporter of the National Front of Iran. In addition he was one of the senior members of the Freedom Movement of Iran led by Mehdi Bazargan in the 1960s.MEHDI BAZARGAN’S BIOGRAPHY>URL=HTTP://WWW.BAZARGAN.INFO/LA_ENGLISH/ENGLISH.HTMACCESS-DATE=3 AUGUST 2013, He attended Georgetown University’s Walsh School of Foreign Service from 1959 to 1963. He contributed to the Freedom Movement from the US. He was part of the more radical wing of the movement together with Ebrahim Yazdi, Mostafa Chamran and Ali Shariati.BOOK, Houchang Chehabititle=Distant Relations: Iran and Lebanon in the Last 500 Yearsyear=2006isbn=978-1-86064-561-7, 182, However, he was dismissed from the school before graduating due to his skipping studies and exams to lead protests against the government of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, including storming a posh party hosted by the then Iranian ambassador to the United States, the son-in-law of the Shah, Ardeshir Zahedi.Carole Jerome. (1989). The Man In The Mirror. A True Inside Story of Revolution, Love And Treachery In Iran, (Unwin Hyman)Ghotbzadeh left the US when his passport was revoked and moved to Algeria, Egypt, Syria and finally to Iraq, where he met Ayatollah Khomenei in 1963. In December of the same year Ghotbzadeh along with Chamran and Yazdi met the Egyptian authorities to establish an anti-Shah organization in the country, which was later called SAMA, special organization for unity and action.JOURNAL, Abbas William Samii, The Shah’s Lebanon policy: the role of SAVAK, Middle Eastern Studiesvolume=33pages=66–91Musa as-Sadr>Musa Al Sadr, an Iranian-Lebanese Shia cleric.NEWS, Mousa al-Sadr alive in Libyan prison: sourcesaccess-date=3 August 2013date=23 February 2011author2=Elia Jazaeri, Dubai; Beirut, NADIA VON MALTZAHN>TITLE=THE SYRIA-IRAN AXIS: CULTURAL DIPLOMACY AND INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS IN THE MIDDLE EASTYEAR=2013ISBN=978-1-78076-537-2the Middle East, Ghotbzadeh was trained in Lebanon together with Iranian revolutionary militants and Palestinians.JOHN COOLEYCHAPTER=RECRUITERS, TRAINERS, TRAINEESYEAR=2002ISBN=978-0-7453-1917-9, 83, In the late 1960s, Ghotbzadeh went to Canada for higher education and graduated from now defunct Notre Dame University College in Nelson, BC, in 1969. Next he settled in Paris using his Syrian passport which he obtained through the help of Musa Al Sadr. There he worked as a correspondent for the Syrian government daily, Al Thawra.WEB, Tony Badran, Syriana,www.tabletmag.com/jewish-news-and-politics/36751/syriana, Tablet, 4 August 2013, 22 June 2010, NEWS, An Iranian minister pretending to be a Syrian reporter!, Asharq Alawsat, Tariq Alhomayed,www.aawsat.net/2011/06/article55246189, 25 August 2013, 11 June 2011, 3 September 2014,www.aawsat.net/2011/06/article55246189," title="web.archive.org/web/20140903094944www.aawsat.net/2011/06/article55246189,">web.archive.org/web/20140903094944www.aawsat.net/2011/06/article55246189, dead, The job, in fact, was fake and covered his opposition activity in the city.

Career and activities

Ghotbzadeh left the Freedom Movement in 1978.BOOK, Houchang E. Chehabi, Iranian Politics and Religious Modernism: The Liberation Movement of Iran Under the Shah and Khomeini,books.google.com/books?id=JJEIQbUnGyYC&pg=PA228, 1990, I.B.Tauris, 978-1-85043-198-5, 228, He became a close aide of Ayatollah Khomeini when the latter was in exile in France. Ghotbzadeh along with Mostafa Chamran was part of the faction, called “Syrian mafia”, in the court of Khomeini, and there was a feud between his group and the Libya-friendly group, led by Mohammad Montazeri.NEWS, Gayn, Mark, Mark Gayn, Into the depths of a boiling caldron,news.google.com/newspapers?id=DCNlAAAAIBAJ&pg=1340,5195980&dq=mohammad+montazeri&hl=en, 27 July 2013, Edmonton JournalAmal Movement>Amal sympathizer and close to Lebanese Shii cleric Musa Al Sadr. Khomeini appointed him a member of the follow-up mission to search for fate of Al Sadr following the latter’s disappearance in August 1978.Ghotbzadeh accompanied Khomeini on his Air France flight back to Iran on 1 February 1979.WEB, 12 Bahman: Khomeini Returns,www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/tehranbureau/2009/02/12-bahman-khomeini-returns.html, PBS, 4 August 2013, 1 February 2009, It was Ghotbzadeh, who translated the Ayatollah’s infamous response “Hichi (Nothing)” to journalist John Simpson’s question: “Ayatollah, would you be so kind as to tell us how you feel about being back in Iran?” He was also Khomeini’s translator in the press conference held in Tehran on 3 February 1979.NEWS, Mohammad Sahimi, The Ten Days that Changed Iran, PBS, 3 February 2010access-date=30 July 2013, Los Angeles, Following the Iranian Revolution Ghotbzadeh became a member of the revolutionary council when Bazargan and others left the council to form an interim government.BOOK, Barry Rubin, Paved with Good Intentionspublisher=Penguin Bookspage=283NEWSPAPER=THE NEW YORK TIMESACCESS-DATE=4 AUGUST 2013LOCATION=LONDON, HELEN CHAPIN METZ>EDITOR-LINK=HELEN CHAPIN METZURL=HTTP://A1.PHOBOS.APPLE.COM/US/R30/COBALTPUBLIC/V4/BD/15/AC/BD15ACC0-011E-1B4B-6E82-2E8709AA1D09/106-2923369153335397402-THE_REVOLUTION.PDFACCESS-DATE=10 AUGUST 2013ARCHIVE-URL=HTTPS://WEB.ARCHIVE.ORG/WEB/20131203034324/HTTP://A1.PHOBOS.APPLE.COM/US/R30/COBALTPUBLIC/V4/BD/15/AC/BD15ACC0-011E-1B4B-6E82-2E8709AA1D09/106-2923369153335397402-THE_REVOLUTION.PDFNational Iranian Radio and Television (NIRT) on 11 February 1979.INDEX GE-GJWORK=RULERS, 3 August 2013, He tried to overhaul it to be in line with Islamic teachings, purging royalists, women, and leftists.Ervand Abrahamian. (1999). Tortured Confessions, (University of California Press), p. 156 This was criticised by a group of Iranian intellectuals and also the interim government. On 13 March, two women, one with a gun and the other with a knife, attacked Ghotbzadeh protesting the fundamentalist policies of the Islamic regime.ROBIN MORGAN>TITLE=SISTERHOOD IS GLOBAL: THE INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S MOVEMENT ANTHOLOGYYEAR=1984ISBN=978-1-55861-160-3URL=HTTPS://BOOKS.GOOGLE.COM/BOOKS?ID=OEQHJO6JKUSC&PG=PA108PUBLISHER=DUKE UNIVERSITY PRESSPAGE=108, He was appointed foreign minister in late November 1979NEWS, Maxim Kniazkovurl=http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Inside+the+KGB%3a+Myth+and+Reality.-a010658417newspaper=Washington MonthlyAbolhassan Banisadr resigned as acting (law)>acting foreign minister amid heated disputes on the fate of the American hostages. In early 1980 Ghotbzadeh was involved in early Iran hostage crisis negotiations in Paris with Carter aide Hamilton Jordan, which led to “a complex multi-stepped plan“ Mark Bowden, Guests of the Ayatollah: the first battle in America’s war with militant Islam, Atlantic Monthly Press, (2006), pp. 359-61 which was torpedoed by Khomeini announcing the hostages’ fate would be decided by the new Iranian parliament.Bowden (2006), pp. 363, 365Ghotbzadeh wrote an open letter to the Majlis in August 1980 arguing for the quick release of the hostages, and told Reuters five days later that “United States presidential candidate Ronald Reagan, supported by Kissinger and others, has no intention of solving the problem. They will do everything in their power to block it.“BOOK, Joint report of the Task Force to Investigate Certain Allegations Concerning the Holding of American Hostages by Iran in 1980 (“October Surprise Task Force“), 3 January 1993, United States Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C., 81, H. Rept. No. 102-1102, 27492534, {{harvid, “October Surprise Task Force”, 1993, |hdl=2027/mdp.39015060776773}} In September and October, he made several other public statements alleging that a deal to delay the release of the hostages may have taken place. The French news agency Agence France Presse quoted him on 6 September as stating the “Reagan camp was trying hard to block a solution of the [hostage] problem before the elections” and that he had “information” to prove it. On 11 September, the open letter was published in an Iranian newspaper with similar charges. A decade later in 1991, Joseph E. Persico of The New York Times concluded a review of Gary Sick’s book October Surprise stating: “Two friends of Ghotbzadeh who spoke to him frequently during this period said that he insisted repeatedly that the Republicans were in contact with elements in Iran to try to block a hostage release.“{{sfn|“October Surprise Task Force“|1993|page=81}}NEWS, Joseph E. Persiconewspaper=The New York Timesdate=22 December 1991House October Surprise Task Force investigating the 1980 October Surprise theory>October Surprise allegations interviewed close associates of Ghotbzadeh and concluded in 1993 that they “uncovered nothing to corroborate Ghotbzadeh’s statements”.{{sfn1993|page=82}}After the failure of the rescue attempt decided upon by President Carter, he qualified this decision an “act of war” against Iran. However, Ghotbzadeh was not committed anti-American during his tenure.JOURNAL, Mohammad Ataie, Revolutionary Iran’s 1979 endeavor in Lebanon, Middle East Policy, Summer 2013, XX, 2, 137–157, 10.1111/mepo.12026, free, In January 1980, Ghotbzadeh ran for the presidency, but lost the election. His tenure as foreign minister ended in August 1980 and he was replaced by Karim Khodapanahi in the post.WEB, Foreign Ministers, Peymanmeli, 29 November 2013,www.peymanmeli.org/Rulers.asp, Following his retirement from politics Ghotbzadeh dealt with his family trade in the importing business and studied Islamic law.

Arrest and execution

(File:Sadegh Ghotbzadeh in court (03).jpg|thumb|Ghotbzadeh defending himself at trial)Ghotbzadeh was first arrested on 7 November 1980 on charges of planning to kill Ayatollah Khomeini and criticising the Islamic Republic Party. He was detained in Evin Prison in Tehran.NEWS, Iran jails Ghotbzadeh,news.google.com/newspapers?id=UG0aAAAAIBAJ&pg=3352,4799081&dq=sadegh+ghotbzadeh&hl=en, 4 August 2013, The Milwaukee Journal, 8 November 1980, AP, Beirut, {{Dead link|date=February 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}IRAN ARRESTS GHOTBZADEH FOR DEATH PLOT>URL=HTTPS://NEWS.GOOGLE.COM/NEWSPAPERS?NID=2199&DAT=19820410&ID=4FSYAAAAIBAJ&PG=5287,1800033NEWSPAPER=LAWRENCE JOURNALAGENCY=APACCESS-DATE=4 AUGUST 2013DATE=20 MARCH 1981LOCATION=BEIRUT, On 8 April 1982, he was arrested along with a group of army officers and clerics (including a son-in-law of the religious leader Ayatollah Kazem Shariatmadari), all accused of plotting the assassination of Ayatollah Khomeini and overthrow of the Islamic Republic.WEB, Semira N. Nikou, Timeline of Iran’s Political Events,iranprimer.usip.org/resource/timeline-irans-political-events, United States Institute of Peace, 27 July 2013, NEWS, Love bloomed during Iranian revolutionaccess-date=3 August 2013date=12 August 1986location=Ottawa, hujjat al-Islam Mohammad Reyshahri, the chief judge of the newly created Military Revolutionary Tribunal, explained what the plot was about. He used “an elaborate chart full of boxes and arrows linking Ghotbzadeh and the royalist officers, on one side, to ‘the feudalists, the leftist mini-groups, and the phony clerics’ and on the other side, to the ‘National Front, Israel, the Pahlavis and the Socialist International.’ The last four were linked to the CIA.“Ervand Abrahamian. (1999). Tortured Confessions, (University of California Press), p.156. Quotes from “Plots are Revealed,” Ettela’at, 20 April 1982The twenty-six day trial of Ghotbzadeh began in August 1982. In court he denied the accusations but confirmed the existence of a plot to topple the Islamic government and form a “real republic”. His forced confessions, which were aired, are said to have come only after severe torture on the part of the police. Late on 15 September 1982, Ghotbzadeh was shot by a firing squad in Evin Prison. The Military Revolutionary Tribunal had sentenced him to death. George Russell. (27 September 1982). www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,925739,00.html" title="web.archive.org/web/20090201180446www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,925739,00.html">“Revolution Devouring Its Own” Time.JOURNAL, Shireen T. Hunter, After the Ayatollah, Foreign Policy, Spring 1987, 66, 66, 77–97, 10.2307/1148665, 1148665, He was 46.

Reactions

Abolhassan Banisadr, who had been in exile in Paris, stated that Ghotbzadeh’s execution was “settling of accounts”.

Personal life

Ghotbzadeh never married. In 1987, Canadian journalist Carole Jerome published a book, The man in the mirror: A story of love, revolution and treachery in Iran, detailing both her romantic relationship with Ghotbzadeh and her journalistic account of the revolution.JOURNAL, Joan McGrath, Book Review, CM, November 1988, 16, 6,www.umanitoba.ca/cm/cmarchive/vol16no6/revthemaninthemirror.html, 3 August 2013, 21 October 2013,www.umanitoba.ca/cm/cmarchive/vol16no6/revthemaninthemirror.html," title="web.archive.org/web/20131021043841www.umanitoba.ca/cm/cmarchive/vol16no6/revthemaninthemirror.html,">web.archive.org/web/20131021043841www.umanitoba.ca/cm/cmarchive/vol16no6/revthemaninthemirror.html, dead, He was fluent in French and English.

Legacy

In his 1991 book, Inside the KGB: Myth and Reality, Vladimir Kuzichkin claimed that Ghotbzadeh had been an agent of the Soviet military intelligence service during his studies in the United States before later detaching himself from it. The book also alleged that the KGB had fabricated and placed a false CIA cable to an unnamed American agent in Iran in his residence, which was used as evidence to arrest and try him.Ben Affleck’s 2012 movie, Argo, used a real clip of Ghotbzadeh, showing him accusing Canada of “flagrantly violating international law.“MAGAZINE, Mark Bowden, Ben Affleck’s “Argo” Is Brilliant,newrepublic.com/article/books-and-arts/108621/ben-afflecks-argo-brilliant#, 3 August 2013, New Republic, 16 October 2012, Ghotbzadeh’s great-niece, Sanaz Ghajarrahimi, wrote and directed a play, named Red Wednesday, which was presented at the New Ohio Theatre in New York from 26 July to 3 August 2013.NEWS, Ice Factory 2013: Red Wednesdayaccess-date=3 August 2013WORK=NEW OHIO THEATREURL=HTTP://WWW.THEATERMANIA.COM/NEW-YORK-CITY-THEATER/NEWS/07-2013/GLOBAL-REVOLUTION-TAKES-CENTER-STAGE-IN-RED-WEDNES_65633.HTMLACCESS-DATE=3 AUGUST 2013DATE=24 JULY 2013, In 2017 Ali Sajjadi, a Persian journalist, based in Washington DC, published a collection of Sadegh Ghotbzadeh manuscripts. Sajjadi also interviewed many friends and colleagues of Ghotbzadeh for the book.WEB, Publication of 1970 Memories of Sadegh Ghotbzadeh in the United States,www.payvand.com/news/17/feb/1083.html, Payvand News, 21 January 2018, California, 17 February 2017, 23 April 2017,www.payvand.com/news/17/feb/1083.html," title="web.archive.org/web/20170423093843www.payvand.com/news/17/feb/1083.html,">web.archive.org/web/20170423093843www.payvand.com/news/17/feb/1083.html, dead, The BBC Persian documentary series, Son of the Revolution, premiered in February 2020.WEB,www.bbc.com/persian, صفحه اول, BBC News فارسی, HTTPS://WWW.IMDB.COM/TITLE/TT11806862/>TITLE=SON OF THE REVOLUTION (TV MINI SERIES 2020) - IMDBDATE=8 FEBRUARY 2020Iranian Revolution. The documentary was published on YouTube in Persian HTTPS://WWW.YOUTUBE.COM/WATCH?V=PWB0LM8-CQO ARCHIVE-DATE=22 DECEMBER 2021TITLE=مستند فرزند انقلاب، داستان زندگی Ùˆ مرگ صادق قطب‌زاده Ù€ بخش اولWEBSITE=YOUTUBE, www.youtube.com, {{cbignore}}

References

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External links

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{{Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Iran|state=collapsed}}{{People executed by the Islamic Republic of Iran}}{{List of political prisoners of Iran}}{{Authority control}}