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178-626: A nationwide judicial system in Iran was first implemented and established by Abdolhossein Teymourtash under Reza Shah , with further changes during the second Pahlavi era. After the 1979 overthrow of the Pahlavi dynasty by the Islamic Revolution , the system was greatly altered. The legal code is now based on Islamic law or sharia , although many aspects of civil law have been retained, and it

356-622: A Doctorate of Laws ( doctorate en Droit ) at the University of Neuchâtel in Switzerland . In June 1913, Mosaddegh received his doctorate and in doing so became the first Iranian to receive a PhD in Law from a European university. Mosaddegh taught at the Tehran School of Political Science at the start of World War I before beginning his political career. Mosaddegh started his political career with

534-642: A Grand Vizier in all but name, a position that allowed its occupant to dominate the affairs of state within previous Persian dynasties. The dominant position of Teymourtash, and the attendant privileges enjoyed by him, were described as follows in a cable drafted by Clive, the British diplomat in Tehran, to Whitehall in 1928: "As Minister of the Court he has acquired the position of the Shah's most intimate political adviser. His influence

712-405: A fixed written law with appeals courts was one of them. In March 1926, Minister of Judicial Affairs Ali-Akbar Davar dissolved Iran's entire judiciary, with the approval of the parliament, and initiating a wave of fundamental restructuring and overhauling reforms with the aid of French judicial experts. By April 1927 Iran had 600 newly appointed judges in Tehran. Davar subsequently attempted to expand

890-423: A formal education, the new Reza Shah maintained his firm grip over all matters pertaining to the army and internal security, while Teymourtash was left a free hand to devise blueprints for modernizing the country, orchestrating the political implementation of much needed bureaucratic reforms, and acting as the principal steward of its foreign relations. Such a division of responsibilities would bode well for Iran given

1068-414: A given litigation, with no right of appeal. Iranians in general opposed these capitulations, and secular Iranians such as Mohammed Mossadeq , wanted to establish a fixed written law they believed would not only end the capitulations but facilitate the building of a strong and unified state. Under the secularist reign of Reza Shah many changes were made in Iran's judicial system, and the establishment of

1246-431: A lifelong passion for Russian and French literature, leading him to be the first Iranian to translate into Persian the masterful Russian literary works of Lermontov and Turgenev upon his return to Iran. Given his extensive absence from Iran, one of the first tasks Teymourtash set for himself upon returning to his native Iran was to retire to the seclusion of his family estates with the task of improving his Persian. With

1424-438: A mandatory, fixed sentence), Qisas (the law of retaliation/retribution), diyyeh , or blood money (to compensate for the death/injury), Qanon-e Ta'zir (tazir is a crime that receives a discretionary sentence by a judge), Qanon-e Qisas (Retribution Law). The Supreme Audit Court of Iran regulates banking and financial operations and interest ( riba ) is forbidden. In 1991–1994, Iran combined all of these laws into

1602-586: A massive, unbroken daisy chain of cars...In the final seven or eight miles approaching the village, traffic became so gridlocked that mourners were forced to...complete the journey on foot. The U.S. role in Mosaddegh's overthrow was not formally acknowledged for many years, although the Eisenhower administration vehemently opposed Mossadegh's policies. President Eisenhower wrote angrily about Mosaddegh in his memoirs, describing him as impractical and naive. Eventually,

1780-512: A means of checking the power of the Tudeh Party , which had been agitating the peasants by criticising his lack of land reform. However, during this time Iranians were "becoming poorer and unhappier by the day", in large part due to the British-led boycott. As Mosaddegh's political coalition began to fray, his enemies increased in number. Partly through the efforts of Iranians sympathising with

1958-515: A military prison, well short of the death sentence requested by prosecutors. After hearing the sentence, Mossadegh was reported to have said with a calm voice of sarcasm: "The verdict of this court has increased my historical glories. I am extremely grateful you convicted me. Truly tonight the Iranian nation understood the meaning of constitutionalism." Mosaddegh was kept under house arrest at his Ahmadabad residence, until his death on 5 March 1967. He

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2136-451: A month after the Shah was deposed, hundreds of thousands of Iranians marked the 12th anniversary of Mossadegh's death. In Ahmadabad, where he was buried, Iranian leaders and politicians eulogized him in a way that would've been unthinkable before the Shah's removal. It was estimated that the crowd in size was over one million. The event was described as: For sixty solid miles, the highway from Tehran to Mossadeq's burial site...transformed into

2314-508: A more intimate or lengthy acquaintance. However, it can be assumed that Reza Shah was favourably impressed by Teymourtash's legislative maneuvers during meetings of the constituent assembly that voted overwhelmingly in favour of the deposition of the Qajar dynasty. It was, after all, primarily the collaboration between Ali Akbar Davar and Teymourtash that had led to the drafting of the Inqiraz bill which

2492-478: A number of individuals were appointed as Iran's Foreign Ministers, their capacity to act as the architects of the country's foreign affairs was nominal. It was the energetic Teymourtash who became the principal steward and strategist who managed Iran's foreign relations during the first seven years of the Pahlavi dynasty, a task for which he was eminently suited. Teymourtash assumed the lead role in negotiating broadly on

2670-415: A particular issue, rather than individual members beholden to party discipline or a particular cohesive platform. To overcome factions that undermined efforts to advance reforms required by the country, Teymourtash established a fascist political party named Iran-e Now ("The New Iran") in an attempt to introduce discipline to Iran's chaotic Parliament. Such an effort received the approval of Reza Shah and

2848-637: A period of one year. Finally, to end Mossadegh's destabilising influence that threatened the supply of oil to the West and could potentially pave the way for a communist takeover of the country, the US made an attempt to depose him. In March 1953, Secretary of State John Foster Dulles directed the CIA , which was headed by his younger brother Allen Dulles , to draft plans to overthrow Mossadegh. On 4 April 1953, Dulles approved $ 1 million to be used "in any way that would bring about

3026-520: A question asked only of Iranian Muslims, a plurality (45%) felt that the law already followed Sharia somewhat closely, and a further 37% thought it followed Sharia very closely. Abdolhossein Teymourtash Abdolhossein Teymourtash ( Persian : عبدالحسین تیمورتاش ; 25 September 1883 – 3 October 1933) was an influential Iranian statesman who served as the first minister of court of the Pahlavi dynasty from 1925 to 1932, and

3204-664: A school of dentistry at Mashhad University in Khorasan . The list of domestic institutes of secondary and higher education also increased substantially during this period, although such institutions were associated and funded by various ministries. In 1927 the Faculty of Political Science from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the School of law of the Ministry of Justice were merged to form an independent School of Law and Political Science. Moreover,

3382-552: A single-clause bill to parliament to grant him emergency "dictatorial decree" powers for six months to pass "any law he felt necessary for obtaining not only financial solvency, but also electoral, judicial, and educational reforms", in order to implement his nine-point reform program to bypass the stalled negotiations of the nationalisation of the oil industry. On 3 August 1952, the Majlis voted in approval, and elected Ayatollah Kashani as House Speaker. Kashani's Islamic scholars, as well as

3560-554: A strong affinity for the constitutional ideals and thrust of this gathering and assumed a leading role in the group. Teymourtash's active involvement in constitutional gatherings led, in due course, to his appointment as chief of staff of the populist constitutionalist forces resisting the reigning monarch's decision to storm the buildings of Parliament. The constitutionalists forces eventually took sanctuary in Parliament to demand constitutionally entrenched rights and safeguards. Throughout

3738-541: A tax on tea and sugar to finance the construction of a Trans-Iranian Railway , a project which was ultimately completed twelve years later in 1937. The economic merits of such a financing scheme would allow Iran to complete the construction of the Trans-Iranian Railway in 1937 by relying entirely on local capital. Another significant initiative introduced by Teymourtash during his tenure as the Minister of Public Works

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3916-539: A wide range of social reforms: unemployment compensation was introduced, factory owners were ordered to pay benefits to sick and injured workers, and peasants were freed from forced labour in their landlords' estates. In 1952, Mosaddegh passed the Land Reform Act which forced landlords to place 20% of their revenue into a development fund. This development fund paid for various projects such as public baths, rural housing, and pest control. On 1 May, Mosaddegh nationalised

4094-684: A year of preparatory school in Ashgabat , Teymourtash was sent to Saint Petersburg to pursue further studies. He was enrolled as a cavalry cadet at the venerated Imperial Nicholas Military Academy , a preserve of the sons of the Russian aristocracy. The curriculum of the school was predominated mainly by military and administrative studies, but also allowed Teymourtash to adopt a fluent command of Russian, French and German, as well as familiarity with English. Teymourtash's eleven-year stay in Russia also led him to develop

4272-448: Is credited with playing a crucial role in laying the foundations of modern Iran in the 20th century. Given his significant role in the transition of power from the Qajar to Pahlavi dynasties, he is identified closely with the Pahlavi for which he served as the first minister of court from 1925 to 1933. Nonetheless, Teymourtash's rise to prominence on the Iranian political scene predated

4450-668: Is integrated into a civil law legal system. According to the constitution of the Islamic Republic, the judiciary in Iran "is an independent power" with a Ministry of Justice , head of the Supreme Court , and also a separate appointed Head of the Judiciary . According to one scholar, the administration of justice in Islamic Iran has been until recent times a loosely sewn and frequently resewn patchwork of conflicting authority in which

4628-505: Is offered to his Imperial Majesty by His Excellency Mr. Teymourtash, the Minister of the Sublime Court" Even more significant was the prescient role Teymourtash assumed by establishing the Society for National Heritage in the early 1920s. In due course, this society was joined by some of Iran's leading personalities and assumed a critical role advocating in favour of archeological discoveries,

4806-408: Is responsible for the "establishment of the organizational structure" of the judicial system; "drafting judiciary bills" for Parliament; hiring, firing, promoting and assigning judges. Judges cannot be dismissed without a trial. Iran's prison system was "centralized and drastically expanded" by the Islamic Republic. Under the Shah prisons had been administered separately by SAVAK, the urban police, and

4984-828: Is ubiquitous, and his power exceeds that of the Prime Minister. He attends all meetings of the Council of Ministers, and one might compare his position with that of Reich Chancellor, except that he has no direct responsibility." Although the appointment of Teymourtash as Reza Shah 's first Minister of Court proved an inspired selection, it came as a surprise to members of the political establishment in Tehran . The capital's chattering classes were surprised that Reza Shah had not opted for one of his Persian Cossack Brigade colleagues who had accompanied him on his many military campaigns or that he did not appoint another individual with whom he had shared

5162-578: The Anglo-Iranian Oil Company , cancelling its oil concession, which was otherwise set to expire in 1993, and expropriating its assets. Mosaddegh saw the AIOC as an arm of the British government controlling much of the oil in Iran, pushing him to seize what the British had built in Iran. The next month, a committee of five majlis deputies was sent to Khuzistan to enforce the nationalisation. Mosaddegh justified his nationalisation policy by claiming Iran

5340-555: The Azerbaijan Province . In 1923, he was re-elected to the Majlis. In 1925, the supporters of Reza Khan in the Majlis proposed legislation to dissolve the Qajar dynasty and appoint Reza Khan the new Shah. Mossadegh voted against such a move, arguing that such an act was a subversion of the 1906 Iranian constitution . He gave a speech in the Majlis, praising Reza Khan's achievements as prime minister while encouraging him to respect

5518-657: The Iranian Constitutional Revolution of 1905–07. At the age of 24, he was elected from Isfahan to the newly inaugurated Persian Parliament, the Majlis of Iran . However, he was unable to assume his seat, because he had not reached the legal age of 30. During this period he also served as deputy leader of the Society of Humanity , under Mostowfi ol-Mamalek . In protest at the Anglo-Persian Treaty of 1919 , he relocated to Switzerland, from where he returned

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5696-400: The Islamic Revolution . As European military and technological power began to be felt in 19th century Iran, Westerners insisted on special treatment in Iranian courts. This came in the form of treaties between most European governments and Iran requiring the presence at the trial of any European in Iran of a representative of that European's home country, who would countersign the decision of

5874-410: The Qajar dynasty 's inability to provide a strong administrative and military apparatus had led the country to come apart at the seams with the growth of secessionist provincial movements in several provinces during the first two decades of the 20th century. The creation of a modernized central government, on the other hand, would establish the means to collect revenues and to introduce drastic reforms in

6052-405: The Tudeh Party , proved to be two of Mosaddegh's key political allies, although relations with both were often strained. In addition to the reform program, which intended to make changes to a broad region of laws covering elections, financial institutions, employment, the judiciary, the press, education, health, and communications services, Mosaddegh tried to limit the monarchy's powers, cutting

6230-521: The United Nations Security Council , where, on 15 October 1951, Mosaddegh declared that "the petroleum industry has contributed nothing to well-being of the people or to the technological progress or industrial development of my country." The British government also threatened legal action against purchasers of oil produced in the Iranian refineries and obtained an agreement with its sister international oil companies not to fill in where

6408-510: The "services of Firdawsi toward preserving Iranian nationality and creating national unity must be compared to the services of Cyrus the Great". As such during a visit to Paris in 1931, Teymourtash took time out of his busy schedule to visit Exposition coloniale , while in Moscow he arranged to view Lenin's Mausoleum . The Ernst Herzfeld Archives in fact reveal that Teymourtash made some final changes to

6586-457: The "vitriol he had once reserved for the British". The reason for difference of opinion among Makki and Mosaddegh was the sharp response of Mosaddegh to Kashani, who was an inoffensive scholar who attracted public support. Hossein Makki strongly opposed the dissolution of the parliament by Mossadegh and evaluated in the long run at his loss because with the closure of the parliament, the right to dismiss

6764-557: The 79 deputies elected. Yet none of those present vetoed the statement, and completion of the elections was postponed indefinitely. The 17th Majlis convened in April 1952, with the minimum required of the 136 seats filled. Throughout his career, Mosaddegh strove to increase the power parliament held versus the expansion of the crown's authority. But tension soon began to escalate in the Majlis. Conservative, pro-Shah, and pro-British opponents refused to grant Mosaddegh special powers to deal with

6942-580: The AIOC was boycotting Iran. The entire Iranian oil industry came to a virtual standstill, oil production dropping almost 96% from 664,000 barrels (105,600 m ) in 1950 to 27,000 barrels (4,300 m ) in 1952. This Abadan Crisis reduced Iran's oil income to almost nothing, putting a severe strain on the implementation of Mosaddegh's promised domestic reforms. At the same time, BP and Aramco doubled their production in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Iraq, to make up for lost production in Iran so that no hardship

7120-482: The American Girls high school in Tehran founded an association of women with the intended goal of establishing a boarding school for destitute women. Also, during the same period Teymourtash's younger sister Badri Teymourtash was sent to Belgium and enrolled in dental studies, and upon her return was to be the first female dentist in the country. In fact by the 1960s, Dr. Badri Teymourtash , would assist in founding

7298-492: The Bazaar closing down in Tehran. Over 250 demonstrators in Tehran, Hamadan, Ahvaz, Isfahan, and Kermanshah were killed or suffered serious injuries. On the fourth day of mass demonstrations, Ayatollah Abol-Ghasem Kashani called on the people to wage a "holy war" against Qavam. The following day, Si-ye Tir (the 30th of Tir on the Iranian calendar), military commanders ordered their troops back to barracks, fearful of over-straining

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7476-512: The British Government to eventually abandon the scheme altogether. Teymourtash served as the governor of Gilan from 1919 to 1920. His governorship of Gilan was to prove particularly noteworthy given the reality that his primary mandate was to counter secessionist forces in that province led by Mirza Kuchak Khan who received assistance from the new Bolshevik Government in the neighbouring Soviet Union. Teymourtash's term as Governor of Gilan

7654-494: The British Imperial Bank. Legal reforms to strengthen property rights and to create an atmosphere conducive to commercial investment were also gradually devised, and shortly thereafter a Bar Association ("Kanoon-e Vokala") was created in 1930. Establishing a modern educational system, as an indispensable instrument of social change, was therefore a primary objective of secular nationalist during this period. As such, one of

7832-529: The British legation in Tehran seemed favourably impressed with the plan, officials in the British foreign office at Whitehall refused to approve the proposal due to financial considerations. On February 21, 1921, a group of Anglophile political activists led by Seyyed Zia'eddin Tabatabaee , the rising young journalist, succeeded in plotting a coup that toppled the Iranian Government, while vowing to preserve

8010-492: The British, and partly in fear of the growing dictatorial powers of the Prime Minister, several former members of Mosaddegh's coalition turned against him, fearing arrest. They included Mozzafar Baghai , head of the worker-based Toilers party; Hossein Makki , who had helped lead the takeover of the Abadan refinery and was at one point considered Mosaddegh's heir apparent; and most outspokenly Ayatollah Kashani, who damned Mosaddegh with

8188-491: The CIA's involvement with the coup was exposed. This caused controversy within the organisation and the CIA congressional hearings of the 1970s. CIA supporters maintained that the coup was strategically necessary and praised the efficiency of the agents responsible. Critics say the scheme was paranoid, colonial, illegal, and immoral—and truly caused the "blowback" suggested in the pre-coup analysis. The extent of this "blowback", over time,

8366-472: The IRI has been modified to some degree, according to one source, the new laws of the Islamic Republic "modify the sharia" (i.e. what Muslims believe is God's legislation) "in three significant ways": allowing the appeal of decisions, the use of circumstantial evidence in cases, and long-term imprisonment as a punishment. In a 2013 poll by Pew Research Center , 83% of Iranians favored the use of Islamic law . In

8544-464: The Iran-e Now in 1928 demonstrating that he preferred the tried-and-true and time honoured technique of relying on individuals who could be cajoled to support his whims, and demonstrating his deep suspicion even of institutions and collective bodies he himself had approved. Ironically, the failure to devise an organized political party, or to create durable institutions are generally considered to have been

8722-421: The Iranian court, and without whose countersignature the "decision of the Iranian court could have no effect". The Europeans insisted on this legal veto right—" called the regime of capitulations"—on the grounds that Iran had no written legal code so that "no one knew what laws foreigners would be judged by." Iran followed the traditional Islamic practice of each judge giving his own interpretation of Islamic law for

8900-490: The Iranian government would not be accepted on the world market." Two months later the AIOC evacuated its technicians and closed down the oil installations. Under nationalised management, many refineries lacked the trained technicians that were needed to continue production. The British government announced a de facto blockade and embargo, reinforced its naval force in the Persian Gulf and lodged complaints against Iran before

9078-512: The Iranian judicial system. Nonetheless, during his brief term as Minister of Justice, he succeeded in securing parliamentary approval to suspend the operation of certain courts and administrative bodies, and dismissed judges and magistrates deemed grossly incompetent. Moreover, given the necessity of expanding the purview of the secular judiciary, state courts were granted partial appellate jurisdiction over religious courts during Teymourtash's term as Minister of Justice. He resigned from Parliament for

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9256-579: The Iranian oil industry , which had been built by the British on Persian lands since 1913 through the Anglo-Persian Oil Company (APOC/ AIOC ), later known as British Petroleum (BP). In the aftermath of the overthrow, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi returned to power, and negotiated the Consortium Agreement of 1954 with the British, which gave split ownership of Iranian oil production between Iran and western companies until 1979. Mosaddegh

9434-546: The Islamic Revolution (working alongside secular ones). Some aspects of sharia law were also unofficially retained in criminal law, for example compensation was still unofficially given in a similar manner to blood money, in exchange for pardoning a murder death sentence in some cases. According to Banakar and Ziaee, the history of the Iranian Bar Association (Kānūn-e Vūkalā-yeh Dādgūstarī) "can be traced back to

9612-720: The Medjliss his bill which proposes the abrogation of all Imperial firmans and concessions obtained thereby, which will of course include that held by the French". Although the bill was originally conceived and drafted while Teymourtash served as Minister of Public Works, it finally secured passage through the Majles in 1927. During the 1920s, alongside his varied political engagements, Teymourtash also devoted considerable time to literary and cultural pursuits. Given his longstanding acquaintance with many of Iran's leading intellectuals and writers, he joined

9790-420: The Ministry of Education began publishing academic textbooks free of charge for all needy students and at cost for others. A concerted effort was also made to substantially increase the enrolment of females in schools. While a mere 120 girls had graduated from schools in 1926, by 1932 the number had increased substantially to 3713. Indeed, by 1930, Teymourtash's eldest daughter Iran who had recently graduated from

9968-462: The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, where he served as a minor bureaucrat while acting as a Russian translator. Shortly thereafter, Teymourtash's father's connections to the court proved decisive and the 24‑year‑old was appointed a member of a newly constituted delegation mandated to visit several European capitals to herald the inauguration of a new Qajar King to the throne, Mohammad Ali Shah Qajar . As Essad Bey , an early chronicler of Teymourtash's life

10146-606: The National Front. There was a special focus on the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company and the heavy involvement of foreign actors and influences in Iranian affairs. Although Iran was not officially a colony or a protectorate, it was still heavily controlled by foreign powers beginning with concessions provided by the Qajar Shahs and leading up to the oil agreement signed by Reza Shah in 1933. The new administration introduced

10324-412: The Prime Minister, consisted of cautious and traditional administrators impervious to the need for rapid modernization or reform. The exceptions to this general rule were some of the younger, better educated and more competent members of Cabinet who displayed a more spirited inculcation, such as Firouz Mirza Nosrat-ed-Dowleh Farman Farmaian III , who became the Minister of Finance, and Ali Akbar Davar who

10502-504: The Prime minister was made by the Shah. The British government had grown increasingly distressed over Mosaddegh's policies and were especially bitter over the loss of their control of the Iranian oil industry. Repeated attempts to reach a settlement had failed, and, in October 1952, Mosaddegh declared Britain an enemy and cut all diplomatic relations. Since 1935, the Anglo-Persian Oil Company had

10680-520: The Qajar monarchy. The military strongman commanding the Persian Cossack Brigade that descended on Tehran was to be Reza Khan. Reza Khan had successfully consolidated his hold over this cavalry unit when its Tsarist commanding officers departed Iran due to the revolutionary upheaval and the ensuing Civil War that engulfed their country. While the Coup lasted approximately 100 days, it proved to be

10858-469: The Rashidian brothers (two of Iran's most influential royalists) in the hope of buying off, according to CIA estimates, "the armed forces, the Majlis (Iranian parliament), religious leaders, the press, street gangs, politicians and other influential figures". Thus, in his statement asserting electoral manipulation by "foreign agents", Mosaddegh suspended the elections. His National Front party had made up 30 of

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11036-481: The Shah confirmed Mosaddegh as Prime Minister after the Majlis ( Parliament of Iran ) elected Mosaddegh by a vote of 79–12. The Shah was aware of Mosaddegh's rising popularity and political power, after a period of assassinations by Fada'iyan-e Islam and political unrest by the National Front . Demonstrations erupted in Tehran after Mosaddegh was elected, with crowds further invigorated by the speeches of members from

11214-465: The Shah had done up to that point. The Shah refused, seeing it as a means for Mosaddegh to consolidate his power over the government at the expense of the monarchy. In response, Mosaddegh announced his resignation appealing directly to the public for support, pronouncing that "in the present situation, the struggle started by the Iranian people cannot be brought to a victorious conclusion". Veteran politician Ahmad Qavam (also known as Ghavam os-Saltaneh)

11392-509: The Shah had only initiated land reform in January 1951, where all territory inherited by the Crown was sold to peasants at 20% of the assessed value over a payment period of 25 years, Mosaddegh decreed a new land reform law to supersede it, establishing village councils and increasing the peasants' share of production. This weakened the landed aristocracy by imposing a 20% tax on their income—of which 20%

11570-527: The Shah returned from Rome. Zahedi's new government soon reached an agreement with foreign oil companies to form a consortium and "restore the flow of Iranian oil to world markets in substantial quantities", giving the United States and Great Britain the lion's share of the restored British holdings. In return, the US massively funded the Shah's resulting government, until the Shah's overthrow in 1979 . As soon as

11748-416: The Shah was terrified to attempt such a dangerously unpopular and risky move against Mosaddegh. It would take much persuasion and many US-funded meetings, which included bribing his sister Ashraf with a mink coat and money, to successfully change his mind. Mosaddegh became aware of the plots against him and grew increasingly wary of conspirators acting within his government. According to Donald Wilber , who

11926-400: The Shah's personal budget, forbidding him to communicate directly with foreign diplomats, transferring royal lands back to the state and expelling the Shah's politically active sister Ashraf Pahlavi . However, six months proved not long enough, and Mosaddegh asked for an extension in January 1953, successfully pressing Parliament to extend his emergency powers for another 12 months. Though

12104-514: The Soviet sphere at a time of high Cold War fears. Though his suggestion was rebuffed by Eisenhower as "paternalistic", Churchill's government had already begun "Operation Boot", and simply waited for the next opportunity to press the Americans. On 28 February 1953, rumours spread by British-backed Iranians that Mosaddegh was trying to exile the Shah from the country gave the Eisenhower administration

12282-409: The United States ( CIA ), led by Kermit Roosevelt Jr. His National Front was suppressed from the 1954 election . Before its removal from power, his administration introduced a range of social and political measures such as social security, land reforms and higher taxes including the introduction of taxation on the rent of land. His government's most significant policy was the nationalisation of

12460-475: The Zidd-i Ajnabiha group mobilized support by attacking the legal reforms being initiated by Ali Akbar Davar , and challenged the newly initiated conscription law. Rather than clamp down on such a challenge and the ensuing partisan bickering, Reza Shah is said to have surreptitiously supported and engaged in double dealing to support both of the competing groups. In a Machiavellian twist, Reza Shah dissolved

12638-440: The advent of the Pahlavi era, the range of studies for government sponsored students sent abroad was extended in 1926 to encompass broader disciplines, most notably engineering. Furthermore, to adopt a more systematic approach, a bill was passed in 1928 establishing a fully state-funded program to finance the sending of 100 students a year to Europe . Other significant initiatives of the early Pahlavi era were attempts to secularize

12816-420: The backbone of a burgeoning bureaucracy. It proved an ideal gathering ground for networking opportunities for individuals vying to cultivate and emulate the latest western norms of proper etiquette and social behaviour. Given its avant garde pretensions, it is not surprising that it paved the way for gaining social acceptance for the official policy of unveiling, since ministers and members of parliament appeared at

12994-523: The balance of its term and served as Governor of Kerman for the following year and a half. With the advent of a new government, Teymourtash was once again summoned to join Cabinet as the Minister of Public Works. Among his most notable accomplishments in his capacity as Minister of Public works in 1924 made the far reaching decision to draft a detailed proposal to the Iranian Parliament in 1924 introducing

13172-418: The bill, on the grounds that it would "unjustly discriminate patriots who had been voting for the last forty years", thus leaving the National Front to compete against conservatives, royalists, and tribal leaders alike in the upcoming election. His government came under scrutiny for ending the 1952 election before rural votes could be fully counted. According to historian Ervand Abrahamian : "Realizing that

13350-489: The bureaucracy, and his unrivalled command over its parts made him the most powerful man in Iranian society. He thus skilfully dictated most of the policies and supervised their progress. A report prepared by the American representative in Tehran, Murray Hart, illustrates the breadth of Teymourtash's knowledge of the various aspects of the bureaucracy: "After my first few meetings with him I began to suspect that his brilliancy had

13528-496: The cabinet to assume a mostly decorative function. A review of the diplomatic correspondence emanating from Iran amply highlights the extent to which Teymourtash played a critical role in ensuring that the machinery of government ran smoothly. In 1926 Clive, the British diplomat, wrote to London about mental malaise evident in Reza Shah by stating "his energy appears for the moment to have deserted him; his faculties have been clouded by

13706-470: The capital and bombarded the prime minister's official residence. With loyalist troops overwhelmed, Mossadegh was taken into hiding by his aides, narrowly escaping the mob that set in to ransack his house. The following day, he surrendered himself at the Officers' Club, where General Zahedi had been set up with makeshift headquarters by the CIA. Zahedi announced an order for his arrest on the radio, and Mosaddegh

13884-457: The club once a week with their unveiled wives in mixed gatherings several years before such a practise was displayed on a more popular and widespread basis in other settings. The primary foreign policy objective pursued by Iran during the early Pahlavi era was to loosen the economic grasp of foreign powers on Iran, and in particular to mitigate the influence of Britain and the Soviet Union. While

14062-513: The constitution and stay as the prime minister. On 12 December 1925, the Majlis deposed the young Shah Ahmad Shah Qajar and declared Reza Shah the new monarch of the Imperial State of Persia, and the first Shah of the Pahlavi dynasty . Mosaddegh then retired from politics, due to disagreements with the new regime. In 1941, Reza Shah Pahlavi was forced by the British to abdicate in favour of his son Mohammad Reza Pahlavi . In 1944, Mosaddegh

14240-443: The construction of mausoleums to honour Iran's past poets, and the establishment of museums and libraries in the decades that followed. The society spurred considerable interest by western orientalists to undertake archaeological excavations in Iran, and lay the foundation for the construction of a mausoleum to honour Ferdowsi in 1934 and of Hafez in 1938, to name a few of its more notable early achievements. Teymourtash believed that

14418-579: The country's economic rehabilitation, made treaties, supervised the complicated questions regarding what to do with the tribes and told the War Minister much he did not know about organizing a system of national defence. The Soviet commercial treaty and the trade monopoly laws are unmistakable monuments to his versatility." Teymourtash was conferred the royal title of Jenab-i-Ashraf (His Highness) in September 1928. During Teymourtash's term as Minister of Court,

14596-483: The country. Another key element for such nationalists was to drastically undermine the prerogatives enjoyed by the Shia religious establishment which detracted from attempts at modernisation. Devising diverse development projects required the creation of a large bureaucracy capable of initiating and fostering ambitious industrialization and urbanization processes capable of significantly transforming Iranian society. As such, in

14774-496: The coup succeeded, many of Mosaddegh's former associates and supporters were tried, imprisoned, and tortured. Some were sentenced to death and executed. The minister of foreign affairs and the closest associate of Mosaddegh, Hossein Fatemi , was executed by order of the Shah's military court. The order was carried out by firing squad on 10 November 1954. On 21 December 1953, Mosaddegh was sentenced to three years' solitary confinement in

14952-513: The court ministry became the nucleus of a modern centralized bureaucracy. By all accounts Teymourtash used his position at the pinnacle to full effect by working tirelessly to ensure that the machinery of government pursued an ambitious agenda. Among the principal functions of the new Minister of Court were to mediate the relations between Reza Shah and the cabinet and parliament, and to serve as an arbiter among government institutions with overlapping responsibilities. Most members of cabinet, including

15130-519: The decorative designs adorning the Ferdowsi mausoleum. While the Society remained active for many decades that followed, there was never any mention that the initial creation of the Society was largely made possible by the personal efforts of Teymourtash. Apart from convening early meetings of the Society at his residence in the early 1920s, he spared no effort to solicit and engage the interest of Iran's leading political and educational elites, such as two of

15308-459: The devastating impact of the war. However, the secrecy shrouding the negotiation of the 1919 Agreement, and the failure to summon Parliament to ratify it prompted nationalist politicians to seize the opportunity to galvanize public opposition to the agreement. Recognizing the brewing controversy, the Government of Iran on advice of the British Government refrained from reconvening Parliament which it

15486-430: The different and sometimes conflicting sources for Islamic law—the jurists, the actual judges, and the non-Islamic law officials of the king - disputed with each other over the scope of their jurisdictions. ... some aspects of the law always remained in the hands of the mullahs ... The village mullah was the natural arbiter in matters of marriage, divorce, and inheritance; and the exalted jurisconsult, in order to carry out

15664-406: The earliest recruits, Isa Sadiq and Arbab Keikhosrow Shahrokh . It was Teymourtash's appointment as Minister of Court in 1925 that proved invaluable in allowing him to demonstrate his prowess as a formidable administrator, and to establish his reputation as an indefatigable statesman intent on successfully laying the foundations of modern Iran . In this capacity, Teymourtash assumed the powers of

15842-515: The early Pahlavi era where he devised a number of fundamental bureaucratic reforms and navigated his country's foreign relations, Teymourtash has been credited with playing a significant role in shaping the intellectual and cultural currents that transformed Iran in the first half of the 20th century. Abdolhossein Khan Teymourtash (Sardar Moazam Khorasani) was born into a prominent family in 1883. His father, Karimdad Khan Nardini (Moa'zes al Molk),

16020-399: The early years of his return to Iran, was his marriage to Sorour ol Saltaneh, the niece of the regent, Azod al Molk , and a relative of the governor of Khorasan, Nayer al Dowleh. To congratulate the new couple on their wedding, the reigning Qajar Shah of the period bestowed the title Sardar Moazzam Khorasani on the young groom. Teymourtash's first employment upon returning to Iran was with

16198-447: The economic crisis caused by the sharp drop in revenue and voiced regional grievances against the capital Tehran, while the National Front waged "a propaganda war against the landed upper class". On 16 July 1952, during the royal approval of his new cabinet , Mosaddegh insisted on the constitutional prerogative of the Prime Minister to name a Minister of War and the Chief of Staff, something

16376-498: The editorial board of Daneshkadeh, a periodical established by Mohammad Taghi Bahar ("Malekol Sho'ara"), one of Iran's leading intellectual luminaries. As revealed by Saeed Naficy (or Nafisi), one of the other distinguished members of the editorial board of Daneshkadeh, Teymourtash contributed extensively to this publication by drafting numerous articles, as well as translating various articles originating in European journals. However,

16554-476: The educational system by providing funding for state schools to gradually dominate the provision of elementary education at the expense of the traditional religious schools referred to as maktabs. This was achieved by a 1927 decree which provided free education for those unable to afford tuition fees. In the following year, inspired by the French Lycee model, a uniform curriculum was established for high schools, and

16732-420: The elements of madness. He impressed me as just too bright, this was because the man's gifts were so extraordinary as to appear unnatural. Whether it was foreign affairs, the construction of railways or highways, reforms in post and telegraphs, educational administration or finance, he, as a rule, could discuss those subjects more intelligently than the so-called competent ministers. Besides, he devised formulas for

16910-416: The enlisted men's loyalty, and left Tehran in the hands of the protesters. Frightened by the unrest, the Shah asked for Qavam's resignation, and re-appointed Mosaddegh to form a government, granting him control over the Ministry of War he had previously demanded. The Shah asked whether he should step down as monarch, but Mosaddegh declined. More popular than ever, a greatly strengthened Mosaddegh introduced

17088-450: The entire pre-Revolutionary judiciary was purged, and their duties replaced by "Revolutionary Tribunals" set up in every town. These tribunals ruled on "Islamic law", but were in practice unfair, biased, and the judges were inexperienced and often incompetent. Many people were executed or given harsh punishments for both political and criminal acts. There were no appeals either, and trials often lasted minutes in an un-orthodox "court". In 1982,

17266-486: The exclusive rights to Iranian oil. Earlier in 1914, the British government had purchased 51% of its shares and became the majority shareholder. After the British Royal Navy converted its ships to use oil as fuel, the corporation was considered vital to British national security, and the company's profits partially alleviated Britain's budget deficit. Engulfed in a variety of problems following World War II, Britain

17444-482: The fall of Mosaddegh". Soon the CIA's Tehran station started to launch a propaganda campaign against Mossadegh. Finally, according to The New York Times , in early June, American and British intelligence officials met again, this time in Beirut , and put the finishing touches on the strategy. Soon afterward, according to his later published accounts, the chief of the CIA's Near East and Africa division, Kermit Roosevelt, Jr.

17622-413: The first five years of the Reza Shah period, Iran developed a network of railroads that connected ports to inland cities, thereby encouraging trade between rural and urban centers. The functioning of such a burgeoning state apparatus would require the development of increased political support by promoting drastic and far-reaching economic reforms. As such, in 1926 a new School of Commerce was created, and

17800-399: The first step in creating a bona fide university occurred in 1929 when Teymourtash officially commissioned Isa Sadiq to draft plans for the foundation of a university, which would lead to the establishment of Tehran University several years later. Teymourtash assumed the intellectual leadership of Iranian reformists during this period, acting both as the principal initiator and executor of

17978-406: The following capacities: governor of Gilan (1919–1920); minister of justice (1922); governor of Kerman (1923–1924); and minister of public works (1924–1925). As Miron Rezun noted, "possessing a pronounced western outlook on life, he is said to have been by far one of the most cultivated and educated Persians of his day". As such, apart from his significant accomplishments as one of the masterminds of

18156-572: The following year after being invited by the new Iranian prime minister, Hassan Pirnia (Moshir-ed-Dowleh), to become his minister of justice. While en route to Tehran, he was asked by the people of Shiraz to become the governor of the Fars Province . He was later appointed finance minister , in the government of Ahmad Qavam (Qavam os-Saltaneh) in 1921, and then foreign minister in the government of Moshir-ed-Dowleh in June 1923. He then became governor of

18334-459: The fumes of opium, which have distorted his judgement and induced long spells of sullen and secretive lethargy punctuated by nightmare suspicions or by spasms of impulsive rage". However, when Teymourtash returned from his diplomatic trip of several months abroad, Clive was to report back to London that Teimurtash was instrumental in jolting Reza Shah out of his lethargy. In his capacity as Minister of Court, Teymourtash took an active hand in devising

18512-575: The gendarmerie. The new regime entrusted their management "to a supervisory council of three clerics". The Islamic Republic uses the Shia based Jaafari school of Islamic jurisprudence . After the election of the first Majles of the Islamic Republic in 1980, the Majles and the Guardian Council quickly codified important features of the sharia law by passing two landmark bills in July 1982: Sharia law includes Hudud ("claims against God", punishable by

18690-519: The government assumed the lead in establishing a Chamber of Commerce. The government also proceeded to encourage the development of private industry by offering financial incentives such as government-sanctioned monopolies and low interest loans to prospective local factory owners. In 1928 another significant step towards establishing fiscal order was taken with the establishment of the National bank ("Bank-e Melli") which assumed functions previously reserved to

18868-444: The grandson of US President Theodore Roosevelt , arrived in Tehran to direct it. In 2000, The New York Times made partial publication of a leaked CIA document titled Clandestine Service History – Overthrow of Premier Mosaddegh of Iran – November 1952 – August 1953 . The plot, known as Operation Ajax, centered on convincing Iran's monarch to issue a decree to dismiss Mosaddegh from office, as he had attempted some months earlier. But

19046-443: The greatest shortcomings of the Reza Shah period which would in turn lead to the demise of his rule in 1941. Another initiative of Teymourtash's that proved significant was his founding of the Iran social club, which was to have significant social implications. This social club, the first of its kind in Tehran, proved a popular convening point for the social elite and the young and upwardly mobile educated members of society that formed

19224-407: The help of a tutor, he spent approximately the first six months upon his return to Iran to perfecting his native linguistic skills and devouring Persian poetry and literary masterpieces. His discipline and foresight during the period would serve him well, leading him, in due course, to be described as Iran's most gifted orator in its modern parliamentary experience. Another fortuitous development during

19402-457: The impetus to join the plan. The United States and the United Kingdom agreed to work together toward Mosaddegh's removal and began to publicly denounce Mosaddegh's policies for Iran as harmful to the country. In the meantime, the already precarious alliance between Mosaddegh and Kashani was severed in January 1953, when Kashani opposed Mosaddegh's demand that his increased powers be extended for

19580-407: The increased vigour which would characterise its diplomacy on a host of issues in the coming years. As an American diplomat familiar with the personalities of Reza Shah and Teymourtash was to note in 1933, after the latter was relieved of his duties by the former, "In contrast to his former right hand man, the Shah is untutored, irascible, ruthless, and totally lacking in cosmopolitanism or knowledge of

19758-635: The judicial system is concerned, the changes were quite minor until the end of the nineteenth century. Major events marking the judicial history of Iran during the modern era include the Constitutional Revolution of 1906, which gave the country its first Constitution and Bill of Rights, the fall of the Qajars and the rise of the Pahlavi Dynasty in the 1920s, when accession to a modern judicial organisation became one of Iran's greatest challenges, and

19936-506: The judiciary. As part of this conflict, a new body of lawyers was created by the Iranian government in 2001 and 'authorized to present cases in court' under Article 187 of the Law of Third Economic, Social and Cultural Development Plan (adopted in May 2000). […] This group, whose membership in 2014 was estimated to exceed 20,000, is officially known as the Legal Advisors of the Judiciary." In 1979

20114-453: The jurists, and the first actual judgment was final, as otherwise there would have been an infinite regress of opinions without any final judgment. For the Shiah, ... resistance to a single written code was even stronger; the jurisconsult's right to describe the law in his own way was the very essence of the doctrine that had revived the jurisconsult school at the end of the 18th century." As far as

20292-440: The latter would be spared harm should he return to Iran from Germany after he had authored articles critical of the Shah while residing abroad. Upon returning to Iran in 1932, Mirza Mohammad Farrokhi Yazdi remained immune from government harassment for several years, although he was subsequently indicted in 1935 several years after Teymourtash's fall from grace. Teymourtash's voracious intellectual appetite led him to assemble one of

20470-412: The long intervening stretches between the dissolution of each session of Parliament and the reconvening of the next. Although Iran remained a non-belligerent during World War I, it suffered more economic devastation than any other neutral country during the period. Nonetheless, in 1918, the new Soviet Government renounced all previous concessions granted by Iran to Tsarist Russia. Intent on capitalizing on

20648-440: The many initiatives that followed. Among the shortcomings of the Iranian Parliament was that meaningful reform had been held hostage to the reality that the Majles lacked genuine political parties and the political dynamics within parliament centered around the agency of powerful men. Therefore, the Majles was composed of factions represented by ever shifting alignments and the temporary coalition of individuals created with respect to

20826-533: The military withdrawal of Soviet troops from Iran, and the attendant decision by the Soviet authorities to diminish their political interference in its domestic affairs, the United Kingdom decided that the time was ripe to consolidate its de facto control of Iran. To accomplish such an objective, the British set out to prevail upon the Iranian Government that it should cede financial, military and diplomatic authority in return for much needed financial and military assistance. The British succeeded in their design by offering

21004-516: The most extensive private library collections in Iran. No effort was spared in this endeavour, and Teymourtash was recognized as one of the country's most generous patrons of literary works and Persian calligraphy. Among the many works he commissioned, a notable example was the Testament of Ardashir into Persian. Indeed, the title page of the first edition published in Tehran in 1932 would read as follows: "This unique and most important historical document

21182-679: The net profits on oil be set aside to meet all the legitimate claims of the company for compensation. It has been asserted abroad that Iran intends to expel the foreign oil experts from the country and then shut down oil installations. Not only is this allegation absurd; it is utter invention. The confrontation between Iran and Britain escalated as Mosaddegh's government refused to allow the British any involvement in their former enterprise, and Britain made sure Iran could sell no oil, which it considered stolen. In July, Mosaddegh broke off negotiations with AIOC after it threatened to "pull out its employees" and told owners of oil tanker ships that "receipts from

21360-436: The new system into other cities of Iran through a programme involving training of 250 judges. Reza Shah represented his legal reforms as "tentative experiments" and allowed the religious judges to keep their courts for matters such as inheritance. In 1936, however, the new system was made permanent and the religious courts were abolished. However, there were still sharia courts that ruled on issues of family and inheritance up to

21538-532: The only country in the world having Shi'ah Islam as its official religion, consequently the general principles of its legal system differed somewhat from those of other countries which followed Islamic law. Among the ways, law in Iran and the rest of the Muslim world differed from European law was in its lack of a single law code . "Thirteen centuries of Islamic—more particularly Shiah—tradition" called for jurists to base decisions on their legal training as it applied to

21716-450: The opposition would take the vast majority of the provincial seats, Mosaddegh stopped the voting as soon as 79 deputies—just enough to form a parliamentary quorum—had been elected." An alternative account is offered by journalist Stephen Kinzer : Beginning in the early 1950s under the guidance of C.M. Woodhouse , chief of the British intelligence station in Tehran, Britain's covert operations network had funnelled roughly £10,000 per month to

21894-413: The parliamentary and legislative process, it is likely that the decision to appoint him as his first Minister of Court was animated by Reza Shah 's keen interest in selecting an urbane individual familiar with diplomatic protocol who could impress foreign capitals, as well as an energetic and workaholic reformer capable of introducing discipline to the administration of government. Lacking any semblance of

22072-432: The period after the 1906 Constitutional Revolution, when a modern legal system was established in Iran. The IBA was founded in 1915 and organised under the supervision of the judicial system until 1953, when it was granted legal personality. It operated as an independent civil society organisation for the next twenty-seven years, until it was closed in 1980 by the revolutionary government and its ranks and files were purged. It

22250-494: The period, Teymourtash remained directly involved by training members of the constitutionalist volunteer militia, and demonstrated much bravery when clashes took place with the better trained and more numerous royalist forces. Despite the staunch efforts of the constitutionalists, the royalist forces prevailed by storming Parliament and dissolving the National Assembly. The following year when nationwide elections were held for

22428-457: The power of the British company, we would also eliminate corruption and intrigue, by means of which the internal affairs of our country have been influenced. Once this tutelage has ceased, Iran will have achieved its economic and political independence. The Iranian state prefers to take over the production of petroleum itself. The company should do nothing else but return its property to the rightful owners. The nationalization law provides that 25% of

22606-470: The prime minister power to make law was submitted to voters, and it passed with 99 per cent approval, 2,043,300 votes to 1300 votes against. According to historian Mark Gasiorowski, "There were separate polling stations for yes and no votes, producing sharp criticism of Mosaddeq" and that the "controversial referendum...gave the CIA's precoup propaganda campaign to show up Mosaddeq as an anti-democratic dictator an easy target". On or around 16 August, Parliament

22784-725: The principal architect of the various reforms instituted during the first seven years of Reza Shah's reign. The persistent foreign interventions of the previous decades that had brought Iran to the brink of social and economic chaos had led to the emergence of secular nationalists intent on securing the country's independence by steering clear of the previous pattern of endless compromise with foreign powers for short-term political gain. Given their aversion to Iran's centrifugal tendencies and their inclination to centralize governmental powers by creating an expanded bureaucracy, such nationalists were in favour of creating national institutions that would withstand provincial autonomous tendencies. After all,

22962-882: The reality that these articles were penned under the pseudonym "S.M. Khorasani", would unfortunately lead Teymourtash's literary talents to escape the attention of future Iranian academics. Teymourtash's abiding interest in literature would in fact lead him to advocate in favour of securing government funds to allow Allameh Ghazvini to undertake an elaborate project to copy old Persian manuscripts available in European library collections. The funding permitted Allameh Ghazvini to spend many years visiting libraries in London, Paris, Leningrad, Berlin, and Cairo where he secured copies of rare manuscripts which he subsequently forwarded to Tehran to be utilized by Iranian scholars. In other instances, Teymourtash used his political influence to assist intellectuals and writers such as his interventions to ensure that

23140-399: The realms in which Teymourtash assumed a direct and principal role was in revamping Iran's educational system, and from 1925 to 1932 Education Ministers would share their authority with the powerful and influential Court Minister. By 1921, recognizing the need for creating a cadre of foreign educated professionals, the Iranian Government had sent sixty students to French military academies. With

23318-455: The regular court system was reinstated, but with the judges now trained in Islamic law. The Revolutionary Courts became a part of this court system, ruling in matters of "national security" such as drug trafficking and political and "anti-revolutionary" crimes, and were considered the "judicial arm of the regime". In 1982, in response to military coup threats, a separate "Military Revolutionary Court"

23496-419: The renowned historian Ahmad Kasravi would be spared harassment by the government apparatus while undertaking research, and his success in securing a seat for noted poet Mohammad Taghi Bahar to the 5th Majles from Bojnourd district which he had himself previously represented. Furthermore, he is known to have successfully interceded with Reza Shah on behalf of journalist Mirza Mohammad Farrokhi Yazdi to ensure

23674-401: The rise of Reza Shah to the throne in 1925, and his elevation to the second most powerful political position in the early Pahlavi era was preceded by a number of significant political appointments. Apart from having been elected to serve as a member of Parliament to the 2nd (1909–1911); 3rd (1914–1915); 4th (1921–1923); 5th (1924–1926); and 6th (1926–1928) Majles of Iran , Teymourtash served in

23852-483: The same time a Cossack officer, Starosselsky, had been appointed military governor with unfettered powers to quell the jangali successionist movement. In fact, Mirza Kuchak Khan's followers put on trial during Teymourtash's term were court martialed by a five-member tribunal consisting entirely of Cossack officers. A Soviet Republic of Gilan was declared in June 1920, after Teymourtash's return to Tehran, lasting until October 1921. Given Teymourtash's concern with protecting

24030-598: The same title, by which he was still known to some long after titles were abolished. In 1901, Mosaddegh married Zahra Emami (1879–1965), a granddaughter of Nasser al-Din Shah through her mother Zi'a es-Saltaneh . In 1909, Mosaddegh pursued education abroad in Paris, France, where he studied at the Institut d'études politiques de Paris (Sciences Po). He studied there for two years, returning to Iran because of illness in 1911. After two months, Mosaddegh returned to Europe to study

24208-436: The second Majlis of Iran , Teymourtash was elected the youngest Member of Parliament at the age of 26 from Neishabour, in his native Province of Khorasan. In subsequent elections he was re-elected as a deputy to the 3rd (1914–1915), 4th (1921–1923), 5th (1924–1926) and 6th (1926–1928) National Assemblies. However, given the sporadic convening of the Iranian Parliament, Teymourtash accepted a number of political appointments during

24386-488: The second coup, circulating a false account that Mossadegh attempted to seize the throne and bribed Iranian agents. Soon, massive popular protests, aided by Roosevelt's team, took place across the city and elsewhere with tribesmen at the ready to assist the coup, with anti- and pro-monarchy protesters, both being paid by Roosevelt. By paying mobs to demonstrate, tricking Mossadegh into urging his supporters to stay home, and bribing and mobilising officers against Mossadegh, he

24564-430: The secret U.S. overthrow of Mosaddegh served as a rallying point in anti-US protests during the 1979 Iranian Revolution , and to this day he is one of the most popular figures in Iranian history. The withdrawal of support for Mosaddegh by the powerful Shia clergy has been regarded as having been motivated by their fear of a communist takeover. Some argue that while many elements of Mosaddegh's coalition abandoned him, it

24742-517: The secular, westernizing Pahlavi Dynasty was overthrown and replaced by an Islamic Republic under the rule of Ayatollah Khomeini . While the revolution did not dismantle the Pahlavi judiciary in its entirety, it replaced secular-trained jurists "with seminary-educated ones, and codified more features of the sharia into state laws—especially the Law of Retribution." Women judges were also removed (although they could still be lawyers, or after 1997, secondary judges in civil cases). Between 1979 and 1982,

24920-518: The situation being judged. There was also no appeal in traditional Islamic law. One jurists's 'discovery' of the ruling of law for a specific case would not have been invalidated by some other jurist's discovery of a different ruling for that case; only God could choose between them, and until the Resurrection (or in the case of the Shiah, the return of the Twelfth Imam) God had left the matter to

25098-439: The stepping stone allowing Reza Khan to consolidate his power and, in due course, to ascend to the throne several years later. Although, according to the British archives, Seyyed Zia'eddin Tabatabaee offered Teymourtash a cabinet portfolio, Teymourtash refused to join the former's government. In the aftermath of the coup a number of Iranian political notables, including Teymourtash, were imprisoned to forestall opposition. Teymourtash

25276-525: The territorial integrity of Iran from the secessionist troops led by Mirza Kuchak Khan , upon his recall to Tehran, along with Seyyed Zia'eddin Tabatabaee , he approached the British legation in the capital to solicit their support to resist the insurgents in the North. In return for British financial assistance, Teymourtash proposed an arrangement whereby he would assume personal command of troops to repel advances made by Mirza Kuchak Khan and his supporters. Although

25454-464: The then Iranian Prime Minister, and its Ministers of Finance and Foreign Affairs, sizeable bribes to ensure that they would acquiesce to the British demand to devise a virtual protectorate over Iran. It was agreed that neither the bribes nor the terms of the Agreement would be made public, and that the scheme would be portrayed as a necessity to forestall the chaos that had enveloped Iran in the aftermath of

25632-523: The unified "Islamic Penal Code" which consisted of five "Books". The new Islamic Penal Code was adopted in January 2012 and incorporates the bulk of penal laws in the IRI, replacing Books One through Four of the old code. Book Five of the Islamic Penal Code ("the only part of the Penal Code that has been adopted permanently and is not subject to experimental periods") passed on May 22, 1996. Sharia in

25810-739: The uprisings and revolts that would culminate in the Russian Revolution of 1905 , Iran was soon to find itself in the convulsive throes of the Iranian Constitutional Revolution . Despite his father's staunch royalist tendencies and his ties to the royal court, young Teymourtash became an active member of the constitutional society headed by Malik al-Mutakallimin in Khorasan. While the rank and file of this particular society consisted mainly of lesser tradesman and poorer people, and included amongst its active membership very few educated notables, Teymourtash demonstrated his progressive tendencies by developing

25988-417: The very function for which he was exalted, gave opinions on those matters of law on which he was consulted. In between the village mullah and the jurisconsult there were mullahs with courts which, while sometimes sanctioned by the royal government, depended for their power on the prestige of the presiding mullah judge as much or more than on the government's sanction Since the sixteenth century AD Iran has been

26166-536: The widest range of treaties and commercial agreements, while Ministers ostensibly in charge of Iran's Foreign Ministry such as Mohammad Ali Foroughi and Mohammad Farzin were relegated mainly to administering official correspondence with foreign governments and assuming roles akin to the Court Minister's clerk. Mohammed Mossadeq Mohammad Mosaddegh ( Persian : محمد مصدق , IPA: [mohæmˈmæd(-e) mosædˈdeɢ] ; 16 June 1882 – 5 March 1967)

26344-452: The world." As many contemporaries have corroborated, in 1926 Reza Shah informed members of his Cabinet that "Teymourtash's word is my word", and for the first seven years of his reign, Teymourtash "became virtually the Shah's alter ego". While Teymourtash, in his capacity as Minister of Court was not officially a member of the Council of Ministers, his secure position at the pinnacle in effect led Prime Ministers to act as mere figureheads and

26522-399: Was "the rightful owner..." of all the oil in Iran, and also pointing out Iran could use the money, in a 21 June 1951 speech: Our long years of negotiations with foreign countries... have yielded no results thus far. With the oil revenues, we could meet our entire budget and combat poverty, disease, and backwardness among our people. Another important consideration is that by the elimination of

26700-406: Was a major landowner with extensive landholdings in Khorasan, Iran's northern province neighbouring the then Imperial Russia 's Central Asia (now Turkmenistan ). To provide his son with the best educational opportunities available to affluent Iranians of the late 19th century, Teymourtash's father dispatched him at the age of 11 to Tsarist Russia to receive a formal education. After enrolling for

26878-433: Was able to force a military confrontation outside Mossadegh's home. The protests turned increasingly violent, leaving almost 300 dead, at which point the pro-monarchy leadership, led by retired army General and former Minister of Interior in Mosaddegh's cabinet, Fazlollah Zahedi , interceded, joined with underground figures such as the Rashidian brothers and local strongman Shaban Jafari . Pro-Shah tank regiments stormed

27056-515: Was adopted by the Majlis by a vote of 80–5 on 31 October 1925 that paved the way for Reza Shah to assume the throne. Moreover, in the period following the Coup of 1921 , Teymourtash had been instrumental in successfully navigating legislation through the Iranian parliament whereby it became possible for Reza Khan to assume full jurisdiction over Iran's defence apparatus in his capacity as Commander in Chief. Apart from appreciating Teymourtash's strong grasp of

27234-461: Was an Iranian politician, author, and lawyer who served as the 30th Prime Minister of Iran from 1951 to 1953, elected by the 16th Majlis . He was a member of the Iranian parliament from 1923 , and served through a contentious 1952 election into the 17th Iranian Majlis , until his government was overthrown in the 1953 Iran coup aided by the intelligence agencies of the United Kingdom ( MI6 ) and

27412-508: Was appointed as Iran's new Prime Minister. On the day of his appointment, he announced his intention to resume negotiations with the British to end the oil dispute, a reversal of Mosaddegh's policy. The National Front—along with various Nationalist, Islamist, and socialist parties and groups —including Tudeh—responded by calling for protests, assassinations of the Shah and other royalists, strikes and mass demonstrations in favour of Mosaddegh. Major strikes broke out in all of Iran's major towns, with

27590-402: Was appointed the Minister of Justice in the early Pahlavi period. Consequently, the three formed what was to be commonly referred to as the "governing triumvirate", which began to constitute itself in the immediate aftermath of Reza Shah's coronation. While the three provided much of the intellectual and ideological inspiration for reform, it was Teymourtash who played the leading role and acted as

27768-415: Was assumed would refuse to ratify the Agreement. At this juncture, Teymourtash emerged as one of the main politicians to voice early opposition to the agreement by co-authoring a general proclamation signed by 41 members of parliament referred to as the "Statement of Truth" which denounced the Agreement of 1919. The proclamation proved effective in consolidating popular opposition against the Agreement, leading

27946-465: Was denied a funeral and was buried in his living room, despite his request to be buried in the public graveyard, beside the victims of the political violence on 30 Tir 1331 (21 July 1952). Although Mosaddegh was never directly elected as Prime Minister, he enjoyed massive popularity throughout most of his career. Despite beginning to fall out of favour during the later stages of the Abadan Crisis,

28124-403: Was diverted back to the crop-sharing tenants and their rural banks, and also by levying heavy fines for compelling peasants to work without wages. Mosaddegh attempted to abolish Iran's centuries-old feudal agriculture sector by replacing it with a system of collective farming and government land ownership, which centralised power in his government. Ann Lambton indicates that Mosaddegh saw this as

28302-451: Was elected President. In November and December, British intelligence officials suggested to American intelligence that the Iranian prime minister should be ousted. British prime minister Winston Churchill suggested to the incoming Eisenhower administration that Mosaddegh, despite the latter's open dislike of communism, would become reliant on the pro-Soviet Tudeh Party , resulting in Iran "increasingly turning towards communism " and towards

28480-478: Was felt in Britain. Still enormously popular in late 1951, Mosaddegh called elections, and introduced a modified version of his 1944 electoral reform bill. As his base of support was in urban areas and not in the provinces, the proposed reform no longer barred illiterate voters, but placed them into a separate category from literate voters and increased the representation of the urban population. The opposition defeated

28658-585: Was formed, handling military cases. The Retribution Law ( Qisas ) of 1982 replaced sections of the Public Punishment Law (1924). The 1979 Constitution of the Islamic Republic calls Iran to have a Head of the Judiciary, also known in English as ' Chief Justice of Iran ', who is to be a "just Mujtahid " (high level Islamic cleric) appointed by the Supreme Leader and to serve for "a period of five years." He

28836-438: Was held until the coup collapsed several months later. Soon after being released, Teymourtash returned to Tehran and was appointed Minister of Justice in the cabinet of Hassan Pirnia ("Moshir al Dowleh"), with a mandate to initiate the process of modernizing the court system in Iran based on the French judicial model. However, the collapse of the Government shortly thereafter prevented Teymourtash from fundamentally restructuring

29014-529: Was imprisoned for three years, then put under house arrest until his death and was buried in his own home so as to prevent a political furor. In 2013, the US government formally acknowledged its role in the coup as being a part of its foreign policy initiatives, including paying protestors and bribing officials. Mosaddegh was born to a prominent Persian family of high officials in Ahmedabad, near Tehran , on 16 June 1882; his father, Mirza Hideyatu'llah Ashtiani,

29192-463: Was increased in various ways by the Shah himself. As a precautionary measure, he flew to Baghdad and from there hid safely in Rome. He actually signed two decrees, one dismissing Mosaddegh and the other nominating the CIA's choice, General Zahedi, as Prime Minister. These decrees, called Farmāns , played a major role in giving legitimacy to the coup, and were further spread by CIA officials. On 22 August,

29370-434: Was involved in the plot to remove Mossadegh from power, in early August, Iranian CIA operatives pretending to be socialists and nationalists threatened Muslim leaders with "savage punishment if they opposed Mossadegh", thereby giving the impression that Mossadegh was cracking down on dissent earlier than planned, and stirring anti-Mossadegh sentiments within the religious community. A referendum to dissolve parliament and give

29548-463: Was not completely clear to the CIA, as they had an inaccurate picture of the stability of the Shah's regime. The Iranian Revolution of 1979 caught the CIA and the U.S. very much off guard (as CIA reporting a mere month earlier predicted no imminent insurrectionary turbulence whatsoever for the Shah's regime) and resulted in the overthrow of the Shah by a fundamentalist faction opposed to the U.S., headed by Ayatollah Khomeini . In retrospect, not only did

29726-410: Was not initially singled out as one of the members of Parliament to be incarcerated. The decision to have him arrested followed an exchange he had with one of the British diplomats in Tehran at an official function whereby he publicly accused the British Government of having masterminded the putsch led by Sayyad Zia and Reza Khan. After being briefly held in prison, Teymourtash was exiled to Qom where he

29904-579: Was once again elected to parliament. This time he took the lead of Jebhe Melli ( National Front of Iran , created in 1949), an organisation he had founded with nineteen others such as Hossein Fatemi , Ahmad Zirakzadeh , Ali Shayegan and Karim Sanjabi , aiming to establish democracy and end the foreign presence in Iranian politics, especially by nationalising the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company 's (AIOC) operations in Iran. In 1947 Mossadegh once again announced retirement, after an electoral-reform bill he had proposed failed to pass through Majlis. On 28 April 1951,

30082-583: Was reopened in 1991 under the control of the Head of the Judiciary and regained some of its independence in 1997 when President Khatami […] won the general election. Since then, the numbers of lawyers have grown steadily to an estimated 60,000, and perhaps most significantly a large number of women have passed the Bar and joined the legal profession". "Since the 1979 Revolution, the IBA has been struggling to maintain its independence from

30260-441: Was suspended indefinitely, and Mosaddeq's emergency powers were extended. Declassified documents released by the CIA in 2017 revealed that—after the Shah had fled to Italy—CIA headquarters believed the coup to have failed. Following the initial failed coup by the foreign-backed General Fazlollah Zahedi, the CIA sent Roosevelt a telegram on 18 August 1953 telling him to flee Iran immediately, but Roosevelt ignored it and began work on

30438-445: Was the finance minister under the Qajar dynasty , and his mother, Princess Malek Taj Najm-es-Saltaneh, was the granddaughter of the reformist Qajar prince Abbas Mirza , and a great-granddaughter of Fath-Ali Shah Qajar . When Mosaddegh's father died in 1892, his uncle was appointed the tax collector of the Khorasan province and was bestowed with the title of Mosaddegh-os-Saltaneh by Nasser al-Din Shah . Mosaddegh himself later bore

30616-474: Was the introduction of legislation annulling the French monopoly concession for excavating antiquities in Iran in a bid to usher in an open door policy whereby excavators from other countries could assist in unearthing Iranian national treasures and antiquities. As Murray, the American Minister to Tehran noted at the time, "Meanwhile the indefatigable Sardar Moazzam, Minister of Public Works, has introduced to

30794-476: Was the loss of support from Ayatollah Abol-Ghasem Kashani and another cleric that was fatal to his cause, reflective of the dominance of the Ulema in Iranian society and a portent of the Islamic Revolution to come. The loss of the political clerics effectively cut Mosaddegh's connections with the lower middle classes and the Iranian masses which are crucial to any popular movement in Iran. On March 5, 1979, not even

30972-547: Was to note in the 1930s, "unlike other Iranians of aristocratic houses, young Teymourtash brought back from Europe more than just an affection for occidental garb and an inclination for Persian nightclubs. Because old Persia offered no future for a man of such military training as he had received in Saint Petersburg, he decided to dedicate himself to politics". Just as the last year of Teymourtash's stay in St. Petersburg coincided with

31150-536: Was to prove short-lived, lasting less than a year, after which he was recalled to the capital without the balance of power between central government forces and those of the Soviet-backed insurgents having shifted in any particular direction. Some Iranian historians have accused Teymourtash of having used undue force in resisting the secessionists, but records that could corroborate such an account have not been presented. He may have been appointed civilian governor, but at

31328-473: Was transferred to a military jail shortly after. The Shah finally agreed to Mossadegh's overthrow after Roosevelt said that the United States would proceed with or without him, and formally dismissed the prime minister in a written decree, an act that had been made part of the constitution during the Constitutional Assembly of 1949, convened under martial law, at which time the power of the monarchy

31506-436: Was unable to resolve the issue single-handedly and looked towards the United States to settle the matter. Initially, the US had opposed British policies. After mediation had failed several times to bring about a settlement, American Secretary of State Dean Acheson concluded that the British were "destructive, and determined on a rule-or-ruin policy in Iran." The American position shifted in late 1952 when Dwight D. Eisenhower

31684-526: Was welcomed by deputies who recognized the need for a more systematic approach to the legislative process. However, soon after being established in 1927 the Iran-Now party encountered resistance from rival politicians who cultivated the support of mullahs and other reactionary elements to form a competing Zidd-i Ajnabiha ("Anti-foreign") party. Apart from directly attacking the Iran-Now Party's secular tendencies,

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