November 4, 1964
November 4, 1964, is the day Imam Khomeyni was deported to Turkey. A year and a half before he delivered a fiery speech against the Shah’s regime. That night he was arrested in Qom and transferred to Tehran. This event led to the historic 15 Khordad Uprising on June 5, 1963.
Imam Khomeyni was released on April 7, 1964, and returned to Qom after enduring imprisonment and confinement. Then, he resumed his struggles and activities against the policies of the government of the time. One of the most important resolutions passed by the parliament in 1946 is the Capitulation Bill. The law granted judicial immunity to all United States military advisers in Iran. It was a right, given to American citizens residing in Iran, according to which, if they committed a crime, they would face trial in the United States instead of Iran.
This privilege was first imposed on Iran in the Treaty of Turkmenchay after the defeat of Iran in the war with Tsarist Russia. After that, The United Kingdom and other European countries demanded such a privilege and Iran granted them some privileges as well. After the 3 Esfand coup d’état (February 21, 1921) and the signing of the Treaty of Friendship between Iran and the Soviet Union, this privilege was revoked and after 1928, all these agreements with European countries were annulled. After the 28 Mordad coup d’état (August 19, 1943) and Iran’s growing demand for American military equipment, the number of American advisers in Iran also increased.
For the first time, in March 1962, the American ambassador at the time implicitly demanded such a privilege from Ali Amini’s government. Amini, who was aware of the consequences of giving this privilege did not make any response. The government of Asadollah Alam (the Prime Minister during the Shah's regime from 1962 to 1964) discussed this issue in 1963 and sent the bill to the Senate on November 18 of that year.
Hasan-Ali Mansour, who had been appointed as Prime Minister on March 8, 1964, sought the approval of the bill, and finally, the senators reviewed and approved it in a meeting held on July 25, 1964. The National Assembly also voted in favor of the bill during a noisy session held on October 13, 1964. With the passage of this bill, Imam Khomeyni protested against the policies of the then government intensified. On October 26, 1964, which was the Shah’s birthday, Imam Khomeyni issued some proclamations and delivered a scathing speech. At the beginning of his speech, Imam Khomeyni expressed his regret over the approval of the bill in parliament and said:
“I am profoundly disturbed… With a sorrowful heart, I count the days until death shall come and deliver me. Iran no longer has a festival to celebrate; they have turned our festival into mourning… They have sold us, they have sold our independence, and still, they light up the city and dance…Our honor has been trampled underfoot; the dignity of Iran has been destroyed. The dignity of the Iranian army has been trampled underfoot.”
Imam Khomeyni then explained the law and warned Muslim scholars:
“They have taken a law to the parliament according to all American military advisers, together with their families, technical and administrative officials, and servants — in short, anyone in any way connected to them — is to enjoy legal immunity concerning any crime they may commit in Iran! If an American cook assassinates one of your Maraja’ al-taqlid (sources of emulation) in the middle of the bazaar or runs over him, the Iranian police do not have the right to apprehend him! Iranian courts do not have the right to judge him! The dossier must be sent to the United States so that the masters can decide what needs to be done! They have reduced the Iranian people to a level lower than that of an American dog… No one has the right to object. Why? Because they wanted a loan from the United States and the United States demanded this in return! This is apparently the case… Gentlemen, I warn you of danger! Iranian army, I warn you of danger! Iranian politicians, I warn you of danger! Iranian merchants, I warn you of danger! Scholars of Iran, source of emulation of Islam, I warn you of danger! Scholars, religious students! Centuries of religious learning, Najaf, Qom, Mashhad, Tehran, Shiraz! I warn you of danger!”
In another part of Imam Khomeyni’s speech in which he opposed those who call for staying silent in the current situation, he stated:
“Those gentlemen who say we must hold our tongues and not utter a sound — do they still say the same thing on this occasion? Are we to keep silent again and not say a word? They sell us and still, we are to keep silent? They sell our Quran and still, we should hold our tongues? By God, he who does not cry out in protest is a sinner! By God, he who does not express his outrage commits a major sin!”
Imam Khomeyni then addressed the army, saying:
“The army should know that it will also be treated the same way: its leaders will be set aside, one by one. What self-respect will remain in the army when an American errand boy or cook has priority over one of our generals? If I were in the army, I would resign. If I were a deputy in the parliament, I would resign. I would not agree to be disgraced.”
Imam Khomeyni also issued a statement on the same day denouncing the two houses of the Iranian parliament for passing such a bill, calling it against Islam and the Quran.
Moreover, explaining the interference of foreign powers in Iran’s internal affairs, Imam Khomeyni called on all people to raise objections to the bill.
Following the protests, Hasan-Ali Mansour, the then Prime Minister, was forced to comment on the bill. He acknowledged in the Senate that the bill would not be enforced completely.
After his intense speech, Imam Khomeyni was arrested at midnight on November 4, 1964, and exiled to Turkey. According to the memoirs of General Hussein Ferdos, the night before the Imam Khomeyni's exile, Hasan-Ali Mansour met with the Shah and demanded the deportation of Imam Khomeyni. Then, the Shah made a phone call and ordered Hasan Pakravan, the then head of SAVAK, to send Imam Khomeyni into exile.
On November 4, 1964, at midnight, Colonel Mohammad Javad Molavi, the head of SAVAK in Tehran, along with a number of commandos and air forces, attacked to Imam Khomeyni's house in Qom. After breaking into the house and beating the servants, they arrested him and took him to Tehran. On the same night, Imam Khomeyni was deported to Turkey on a private plane while a security official named Colonel Amir Afzali, the head of the social affairs department of the Tehran SAVAK was accompanying him. Hours later, SAVAK published a statement in the press, announcing the news of Imam Khomeyni deportation: “According to reliable information and sufficient evidence and reasons, since Ayatollah Khomeyni’s actions had been recognized as being against the interests of the nation and the security, independence and territorial integrity of the country, he was deported from Iran on November 4, 1964.”
Also, SAVAK arrested Sayyed Mostafa Khomeyni, Imam Khomeyni’s son, on the same day while he was in the house of Ayatollah Sayyed Shahaboddin Marashi-Najafi and imprisoned him in Ghezel Ghaleh Prison in Tehran.
The exile of Imam Khomeyni had widespread effects. The bazaars in most of the cities were closed, and the scholars also closed the seminaries of Tehran, Qom, and Mashhad in protest at Imam Khomeyni's deportation and issued statements. People asked a source of emulation for help with the release of Imam Khomeyni and a wave of telegrams flowed to Qom. Imam Khomeyni first went to Ankara and on November 12, 1964, by the decision of the Turkish government, he was moved to the city of Bursa, which is situated 460 kilometers west of Ankara, near the Sea of Marmara. The deportation of Imam Khomeyni aroused popular feelings against Hasan-Ali Mansour. Finally, Mohammad Bokharaei, a member of the Islamic Coalition Party, shot Mansour in front of the entrance of the National Assembly on the first day of February 22, 1964. Five days later, he died of injuries and Amir-Abbas Hoveyda became the prime minister.
Imam Khomeyni spent eleven months in exile in Turkey. In September 1965, he was moved to Najaf, where he led the popular struggle against the Pahlavi regime.
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