The return of Imam Khomeini to Iran after more than 14 years of exile is a pivotal point in Iran’s history. His return to the country was raised at a time when the struggle against the Pahlavi regime had intensified both inside and outside of the country. He repeatedly stated that his return to Iran would only happen after the Shah had left the country. Following the Shah’s departure in 1979, the news of Imam Khomeini’s return spread through the media. Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, who had heard the call of the people’s revolution first hand, was forced to leave Iran on January 16, 1979, coinciding with the election of Shapour Bakhtiar as the Prime Minister and the formation of the Regency Council. However, by declaring the illegitimacy of Bakhtiar’s government, Imam Khomeini aroused people to organize widespread protests and demonstrations. Bakhtiar forced the Shah’s Imperial Guard to stage a military parade before foreign journalists in order to show off his power. In addition, he ordered the army to close the country’s airports and suspend international flights. Such measures provoked widespread protests, as people were eagerly awaiting Imam Khomeini’s return. They demanded the reopening of the airports and for Imam to be allowed to return. The Pahlavi regime found itself in an unfavorable situation. On the one hand, Bakhtiar had little hope for enjoying the support of the military, while on the other hand, Sayyid Jalal Tehrani, head of the Regency Council, resigned and in the presence of Imam Khomeini, who was still in Paris, announced the Council’s illegitimacy. Additionally, some pilots from Iran’s national airline said that they would fly to Paris and bring Imam Khomeini back to Tehran with a Boeing 747.
Bakhtiar, who had failed to establish legitimacy for his government by writing to Imam Khomeini and arranging a Paris trip to negotiate with him, was neither willing to hand over the government to the revolutionaries nor had control over the country’s situation to change its existing state. He was given three possible solutions by Iranian military chiefs and General Huyser, the US envoy to Iran, to prevent the return of Imam Khomeini. He could either divert the aircraft to another country, destroy it, or block the airport runway. However, the global implications and media coverage of such actions, along with disagreements among US foreign policy officials, made any form of confrontation and conflict appear implausible.
A group of combatant and revolutionary clerics, like Ayatollah Beheshti, Ayatollah Mutahhari, Ayatollah Mufatteh, Ayatollah Khamenei, and others, who went on strike in the University of Tehran, received extensive support from the people, scholars, and religious authorities. Their strike continued until the airports were reopened. The popular support for the clerics’ movement, along with the desertion of military forces, officers, and young soldiers created a situation in which Bakhtiar could not keep the airports closed indefinitely. Therefore, he suddenly announced that the airports were open for the arrival of Imam Khomeini. He said that the reason for this decision was that he could not prevent the return of an Iranian citizen. However, William Sullivan, the last US ambassador to Iran, writes: “Bakhtiar said: With the precautions I have taken, the situation would change in favor of my government after the return of Ayatollah Khomeini.” Regardless of Bakhtiar’s real intention behind this decision, his retreat and the opening of the airports were seen as a victory for Imam Khomeini and the people of Iran in their struggle against the Pahlavi regime. The news of Imam Khomeini’s return, which was widely reported in the media, reflected both the despair of the army and the Pahlavi regime, and the extensive preparations made by the welcoming committee for Imam Khomeini’s return to Iran. The main responsibility of this committee was to organize the welcoming ceremony and, more importantly, ensure his safety at the airport and on route to Behesht Zahra cemetery. Finally, on February 1, 1979, Imam Khomeini arrived in Iran. Before leaving Neauphle-le-Château, he expressed gratitude for the hospitality of the French people and answered the questions posed to him by journalists at Paris airport. Regarding Bakhtiar’s government, he reiterated his previous positions and said, “I will not meet with him unless he resigns.” He also spoke about the army, saying, “We want the army to join us as soon as possible. We want the army to be independent and free from foreign influence. The armed forces are our children, we love them, and they must join the nation. The army should distance itself from the usurping government.”
On the morning of the 1st of February, the plane carrying Imam Khomeini landed at Mehrabad Airport in Tehran. He was accompanied on his flight from France by 150 foreign journalists from major news agencies. More than half of the seats on the Iran Air Boeing 747 were empty. While the plane had a capacity of over 400 passengers, it refrained from accepting about 250 passengers. This was done to ensure that the plane had enough fuel to return to Paris if it was not allowed to land in Tehran. This reflected the existing concerns over the possibility of this flight not being allowed to land in Tehran. Nevertheless, Imam Khomeini calmly and resolutely said that he would return to the country. All journalists and passengers admired his unique calmness during the flight.
When the flight landed at Mehrabad Airport, an unprecedented historical welcoming ceremony took place. People from various cities had made their way to Tehran. Newspapers estimated that over 3 million people lined up along the 32 km route to Beheshte Zahra cemetery to welcome Imam Khomeini.
After expressing gratitude to the welcoming crowd, Imam Khomeini denounced Bakhtiar’s government and called it illegitimate. He also considered his presence among the people and Shah’s escape from Iran as the result of the efforts and unity of all the Iranian people.
The Iranian state television broadcasted this ceremony live for about 20 minutes. But suddenly it stopped the live coverage of the event because the Shah’s picture appeared on the screen. Some believed that the interruption of the live broadcast was due to the anger of the military forces who were upset because the imperial anthem had not been played, while others, like Bakhtiar, put the blame on unknown communist elements. Nonetheless, this disruption of the live feed caused many people in other cities to react. Some broke their televisions, while others became worried about Imam Khomeini’s safety. But in Tehran, Imam Khomeini, after delivering his speech at the airport, entered Behesht Zahra cemetery. Several million people had filled up the entire route from the airport to the cemetery. In his speech near the graves of the martyrs, which was one of the largest gatherings in Iranian history, he emphasized the role of the people in determining their fate and talked about the illegitimacy of the Pahlavi regime. He also addressed the problems that were directly caused by this regime and outlined the future path of the Revolution.
Archive of Imam Khomeini
leave your comments