Word: ayatullah
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Dates: during 1970-1979
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...Khomeini's headquarters at Neauphle-le-Château, aides had set up a table under an apple tree and begun taking press reservations for seats on the jumbo jet that was to carry Khomeini home. Unfazed by news that Iran Air was grounded, the Ayatullah's entourage chartered an Air France 707. After hearing that the army had occupied all the country's major airports, a Khomeini aide, Dr. Ibrahim Yazdi, explained that the plans had to be changed and "takeoff sadly will be delayed...
Since taking office, the Prime Minister had tried to prevent, as he put it, the "historic bloodshed" that would result from a confrontation between supporters of the Ayatullah and Iran's 340,000-man armed forces. In a televised appeal for support last week, Bakhtiar outlined the reforms that his government was carrying out: releasing political prisoners, ending censorship, abolishing SAVAK, the secret police, and speeding up the corruption trials of former public officials...
...strikes and almost complete economic denial have affected the majority of the population. Paradoxically, the poorest seemed to be faring the best, perhaps because of their access to community food cooperatives and neighborhood organizations. When asked about the 'economic ruin' of his country, Tehran's Ayatullah Taleghani replied firmly: 'We do not mind at all that the economy is destroyed. In the West, the economy is above freedom. Here, freedom is now above the economy. After 50 years of living under the boot and heel of imperialism, we have no other purpose than achieving freedom...
...Iran. First would come the creation of a Khomeini-named revolutionary council, which would appoint a caretaker government, call national elections for a new constituent assembly, and then hold a public referendum on a new constitution. Although Islamic law would presumably become part of the legal system, the Ayatullah's aides have said that religious strictures would not be applied as rigidly as in Saudi Arabia or Libya...
American experts on Iran tend to believe the Ayatullah's aides when they insist that he has no ambitions to head any new government. Expectations are that he will eventually return to his home in the holy city of Qum (pronounced, roughly, koom) and resume a life of prayer and learning. He may serve as an arbiter of last resort, leaving the details of government to professional politicians. The Shi'ite branch of Islam, to which most Iranians adhere, has no formal hierarchy. Five other Ayatullahs are deemed theoretically equal to Khomeini as spiritual leaders. They may urge...