Word: firstness
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Dates: during 1970-1979
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Khomeini, refusing all talk of compromise, made repeated broadcasts from the holy city of Qum, whipping his followers into a mass frenzy that culminated in two vast outpourings of support. The first was on Friday, which to Iran's Shi'ite Muslims was Ashura, the holiest day of the year (and the anniversary of the demonstrations that led to the Shah's downfall). The second was on Sunday, when Iranians were to vote on a new constitution that would make Khomeini in effect dictator of the country. With the Imam flatly declaring that it was every Iranian's religious duty...
According to Louisiana Senator Bennett Johnston, Carter told them that "the honor of the country comes first, before the lives of the hostages." Johnston reported that Carter then warned darkly: "Simply by releasing the hostages the slate is not wiped clean." Some participants interpreted this as a threat of military action, but White House aides denied it. Said one: "The President was merely stating the obvious. Any fool knows that an incident like this will affect relationships after the hostages are released...
...midweek, Carter decided to speak directly to the American people by holding his first news conference since the Tehran embassy was seized. Because the 30-min. appearance before reporters and TV cameras in the East Room was a calculated risk, he prepared himself with special care. He spent a whole afternoon reviewing the fine points of U.S. policy on Iran with National Security Adviser Zbigniew Brzezinski and Secretary of State Vance and fielding practice questions?about 25 in all ? thrown at him by aides. Former Imagemaker Jerry Rafshoon rehearsed Carter on the brief speech that would open the news...
...will never yield to blackmail or international terrorism." Said he: "There are some conditions, prices, for the hostages that this country will not pay." Responding to a question about the debate that has already begun over whether he (hould have allowed the Shah to enter the U.S. in the first place, Carter stoutly declared that he had "no regrets and no apologies...
...Union, France and Japan. The idea might have seemed laughable initially but, as Western demand for oil kept climbing, the Shah's ambitions began to look more plausible. The Shah, whose country pumped 7% of the non-Communist world's oil imports, led the way in the first huge price increase, from $3 to $12 per bbl. between 1973 and 1974 and, though he aided the West by refusing to join the Arab oil embargo, he also kept urging OPEC to go on increasing its prices...