Word: khomeini
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: during 1970-1979
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
Even before that vote, however, Khomeini made it clear once again who was in charge. The victim this time was Foreign Minister Abol Hassan Banisadr, the bushy-mustached economist who had been in office just 18 days, and who had seemed to be relatively moderate, or at least flexible. He had tried to attend the U.N. debate. Said he: "We want to demonstrate how the U.S. ruled our nation during the Shah's regime." Despite such rhetoric, U.S. officials hoped that private talks in New York might make some progress. Banisadr also opposed any trial of the U.S. hostages...
...remains as Iran's Minister for Finance and Economics, but the new Foreign Minister and the new power in Khomeini's government is Sadegh Ghotbzadeh, who appears to be strongly anti-American. His hostility to the U.S. apparently dates from the 1960s, when he was expelled twice, or so he claims. (Though already in his 30s, he was a student at Georgetown University for five years...
Though the new Foreign Minister's views may be somewhat murky, he is notable chiefly for his loyalty to Khomeini. After becoming Foreign Minister he promptly declared, "Our foreign policies are those defined by the Imam, and we will continue them carefully and firmly." And again: "I have known the Imam for 16 years. I think I know his thoughts and intend to carry them...
Still, no matter how intransigent Ghotbzadeh's rhetoric, his problem is the same one faced by Banisadr: the great gulf between Khomeini's determination to get the Shah and Jimmy Carter's refusal to hand him over. Moreover, Ghotbzadeh's task is complicated by the absence now of almost any moderating force in the country that could help build diplomatic bridges between Tehran and Washington. To stay out of trouble with the all-powerful Khomeini, most of the moderates are lying low. Asked three tunes at a news conference about the National Front, which for a time was Iran...
...Khomeini seems convinced that prolonging the crisis works to his advantage. Said a Western diplomat in Tehran: "He literally believes that he is forcing the U.S. to its knees, and at the same time rallying Islamic countries for an unprecedented reawakening. To achieve these objectives, the Imam is willing to practice the most brazen form of brinkmanship...