Word: tabatabai
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
Adding to Khomeini's troubles, police in West Germany arrested the Ayatullah's son-in-law, Sadegh Tabatabai, 39, upon his arrival in Düsseldorf two weeks ago. A "special ambassador," Tabatabai helped negotiate the release of the U.S. hostages in 1981. He was charged with illegal possession of 3.3 lbs. of raw opium...
...first week of September, the West German government informed American diplomats that Iran wanted to open negotiations about the hostages through a secret emissary. The agent was Sadegh Tabatabai, a brother-in-law of Khomeini's son Seyyed Achmed and a former Deputy Prime Minister under Mehdi Bazargan...
Washington knew all about Tabatabai, who had been educated in West Germany. West German Chancellor Helmut Schmidt and Foreign Minister Hans-Dietrich Genscher had begun pressing Iran to release the hostages right after the embassy was seized. Genscher had his first secret contact with Tabatabai early last year in Belgrade at President Josip Broz Tito's funeral. Tabatabai subsequently, in February and March, made several trips to Bonn, one public and ostensibly on other business, the other secret, followed by additional secret trips by other Iranian envoys. West Germany's efforts were closely coordinated with Washington...
...Tabatabai in September offered a remarkable test of his credentials and Iran's willingness to get down to business. He sent the West Germans a message that within the next few days Khomeini would publicly spell out four demands in exchange for the hostages' release, and provided the text of those demands. As if he were reading a script, Khomeini interrupted a rambling anti-American speech on Sept. 12 to list the four conditions exactly as Tabatabai had detailed them. They were: a U.S. pledge not to interfere in Iranian internal affairs, the unblocking of Iran...
Genscher arranged for two days of meetings between Christopher and Tabatabai in an official guesthouse on the outskirts of Bonn on Sept. 18 and 19. Christopher presented the quick and clean solution, and the Iranian seemed open to the idea. Recalls one U.S. participant in the talks: "He was obviously interested. We thought we were very close to getting something done. At last we had a conduit to Khomeini." But the possible breakthrough was soon smashed. Iraq invaded Iran, and the leadership in Iran turned its attention away from the hostages. The American diplomats switched to the other alternative...