Ali Akbar Tabatabaei ( fa, علی‌اکبر طباطبایی ; 4 September 1930 – 22 July 1980) was an Iranian exile and former

press attache Press may refer to: Media * Print media or news media, commonly called "the press" * Printing press, commonly called "the press" * Press (newspaper), a list of newspapers * Press TV, an Iranian television network People * Press (surname), a famil ...

to the Iranian embassy in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

during the reign of

Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi Mohammad Reza Pahlavi ( fa, محمدرضا پهلوی, ; 26 October 1919 – 27 July 1980), also known as Mohammad Reza Shah (), was the last ''Shah'' (King) of the Imperial State of Iran from 16 September 1941 until his overthrow in the Irani ...

Biography

Ali Akbar Tabatabaei was born on 4 September 1930, in

Hamedan Hamadan () or Hamedan ( fa, همدان, ''Hamedān'') (Old Persian: Haŋgmetana, Ecbatana) is the capital city of Hamadan Province of Iran. At the 2019 census, its population was 783,300 in 230,775 families. The majority of people living in Ham ...

Imperial State of Persia The Imperial State of Iran ( fa, کشور شاهنشاهی ایران, ), also known as the Imperial State of Persia, was the official name of the Iranian state under the rule of the Pahlavi dynasty. It was formed in 1925 and lasted until 197 ...

, to a prominent Iranian family, he was the grandson of a

mullah Mullah (; ) is an honorific title for Shia and Sunni Muslim clergy or a Muslim mosque leader. The term is also sometimes used for a person who has higher education in Islamic theology and sharia law. The title has also been used in some Miz ...

. He had a twin brother, Mohammad. Tabatabaei attended

Tehran University The University of Tehran (Tehran University or UT, fa, دانشگاه تهران) is the most prominent university located in Tehran, Iran. Based on its historical, socio-cultural, and political pedigree, as well as its research and teaching pro ...

and had a degree in law. Tabatabaei came to the United States in 1952 with dreams about becoming an architect, and to study at Howard University's School of Architecture. While attended Howard University, he took a part-time job at the Iranian Embassy. There had been rumors he was connected to

SAVAK SAVAK ( fa, ساواک, abbreviation for ''Sâzemân-e Ettelâ'ât va Amniat-e Kešvar'', ) was the secret police, domestic security and intelligence service in Iran during the reign of the Pahlavi dynasty. SAVAK operated from 1957 until prime ...

, Iran's secret police during the Pahlavi-era. It took Tabatabaei many years to complete his bachelor’s degree in architecture, around 1969 he returned to

Tehran Tehran (; fa, تهران ) is the largest city in Tehran Province and the capital of Iran. With a population of around 9 million in the city and around 16 million in the larger metropolitan area of Greater Tehran, Tehran is the most popul ...

to work at the Iranian military of information to help foreigners learn more about Iranian life. It is unclear why he left Iran in 1972, it was either due to harassment by the

, a government embarrassment at work, or he was working for SAVAK and sent abroad. He briefly lived in

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

before moving to

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

to work at an architecture firm. In 1975,

Ardeshir Zahedi Ardeshir Zahedi, GCVO ( fa, اردشیر زاهدی; 16 October 1928 – 18 November 2021) was an Iranian politician and diplomat who served as the country's foreign minister from 1966 to 1971, and its ambassador to the United States and the Uni ...

, was named ambassador to Washington and Tabatabaei joined him to resume working at the Iranian embassy. After the

Iranian Revolution The Iranian Revolution ( fa, انقلاب ایران, Enqelâb-e Irân, ), also known as the Islamic Revolution ( fa, انقلاب اسلامی, Enqelâb-e Eslâmī), was a series of events that culminated in the overthrow of the Pahlavi dynas ...

in 1979, he continued his exile in the United States and actively criticized the

Grand Ayatollah Marji ( ar, مرجع, transliteration: ''marjiʿ''; plural: ''marājiʿ''), literally meaning "source to follow" or "religious reference", is a title given to the highest level of Twelver Shia authority, a Grand Ayatollah with the authority giv ...

Ruhollah Khomeini Ruhollah Khomeini, Ayatollah Khomeini, Imam Khomeini ( , ; ; 17 May 1900 – 3 June 1989) was an Iranian political and religious leader who served as the first supreme leader of Iran from 1979 until his death in 1989. He was the founder of ...

. He became president of the

Iran Freedom Foundation Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

Bethesda, Maryland Bethesda () is an unincorporated, census-designated place in southern Montgomery County, Maryland. It is located just northwest of Washington, D.C. It takes its name from a local church, the Bethesda Meeting House (1820, rebuilt 1849), which in ...

, a counter-revolutionary group.

Death

On 22 July 1980, Tabatabaei was shot and killed on the front door of his Bethesda, Maryland, home by

Dawud Salahuddin Dawud Salahuddin (born 1950; sometimes spelled Daoud Salahuddin,Michael Taylor, "'Kandahar' Actor Accused of Being Assassin: Tantai Said to Have Killed Diplomat", ''San Francisco Chronicle'', January 04, 2002. also known as Hassan Abdulrahman, H ...

. Salahuddin is an American

Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

convert and also attended Howard University, he was associated with an Iranian militant group. Salahuddin disguised himself as a postman with a borrowed mail truck. Tabatabaei's murder is allegedly considered the last successful Iranian assassination plot on American soil. Salahuddin stated he was paid $5,000 by Iranians to kill Tabatabaei. He is currently on the FBI fugitives list. He escaped to Iran via

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

and

Geneva Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaki ...

, reaching Tehran on 31 July 1980. In a 1996 interview with

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

's ''

20/20 Visual acuity (VA) commonly refers to the clarity of vision, but technically rates an examinee's ability to recognize small details with precision. Visual acuity is dependent on optical and neural factors, i.e. (1) the sharpness of the retinal ...

'', Salahuddin again confessed to killing Tabatabaei. He further stated that he thought the killing was "an act of war". In 2009, it was discovered that Salahuddin had been using a new name, Hassan Abdulrahman, and that he had been running the website of

Press TV Press TV (stylised as PRESSTV) is an Iranian state-owned news network that broadcasts in the English and French languages owned by Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB), the only organization legally able to transmit radio and TV broadc ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tabatabaei, Ali Akbar 1930 births 1980 deaths Deaths by firearm in Maryland Exiles of the Iranian Revolution in the United States Howard University alumni Iranian diplomats Iranian emigrants to the United States Iranian monarchists Iranian people murdered abroad People from Hamadan People murdered in Maryland People killed in Ministry of Intelligence (Iran) operations University of Tehran alumni Victims of religiously motivated violence in the United States 20th-century Iranian people Iranian twins Victims of Islamic terrorism