Nematollah Nassiri ( fa, نعمتالله نصیری; 4 August 1910 – 15 February 1979) was the director of
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 ...
, the Iranian intelligence agency during the rule of
Mohammad Reza Shah 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 ...
, and later the Ambassador of Iran to
Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...
. He was one of the 438 individuals who were arrested and executed in 1979 following 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 ...
.
Early life and education
Nematollah Nassiri was born on 4 August 1910 in Sangussar, near
Semnan. He was a rumored adherent of the
Bahá’í Faith, despite denials by the religion of him being a Bahá’í. He received secondary education in Tehran. In 1929, he was enrolled in an army officer school. Nassiri was a classmate of then-Crown Prince Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, which in turn played an important role in his career.
Career activities
Nassiri began his career in the rank of lieutenant of the 2nd class (rank), quickly moving forward in the ranks of the service in the ground forces.
In 1949, with the rank of lieutenant-colonel Nassiri became governor of the
province of Kerman.
Nassiri served as the commander of the Iranian
Imperial Guards during the
Pahlavi dynasty
The Pahlavi dynasty ( fa, دودمان پهلوی) was the last Iranian royal dynasty, ruling for almost 54 years between 1925 and 1979. The dynasty was founded by Reza Shah Pahlavi, a non-aristocratic Mazanderani soldier in modern times, who ...
.
He was arrested by the followers of Prime Minister
Mohammad Mosaddegh
Mohammad Mosaddegh ( fa, محمد مصدق, ; 16 June 1882 – 5 March 1967) was an Iranian politician, author, and lawyer who served as the 35th Prime Minister of Iran from 1951 to 1953, after appointment by the 16th Majlis. He was a member of ...
when he delivered two decrees of the Shah to the prime minister.
[ A personal friend of ]the Shah
Shah (; fa, شاه, , ) is a royal title that was historically used by the leading figures of Iranian monarchies.Yarshater, EhsaPersia or Iran, Persian or Farsi, ''Iranian Studies'', vol. XXII no. 1 (1989) It was also used by a variety of ...
, Nassiri participated in the 1953 Iranian coup d'état
The 1953 Iranian coup d'état, known in Iran as the 28 Mordad coup d'état ( fa, کودتای ۲۸ مرداد), was the overthrow of the democratically elected Prime Minister Mohammad Mosaddegh in favor of strengthening the monarchical rule of ...
which removed Prime Minister Mosaddegh from power in 1953. Nassiri was appointed head of SAVAK following the failure of General Hassan Pakravan
Hassan Pakravan (4 August 1911 – 11 April 1979) was a well-known diplomat and minister in the Pahlavi pre-revolutionary government of Iran. He is not only notable for his political involvement with the Mohammad Reza Pahlavi government and S ...
, the previous director, to prevent the assassination of Prime Minister Hassan-Ali Mansur
Hasan Ali Mansur ( fa, حسن علی منصور; 13 April 1923 – 26 January 1965) was an Iranian politician who served as Prime Minister from 1964 to 1965. He served during the White Revolution of the Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi and was as ...
on 21 January 1965. Nassiri was also made deputy prime minister.[ He served in the post until 6 June 1978 when he was dismissed by the Shah.] Then Nassiri was appointed ambassador of Iran to Pakistan.
The proximity to the Shah and his entourage allowed Nassiri to quickly become one of the richest people in Iran. By the early 1970s Nassiri was already the richest landowner on the entire coast of the Caspian Sea.
General Nassiri at the head of SAVAK
At the end of January 1965, the Shah appointed him to the post of director of SAVAK, after General Hassan Pakravan was removed from this post due to the fact that under his leadership, SAVAK was unable to prevent the assassination of Prime Minister Hassan Ali Mansur.[
In his book ''SAVAK – the secret police of Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi (1957–1979)'' researcher of the activities of the Shah secret police Vasily Papava so describes the appointment of Nassiri to the post of head of the secret service: “''There are several explanations for this appointment. Closest to the truth, probably the following. The Shah was concerned about the growing authority of the left-wing forces in the country, represented by the extremist and terrorist organizations “Mujahedin-e Khalq” and “Fadaiyan-e-Khalq”. Pahlavi, also not without reason, was afraid of the growing authority of the military, especially the generals and senior officers, who became “heroes” after the August revolution of 1953. It should be taken into account that in the period of 1950-1960s, in many countries of the region, as a result of a coup d'état, the military came to power who overthrew the "pro-Western" secular regimes and established a military dictatorship. That is why the shah needed a new leader of the political police who had left the military environment and was well aware of what measures should be taken to protect the throne from usurping power from the army''”.][Vasily Papava. (2016)]
SAVAK – ''The secret police of Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi (1957–1979)''
Berika Publishing House, Republic of Georgia, Tbilisi.
Nasiri was removed from the office on 7 October 1978.
Modernization of the Shah special services
Mohammed Reza Pahlavi gave General Nassiri tough instructions - to restore the effectiveness of the SAVAK secret police and to properly serve the monarch.
General Nematollah Nassiri ideally coped with the task set before him by the shah: in the shortest possible time, a rather complex and comprehensive system of total investigation and denunciation was created, which controlled all aspects of the political and public life of Iran.
The main focus of the activities of the Shah special services was aimed at combating the "red danger". At the same time, in 1968, Nematollah Nassiri showed interest in establishing contacts with the USSR through the channels of special services, in particular in the acquisition of “counter-intelligence equipment” in the Soviet Union.
One of Nassiri’s main achievements as head of SAVAK was the elimination of the Shah’s opponent, General Teymur Bakhtiar
Teymur Bakhtiar ( fa, تیمور بختیار; 1914 – 12 August 1970) was an Iranian general and the founder and head of SAVAK from 1956 to 1961 when he was dismissed by the Shah. In 1970, SAVAK agents assassinated him in Iraq.
He was an as ...
, the first director of SAVAK. The development of a special operation plan to eliminate Bakhtiar and its brilliant execution by the SAVAK agents was personally supervised by General Nassiri, directly agreeing with the Shah regarding all the details of this operation. On August 12, 1970, Teymur Bakhtiar was liquidated in Iraq by SAVAK agents sent there.[
]
Arrest and execution
On 6 June 1978, General Nematollah Nassiri was relieved of his post as head of the SAVAK and appointed ambassador to Pakistan.[ His place was taken by Lieutenant General Nasser Mogadam, who for many years headed the “Department III” SAVAK.
With the constant development of the Iranian Revolution, the Shah ordered the dissolution of SAVAK and Nassiri was called back from Pakistan.][ He was arrested together with 60 other former officials on 7 or 8 November 1978,][ including high-ranking officials, such as former director of SAVAK ]Hassan Pakravan
Hassan Pakravan (4 August 1911 – 11 April 1979) was a well-known diplomat and minister in the Pahlavi pre-revolutionary government of Iran. He is not only notable for his political involvement with the Mohammad Reza Pahlavi government and S ...
and former Prime Minister Amir-Abbas Hoveyda
Amir-Abbas Hoveyda ( fa, امیرعباس هویدا, Amīr 'Abbās Hoveyda; 18 February 1919 – 7 April 1979) was an Iranian economist and politician who served as Prime Minister of Iran from 27 January 1965 to 7 August 1977. He was the l ...
. When the Shah left Iran on 16 January 1979, Nassiri remained in prison until the fall of Shapour Bakhtiar
Shapour Bakhtiar ( fa, شاپور بختیار, ; 26 June 19146 August 1991) was an Iranian politician who served as the last Prime Minister of Iran under the Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi. In the words of historian Abbas Milani: "more than once in ...
's government on 11 February.
On 15 February, Nassiri was arrested by revolutionaries and brought to the Refah School with other officials. He was tried in a Revolutionary Tribunal along with 24 other individuals for a total of 10 hours and was charged – without any defence or concrete evidence of guilt – with corruption on earth, massacre of people, torture
Torture is the deliberate infliction of severe pain or suffering on a person for reasons such as punishment, extracting a confession, interrogation for information, or intimidating third parties. Some definitions are restricted to acts c ...
, and treason
Treason is the crime of attacking a state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its diplo ...
. He was sentenced to death and confiscation of property at 10 p.m. and after the sentence was confirmed by Ayatollah 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 was executed by firing squad
Execution by firing squad, in the past sometimes called fusillading (from the French ''fusil'', rifle), is a method of capital punishment, particularly common in the military and in times of war. Some reasons for its use are that firearms are us ...
at 11:45 p.m.
References
Further reading
* Fereydoun Hoveyda. (1980). ''The Fall of the Shah''. Trans. Roger Liddell. New York: Wyndham Books.
* ''All Fall Down: America's Fateful Encounter with Iran''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nassiri, Nematollah
20th-century Iranian politicians
1910 births
1979 deaths
Ambassadors of Iran to Pakistan
Burials at Behesht-e Zahra
Directors of SAVAK
Executed Iranian people
Grand Crosses with Star and Sash of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany
Imperial Iranian Armed Forces four-star generals
Military personnel executed during the Iranian Revolution
People executed by Iran by firing squad
People from Semnan, Iran
People of the Iranian Revolution