Taghi Riahi ( fa, تقی ریاحی) (1911–1989) was an Iranian senior military officer in the

Iranian Imperial Army , founded = , current_form = ( Islamic Republic) , disbanded = , branches = , headquarters = Khatam-al Anbiya Central Headquarters, Tehran , website = , commander-in-chief = Maj. Gen ...

Biography

Riahi was born in Chaleshtar in 1911. He graduated from the Academy of Arts in Tehran. Then he attended the officer's college and was sent to France for further studies in mechanics and military sciences together with a group of students. Following graduation he joined the Imperial Army. In 1952 he was promoted to the rank of brigadier general. He was named as Chief of Staff of the Army appointed by Prime Minister Mohammad Mossadegh replacing

Mahmoud Baharmast Mahmoud Baharmast (1899–1977) was an Iranian major general who served as the chief of staff of the Imperial Army in Iran in the period 1952–1953. Early life and education Baharmast was born in 1899 in Tehran. He graduated from Dar al-Fonun ...

in the post. His tenure lasted from 1 March to 19 August 1953 when a

coup d'état A coup d'état (; French for 'stroke of state'), also known as a coup or overthrow, is a seizure and removal of a government and its powers. Typically, it is an illegal seizure of power by a political faction, politician, cult, rebel group, m ...

occurred. From the ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'':

The operation, the secret history says, "still might have succeeded in spite of this advance warning had not most of the participants proved to be inept or lacking in decision at the critical juncture." Dr. Mossadegh's chief of staff, Gen. Taghi Riahi, learned of the plot hours before it was to begin and sent his deputy to the barracks of the Imperial Guard. The deputy was arrested there, according to the history, just as pro-shah soldiers were fanning out across the city arresting other senior officials.

Although Riahi was sentenced to death, he was released from the prison after three years. Then he involved in business. After the

revolution In political science, a revolution (Latin: ''revolutio'', "a turn around") is a fundamental and relatively sudden change in political power and political organization which occurs when the population revolts against the government, typically due ...

, Riani left Iran and settled in France. However, upon the request of

Mehdi Bazargan Mehdi Bazargan ( fa, مهدی بازرگان; 1 September 1907 – 20 January 1995) was an Iranian scholar, academic, long-time pro-democracy activist and head of Iran's interim government. He was appointed prime minister in February 1979 by Ay ...

who led the

interim government A provisional government, also called an interim government, an emergency government, or a transitional government, is an emergency governmental authority set up to manage a political transition generally in the cases of a newly formed state or f ...

Riani returned to Iran and took office as the minister of national defence for a short time. Following the end of his tenure Riani went to France and died in Nice in 1989.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Riahi, Taghi 20th-century Iranian businesspeople 20th-century Iranian politicians 1911 births 1989 deaths Defence ministers of Iran École Spéciale Militaire de Saint-Cyr alumni Imperial Iranian Army brigadier generals Islamic Republic of Iran Army brigadier generals National Front (Iran) politicians