Opinion January 2, 1979, Forty Years Ago: Churn In Teheran

Front Page of Indian Express from forty years ago.

Iran’s prime minister, General Gholam-Reza Azhari, resigned, but Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi asked him to continue in office until a new civilian government is in place. Azhari had taken office on November 6 with a mandate to quell widespread disturbances, but opposition to the Shah’s government defied the military crackdown and grew in intensity. Azhari’s cabinet replaced the team headed by Jaafar Sharif-Emami, who resigned following riots at Jaleh Square in Teheran during which at least 122 persons were killed. The Shah has offered premiership to Shahpur Bakhtiar, 63, a former leader of the National Front. The Shah’s arrangement with Bakhtiar has been rejected by the National Front, the major opposition coalition, which insists that the Shah should abdicate. The front has expelled Bakhtiar, formerly its second-ranking leader, for cooperating with the “illegal regime”.

US-Pak Relations

The US may supply advanced fighter planes for Pakistan to build a second “pillar of stability” to replace the “pillar” that is being knocked out in Iran. Some in the State Department feel that America’s goals will be better served by establishing a special relationship with Delhi and encouraging India to play a greater role in the Indian Ocean.

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New Alliances

Asia enters 1979 with ominous uncertainty. New strategic alignments are in the making whose patterns can only dimly be seen as yet, but whose import are discomfiting to the peace and security of the region. Chinese Vice Premier Deng Xiaoping journeys to Washington on January 28 to put a dramatic seal on the detente between the US and China. Vietnam has become committed to the Soviet camp as “a faithful outpost of socialism”. The Soviet bloc is facing a threatening alliance developing between China, Japan and the US with strong ties in the Association of Southeast Asian nations and de facto backing of China’s ally in Indo-China, Cambodia.