Pan-Iranist Party
Encyclopedia
The Pan-Iranist Party is a pan-Iranist
political opposition party. It is active both in and out of Iran
. It was led by Mohsen Pezeshkpour
since the 1950s and up to 2008. The current leader of the Party is Zahra Saffarpour.
, powerless against such foreign presence in the country. There were soldiers from Russia
, England
, India
, New Zealand
, Australia
and later on, America
, present in the country, especially in the capital, Tehran
.
The Anglo-Soviet invasion of Iran
influenced a series of student movements in 1941 where nationalism was gaining popularity more than ever between Iranians, one of these new groups was an underground nationalist guerrilla group called the Revenge group (also known as the Anjoman) .
The Pan-Iranist Party was founded later on by two of the members of the revenge group and two other students in the mid-to-late 1940s in Tehran University. Though the pan-Iranist movement had been active throughout the 1930s, it had been a loosely organized grass roots
alliance of nationalist writers, teachers, students, and activists. The party was the first organization to officially adopt the pan-Iranist position, which believed in the solidarity and reunification of the Iranian peoples
inhabiting the Iranian plateau
.
and Dariush Forouhar
came to a disagreement as to how the party should operate, and a division occurred. The Pezeskpour faction, which retained the party name, believed in working within the system of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi
. The Forouhar faction, which adopted a new name, Mellat Iran
(Nation of Iran Party), believed in working against the system. Mellat Iran was far more fervently nationalist than the former party, and strongly supported and was allied with the national movement of Mohammad Mossadegh, who had founded the National Front of Iran (Jebhe Melli) with other Iranian nationalist leaders.
After the British
-American
sponsored coup d'etat
against Mossadegh, the Shah assumed dictatorial powers and outlawed almost all political groups, including Mellat Iran and the National Front. The Pan-Iranist Party soon became the official opposition in the Majlis
, with Pezeshkpour as Speaker. However, in reality, the party had very little political power and influence and its position was primarily intended to be symbolic. Beginning in the late 1960s, under the government of Amir Abbas Hoveyda, Iran mostly became a one-party dictatorship under the Imperial Resurrection Party (Rastakhiz
).
Pezeshkpour remained active in the Majli, and spoke out against the separation of Bahrain
from Iran, which Mellat Iran and many other Iranians also opposed. This opposition failed, and Bahrain separated, which resulted in the entire Persian
population of Bahrain, as well as a large number of Bahraini Iranian Arabs who wished to remain with Iran, being forced to leave. Most settled in the Khuzestan province, where the Pan-Iranist Party soon began to enjoy much popularity and support. Pezeshkpour established a residence in the city of Khorramshahr
, which at the time was home to some of the most exclusive neighborhoods in Iran, and which also became his base of operations. In Khuzestan the party was for the first time able to become a dominant influence, whereas in the rest of Iran, the party continued to have very little effect.
With the onset of revolution
in 1978, Pezeshkpour and other politicians who had been allied with the Shah fled the country into exile Mohammad Reza Ameli Tehrani
, a co-founder of the party, was sentenced to death by the Revolutionary Court, and subsequently executed in May 1979. Nationalist movements such as Mellat Iran and the National Front, which had been opposed to the Shah, remained in the country and played a crucial role in the revolutionary provisional government
of Mehdi Bazargan
. After the Islamic Revolution of 1979 which eventually saw the rise to power of Khomeini to the position of Supreme Leader
after the collapse of the provisional government, all nationalist groups, as well as socialist and communist movements such as the Tudeh Party, were banned.
In the early 1990s, Pezeshkpour wrote a letter of apology to the new Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei
, stating that he wished to return to Iran and promised to stay out of politics for good. Khamenei accepted the apology and allowed Pezeshkpour to return, on the condition that he not resume his previous political activities. However, sometime afterwards Pezeshkpour became active in politics once again and reestablished the Pan-Iranist Party in Iran. He reformed the party structure and abandoned much of the old organizational ideology which Forouhar had opposed and which had originally led to the division. However, the Pan-Iranist Party and Mellat Iran did not reconcile and continued to function as separate organizations.
In the wake of the student demonstrations of 1999, many members of the Pan-Iranist Party were arrested and nine members of the party leadership, including Pezeshkpour himself, were summoned to the Islamic Revolutionary Court
. The charges made against them included distribution of anti-government propaganda in the official party newspaper, National Sovereignty.
In the summer of 2004, an attempt by a motorist, allegedly an undercover operative of the Ministry of Intelligence, on the life of Mohsen Pezeshkpour failed in front of his residence in Tehran.
On August 27, 2009, Hossein Shahriari, a veteran member of the Supreme Council of Pan Iranist Party, was arrested and sentenced to 18 months imprisonment for “propaganda against the regime, and being a member of the Pan Iranist Party” by the Revolutionary Court in Karaj.
and cooperation with other Iranian parties, including leftist-oriented groups, whereas Pezeshkpour believed in a more authoritarian approach and opposed alliances with non-nationalist organizations. However, alliances with other nationalist groups were rare or non-existent as most were officially banned (such as Mellat Iran). Under Pezeshkpour, the Pan-Iranist Party also took on a decidedly paramilitary
structure, with members being assigned military ranks and titles. All active members, both male and female, wore uniforms to party functions. Forouhar also strongly opposed this, though this paramilitary nature was largely symbolic, and party members did not actually carry weapons. Ordinary members were not required to wear uniforms. Beginning in the late 1960s, Pezeshkpour also had several personal bodyguards who were assigned to protect him at all times.
The symbol of the party was a crossed out equal sign (=), signifying inequality. This was in reference to foreign powers such as Britain and the Soviet Union
, and symbolized the Pan-Iranist view that Iran must uphold its national sovereignty and interests above all else. The philosophical meaning attributed to this symbol according to the party's literature was that, in reality, there is no equality amongst nations, and that each nation must struggle to rise above all others, otherwise risking oblivion. This symbolism and philosophy also played a crucial role in the division between Forouhar and Pezeshkpour.
Pezeshkpour was often criticized by other nationalists for having not supported Mossadegh, and for his role in the Shah's government as Speaker of Majlis, as this position had no real power. Nationalist leaders viewed the failure of his opposition to the separation of Bahrain as evidence that his function was strictly symbolic.
When Pezeshkpour set about restoring the party after returning to Iran, he and other former party leaders renounced the former paramilitary structure of the organization as well as its authoritarianism, instead proclaiming their commitment to plurality and democracy, as well as a willingness to cooperate with other opposition groups. They continue to maintain the original party symbolism.
Pan-Iranism
Pan-Iranism is an ideology that advocates solidarity and reunification of Iranian peoples living in the Iranian plateau and other regions that have significant Iranian cultural influence, including the Talysh, Georgians, North Caucasian peoples, Ossetians, Kurds, Armenians, Persians of Iran,...
political opposition party. It is active both in and out of Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
. It was led by Mohsen Pezeshkpour
Mohsen Pezeshkpour
Mohsen Pezeshkpour was an Iranian politician and the co-founder and leader of the Pan-Iranist Party, which is also seen as the Old Nationalist Party of Iran.- Life :...
since the 1950s and up to 2008. The current leader of the Party is Zahra Saffarpour.
Background
The invasion of Iran by Anglo-Soviet armies in the early 20th century lead to a sense of insecurity among Iranians who saw the king, Reza ShahReza Shah
Rezā Shāh, also known as Rezā Shāh Pahlavi and Rezā Shāh Kabir , , was the Shah of the Imperial State of Iran from December 15, 1925, until he was forced to abdicate by the Anglo-Soviet invasion of Iran on September 16, 1941.In 1925, Reza Shah overthrew Ahmad Shah Qajar, the last Shah of the Qajar...
, powerless against such foreign presence in the country. There were soldiers from Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
and later on, America
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, present in the country, especially in the capital, Tehran
Tehran
Tehran , sometimes spelled Teheran, is the capital of Iran and Tehran Province. With an estimated population of 8,429,807; it is also Iran's largest urban area and city, one of the largest cities in Western Asia, and is the world's 19th largest city.In the 20th century, Tehran was subject to...
.
The Anglo-Soviet invasion of Iran
Anglo-Soviet invasion of Iran
The Anglo-Soviet invasion of Iran was the Allied invasion of the Imperial State of Iran during World War II, by British, Commonwealth, and Soviet armed forces. The invasion from August 25 to September 17, 1941, was codenamed Operation Countenance...
influenced a series of student movements in 1941 where nationalism was gaining popularity more than ever between Iranians, one of these new groups was an underground nationalist guerrilla group called the Revenge group (also known as the Anjoman) .
The Pan-Iranist Party was founded later on by two of the members of the revenge group and two other students in the mid-to-late 1940s in Tehran University. Though the pan-Iranist movement had been active throughout the 1930s, it had been a loosely organized grass roots
Grass Roots
Grass Roots is an Australian television series produced by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation between 2000 and 2003.The series is set around the fictional Arcadia Waters Council near Sydney, and was primarily a satirical look at the machinations of local government...
alliance of nationalist writers, teachers, students, and activists. The party was the first organization to officially adopt the pan-Iranist position, which believed in the solidarity and reunification of the Iranian peoples
Iranian peoples
The Iranian peoples are an Indo-European ethnic-linguistic group, consisting of the speakers of Iranian languages, a major branch of the Indo-European language family, as such forming a branch of Indo-European-speaking peoples...
inhabiting the Iranian plateau
Iranian plateau
The Iranian plateau, or Iranic plateau, is a geological formation in Southwest Asia. It is the part of the Eurasian Plate wedged between the Arabian and Indian plates, situated between the Zagros mountains to the west, the Caspian Sea and the Kopet Dag to the north, the Hormuz Strait and Persian...
.
History
In 1951, Mohsen PezeshkpourMohsen Pezeshkpour
Mohsen Pezeshkpour was an Iranian politician and the co-founder and leader of the Pan-Iranist Party, which is also seen as the Old Nationalist Party of Iran.- Life :...
and Dariush Forouhar
Dariush Forouhar
Dariush Forouhar was a founder and leader of the Hezb-e Mellat-e Iran , a pan-Iranist opposition party in Iran and served as Minister of Labor in the Provisional Revolutionary Government of Mehdi Bazargan in 1979...
came to a disagreement as to how the party should operate, and a division occurred. The Pezeskpour faction, which retained the party name, believed in working within the system of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi
Mohammad Reza Pahlavi
Mohammad Rezā Shāh Pahlavi, Shah of Iran, Shah of Persia , ruled Iran from 16 September 1941 until his overthrow by the Iranian Revolution on 11 February 1979...
. The Forouhar faction, which adopted a new name, Mellat Iran
Mellat Iran
Hezb-e Mellat-e Iran also known as Nation Party of Iran or Iran Nation Party is a liberal nationalist political party seeking secular democracy and separation of religion and state in Iran.-History:The group was founded by Dariush Forouhar in 1951, which he continued to lead up until...
(Nation of Iran Party), believed in working against the system. Mellat Iran was far more fervently nationalist than the former party, and strongly supported and was allied with the national movement of Mohammad Mossadegh, who had founded the National Front of Iran (Jebhe Melli) with other Iranian nationalist leaders.
After the British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
-American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
sponsored coup d'etat
Coup d'état
A coup d'état state, literally: strike/blow of state)—also known as a coup, putsch, and overthrow—is the sudden, extrajudicial deposition of a government, usually by a small group of the existing state establishment—typically the military—to replace the deposed government with another body; either...
against Mossadegh, the Shah assumed dictatorial powers and outlawed almost all political groups, including Mellat Iran and the National Front. The Pan-Iranist Party soon became the official opposition in the Majlis
Majlis
' , is an Arabic term meaning "a place of sitting", used in the context of "council", to describe various types of special gatherings among common interest groups be it administrative, social or religious in countries with linguistic or cultural connections to Islamic countries...
, with Pezeshkpour as Speaker. However, in reality, the party had very little political power and influence and its position was primarily intended to be symbolic. Beginning in the late 1960s, under the government of Amir Abbas Hoveyda, Iran mostly became a one-party dictatorship under the Imperial Resurrection Party (Rastakhiz
Rastakhiz
Rastakhiz Party was founded on March 2, 1975 by Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the Shah of Iran. The party was intended as Iran's new single party, holding a monopoly on political activity in Iran, and to which all Iranians were required to belong...
).
Pezeshkpour remained active in the Majli, and spoke out against the separation of Bahrain
Bahrain
' , officially the Kingdom of Bahrain , is a small island state near the western shores of the Persian Gulf. It is ruled by the Al Khalifa royal family. The population in 2010 stood at 1,214,705, including 235,108 non-nationals. Formerly an emirate, Bahrain was declared a kingdom in 2002.Bahrain is...
from Iran, which Mellat Iran and many other Iranians also opposed. This opposition failed, and Bahrain separated, which resulted in the entire Persian
Persian people
The Persian people are part of the Iranian peoples who speak the modern Persian language and closely akin Iranian dialects and languages. The origin of the ethnic Iranian/Persian peoples are traced to the Ancient Iranian peoples, who were part of the ancient Indo-Iranians and themselves part of...
population of Bahrain, as well as a large number of Bahraini Iranian Arabs who wished to remain with Iran, being forced to leave. Most settled in the Khuzestan province, where the Pan-Iranist Party soon began to enjoy much popularity and support. Pezeshkpour established a residence in the city of Khorramshahr
Khorramshahr
Khorramshahr is a city in and the capital of Khorramshahr County, Khuzestan Province, Iran. At the 2006 census, its population was 123,866, in 26,385 families.Khorramshahr is a port city located approximately north of Abadan...
, which at the time was home to some of the most exclusive neighborhoods in Iran, and which also became his base of operations. In Khuzestan the party was for the first time able to become a dominant influence, whereas in the rest of Iran, the party continued to have very little effect.
With the onset of revolution
Iranian Revolution
The Iranian Revolution refers to events involving the overthrow of Iran's monarchy under Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi and its replacement with an Islamic republic under Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the leader of the...
in 1978, Pezeshkpour and other politicians who had been allied with the Shah fled the country into exile Mohammad Reza Ameli Tehrani
Mohammad Reza Ameli Tehrani
Dr.Mohammad Reza Ameli Tehrani was the former Information Minister of Iran during shah's regime and a co-founder of Pan-Iranist Party. He was sentenced to death by the Revolutionary Court, and subsequently executed in May 1979....
, a co-founder of the party, was sentenced to death by the Revolutionary Court, and subsequently executed in May 1979. Nationalist movements such as Mellat Iran and the National Front, which had been opposed to the Shah, remained in the country and played a crucial role in the revolutionary provisional government
Provisional government
A provisional government is an emergency or interim government set up when a political void has been created by the collapse of a very large government. The early provisional governments were created to prepare for the return of royal rule...
of Mehdi Bazargan
Mehdi Bazargan
Mehdi Bazargan was a prominent Iranian scholar, academic, long-time pro-democracy activist and head of Iran's interim government, making him Iran's first prime minister after the Iranian Revolution of 1979. He was the head of the first engineering department of Tehran University...
. After the Islamic Revolution of 1979 which eventually saw the rise to power of Khomeini to the position of Supreme Leader
Supreme leader
A supreme leader typically refers to a figure in the highest leadership position of an entity, group, organization, or state, who exercises strong or all-powerful authority over it. In religion, the supreme leader or supreme leaders is God or Gods...
after the collapse of the provisional government, all nationalist groups, as well as socialist and communist movements such as the Tudeh Party, were banned.
In the early 1990s, Pezeshkpour wrote a letter of apology to the new Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei
Ali Khamenei
Ayatollah Seyed Ali Hoseyni Khāmene’i is the Supreme Leader of Iran and the figurative head of the Muslim conservative establishment in Iran and Twelver Shi'a marja...
, stating that he wished to return to Iran and promised to stay out of politics for good. Khamenei accepted the apology and allowed Pezeshkpour to return, on the condition that he not resume his previous political activities. However, sometime afterwards Pezeshkpour became active in politics once again and reestablished the Pan-Iranist Party in Iran. He reformed the party structure and abandoned much of the old organizational ideology which Forouhar had opposed and which had originally led to the division. However, the Pan-Iranist Party and Mellat Iran did not reconcile and continued to function as separate organizations.
In the wake of the student demonstrations of 1999, many members of the Pan-Iranist Party were arrested and nine members of the party leadership, including Pezeshkpour himself, were summoned to the Islamic Revolutionary Court
Islamic Revolutionary Court
Islamic Revolutionary Court is a special court in the Islamic Republic of Iran designed to try those suspected of smuggling, blaspheming, inticing violence or trying to overthrow the Iranian government...
. The charges made against them included distribution of anti-government propaganda in the official party newspaper, National Sovereignty.
In the summer of 2004, an attempt by a motorist, allegedly an undercover operative of the Ministry of Intelligence, on the life of Mohsen Pezeshkpour failed in front of his residence in Tehran.
On August 27, 2009, Hossein Shahriari, a veteran member of the Supreme Council of Pan Iranist Party, was arrested and sentenced to 18 months imprisonment for “propaganda against the regime, and being a member of the Pan Iranist Party” by the Revolutionary Court in Karaj.
Organization
The differences between Forouhar and Pezeshkpour lay mostly in organizational structure and policy, though there were specific ideological differences as well. Forouhar strongly believed in democracyDemocracy
Democracy is generally defined as a form of government in which all adult citizens have an equal say in the decisions that affect their lives. Ideally, this includes equal participation in the proposal, development and passage of legislation into law...
and cooperation with other Iranian parties, including leftist-oriented groups, whereas Pezeshkpour believed in a more authoritarian approach and opposed alliances with non-nationalist organizations. However, alliances with other nationalist groups were rare or non-existent as most were officially banned (such as Mellat Iran). Under Pezeshkpour, the Pan-Iranist Party also took on a decidedly paramilitary
Paramilitary
A paramilitary is a force whose function and organization are similar to those of a professional military, but which is not considered part of a state's formal armed forces....
structure, with members being assigned military ranks and titles. All active members, both male and female, wore uniforms to party functions. Forouhar also strongly opposed this, though this paramilitary nature was largely symbolic, and party members did not actually carry weapons. Ordinary members were not required to wear uniforms. Beginning in the late 1960s, Pezeshkpour also had several personal bodyguards who were assigned to protect him at all times.
The symbol of the party was a crossed out equal sign (=), signifying inequality. This was in reference to foreign powers such as Britain and the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
, and symbolized the Pan-Iranist view that Iran must uphold its national sovereignty and interests above all else. The philosophical meaning attributed to this symbol according to the party's literature was that, in reality, there is no equality amongst nations, and that each nation must struggle to rise above all others, otherwise risking oblivion. This symbolism and philosophy also played a crucial role in the division between Forouhar and Pezeshkpour.
Pezeshkpour was often criticized by other nationalists for having not supported Mossadegh, and for his role in the Shah's government as Speaker of Majlis, as this position had no real power. Nationalist leaders viewed the failure of his opposition to the separation of Bahrain as evidence that his function was strictly symbolic.
When Pezeshkpour set about restoring the party after returning to Iran, he and other former party leaders renounced the former paramilitary structure of the organization as well as its authoritarianism, instead proclaiming their commitment to plurality and democracy, as well as a willingness to cooperate with other opposition groups. They continue to maintain the original party symbolism.