Abbas Amir-Antazem, a Victim of the Revolution's Reversal

Engineer Abbas Amir-Antazem, a prominent figure in the national-Mossadegh movement of Iran, passed away at the age of 86. In many ways, he is considered a unique figure in post-revolutionary Iran's history. He held a special place among the victims of government repression after the revolution, spending nearly 24 years behind cold, grim prison bars. Even after his release from prison, he was not completely free, spending 15 years on leave. In fact, his life sentence was never annulled, and the judiciary held it like a sword over his head. Thus, he is a person whose civil and human rights have been trampled upon at the highest level, almost equivalent to the lifespan of the Islamic Republic. He was a firsthand witness to the crimes committed in the 1980s in political prisons. Another feature that distinguishes Amir-Antazem is his involvement in the process that led to the reversal of the 1979 revolution and the reconstruction of authoritarian relations in a more terrifying form of religious despotism. Although the dominant discourse among the main revolutionary forces was not compatible with democracy, one cannot deny the anti-despotism orientation and emphasis on the demand for freedom during the 1979 revolution. This characteristic was so significant that Ayatollah Khomeini, in rejecting Engineer Mehdi Bazargan's proposal to put the 'Islamic Democratic Republic' to a vote, claimed that 'Islam is all democracy; Islam is the essence of democracy.' Khomeini did not say that Islam is incompatible with democracy or mention 'religious democracy' on the eve of the Islamic Republic referendum. Abbas Amir-Antazem belonged to a group of revolutionary forces concerned with establishing democracy in post-revolutionary Iran. Like Engineer Bazargan, he viewed the Islamic Revolution as an opportunity to realize the ideals of constitutionalism, aiming for a national sovereignty to be established and the absolute power structure to be sustainably ended. Therefore, after the draft constitution approved by the Revolutionary Council was set aside in the Assembly of Experts, he courageously entered the field and proposed the dissolution of the Assembly of Experts in the provisional government, convincing most ministers and Engineer Bazargan that the fate of the revolution and its ideals was tied to the closure of the Assembly of Experts. He foresaw the destructive consequences of the establishment of the institution of Velayat-e Faqih and the rise of Islamic fundamentalism. The sense of danger among the leaders of the Islamic Republic Party, especially Ayatollah Khomeini, created such anger and hostility against Engineer Amir-Antazem in the dominant power sector that Bazargan urgently advised him to leave Iran to escape the heavy toll of his goodwill for society and future generations. From that day, Amir-Antazem became a target for revenge and case fabrication for correctly warning about the dangers of the core of the new power structure. It is not incorrect to say that Amir-Antazem was among the first voices to warn about the irreparable rift between Velayat and Republic and the dark fate of this duality. He fundamentally opposed granting special privileges to the clergy and involving religion in government, showing no hesitation in demonstrating his disregard for the Sharia obligations of the clerics in his appearance and behavior. He was not anti-religious but opposed religious governance, which also influenced the intensification of tensions between the Imam Line forces and him. Amir-Antazem had a serious and unwavering belief in Iran's independence, seeking this independence within a rational framework and good relations with the world. In his view, independence did not mean hostility towards the West and enemy-oriented, isolationist approaches. He had grown up in a context sensitive to the expansion of Soviet influence and the Eastern bloc in Iran while opposing dependency on the United States. However, based on his political and professional experiences, he had realized that Iran's growth and development required good relations with the West within the framework of mutual interests and de-escalation with the Soviet Union. He also possessed high diplomatic skills and had a good understanding of the global relations of the time. Unfortunately, this perspective was marginalized among the revolutionary forces of the time. To understand the catastrophe that occurred in the country's diplomacy after the establishment of the Islamic Republic in its current form, it is enough to note that in 1979 diplomats like Amir-Antazem existed, and now, after decades of trial and error, the most prominent manager of the Foreign Ministry, Mohammad Javad Zarif, is a diplomat elevated in rent-seeking relations! Amir-Antazem became a common victim of various ideological anti-Western views. The regime ruthlessly targeted him to solidify the model of anti-Americanism and ideological traditionalism. Students following the Imam Line and the occupiers of the U.S. embassy arrested him based on documents that had no connection to the espionage charges and subsequently accused him of spying for the U.S. government and anti-revolutionary actions. Ayatollah Mohammad Mohammadi Gilani sentenced him to death in a trial devoid of fair judicial standards, which was reduced to life imprisonment through Engineer Bazargan's efforts. However, Amir-Antazem was not the only target of the so-called Imam Line forces. Some leftist opposition forces, who had an ideological outlook, also called for harsh action and violent confrontation with those they considered liberal. Some of these groups defended Amir-Antazem's arrest without knowledge of the contents of his case and had already raised the gallows. If they had the opportunity, they would not have stopped at him but would likely have targeted the entire provisional government and the Revolutionary Council as facilitators of imperialism. It is not incorrect to say that, apart from Engineer Bazargan and a few individuals, the political activists and groups of the early revolution owe a debt to Amir-Antazem and are at least morally obligated to apologize for their support or silence regarding the case fabrication against him. Even the Freedom Movement did not support him, and their disregard for political and moral responsibility continued even years after his imprisonment. Engineer Bazargan's supportive activities were backed by his personal character. Another feature of Amir-Antazem that reflects the shifting of revolutionary concepts and symbols was his lifestyle, clothing, and social interactions. Comparing the large marches before the revolution with what gradually occupied the public sphere of Iran after the revolution clearly shows the transformation of the public face of society in light of the imposed lifestyle and dress code desired by the Velayat-e Faqih institution. Of course, most officials of the provisional government accompanied this characteristic. Amir-Antazem was a Mossadeghist and was nurtured in the National Front's school of thought. This school fundamentally conflicted with the identity known as the Imam Line and Shiite Islamic fundamentalism. The governance model envisioned by Amir-Antazem was in conflict with the model of commitment to expertise proposed by Ayatollah Seyyed Mohammad Beheshti, emphasizing meritocracy and governance based on national interests and the wisdom of the times. From this angle, the duality in the face before and after the revolution is somewhat observable. His high moral character was another superior feature, adorned with the virtue of courage, politeness, and dignity. Amir-Antazem demonstrated that prison and jailers failed to break him by visiting his judge who had unjustly sentenced him to death and announcing forgiveness. He stood firm on his rightful positions and insisted on the necessity of discovering the truth and not forgetting the crimes, even spending nearly six years in prison for not remaining silent against government propaganda regarding the cruelty of Assadollah Lajevardi, the head of the Revolutionary Prosecutor's Office and Evin Prison in the first half of the 1980s, away from leave. However, he categorically and Gandhi-like rejected revenge and hostility, ensuring that his name would be associated with forgiveness from a position of power and linking the discovery of truth with moderation and the rejection of 'relations based on violence and blood vengeance.' Therefore, Amir-Antazem and the great injustice that befell him, causing him immense hardships, are an important and unforgettable part of Iran's four-decade post-revolution history. The costly life imposed on him is a vivid mirror reflecting how the reversal of the Iranian revolution was directed towards a regressive path. The views expressed in this note do not necessarily reflect Radio Farda's perspective.