The Head of the Federation Who Wanted to Kidnap Shahram Pahlavinia, Son of Ashraf Pahlavi

Saeed Faghihi, the Deputy of the Physical Education Organization during Khatami's government, recently discussed the reason for the attention of anti-Shah guerrilla organizations in the 1970s towards judo in an interview with Khabar Online. He refers to the failed kidnapping operation of Shahram Pahlavinia, the nephew of Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi, by Mohammad Mehrayeen, one of these judo guerrillas, stating: "Shahram was an athlete himself and escaped from Mehrayeen," and since then, "the discussion of judo among politicians had begun, and they said anyone who wants to come and learn judo in the mountains and peaks should come." The plot to kidnap Shahram, the first son of Ashraf Pahlavi, by Mohammad Mehrayeen has been mentioned in various interviews. This report, however, examines the opposing narrative, overlooked aspects in the media of the Islamic Republic, along with other dimensions of Mohammad Mehrayeen's sports-political life. Who is Mohammad Mehrayeen? The first hall of the Olympic and Paralympic Academy of Iran is named after "the unknown champion, the late Haj Mohammad Mehrayeen"; someone who, upon his death in 2018, was referred to by the Supreme Leader in his condolence message as "one of the old fighters, loyal and serving elements of the revolution," and Mojtaba Khamenei, the second son of Ayatollah Khamenei, also attended his funeral. In 2016, two years before his death, a ceremony was held at the National Library to "honor the sportsman and the history of the revolution" titled "Mehrayeen Ceremony." He was the first president of the martial arts federation in the Islamic Republic and took over this position from Shahriar Shafiq, the second son of Ashraf Pahlavi, a naval commander, taekwondo practitioner, and the last president of this federation during the Pahlavi regime. Interestingly, Mehrayeen was involved in the plot to kidnap Shahram Pahlavinia in 1971, the older brother of Shahriar Shafiq; a military operation that, although unsuccessful, left one dead, one injured, and ultimately several executed. The surname Mehrayeen was chosen for him by Seyyed Mohammad Beheshti, a figure close to Ayatollah Khomeini during the Islamic Revolution and head of the judiciary in 1980 and 1981. Before the revolution, his surname was Davoodabadi, although he was also known by names such as Davoodi, Mamad Judo, and Mamad Motor. In 1969, he became associated with the Mojahedin Organization through Ali Akbar Nabavi Noori, a senior figure in the organization, and held martial arts classes for its members, and shortly after, at the invitation of Mohammad Hanifnejad, the then-leader of the organization, he officially became a member of the Mojahedin Organization. The kidnapping operation of Shahram Pahlavinia took place on September 23, 1971, but was kept secret until January 15, 1972, when Parviz Sabati announced the incident at a famous press conference filled with seized weapons. Mohammad Mehrayeen stated to the Motalefeh Party's website: "The operation was at the current Talaghani-Qarni intersection where his company was located. My task was to grab Shahram and throw him into the car to take him from the airport to Algeria." At that time, the kidnappers wanted to use the Shah's nephew as leverage to free Mojahedin and Motalefeh prisoners. Mehrayeen said: "As soon as he got off, I also got out of our car (a red Paykan rented by Ali Asghar Badizadegan). I crumpled him and threw him inside. He also exited from the other door, like in comedy films. I threw him back in, and he exited again." Seyyed Mohammad Seyedi Kashani, who passed away in Albania in 2018, commanded the operation with a machine gun and had just returned from a specialized course with Palestinians. According to Mehrayeen, "a cigarette seller who was a Savak agent threw himself between me and Shahram. Nabavi Noori, who was later killed, shot the man in the stomach, who yelled, 'Ah, I got hit.' I had grabbed Shahram's belt, but he fell face down and escaped." Mehrayeen's account matches what Shahram Pahlavinia himself said, except for the story of the person who was shot in the stomach. Of the two "car men on Fisherabad street," one was killed. The other was 25-year-old Kheirollah Ghorbani from Zanjan, whose photo and interview were published in the press. He was hospitalized for 12 days and was employed in Shahram Pahlavinia's office in appreciation of his bravery. Mehrayeen stated that "it got chaotic, and people welcomed us with pieces of brick. We jumped into the car and went to Pahlavi Street. We threw the weapons into the trunk of the second car driven by Hossein Aladpoush, who was waiting for us." Hanifnejad, Ahmad Rezaei, Rasoul Meshkinfam, and several others from the central core of the organization were arrested. After his arrest, Mehrayeen betrayed Alireza Zamordian. Hanifnejad denied Mehrayeen's connection to the organization at that time, and during the identification of the suspects, he impersonated Mehrayeen, and Shahram Pahlavinia mistakenly confirmed his identity. Mr. Pahlavinia welcomed reporters in Saadabad and said: "The car man hugged my legs to pull me out of the car. They shot me in the stomach, and I fell. I threw myself into the gutter." While discussing this terrorist act, the reporter from the Ettelaat newspaper refers to Pahlavinia's collection of miniatures and quotes him: "I regret that I have nothing but one painting from Mirza Reza Abbasi. It is a pity that the youth of Iran do not pay attention to their history and art."