Sacked general is reinstated by Khomeini

          
          5/27/2011
          Article - Untitled Article
          Publication: Guardian 1821-2000; Date: Jul 11, 1979; Section: None; Page: 7
          Sacked general
          is reinstated
          by Khomeini
          Prom Liz Thurgood
          in Tehran
          The case of lran s dismissed
          gnne rat who rettrs t to leave
          his post last night threatened
          to develop into yet another cri-
          tical test in the Government's
          bid to wrest a'tthority from the
          powerful Ayatollahs.
          The personal bureau of Aya-
          tollah Khomeini , Iran's de In-
          tar Head of Stateryrsterday
          confirmed that the centrover-
          sial general Azziaollah Amir
          Rahimi had been told to re-
          main at his post as head of the
          country's Military Police, there-
          by overruhng an eThcial notifi-
          vatlon of dismissal from
          General Taojpl Blahi, the Mi i i-
          Later of Detente.
          The incident follov.'ed outs-
          poken remarks at a prest curt-
          feren'ce on Monday in which
          General tiaMmi claimed to
          tare uncovered a plot by
          senior officers aimed at ousting
          bin and weakening the Ayatol
          lab Khomeini's leadership. The
          general. ‘who went to work as
          usual at his office yesterday
          morning, had earlier said that
          all 7.000 sold!ers at the re-
          named .Jamshidlch Garrison
          were behind him.
          Underlining the Sense of
          Clisis was an attack yesterday
          en a young member of the
          elite Slab Jameghan (black-
          clad) guard which s currently
          acting as the general's body-
          zuard. The guard. Abmad
          Nuuri, was shot twice in the
          stomach not far from the garri-
          son and rushed to hospital
          where his condition was later
          renorted to be satisfactory.
          His three assailants escaped by
          car.
          General Rahimi said vester-
          üy that he had received some
          10 anonymous calls threatening
          his l Ife. “I don't know who
          These people are, but they have
          Threatened to come back and
          kill all of us. but we are well
          prepared.”
          The barracks and his home,
          where he intended to return
          ]ast night, were t&.ng heavily
          guarded by members of the
          Fedayeen Khomeini, pledged to
          protect the life of the uroffi-
          ‘1al Head of State. and armed
          with UZL hand machine car-
          bines and automatic rifles,
          between The Government and
          ihe religious leadership follows
          high- level talks in the religious
          centre of Qoni ten days ago be-
          tween the Prime Minister, Dr
          Mehdi Bazargan, Ayatollah
          Khomeini. Immediately alter
          the meeting there was specula-
          tion among Iranians that the
          Prime Minister itisd agreed not
          to submit his resignation in re-
          tuna for more freedom in run-
          ning the country.
          As an unelected Provisional
          Government. Dr Baiargan's
          Cabinet is subjict to the wilt
          of the secret Revolutionary
          Council in Qom. believed to he
          made up of leading clergymen
          Meanwhile, confusing reports
          from Iran's troubled Western
          border”wlth Iraq speak Of
          several thousand Kurds encir-
          cling a tribal area-rrrd—holding
          a local chieftain as hostage.
          According to the State radio,
          “between six th ousand and ten
          thousand armed members of
          the Kun]isb Democratic Party
          have . uiinded the Zarra
          region In West Ayarbaijan and
          are threatening a massacre.”
          Reports from the area din-
          ing The past week have warned
          that “counter revolutionarac ”
          led by General Palirban, the
          Shalt's former chief of Army
          counter intelligence, were stir-
          ring up trouble.
          Reuter adds? Ger ra1
          Raltinti, who served several
          gaol sentences under the
          Shah's regime, is a tough dis-
          ciplinarian who believes in re-
          establishing law and order in
          post-revolutionary Iran by assi-
          milating the couzltrfl anned
          militias into the armed forces.
          Informed sourees said that he
          was also at odds with other
          members of the mititan' hier-
          archy over the question of
          employing foreign advisers to
          retrain and re-equip Iran's Isla-
          mic armed forces. ——
          He was Poled by the Shah
          for criticising the supply of
          used United States Army uni-
          forms to the Iranian forces
          and for protesti ., 5 c 5 an st the
          Shah's acceptance of an honor-
          ary British generalship.
          His nationalist standpoint
          has more recently led him to
          make outspoken ennaments in
          favour ol preserving Ti-an's ter-
          ritorial integrity in th tpe of
          autonoinig movements in the
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          5/27/2011
          Article - Untitled Article
          The nut!(ary crisis has
          vassed unnoticed by most
          Iranians. Yesterday Was a holi '
          day, and there were no news-
          papers. The on ly word oa The
          crisis was a one•sentencc
          announcement by the official
          State radio on Monday that
          General Rahimi had been dis .
          missed.
          The latest clash of interests
          provinces.
          Genera! Rai Lmi's special re
          lationship with Ayato'lah Rho-
          nielni is underslood to be
          LbaSed on The general's close
          association with g r a i i p s.
          opnosed to the Shah, that
          helned create the Bevolution.
          Homes of the rich 1 page 15
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