317. Information Report Prepared in the Central Intelligence Agency1
SUBJECT
- Relations between the Shah and Prime Minister Zahedi
SOURCE
- [1 line not declassified]
1. On 3 September 1953 the Shah stated that he “is a new man” since his return to Iran. “Before 19 August 1953, I was the son of Reza Shah. Now I am the Shah in my own right.”
2. The Shah stated also that he will not make the mistakes he made with Ali Razmara and Mohammed Mossadeq. During their premierships, he kept “hands off” and let them run the country; he will now take a direct interest.
3. The Shah has told Brigadier General Hassan Akhavi, Deputy Chief of Staff, to send all Army papers to him. The Shah added that Prime Minister Zahedi could receive information copies but that all action on Army matters would proceed from himself.
4. The first disagreement between the Shah and Zahedi occurred concerning Major General Ahmad Vosuq, Deputy Minister of National Defense. Vosuq is a “Shah man” and Zahedi is resisting Vosuq’s appointment as Minister of National Defense and states that he does not trust Vosuq. The Shah has announced that Zahedi must refrain from interfering in Army affairs.
5. The Shah has included Ardeshir Zahedi, the son of the Prime Minister, within his private circle of friends. The Shah plays volleyball with Ardeshir, and once, when the latter was two hours late for an appointment with the Shah about which Ardeshir had not been notified, the Shah solicitously sent his own limousine in search of him and called the Police and the Military Governor. The Shah is worried about the danger of attempts on the lives of both Prime Minister Zahedi and his son Ardeshir.
6. The Shah has ordered Prime Minister Zahedi to wear a bullet-proof vest of American origin on all state occasions, saying, “This is an order that you must obey.”
- Source: Central Intelligence Agency, DDI Files, Job 80–00810A, Box 23, Folder 95, CS Information Reports 20040–20049. Secret; Control—U.S. Officials Only.↩