305. Message From the Swiss Ambassador to Iran (Lang) to the Department of State1
I believe that I have lived through another unforgettable day . . . . After the Imam’s thundering tirade,2 the holy cohorts of low-level officials—all hardliners—at the ministries have gotten going. They are taking it upon themselves to bring their own small-minded theories into the offices, with total disregard for rank—the minister is entitled to no more respect than the secretary—and they are launching an assault on drawers, desks, and other furniture, emptying them of their contents, taking them into the corridors . . . there they begin sorting what is satanic from what is not satanic. Ostermann’s catalogue is [Page 833] satanic, the writing paper with the imperial emblem is satanic, even the brochure of North Korean propaganda showing female gymnasts in sport outfits is satanic . . . .
I remarked to the Chief of Protocol that he still had the Iranian flag with the lion and sun in his office . . . he replied, “Thank you for pointing it out to me, but anyway who knows whether I will still be here tomorrow.”
That’s nothing. Although it is difficult to understand how can it still be possible, drastic purges are beginning again. The criteria applied, it seems, to the National Iranian Oil Company, include the fact of having studied in the West, here the look of the client, there the opinion of a hard-line committee which considers that you do not pray fervently enough . . . Sic patria salvanda est . . . [Thus the country is being saved . . . .]
- Source: Carter Library, National Security Affairs, Brzezinski Material, Country File, Box 33, Iran Update 7/80. No classification marking. Brackets are in the original. The document was found attached to a July 3 briefing memorandum from Saunders to Muskie, Christopher, and Newsom entitled “Iran Update—July 4.” Also found attached was the July 1 message from Lang to the Department of State; see Document 306.↩
- According to an article in the Los Angeles Times, on June 27 Khomeini had delivered a “sharp attack on the troubled Iranian government,” threatening to “order a new political upheaval” if Bani-Sadr did not solve the country’s problems. In particular, Khomeini decried “reports that insignia of the old regime were still in evidence in government offices” and “denounced governmental ministries as ‘ineffective,’ ‘imperial,’ and ‘satanical.’” He gave the government 10 days to remove the offending insignia in favor of the symbol of the Islamic republic. (“Khomeini Raps ‘Ineffective’ Bani-Sadr Regime for Laggard Action on Problems,” Los Angeles Times, June 27, 1980, p. A2)↩