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Abbas Gharabaghi

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Timsar
Abbas Gharabaghi
Minister of Interior
In office
27 August 1978 – 4 January 1979
MonarchMohammad Reza Pahlavi
Prime MinisterJafar Sharif-Emami
Gholam-Reza Azhari
Preceded byAsadollah Nasr Esfahani
Succeeded byShapour Bakhtiar
Member of Regency Council
In office
13 January 1979 – 22 January 1979
Appointed byMohammad Reza Pahlavi
Personal details
Born
Abbas Karim Gharabaghi

(1918-02-09)9 February 1918
Tabriz, Sublime State of Persia
Died13 October 2000(2000-10-13) (aged 82)
Paris, France
NationalityIranian
Alma materOfficers' School
ProfessionMilitary officer
Military service
Allegiance Imperial State of Iran
Branch/serviceImperial Iranian Army
Years of service1938–1979
Rank General
Unit22nd Infantry Regiment (Mounted)
CommandsCommander-in-Chiefs of the Iranian Armed Forces
Battles/wars
The tomb of Gharabaghi in Père Lachaise Cemetery.

Arteshbod Abbas Karim Gharabaghi (Persian: عباس کریم قره باغی; 9 February 1918 – 13 October 2000)[1] was an Iranian general who was the last chief of staff of the Iranian Armed Forces as well as deputy commander-in-chief of the Iranian Imperial Army under the rule of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the last Shah of Iran. Gharabaghi was one of two senior military officials who were not detained and executed by the Islamic Revolutionary Council.[2]

Background and career

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Born in Tabriz, Gharabaghi was of Azerbaijani origin.[3][4] He served as the gendarmerie commander until 1979.[5] When the Iranian Revolution broke out in 1978, both Hassan Toufanian and Amir Hossein Rabii planned to carry out a coup to stabilize the turmoil in the country. However, the idea failed as it was not backed by other senior military officials, including Gharabaghi.[6]

Gharabaghi was appointed chief of staff of the Iranian Armed Forces on 7 January 1979. His job entailed defending the monarchy until the Shah left Iran and then supporting the new civilian government led by Shapour Bakhtiar. However, on 11 February 1979, after much strife on the streets of Tehran and elsewhere, Gharabaghi and with twenty-two other senior military leaders withdrew support of Bakhtiar, thus tacitly giving approval to the revolutionary Islamic Republic.[7][8]

Gharabaghi was then assigned as a prosecutor to the Islamic Revolutionary Court, which ordered the killing of many senior Iranian officials who served under the Shah.[3][9] However, as a result of tensions in Azerbaijan, in 1979 Gharabaghi's relations with Ayatollah Khomeini became tense and he fled from Tehran.[3] The revolutionary authorities sought him, but did not manage to arrest him.[3]

In December 1979, a report outlined the exiled Shah's belief that the covert meetings earlier in January of that year between U.S. General Robert E. Huyser and Khomeini representative Mehdi Bazargan were organized by Gharabaghi.[10] He further accused Gharabaghi of being a traitor.[11]

Works

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Gharabaghi published his account of the revolution in his books Haghayegh Darbareye Bohran-e Iran ("Facts About the Iran Crisis", 1983), and Che Shod Ke Chonan Shod? (translated as "Why did it happen?", 1999).[12] He argued that his decision to declare the army's "neutrality" was the main reason for the final triumph of the Islamic Revolution.

In his first book, Gharabaghi expresses his strong support for and loyalty to the Shah and paints a detailed picture of the chaos within the military ranks during the final days of the government, placing the blame on Prime Minister Bakhtiar for its collapse.[13] He justifies his decision to declare the army's "neutrality" as the only reasonable solution given the circumstances in order to prevent further bloodshed, calling Bakhtiar a traitor.

Death

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Gharabaghi died in Paris in 2000. He is buried in the Père Lachaise Cemetery (division 19),[14] in Paris.

References

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  1. ^ "Fichier des personnes décédées (Décès) - data.gouv.fr". www.data.gouv.fr (in French). Retrieved 19 August 2024.
  2. ^ John M. Smith (June 1980). Where was the Shah's Army? (PDF) (Master of Military Art and Science thesis). US Army Command and General Staff College. Archived (PDF) from the original on 4 August 2021.
  3. ^ a b c d Khosrow Fatemi (Winter 1982). "Leadership by Distrust: The Shah's Modus Operandi". Middle East Journal. 36 (1): 59. JSTOR 4326355.
  4. ^ Rubin, Barry (1981). Paved with Good Intentions (PDF). New York: Penguin Books. p. 239. Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 October 2013.
  5. ^ Mark J. Roberts (January 1996). "Khomenei's incorporation of the Iranian military" (McNair Paper 48). National Defense University. Archived (PDF) from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 31 July 2013.
  6. ^ Rebecca Cann; Constantine Danopoulos (Winter 1997). "The Military and Politics in a Theocratic State: Iran as Case Study". Armed Forces & Society. 24 (2): 274. doi:10.1177/0095327X9702400204. S2CID 145350433.
  7. ^ Bakhtiar Quits After Losing Army Backing The Guardian, 12 February 1979
  8. ^ Memory Lane: Looking Back At The Road To Revolution The Iranian, 11 February 2001
  9. ^ Sepehr Zabir (27 April 2012). The Iranian Military in Revolution and War (RLE Iran D). Taylor & Francis. p. 113. ISBN 978-1-136-81270-5.
  10. ^ Leonard Downie Jr. (8 December 1979). "Shah Says U.S. Worked Actively for His Ouster". The Washington Post. Retrieved 5 August 2021.
  11. ^ Tariq M. Mir (30 November 2017). "A Diplomat's Diary". Hilal. 54 (5).
  12. ^ Che Shod Ke Chonan Shod? [Why did it happen?]. ISBN 0967019915.
  13. ^ Abbas Gharabaghi (1983). Haghayegh Dar Bareye Bohran-e Iran (in Persian). Paris: Sāzmān-i Chāp va Intishārāt-i Suhayl.
  14. ^ Amis et Passionnés du Père Lachaise (APPL) (12 March 2016). "GHARABAGHI Abbas (1918-2000)". Cimetière du Père Lachaise – APPL. Retrieved 18 October 2024.
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