Truth behind the fall of a dynasty
The claim that the Shah of Iran’s ‘£1billion party’ ‘lit the fuse of Islamic terror 45 years ago’ (Mail) is a blend of fact and fiction. As an Iranian living in Shiraz at the time, and who researched the story of the 1971 Persepolis Celebrations, the astronomical cost suggested is pure fantasy. According to Abdolreza Ansari, a key member of the organising committee, whom I interviewed extensively, the final cost wasn’t the headlined £1 billion. The true expenditure was estimated at $22 million, with $10 million coming from a fund invested a decade earlier by the Imperial Court, not the government. The remainder came via donations from key Iranian industrialists. The allocated funds covered the design and erection of the enormous tent city; the catering, including a twonight banquet; the gathering at King Cyrus’s tomb and the parade of Persian dynasties at Persepolis; the fireworks display; the transport and security considerations; the paving of the 30-mile Shiraz to Persepolis road; the building of two hotels and the upgrade of the Shiraz Airport; handicraft gifts to the VIP guests; the hosting of a one-week Iran symposium at Pahlavi University; and inaugurating the Shahyad Tower by Mohammed Reza Shah in Tehran. The remaining $1.6 million went towards building a mosque in Qom and a special film of the celebrations. Besides the respect shown to Iran by the presence of so many world leaders and dignitaries, the event had other positive results: Shiraz underwent a facelift and, as part of the celebrations, 3,200 schools were newly opened — for 110,000 pupils. The live broadcast of the prestigious three-day event was watched by millions of Iranians. Afterwards, the country had a tourist boom with Shiraz and Persepolis playing host to the annual international arts festival. Within three years, Iran’s oil revenues jumped from $2.5 billion to $20 billion, and by 1976 living standards had risen dramatically. The idea that the party lit the fuse of the 1979 Khomeini-led Islamic revolution is absurd. Many other factors led to the downfall of the Pahlavi dynasty and 25 centuries of monarchy.
CYRUS KADIVAR, London SWI.