For Mehrdad Khonsari, the personal impact of Iran’s 1979 revolution was not clear until a recent visit to Japan, where he was struck by a contrast in fortunes with his homeland.
The former diplomat grew up as a scion of the Shah’s inner circle. His father had served as first deputy foreign minister until the last weeks of the monarchy. The son was working in the country’s embassy in London when the Islamic Republic was declared. In the 40 years since he has not returned home.
His epiphany in Japan came when he thought of how the Shah’s government had pursued Japanese-style advancement.
Speaking to The National at a west London tennis club, Mr Khonsari recalled how the Shah's drive for social progress predated the enormous windfall from oil exports in the last decade of Reza Pahlavi's reign.
“The transformation of Iran from feudal backward country took place in 15 years. It was called a second Japan for a while and the Shah was consumed with that project but as a result he made mistakes in pursuing it,” Mr Khonsari said.
“The Shah cultivated a feeling in me, and many people like me, of a resurgent Iran, an Iran that would rise and become a modern power,” he added. “It was only much later that I recognised that the dream I had for my country, which had been instilled in me by the Shah, had turned to ashes and I would never see realised what I had wanted as young man.”
As a self-confessed Young Turk in the monarchy’s inner circle, Mr Khonsari often saw the Shah at first hand. While working as private secretary to the 1970s foreign minister, Ali Abbas Khalatbari, he was regularly in the monarch’s presence. As such he witnessed the flaws of a government centred around one driven man determined to impose his vision on a 2,500 year old culture.
“I am not unbiased, I have sympathy for the Shah,” he said. “From eight in the morning to eight in the evening, the Shah was behind his desk. But the Shah had become arrogant as he tried to put Iran on the map.
“Sadly it did not work because he was supposed to a constitutional monarch.”
The tumult of the revolution came as shock to Mr Khonsari, who was educated in Europe and the US, and had worked in Washington as well as Tehran before his appointment as press attache in London.
He recalls how he and his fellow diplomats were told the Islamic Republic had been established on a Sunday night, the eve of the working week.
In the light of the collapse of other regimes across the region, he pointed out the transition between governments was seamless.
He recalls the now virtually forgotten fact that the US and Britain were among the first foreign states to recognise the transitional government of Mehdi Bazargan, which ruled between February and November, 1979.
On Monday morning, Mr Khonsari turned up to work and sat at his desk wondering what the future would hold.
In fact he was soon involved in a piece of superpower diplomacy. As the embassy's designated liaison with American diplomats, Mr Khonsari received a phone call from the desk officer April Glaspie. She was later to find notoriety as the US ambassador to Iraq, when she was accused of greenlighting Saddam Hussein’s annexation of Kuwait.
Ms Glaspie expressed concern that a Soviet-aligned militia was establishing itself at military installations around Tehran and elsewhere. She asked if her interlocutor could make these fears known to the Soviet embassy.
The following day Mr Khonsari got a chance to do so. And on Friday he received a return phone call from the Soviet counsellor that Moscow would be recognising the transitional government.
The danger the revolution could bring the type of chaos recently seen in Syria and Libya was contained within a week, he concludes.
“While the American feared these surrogates of the Soviets could take advantage of the situation but between Monday and Friday the Soviets had recognised it couldn’t be done and recognised the new government,” he said.
As Mr Khonsari struggled with conflicted loyalties, he watched other members of the staff rush to embrace the new order. The Charge d'Affaires held a meeting to sign a pledge of support for the Islamic Republic and Mr Khonsari was one of four from the 46 diplomatic staff who refused to sign.
Within two months he had resigned after receiving the news that his former boss, Dr Khalatbari had been executed. “I had served in his office for more than two years and that was the straw that broke the camel’s back,” he said. “I couldn’t serve, he was an innocent victim to the hilt.”
With hindsight he notes that many of those who rushed to pledge loyalty also fell foul of the tightening grip that Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini and his henchmen exercised on the new government.
“The Khomeini regime did not fall for the sycophants, they punished them,” he said.
In fact, the suffering under the new authorities came as a shock in the aftermath of a relatively bloodless consummation of the revolution. Mr Khonsari recalls how he travelled to Paris in December 1978 to remonstrate with his father for going into exile, yet subsequent developments showed how prescient that decision had been.
“Nobody had imagined that anyone would get executed after the revolution,” he said.
“A couple of months later I was grateful he had left when my mother was arrested. My parents were divorced but they were after my father. It took two months for them to recognise this but the time in prison had life-changing consequences for her.”
After decades of political activism, Mr Khonsari advises that democracy cannot be "turned on with a button" in ancient cultures. Now dedicated to a cause of reconciliation and transition, he laments how an increasingly hardcore faction monopolises control in Iran.
“Look at it in context of 40 years, no political actor in Iran in the ruling establishment – or among the opposition – is where they were in 1979,” he said. “Then the constituency that brought Khomeini to power was unified. Out of it came the organisations like the IRGC, the revolutionary foundations, all the paramilitaries and surrogates outside Iran.
“They were unified and behind the revolution but a hell of a lot has happened since.”
Under the iron grip of the second supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, the regime has shrank to factions of loyalists with vested interests in maintaining a status quo. He points to leading figures who clearly support a different outlook but are stymied by the hardliners, including the now deceased former president Hashemi Rafsanjani and the current foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif.
“I now think that 90 per cent of the people running the country now think like me and that the 100 per cent commanded by Khomeini has shrunk to 10 per cent,” he said.
Whether a transition can come in time for Mr Khonsari remains unknowable but the sacrifices of 40 years can’t be erased.
“When the revolution happened we were all young, we didn’t think about death or things like that,” he said. “It was only when my mother was terminally ill much later in 2003 and I knew I couldn’t go when the emotional impact set in,” he said.
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre V8 twin-turbocharged and three electric motors
Power: Combined output 920hp
Torque: 730Nm at 4,000-7,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch automatic
Fuel consumption: 11.2L/100km
On sale: Now, deliveries expected later in 2025
Price: expected to start at Dh1,432,000
Tips to stay safe during hot weather
- Stay hydrated: Drink plenty of fluids, especially water. Avoid alcohol and caffeine, which can increase dehydration.
- Seek cool environments: Use air conditioning, fans, or visit community spaces with climate control.
- Limit outdoor activities: Avoid strenuous activity during peak heat. If outside, seek shade and wear a wide-brimmed hat.
- Dress appropriately: Wear lightweight, loose and light-coloured clothing to facilitate heat loss.
- Check on vulnerable people: Regularly check in on elderly neighbours, young children and those with health conditions.
- Home adaptations: Use blinds or curtains to block sunlight, avoid using ovens or stoves, and ventilate living spaces during cooler hours.
- Recognise heat illness: Learn the signs of heat exhaustion and heat stroke (dizziness, confusion, rapid pulse, nausea), and seek medical attention if symptoms occur.
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Mica
Director: Ismael Ferroukhi
Stars: Zakaria Inan, Sabrina Ouazani
3 stars
Day 3, Abu Dhabi Test: At a glance
Moment of the day Just three balls remained in an exhausting day for Sri Lanka’s bowlers when they were afforded some belated cheer. Nuwan Pradeep, unrewarded in 15 overs to that point, let slip a seemingly innocuous delivery down the legside. Babar Azam feathered it behind, and Niroshan Dickwella dived to make a fine catch.
Stat of the day - 2.56 Shan Masood and Sami Aslam are the 16th opening partnership Pakistan have had in Tests in the past five years. That turnover at the top of the order – a new pair every 2.56 Test matches on average – is by far the fastest rate among the leading Test sides. Masood and Aslam put on 114 in their first alliance in Abu Dhabi.
The verdict Even by the normal standards of Test cricket in the UAE, this has been slow going. Pakistan’s run-rate of 2.38 per over is the lowest they have managed in a Test match in this country. With just 14 wickets having fallen in three days so far, it is difficult to see 26 dropping to bring about a result over the next two.
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NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
Israel Palestine on Swedish TV 1958-1989
Director: Goran Hugo Olsson
Rating: 5/5
SPEC%20SHEET%3A%20APPLE%20IPHONE%2014%20PRO%20MAX
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Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
'Unrivaled: Why America Will Remain the World’s Sole Superpower'
Michael Beckley, Cornell Press
Specs
Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
On sale: Available for pre-order now
Price: On request
Retirement funds heavily invested in equities at a risky time
Pension funds in growing economies in Asia, Latin America and the Middle East have a sharply higher percentage of assets parked in stocks, just at a time when trade tensions threaten to derail markets.
Retirement money managers in 14 geographies now allocate 40 per cent of their assets to equities, an 8 percentage-point climb over the past five years, according to a Mercer survey released last week that canvassed government, corporate and mandatory pension funds with almost $5 trillion in assets under management. That compares with about 25 per cent for pension funds in Europe.
The escalating trade spat between the US and China has heightened fears that stocks are ripe for a downturn. With tensions mounting and outcomes driven more by politics than economics, the S&P 500 Index will be on course for a “full-scale bear market” without Federal Reserve interest-rate cuts, Citigroup’s global macro strategy team said earlier this week.
The increased allocation to equities by growth-market pension funds has come at the expense of fixed-income investments, which declined 11 percentage points over the five years, according to the survey.
Hong Kong funds have the highest exposure to equities at 66 per cent, although that’s been relatively stable over the period. Japan’s equity allocation jumped 13 percentage points while South Korea’s increased 8 percentage points.
The money managers are also directing a higher portion of their funds to assets outside of their home countries. On average, foreign stocks now account for 49 per cent of respondents’ equity investments, 4 percentage points higher than five years ago, while foreign fixed-income exposure climbed 7 percentage points to 23 per cent. Funds in Japan, South Korea, Malaysia and Taiwan are among those seeking greater diversification in stocks and fixed income.
• Bloomberg
More coverage from the Future Forum
Honeymoonish
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88 Video's most popular rentals
Avengers 3: Infinity War: an American superhero film released in 2018 and based on the Marvel Comics story.
Sholay: a 1975 Indian action-adventure film. It follows the adventures of two criminals hired by police to catch a vagabond. The film was panned on release but is now considered a classic.
Lucifer: is a 2019 Malayalam-language action film. It dives into the gritty world of Kerala’s politics and has become one of the highest-grossing Malayalam films of all time.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
What can victims do?
Always use only regulated platforms
Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion
Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)
Report to local authorities
Warn others to prevent further harm
Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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Specs
Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
Range: Up to 610km
Power: 905hp
Torque: 985Nm
Price: From Dh439,000
Available: Now
Lexus LX700h specs
Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor
Power: 464hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 790Nm from 2,000-3,600rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 11.7L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh590,000
How Filipinos in the UAE invest
A recent survey of 10,000 Filipino expatriates in the UAE found that 82 per cent have plans to invest, primarily in property. This is significantly higher than the 2014 poll showing only two out of 10 Filipinos planned to invest.
Fifty-five percent said they plan to invest in property, according to the poll conducted by the New Perspective Media Group, organiser of the Philippine Property and Investment Exhibition. Acquiring a franchised business or starting up a small business was preferred by 25 per cent and 15 per cent said they will invest in mutual funds. The rest said they are keen to invest in insurance (3 per cent) and gold (2 per cent).
Of the 5,500 respondents who preferred property as their primary investment, 54 per cent said they plan to make the purchase within the next year. Manila was the top location, preferred by 53 per cent.
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