Iran: Revolution Devouring Its Own

Khomeini's onetime protégé Ghotbzadeh is executed

It is perhaps the most enduring ritual in revolutionary Iran: the late-night summons, the slow walk along bleak prison corridors, and finally the waiting firing squad. Last week the executioners' guns took aim, on the specific orders of the Ayatullah Ruhollah Khomeini, at one of the founding figures of the Islamic revolution that swept away Shah Reza Pahlavi in February 1979: Sadegh Ghotbzadeh, 46, the man who sprang to international prominence as Iran's Foreign Minister during the U.S. hostage crisis. Ghotbzadeh was shot after a 26-day...

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