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Shah did not come from God," he argued, "but from the people, and the people have taken it back." He warned that the military faced "the revenge of God" if it did not abandon Bakhtiar's government.
The Prime Minister's only support was from the military—and even that proved to be illusory. In Isfahan and other Iranian cities, Khomeini supporters occupied municipal offices. Bazargan, however, made no move to seize any ministries in Tehran—not that there was much to seize. The majority of government employees had declared their rejection of Bakhtiar's regime, and even some staff members in his own office went on strike.
Deputies in the Majlis (lower house of parliament) continued to submit their resignations. One description of Bakhtiar's government: "Little more than a telephone." On Sunday crowds sacked and burned his office.
The maneuvering between the rival Prime Ministers, commented one Western observer last week, was "a risky game of chicken." Bazargan and Khomeini, who set up headquarters at a girls' school in Tehran, obviously hoped to isolate Bakhtiar and force his resignation. Until the army announced its neutrality, Bakhtiar had insisted that any transfer of power be done in accordance with the 1906 constitution, which had become something of a symbol of order to the military. The collapse of the Prime Minister's government, however, made that issue academic.
Aware that the U.S. role in supporting the Shah remains a sensitive issue to Khomeini's supporters, the Administration last week was adopting a more conciliatory posture. President Carter abruptly recalled General Robert Huyser from Tehran. Huyser, the deputy commander of U.S. forces in Europe, had been sent to Iran a month ago to dissuade the country's military leaders from attempting a coup. Antigovernment forces accused Huyser of plotting to push the army into power and place the Shah back on the Peacock Throne.
Carter called two special sessions with top foreign policy advisers and insisted that they curtail any substantive comment on Iran policy. One official who did speak out was Andy Young, the ambassador to the United Nations; he predicted that "Khomeini will be somewhat of a saint when we get over the panic." Said Presidential Aide Jody Powell when asked about the remark: "The U.S. Government is not in the canonization business."
Reported TIME Correspondent William Drozdiak from Washington: "The Carter crackdown reflected a fear that any policy dissonance would further prejudice U.S. interests in Iran and the Persian Gulf region at large. Despite Carter's open endorsement of the Bakhtiar regime last month, U.S. officials were quietly pleased by Khomeini's choice of Bazargan as transitional Prime Minister. He is viewed by Washington as a patient, conciliatory figure who can get the oilfields pumping again and possibly harness the disparate opposition forces as well as the nervous pro-Shah elements within the military leadership. State Department specialists who have contacted Bazargan find him amenable to the notion of friendly relations with the U.S."