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So desperate was the populace that Muslim Leader Ayatullah Sharietmadari, a foe of the Shah, joined in the government's appeals to the striking workers to restore at least enough of the oil flow to supply Iran's 700,000 bbl. daily domestic needs. But the oilmen spurned that request at the urging of Mullah Ayatullah Khomeini, the leading symbol of resistance to the Shah. From his exile in Paris, the 78-year-old Shi'ite leader sent a blessing to all those participating in the general strike and "above all, those in the petroleum industry." Khomeini charged that the government had exaggerated the oil crisis to incite a public backlash against him for calling the walkout. Indeed, it was argued that if the populace were sufficiently deprived of daily needs, the Shah might reap some benefits.
The confusion in Tehran spawned a torrent of wild rumors: that Iranian air-force bombers had wiped out a village near the Afghanistan border; that Premier Gholam Reza Azhari, head of the military regime, had died of a heart attack; that a jet was standing by at Tehran's airport to whisk the Shah to safety. So intense was the gossip and speculation that when Bakhtiar was misquoted by the Iranian news agency as saying that the Shah had agreed to resign from the throne, the unconfirmed—and false—report was flashed around the world. At least a few members of the Shah's family did leave the country late last week. An Iranian air force 747 arrived at Los Angeles carrying 18 people: among them Tajomolouk Pahlavi, the Shah's ailing nonagenarian mother, several unidentified relatives and two dogs.
The Shah, it is believed, has never seriously considered leaving the country. Despite the demonstrations and street violence, he believes he still has reserves of political good will to draw upon. Although some soldiers have been reluctant to fire on the protesters, the army, for the most part, remains steadfast, and more than a match for the generally unarmed demonstrators. More important, a significant share of the Iranian population want the tumult to end, so that it can return to a normal way of life. Reported TIME Correspondent Roland Flamini from Tehran last week: "Many Iranians, especially in the large and silent middle class, want stability, and fear the turmoil that will doubtless follow the overthrow of the Shah. But they are equally adamant in their desire for political reforms and a diminution in the Shah's autocratic power. As one educated Iranian said: 'The large segment of the population is anxious to end the chaos. But they want to change conditions.' "
The Shah has been trying to exploit that lingering yearning for stability, so far without much success. Two weeks ago, he asked Gholam Hussein Sadighi, a 73-year-old former Interior Minister who has been jailed five times for his opposition to the regime, to recruit a new Cabinet of leaders untainted by prior connections with the Pahlavi dynasty. But that effort collapsed after Sadighi succumbed to threats of reprisals from the Shah's most relentless opponents. Bakhtiar, a Sorbonne-educated lawyer, is a much tougher man, who seems capable of striking a harder bargain with the Shah. Diplomatic observers in Tehran expect Bakhtiar to convince the monarch that only if he adopts a "low profile" while a new constitutional government takes power can order be restored to the nation.