AN AUGURY OF REVOLUTION: THE IRANIAN STUDENT ...

the slightest opposition, both inside and outside Iran.” The CISNU also gained much support
from American and European intellectuals such as Jean-Paul Sartre. 473
The radicalization of Iranian students was partly driven by the shah’s lavish lifestyle and
oppression of political opposition amidst poor living conditions in Iran. The shah held an
extravagant ceremony on 15 October 1971 at the ruins of Persepolis to celebrate the 2,500 th
anniversary of the Persian empire. In order to glorify his own rule, neglect the Islamic history of
Iran, and further secularize the nation, the celebration declared the Pahlavi regime the inheritor
of the 2,500 year old Persian empire that dated back the reign of Cyrus the Great. The shah
planned to build a 160 acre city over the ancient ruins of Persepolis to celebrate the emergence of
Iran onto the world stage as a major political, economic, and military force. 474
The CIS had over
1,000 members at the University of California at Berkeley, and about 250 of them demonstrated
outside the Iranian Consulate in San Francisco on the same day as the ceremony. 475 During the
demonstration the consulate was bombed with a plastic explosive equivalent to 120 sticks of
dynamite. Although nobody was injured, the blast caused $500,000-$900,000 worth of damage
to the consulate, and it was strong enough to “bend trees.” 476 There was a controversy over who
was responsible for the bombing. While Kent Stephen Wells, a non-Iranian suspect was
apprehended, his guilt was questioned, and he was ultimately released. Many speculated that a
group of Iranian students planned the bombing in order to draw negative publicity to Iran the
473 Iranian Students Association of Northern California, The Regime of the Shah Steps Up Political Repression in
Iran as it Prepares for the Celebration of the 2500 Year of the Iranian Monarchy (Berkeley, California: Iranian
Students Association of Northern California, 1 October 1971), 1. Hereafter referred to as ISANC.
474 Ledeen and Lewis, Debacle, 21-2. Many world leaders attended the event including Vice President Spiro
Agnew.
475 “Iranian Consulate on Coast Blasted,” NYT, 16 October 1971, p. 4. One of the most active branches of the
ISAUS was its Northern California chapter.
476 “Iranian Consulate on Coast Blasted,” NYT, 16 October 1971, p. 4; Telegram from Secretary of State Rodgers to
American Embassy in Tehran, “Bombing of Iranian ConGen in San Francisco,” 15 October 1971, General Records
of the Department of State, Central Foreign Policy Files 1970-1973, Box 2381, Folder POL 17 IRAN-US (1/17/70),
RG 59, NA; ISAUS, U.S. Government-backed Dictatorial Regime of Iran Steps up Repression.
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