AN AUGURY OF REVOLUTION: THE IRANIAN STUDENT ...

etaliatory response to the hostages in Iran. President Carter ordered all Iranian students in the
United States to report to the INS to have their visas checked. 540
Therefore, Washington’s inability to recognize the protests of Iranian students in the
1960s had drastic consequences for American foreign policy, the shah’s regime, and the situation
of Iranian students in the U.S by the 1970s. While the American policymakers dismissed the
calls for reform by Iranian students in the 1960s and early 1970s, the students clearly reflected
the growing unrest within Iran. Because they represented such a large segment of Iranian society
and were the only group that could actively speak their minds, their opinions were more valuable
and representative of the population than U.S. policymakers tended to believe. Also, the impact
that they could have on U.S. – Iranian relations, which was made apparent with the outbreak of
the Iranian Revolution, was greatly underestimated. Many Iranian students abroad were
determined to bring about political change in Iran, and were vocal in their opposition to the shah
from the United States and Western Europe. While Iranian students lived in democratic
societies, their expectations grew along with their radicalism. Three of Khomeini’s more liberal
associates during the revolutionary period were foreign educated. These included Abol Hassan
Bani-Sadr who was educated in Paris, Ibrahim Yazdi from Texas, and Sadeq Qotbzadeh who
attended Georgetown University and was a large part of the student movement in the United
States in the early 1960s. 541
In 1982 the ISAUS assessed the situation in the Islamic Republic of Iran, and concluded
that they were proud of the “Iranian people’s victory over US imperialism…” and they believed
540 “Requirements for Maintenance of Status for Non-Immigrant Students from Iran,” DNSA, Iran Revolution, 13
November 1979, Unclassified, Law, IR03481; “Appeals Court Upholds U.S. Ban on Iranian Protests Near White
House,” NYT, 20 November 1979, p. A13. An appeals court ultimately upheld President Carter’s order that all
Iranians in the United States report to the INS to have their visas checked as a result of the hostage taking at the
American embassy in Tehran. Refer to David E. Rosenbaum, “Court Backs Carter: Judges Say Government Has
Right to Make Immigration Checks,” NYT, 12 December 1979, p. A1.
541 Keddie, Iran and the Muslim World, 69; Ledeen and Lewis, Debacle, 29-30.
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