AN AUGURY OF REVOLUTION: THE IRANIAN STUDENT ...

to Silence the Students.” 267 The Economist reported that while Iran’s internal opposition had
been silenced, it was “a lot harder for the government to silence the buzzing of the wellorganised
[sic] and well-heeled student groups outside the country,” and that the trial was
“plainly being used to try to shut up other students.” 268
In the wake of the assassination attempt the shah became “anxious that steps be taken to
curb anti-regime activities by Iranian students, including those in the United States.” 269
American officials assured the shah that the U.S. government kept “dissident Iranian students
under close scrutiny” and were “mindful of a desirability of regulating their activities and dealing
properly with their visa status to the extent this can be done without adverse publicity.” 270
However, the protests in the United States and Europe did gain publicity. Iranian
students demanded an open trial in Iran and showed their solidarity with the alleged conspirators.
A 72-hour hunger strike was active in Italy from 24 October through 26 October by members of
the Federation of Iranian Students in Italy. 271
Sixteen Iranian students participated in a hunger
strike in Vienna that began on 26 October and ended on 28 October and took place in the offices
of the Austria Union of Socialist Secondary School Students. They were endorsed by Austrian
267 CIS, Was it a Plot to Kill the Shah or is it a Conspiracy to Silence the Students
268 “Slapping Students,” The Economist, 23 October 1965, seen in CIS, Documents on the Pahlavi Reign of Terror
in Iran, 74-5.
269 American Embassy in Tehran to Department of State, “Shah’s Concern Re Iranian Students in the U.S.,” 6 May
1965, General Records of the Department of State, Central Foreign Policy Files 1964-66, Box 397, IRAN FOLDER,
RG 59, NA.
270 Briefing Memorandum from John D. Jernegan to Governor Harriman, “Your Meeting with the Shah of Iran,
Tuesday, May 18, 1965,” 17 May 1965, General Records of the Department of State, Central Foreign Policy Files
1964-66, Box 2333, Folder POL 15-1 (5-1-65), RG 59, NA.
271 Airgram form American Embassy in Rome to the Department of State, “Iranian Student Demonstration and
Hunger Strike, 2 December 1965, General Records of the Department of State, Central Foreign Policy Files 1964-
66, Box 2333, Folder POL 15-1 IRAN (9/1/65), RG 59, NA.
66