What Happened on the 8th of September at Bazargan House?

Compiled by: Islamic Revolutionary Website
Translated by: Fazel Shirzad

2022-11-29

On the morning of the 8^th September of 1978, I [Fereshteh Bazargan], along with my sister and her husband, went to Jhaleh Square to participate in the demonstration. When we got near the square, we noticed the noise and commotion and shooting of the soldiers and we saw people running away from the square towards the surrounding streets. Some people took the wounded with them and were running away. We were immediately worried about the father's condition and moved to his house near Ferdowsi Square to find out about his condition. After a short stop at his residential apartment while we were inquiring about my mother, suddenly the doorbell rang and when we opened the door. Four or five armed men in special military uniforms aggressively rushed into the house and pointed their guns at us and ordered that no one has the right to leave the house. It was a very sad scene. We, who had just come from Jhaleh Square and witnessed the scenes of that day, thought that they must be planning to shoot and kill us all. After they put us in a room together and pulled the phone sockets and cut off our communication with the outside, they found the father. That morning, my father had gone to Qom to consult with authorities according to the previous appointment. When the officers arrived at the father's house at 4:00 p.m., they arrested him from the entrance of the street and took him directly to prison, and they released us some time later.

This prison lasted for ten days. My father used to say that Major General Nasser Moghadam, who was in charge of SAVAK at the time, came to him with a pen and paper and a message from the king and said that his majesty said that you should write to me any suggestions, plans and programs you have for a speech, which will definitely be carried out. Apparently, at that time, he had also sent him the proposal to accept the prime minister and take control of affairs.

In response, my father said: Tell the king that when I said and wrote wrongly and pitifully and out of compassion for his survival in Iran that the king should reign and not rule and this is not the custom of statecraft, you didn't believe me and you didn't do it. Now it's too late. And if I accept your promise, the nation will no longer be burdened and "the king must go."

Source: Tavakoli, Faezeh , Memoirs of fighting women, Tehran: Arouj, 2019, pp. 65-66.