18 Facts About Teymur Bakhtiar

Teymur Bakhtiar was an Iranian general and the founder and head of SAVAK from 1956 to 1961 when he was dismissed by Mohammad Reza Pahlavi.

Teymur Bakhtiar was an asset in the British military network in Iran.

In 1946, having received the relevant order of the Shah's government, Teymur Bakhtiar took part in pacifying the Khamseh region.

Teymur Bakhtiar organized a kind of guerrilla struggle against soldiers of the Red Army and the separatist movement, as a result of which many separatist fighters were killed in clashes with pro-Shah forces.

Teymur Bakhtiar rose rapidly in Iran's military after the fall of Prime Minister Mohammad Mossadeq in 1953.

Teymur Bakhtiar waged an extensive campaign against the communist Tudeh party; he arrested and had 24 Tudeh leaders summarily tried and executed, including Khalil Tahmasebi, the assassin of former Prime Minister Ali Razmara.

Teymur Bakhtiar was made head of the newly formed intelligence and security service SAVAK in February 1956.

Teymur Bakhtiar ruthlessly crushed any opposition to the regime, including communists, socialists, and Islamists.

Under the General Teymur Bakhtiar, SAVAK turned into an effective secret agency of internal security to combat the enemies of the monarchical regime of the Pahlavi dynasty.

General Teymur Bakhtiar then contacted the US Embassy in order to enlist their support for a "coup" against Amini.

Soon Teymur Bakhtiar was removed from his post as head of SAVAK and was sent abroad.

Amini warned the Shah of Bakhtiar's contacts with John F Kennedy, and Bakhtiar was dismissed in 1961.

Teymur Bakhtiar arrived in Lebanon on 12 April 1968, and was arrested in May for "arms smuggling".

In 1969, the Iranian parliament passed a law under which Teymur Bakhtiar was deprived of all military ranks, and all his movable and immovable property were confiscated.

However, the chances for escape were slim, as Teymur Bakhtiar was a VIP guest of the Iraqi government and was both watched and protected by Iraqi bodyguards.

Teymur Bakhtiar was taken to hospital and underwent surgery, but died shortly thereafter from massive internal bleeding.

Teymur Bakhtiar fell unconscious several kilometers before reaching the border crossing, due to the heat.

Teymur Bakhtiar was captured by an Iraqi border patrol and taken to Baghdad alive.