Sadegh Tabatabai

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Sadegh Tabatabai (2007)

Sadegh Tabatabai ( Persian طباطبائی, DMG Ṭabāṭabā'ī , Arabic طباطبائی; * December 12, 1943 in Qom ; † February 21, 2015 in Düsseldorf ) was an Iranian professor at the University of Tehran and a politician. He was government spokesman and minister as well as Iran's special envoy in Germany. He was part of Ruhollah Khomeini's entourage when he returned to Iran from France on February 1, 1979. Because of his family ties to Khomeini - his sister was married to Ahmad Khomeini - Tabatabai had direct access to the revolutionary leader. Tabatabai was the nephew of Musa as-Sadr , one of Khomeini's favorite disciples.

Life

In 1961 Sadegh Tabatabai came to Aachen to study biochemistry and later did his doctorate at the Ruhr University Bochum . In Aachen he organized a group of students who campaigned against Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi . In 1967 he gave Ulrike Meinhof the material about Iran that she used in a famous Konkret column against the state visit of the Shah couple. According to his own statements, Tabatabai stood at the grave of Benno Ohnesorg , who was shot by Karl-Heinz Kurras during the demonstration on June 2, 1967 in West Berlin .

Tabatabai belonged to the circle of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini in his exile in Paris, in the suburb of Neauphle-le-Château , and was on the same Air France aircraft when he returned to Iran on February 1, 1979, as did Sadegh Chalchali and Peter Scholl- Latour . According to his own statement, Tabatabai was "one of eight people in Europe and America who prepared the revolution abroad and kept in contact with Khomeini."

Tabatabai served in various government offices from 1979 to 1982. Initially as deputy interior minister and as government spokesman. From November 1979 to September 1980 he was State Secretary in the Prime Minister's Office.

Tabatabai met Foreign Minister Hans-Dietrich Genscher in Bonn on March 21, 1980 to discuss a possible end to the hostage-taking of Tehran . The conversation remained without concrete results. Tabatabai remained in contact with the German government and kept the German authorities informed about the status of the discussion in the government and in parliament. On October 26, 1980, a lengthy telephone conversation took place between Tabatabai and Foreign Minister Genscher, in which Tabatabai provided information about the debate in parliament. On September 16 and 18, 1980, Tabatabai met with Secretary of State Genscher and US Vice Secretary of State Warren Christopher in Bonn to discuss how to proceed with the hostage issue.

Most recently he was entrusted with the procurement of armaments and as a special ambassador for the Iranian government on trips abroad. In this context, he was involved in scandals over arms trafficking and drug smuggling in Germany in 1982 and 1983 . In 1982 Tabatabai retired from politics according to his own statements, but on January 8, 1983, he was detained by customs officials with 1.65 kilograms of raw opium in his suitcase at Düsseldorf airport and released on bail . His status as a special envoy was also confirmed by the Iranian government in 1983. On the legal background → main article diplomatic status .

Tabatabai translated several books by Neil Postman into Persian and wrote publications on the effects of satellite television.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ صادق طباطبایی درگذشت
  2. ↑ Thomas Thiel: 30 years of revolution in Iran: “In joyful anticipation of martyrdom” . In: Spiegel.de, February 2, 2009. Interview with Peter Scholl-Latour about the flight from Paris to Tehran
  3. ↑ Hans-Peter Drögemüller: Iranisches Tagebuch. 5 years of revolution. Verlag Libertäre Assoziation eV, ISBN 3-922611-51-6 , p. 186.
  4. ↑ Tim Geiger, Amit Das Gupta, Tim Szatkowski: Files on the Foreign Policy of the Federal Republic of Germany 1980 Vol. I: January 1 to June 30, 1980. R. Oldenbourg Verlag, Munich 2011, p. 496.
  5. ↑ Tim Geiger, Amit Das Gupta, Tim Szatkowski: Files on the Foreign Policy of the Federal Republic of Germany 1980 Vol. I: January 1 to June 30, 1980. R. Oldenbourg Verlag, Munich 2011, pp. 496–501.
  6. ↑ Tim Geiger, Amit Das Gupta, Tim Szatkowski: Files on the Foreign Policy of the Federal Republic of Germany 1980 Vol. II: July 1 to December 31, 1980. R. Oldenbourg Verlag, Munich 2011, pp. 1584–1586.
  7. ↑ Tim Geiger, Amit Das Gupta, Tim Szatkowski: Files on the Foreign Policy of the Federal Republic of Germany 1980 Vol. II: July 1 to December 31, 1980. R. Oldenbourg Verlag, Munich 2011, pp. 1414-1420.
  8. ↑ German Bundestag: Answer of the federal government to a small question of the MP Vera Wollenberger and the group Bündnis90 / Die Grünen, Drucksache 12/2575: Arms exports to Iran. (PDF; 254 kB)
  9. ↑ Erwin Brunner: A diplomat as a dealer? Khomeini's relative and confidante had opium in his luggage. In: The time. February 11, 1983.
personal data
SURNAME Tabatabai, Sadegh
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Iranian politician
DATE OF BIRTH December 12, 1943
PLACE OF BIRTH Qom
DATE OF DEATH February 21, 2015
Place of death Dusseldorf