Iran Freedom Foundation Records
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http://oac.cdlib.org/findaid/ark:/13030/kt9779s118 No online items Preliminary Inventory of the Iran Freedom Foundation records Finding aid prepared by Samira Bozorgi Hoover Institution Library and Archives © 2012 434 Galvez Mall Stanford University Stanford, CA 94305-6003 [email protected] URL: http://www.hoover.org/library-and-archives Preliminary Inventory of the Iran 93035 1 Freedom Foundation records Title: Iran Freedom Foundation records Date (inclusive): 1966-1993 Collection Number: 93035 Contributing Institution: Hoover Institution Library and Archives Language of Material: In English and Persian Physical Description: 60 manuscript boxes, 3 cassette boxes, 1 open reel box, 3 oversize audio boxes, 1 oversize box, 1 oversize folder(27.8 Linear Feet) Abstract: The collection relates to the Iranian revolution of 1979, subsequent political conditions and civil rights abuses in Iran, the Iran-Iraq War, Iranians in the United States and elsewhere, and American foreign policy toward Iran. It contains correspondence, press releases, appeals, clippings, speeches and writings, financial records, reports, bulletins, newsletters, pamphlets, serial issues, photographs, sound recordings, and videotapes. The collection includes some personal papers, 1966-1980, of Ali A. Tabatabai, founder of the organization, and material relating to his assassination. Creator: Tabatabai, Ali Akbar, 1930-1980 Creator: Iran Freedom Foundation Hoover Institution Library & Archives Access The collection is open for research; materials must be requested at least two business days in advance of intended use. Publication Rights For copyright status, please contact the Hoover Institution Library & Archives. Acquisition Information Acquired by the Hoover Institution Library & Archives in 1993. Preferred Citation [Identification of item], Iran Freedom Foundation records, [Box no., Folder no. or title], Hoover Institution Library & Archives. Historical Note The Iran Freedom Foundation (IFF) was formed in Bethesda, Maryland in October 1979. Prior to establishing the IFF, the organization's founder and president, Ali Akbar Tabatabai worked as director of the Foreign Relations Department of the Ministry of Information in Tehran and press attaché at the Iranian embassy in Washington, D.C., in the final years of the Shah's reign and under the leadership of Ambassador Ardeshir Zahedi (1977-1979). Ali Akbar Tabatabai was assassinated in July 1980 by Daoud Salahuddin (David Belfield) at the front door of his home in Maryland. After his assassination, Ali Akbar's identical twin brother, Mohammad Reza, took over the operations of the IFF. The IFF supported a secular democracy in Iran and actively opposed the Islamic fundamentalist regime of Ayatollah Khomeini. Both Ali Akbar and Mohammad Reza frequently appeared on television and radio programs to promote awareness of human rights violations in Iran. In addition, the IFF disseminated information about Iran to members of the U.S. House and Senate as well as to members of the general public who wrote to the foundation with questions about Iran. The foundation worked closely with Iranian nationalist groups overseas, most notably Chapour Bakhtiar's National Movement of Iranian Resistance and Bahram Aryana's Azadegan. Source: "Iran Ex-Attaché, Khomeini Foe, Slain in the U.S." New York Times, July 23, 1980 Scope and Content of Collection The collection relates to the Iranian revolution of 1979, subsequent political conditions and civil rights abuses in Iran, the Iran-Iraq War, Iranians in the United States and elsewhere, and American foreign policy toward Iran. It contains correspondence, press releases, appeals, clippings, speeches and writings, financial records, reports, bulletins, newsletters, pamphlets, serial issues, photographs, sound recordings, and videotapes. The collection includes some personal papers, 1966-1980, of Ali A. Tabatabai, founder of the organization, and material relating to his assassination. The majority of the collection consists of clippings, subject files, and printed matter relating to political and social events within Iran and surrounding countries, Iranian foreign relations, and the experiences of Iranian émigrés in the United States. Among these materials are volumes of photocopied clippings from Tabatabai's time as press attaché for the Iranian embassy in Washington, D.C., covering the critical months leading up to the establishment of the Islamic Republic of Iran, November 1978 to February 1979. Subject files also contain clippings, press releases, and speeches relating to the assassination of Ali Akbar Tabatabai. Preliminary Inventory of the Iran 93035 2 Freedom Foundation records Following Ali Akbar Tabatabai's assassination, the Iran Freedom Foundation held several political rallies from 1981 to 1983 in support of secular democracy in Iran. While subject files contain flyers and speeches from these events, the publicity files include drafts of speeches and writings, press releases, and background information on the foundation's activities. The Iran Freedom Foundation sponsored one of the first anti-Khomeini Persian-language radio programs in the United States on WLMD radio in Maryland. Referred to as both the Iranian Hour and Iran Freedom Movement radio, the program was used as a forum to disseminate information about Iran and unite Iranian émigrés in the United States. The collection contains recordings of broadcasts as well as radio program materials in the form of notes, research headlines, clippings, and financial records. Sound recordings are identified in the container list by their labels. However, the contents of the sound recordings may not match their labels. Description of Major Groups The collection is unarranged, but most materials fall into the following major groups. Box Nos. Groups Publicity file, 1979-1984. Includes general background 1, 3, 5, 9, 11-12, 15, 18, 20, 26, 29-30, 33, 36-38, 40-42, 45, information, press releases, newsletters, bulletins, transcripts, 49, 51, 54 speeches and writings, and notes Subject file, 1967-1992. Consists of clippings, magazines, 1-4, 8-13, 16,18, 20, 28-30, 32, 34, 38-39, 44, 46, 48, 50, 52 collected articles, correspondence, flyers, newsletters, bulletins, speeches, government documents, and writings Clippings, 1971-1990. Consists of clippings from Iranian, 1-7, 11, 14, 26-36, 39-41, 44-45, 48-50, 52, 55 American, and Saudi Arabian newspapers and magazines, mostly in English Printed matter, 1978-1993. Consists of newspapers, 1-9, 15-16, 18, 29, 33-34, 37-38, 47-49, 51, 53, 55 56-57 magazines, monographs, newsletters, and pamphlets Correspondence, 1979-1992. Consists mainly of letters 1, 3, 5, 10-11, 13, 15-16, 19, 29-30, 33, 36, 39, 41,48, 50, 56 sent and received, and enclosures Press attaché of the Iranian embassy, Washington, D.C., materials, 1953, 1970-1979. Consists of 20-25, 32-33, 42, 48-49, 51 memoranda, correspondence, clippings, notes, and photographs Radio program materials, 1981-1983, undated. Consists of notes, scripts, clippings, press summaries, and financial 19-20, 26, 40, 42-44 records relating to a Persian language program radio program in Maryland Photographs, 1970-1983, undated. Consists of prints and 8, 11, 16-18, 32, 40, 51 negatives Video recordings, 1979-1981, undated. Contains 58-60 recordings of interviews on U-matic videocassettes, arranged chronologically by subject Sound recordings, 1979-circa 1987, undated. Compact 61-66 sound cassettes and open reel tapes arranged by form then by title chronologically Oversize materials, 1975-1990. Contains newspapers, 67 posters, flyers, and a calendar Subjects and Indexing Terms Iran-Iraq War, 1980-1988 Iran -- History -- Revolution, 1979 Iran -- Foreign relations -- United States United States -- Foreign relations -- Iran Iran -- Politics and government -- 1979-1997 Iran -- Emigration and immigration Civil rights -- Iran Preliminary Inventory of the Iran 93035 3 Freedom Foundation records box 1 Correspondence with White House and U.S. Department of State officials regarding Iran 1981-1986 box 1 Clippings and printed matter on Iran 1979-1987 box 1 Iranian groups in exile newsletters and announcements 1987, undated Subject file box 1 Assassination of A. A. Tabatabai 1980 box 1 Bakhtiar, Chapour 1979 box 1 Iran--General undated box 1 Iran--Pre- and post-revolution 1979-1982 box 1 Islamic Education Center, Washington, D.C. 1983-1985 box 1 People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran 1984-1989 Publicity file box 1 Transcripts of television and radio appearances 1979-1980 box 1 Iran Freedom Foundation (IFF) newsletters, advertisements, and activity report 1979-1982 box 2 Arya, newspaper 1981 box 2 Akhbar-i Iran, newspaper circa 1980 box 2 Azadegan newsletters 1981 box 2 Bakhtiar, Chapour newsletters 1979-1980 box 2 Clippings on Iran from American and Saudi Arabian newspapers 1981-1982 Scope and Contents note In English Subject file box 2 Terrorism 1980-1984 box 2 Persian Gulf 1967, undated box 3 Human rights in Iran 1980-1982 box 3 Iran--History undated box 3 People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran 1983-1984 box 3 Personal security 1981 box 3 Printed matter relating to Iran and Iranian political groups 1985-1990 box 3 Clippings 1979-1984 Correspondence box 3 General 1980 box 3 White House and U.S. Department of State officials regarding Iran 1982-1985 Publicity file box 3 Transcripts of television and radio appearances and other materials 1979-1980 box 3 Directory and mailings 1980 Subject file box 4 American hostages in Iran 1980-1991 box 4 Assassination