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WEEKLY NEWSLETTER
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Iran
Index
Little information existed in 1987 on SAVAK's successor agency,
SAVAMA. According to General Robert E. Huyser, President Jimmy
Carter's last special envoy to imperial Iran, SAVAMA's first
director was Major General Fardust, who was arrested in December
1985 for being a "Soviet informer." But after this major arrest the
revolutionary government's keen desire to gain an upper hand over
leftist guerrilla organizations may have influenced certain IRP
leaders to relax their previously unrelenting pursuit of military
intelligence personnel. Key religious leaders, including Majlis
speaker Hashemi-Rafsanjani, insisted on recalling former agents to
help the regime eliminate domestic opposition. Consequently, some
intelligence officers and low-ranking SAVAK and army intelligence
officials were asked to return to government service because of
their specialized knowledge of the Iranian left. Others had
acquired in-depth knowledge of Iraq's Baath Party and proved to be
invaluable in helping decision makers.
Although it is impossible to verify, in 1987 observers
speculated that some of SAVAK's intelligence-gathering operations
were turned over to SAVAMA. It remained to be determined whether
these newly authorized operations proved effective and whether
there was coordination with other branches of government, including
the powerful Pasdaran.
Data as of December 1987
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