'We Don't Have to Copy Anybody'

Only hours before Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi returned from a highly successful visit to the U.S., his capital was shaken by the assassination of two U.S. Air Force officers who had been working with the military-assistance mission in Iran. The Shah called the Tehran murders "disgusting " and blamed a group of pro-Communist terrorists, apparently the same clandestine organization that killed another American officer two years ago. In an interview with TIME Managing Editor Henry Grunwald and Beirut Bureau Chief Karsten Prager at his spacious office in Niavaran Palace, the Shah discussed the incident and a wide range of other topics. His observations:

ON TERROR IN IRAN. The assassinations show that [the terrorists] are desperate. For what can they sell our people? Our farmers own their land. Our workers can buy shares in factories. We will have popular elections soon. Studies are free. We are subsidizing food. They have nothing to sell, so they take recourse in this disgusting method of terror. They are not human. What motivates them? Despair. They are Marxists, and they know they cannot sell this ideology. And they are outlawed in our country. There are only maybe 100 or 150 of them, but they will never be finished as long as we have international subversion. One organization is liquidated, and another is formed.

ON PEACE PROTEST. I think it is decreasing. Everyone in this country of sound mind has occasion to express himself openly. Is shouting "Down with the Shah!" the only kind of freedom? The people of this country will not accept this. Maybe 1,000 or 1,500 will, but the rest will not. People can express their views on any subject, but we will not tolerate any Iranian betraying his country--and I don't mean betraying the monarchy.

ON A TWO-PARTY SYSTEM. If the ticket and platform of a second party could be really different, eventually it might come to that. But the only other platform will be Communism. What could another party offer? Less, yes; more, no. We have really attained the fringes of the most advanced socialism without its pink color. Everybody will have a share, enough for a decent kind of living. The big fortunes will be taxed more and more. But you cannot prevent differences in any society, Communist or nonCommunist. We are doing more than any other country I know, without being pinkish. Until now we could not afford [to legalize the Communist Party] because of our geographical location. When we establish the solid society that we are planning, we might eventually reconsider. If he is in his right mind, who is going to be a Communist in this country?

ON HIS VIEW OF HIMSELF. With all the respect I have for [Turkey's] Atatuerk, he was living in his time, as my father was living in his time. Neither of them made land reform. But I have. Neither of them thought of workers participating in profits and being co-owners of factories. That is why I say we do not have to copy anybody, any ideology. We have enough brains to devise what is best for ourselves.

ON EGYPT'S PRESIDENT SADAT. I have a high regard for him. He is a courageous man who can make decisions in a delicate and difficult situation. He has the courage to stick to his decisions. The difference between him and [former President Gamal Abdel] Nasser is--and maybe the situation is not the same--that President Nasser made two or three wars and he lost all of them. Sadat made one war and he won.

ON OIL PRICES. It is hard to say [what the price increase will be]. It will not be 35%. But if we gave you the impression that you can vent your inflation and decrease our purchasing power 35% every year while you only lose back 20% and thus still remain with a 15% margin, in less than six years you will make a 100% profit. [A $1 per bbl. increase] would be very little. As I said, if you continue like this, our oil will be worth zero in six years. I will not insist on a basket-of-commodities indexation if it creates too much difficulty. I would be satisfied if we could index the price of oil to world inflation. What really concerns me is to keep the purchasing power of this dwindling source of wealth.

ON THE DECLINE OF THE WEST. I am worried about so-called liberals who will accept anything that comes from the other side. Anything that is Communistic, that is nihilistic, that is O.K. If a country sinks because of this attitude, then it could become a very dangerous proposition. Because one by one, they [the countries] are going to fall. I am talking about French so-called intellectuals, Dutch so-called intellectuals, Swedish so-called intellectuals. Maybe they think that the world must change and that before it changes, it must break completely. They have nothing to offer. No doubt there is an intellectual international. Evidently they all work for international Marxism. They penetrate everything: people with great fortune and wealth, artists, writers, painters, taxi drivers. They are an army. We can get more trouble from these crazy so-called intellectuals than from the Soviet Union or China.

ON THE MIDDLE EAST. The situation is very delicate and might be explosive because one party [Israel] does not apply and implement the resolutions of the U.N. Security Council. When one does not obey the resolutions of the Security Council, then you have the law of the jungle. Anything might happen. I see the security of Israel in international guarantees. A few more kilometers eastward or westward will not add to its security. Even the Soviet Union is saying that if Israel goes back to the pre-1967 borders, it is ready to guarantee the borders of Israel. Morally, we have got to support our Arab friends, not only because of religion but really because of international right and law. We don't see any wisdom in Israel's policies. We have always recognized the existence of Israel, but we have got to say that the Israelis are becoming impossible. If you cannot, we cannot exert additional pressure on Israel. We have no embargo on anybody. We don't mind where our oil goes once it is in the tankers. Iran is not going to take part [in any Arab-Israeli war].

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