Plans for a Homecoming

When Abolhassan Banisadr arrived in Paris, he was immediately surrounded by admirers, just as he once paid court to Khomeini when Khomeini was in exile in Paris. Shortly after reaching the city, Banisadr was visited by TIME's Paris bureau chief, Jordan Bonfante. His report:

A steady stream of worshipful Iranian supporters line up to receive instructions from Banisadr. At a dining-room table, a dozen young Iranian students work on mimeographed communiques. Husky bodyguards carefully screen all visitors. The former President is seated on a couch before a big mahogany coffee table. Above his head hangs a campaign poster of himself. He now has neither the mustache nor the glasses that appear in the picture. Relaxed in shirtsleeves, his shoes off, he appears slightly pudgy and tired, but good-humored and confident.

Banisadr believes the chances for the success of his resistance movement are high because popular opposition to Khomeini's regime is spreading fast. He is convinced that the people no longer honor Khomeini as their religious leader. He notes with pleasure that the Ayatullah tried to mobilize mass demonstrations before the French embassy in Tehran after his escape and managed to muster only 5,000, a pittance compared with the hundreds of thousands who used to turn out. Even more encouraging, he feels, the intelligentsia are siding with the resistance and so are the armed forces. Those who ask why the armed forces do not take action against the regime are told that it is because they are still engaged in the war against Iraq.

Banisadr, in fact, has told his supporters that he is not in favor of a military coup d'etat because he believes the populace must take the initiative in acting against the regime. He envisions a mounting wave of mass demonstrations like those that eventually toppled the Shah.

Since he arrived in Paris, Banisadr has insisted that he has no intention of renouncing his title and responsibilities as Iran's President. He reminds supporters that he originally offered his resignation to Khomeini but that the Ayatullah refused to publish it and instead chose to outlaw him. If he had been allowed to withdraw legally, Banisadr claims, he would have represented a dangerous rallying force against Khomeini. Rather than allow that, Khomeini tried to suppress him altogether.

Banisadr thinks that he was able to hide out successfully in Tehran for so long because of the basic disarray of the government, which prevented it from conducting systematic searches. On July 23, Banisadr tells his supporters, there were 120 bombings in Tehran, and he asks, smiling, how anyone could have had time to hunt for him.

If he was fairly secure in hiding, and even able to organize active resistance on the spot, what compelled Banisadr to leave Iran? There are several reasons.

First, he felt that too many of his supporters--hundreds, in fact--were wastefully engaged in protecting him. Second, he wanted to demonstrate to the world that the resistance was strong enough to organize an escape from a military base in a military plane. Third, he felt he had to be more cautious in order to be ready for the tumultuous events that he believes are coming in Iran in the next few weeks. Banisadr argues that the majority of the people are still loyal to him, citing what he calls a dismally low turnout at the recent presidential election. Finally, he wanted to dramatize his conviction that it is not what he regards as minor groups, like that of former Prime Minister Shapour Bakhtiar, who can replace the Khomeini regime. He feels, naturally enough, that only Banisadr can do the job.

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