Chapter 4
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 004
Chapter Title: Conditions for a Coup. 2 - Biding Our Time
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August 20, 1978.
The industrial city of Abadan in southern Iran.
Abadan, where oil refineries were clustered, was one of Iran's premier industrial hubs.
A city boasting a relatively young population, laborers, and high education levels—right in the heart of Abadan, a massive accident erupted at the Rex Theater.
The infamous Rex Theater fire.
Over 400 people had gathered inside the theater to watch an anti-government film titled Deer.
Then, just minutes after the movie began, around 8:21 p.m.,
four suspicious men quietly began locking the doors from the outside.
After dousing the place with gasoline they'd brought, they set it ablaze.
They even meticulously checked that the final locked door wouldn't open before fleeing.
The fire spread throughout the entire theater,
and for some inexplicable reason, police stationed just 100 meters away responded late.
By the time the fire trucks arrived, they had no water loaded.
In the end, it took over 400 casualties before the blaze was extinguished.
The Iranian government immediately halted regular broadcasts and declared national mourning.
But the boiling public sentiment refused to subside.
- It was SAVAK, the National Intelligence and Security Organization!
- The Iranian government murdered its citizens!
- The king massacred his own people!
The citizens' rage exploded.
The government scrambled to contain the incident,
but all they offered were baseless excuses: socialists did it, or it was a self-staged act by radical Islamists.
The government's irresponsible attitude only poured fuel on the flames of public anger.
Protests erupted across the nation.
I unfolded the newspaper.
Front page.
Images of the massive protests rocking Iran filled the page.
Hassan, standing silently beside me as I read, spoke quietly.
"Word is that representatives from four countries will be meeting over this incident."
"Four countries?"
"Yes. The United States, United Kingdom, France, and West Germany. It's expected to come up at the summit planned for Guadeloupe early next year."
"Makes sense."
Iran was currently one of America's closest allies.
The U.S. called Iran and Saudi Arabia the twin pillars defending the Middle East,
and Iran was the only country besides the United States operating the latest fighter jet, the F-14 Tomcat.
"What's the vibe from President Carter?"
"The White House wants to calm the Iranian situation."
"With the election coming up, they don't want any wild cards."
"That's the atmosphere. If America or the West intervenes, it could give His Majesty the King an opening."
America's influence in the Middle East was absolute.
The White Revolution, which had brought Shah Reza Pahlavi II to power, had succeeded thanks to a CIA operation that ousted the rival Prime Minister Mossadegh from the shadows.
"Yeah. But America getting involved would be a problem."
"Do you plan to intervene first, Your Highness?"
"No need for us to step in directly. Send a message to the scholars back home."
"Your command."
"In Tehran, keep an eye on the protests led by clerics after Friday prayers. And watch the police movements closely."
Hassan jotted down the message, which sounded almost prophetic, then double-checked his notes.
I added an explanation as I watched him.
"A government in chaos always lashes out blindly. Just like always."
"Lashes out blindly..."
Call of Destiny featured dozens of campaign scenarios.
There were several involving Iran,
including one where you played a U.S. Delta Force operative intervening in the revolution to alter key events and derail it entirely.
If things followed the original course as before,
one of those events was about to unfold.
The so-called Black Friday.
"Something horrific might happen. Like police opening fire on civilians..."
Hassan's expression hardened.
He too feared bloodshed.
Yet his master spoke of it as if it were inevitable.
And his master's predictions had never been wrong.
"Tragic, but if the government fires on its own people, even Carter won't side with them easily."
Eastern Tehran.
A massive crowd gathered in Jaleh Square, burning photos of Shah Reza Pahlavi II as they advanced.
Clerics who had finished Friday prayers led the front, followed by the masses.
- Drive out the corrupt government!
- Down with the greedy king!
- Return to God!
- Long live the Islamic Republic~~!
As the protesters filling the square took a step toward city hall,
police suddenly appeared, forming ranks and charging the crowd.
The demonstrators panicked at the sight of police raising rifles.
- They're aiming guns at civilians!
- Drive out the police who are the regime's dogs!
- Don't you have mothers and fathers?!
- Allah is with us~
But the police, as if resolved, pulled their triggers on command.
Tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat~~!!
- Argh!
- Eek!
- Help!
- Those bastards!
- The king betrayed us!
- The police are killing people! Killing people!
The indiscriminate shooting continued,
and the packed crowd scattered in all directions.
They collided, tripped, trampled, and fell repeatedly.
The police kept firing at the fleeing mob's backs.
Tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat~~!!
Behind the running masses, protesters collapsed to the ground, bleeding out and dying.
Jaleh Square slowly stained red with blood.
One Friday in September.
The day later known as Black Friday,
when 89 people were gunned down by police in a horrific scene that spread nationwide.
Iranian crowds who witnessed the atrocity through photos and footage finally abandoned their last shred of hope in the king.
And at that moment.
A voice tape from Ayatollah Khomeini, the religious giant exiled in Paris, France, aired nationwide via broadcast.
"All Muslims must unite. To protect the people and revive this nation. We must all rise in God's name and drive out the tyrannical king and his government. Let's rise together~~!! Allahu Akbar~~!!"
Ayatollah Khomeini's message spread,
and Muslim clerics and anti-government forces rallied.
Though their ultimate goals differed,
at this moment, they spoke with one voice.
- Overthrow the regime!
As the Black Friday incident broke,
news of it rapidly spread worldwide.
Even U.S. terrestrial broadcasts aired vivid footage of the massacre—somehow obtained.
Americans and people around the world witnessed the brutality of the Iranian government's bloodshed.
Global public opinion boiled over.
- Condemn the Iranian government for attacking its citizens.
- We must topple the merciless dictatorship.
- Down with the Iranian royals who call themselves Shahanshah—King of Kings—in the 20th century, against all history.
Under the uproar in American public opinion, the previously silent Carter administration had no choice but to speak out.
White House Statement:
"The Carter administration does not condone Iran's violent actions in any way and has no intention of supporting them."
I watched the Carter administration's statement on TV.
Hassan, standing beside me, said,
"Looks like America's pulling back now."
"Yeah. Reelection comes before allies."
"Seems so."
"Right. Time for us to move fast too. Change brings opportunity. How much commission did we get?"
"Half—thirty-five million dollars—has been deposited. The rest comes after the Iranian royals pay the balance."
"Got it. Shame, but you have to sacrifice the small for the big win. Stocks?"
"We've converted all our Lockheed Martin holdings to short positions. We'll dump those too once the rumor mill starts."
As Iran's protests intensified,
Dark Angel had been quietly offloading its Lockheed Martin shares in New York.
But by simultaneously buying short-sale shares, they'd kept the price steady.
"Exactly. Leaving money on the table is a crime. Get it started."
"Yes."
Hassan picked up the antique-looking phone on the table and dialed somewhere.
And then.
"Dark Angel here. Send out the newsletter."
Moments later,
a discreet message reached traders on the New York Stock Exchange floor.
• Iran-Lockheed Martin F-16 purchase contract hits snags.
• U.S. administration shifts from favorable to opposed stance.
At the same time, massive volumes of Lockheed Martin stock flooded the New York Stock Exchange.
Traders screamed.
- Damn it! Why the sudden short-selling frenzy?!
- Where the hell is this coming from!
- Is this real? How big was the F-16 deal again? Anyone remember?
- 3.5 to 4 billion dollars!
- What?! Shit, sell now! Sell!
The stock price of the world's top defense contractor, Lockheed Martin, began plummeting.
In an instant, 10% of its market cap evaporated.
But the short-selling showed no signs of stopping.
Other investors, hearing rumors of the $4 billion deal's collapse, started dumping shares too.
The shock rippled to other defense stocks, sending them dancing downward.
I watched the live stock plunge during afternoon tea time.
"Hassan."
"Yes, Your Highness."
"Contact the homeland. Tell the scholars to make contact with SAVAK."
SAVAK.
The National Intelligence and Security Organization.
But to the Iranian people, it was just a secret police that spied on, abducted, and tortured them.
"You plan to absorb SAVAK?"
"We can't sort every good from bad perfectly, but how else do you pull off a revolution without a drop of blood? Right?"
Hassan nodded.
"I'll prepare them."
"Relay it to all our scholars."
"Your command."
"Hold your positions. No reckless moves. Above all, don't antagonize the citizens."
Hassan used the underground network he'd built to spread the prince's message.
Meanwhile, that fall of 1978, as Tehran's protests grew fiercer by the day,
the government declared reform measures to appease the furious masses.
- Land reform.
- Press freedom.
- Amnesty for political prisoners.
- Job creation.
- And SAVAK disbandment.
But the opposition—Muslim clerics, socialists, and countless anti-government forces now united—saw this as their chance to topple the monarchy and accelerated their push.
The royals tried once more to disperse and suppress the protests with force,
but this time, junior officers and NCOs uniformly refused orders.
- The military and police exist to protect the people. Therefore, we cannot turn against the citizens.
The government plunged into chaos amid the active-duty commanders' rebellion.
And as the situation stalled,
January 1979.
On a small Caribbean island, the French territory of Guadeloupe, leaders from four nations gathered.