Interview  with Hosein Makki

1920 coup Coup d’etat of 1920, Dr, Mosadegh’s government, Oil and History

By: Morteza Rasouli

            On March 1996, in the Institute for Iranian contemporary historical studies an interview was carried out with Mr. Hosein Makki , the well-known historian of contemporary history.

            This conversation lasted for 8 hours and Mr. Makki was speaking with full patience but finally this was ended for the weariness of “young people” present at the meeting and not for 83 years old makki.

            ? Mr. Makki! you are one of the initiators of contemporary chronology in our country and as an historian you have a great contribution. If you hadn’t written “the 20 years history” and “Modarres, the pioneer of freedom”, our present to day’s generation would have no sufficient recognition about the first 20 years period of Pahlavi regime. With regard to the fact that you have founded the basis for introducing the coup d’etat of 1920 on the first volumes of “ the 20 years history” , what is your opinion about the newly published “the memories of Ardeshir J. Reporter”? Apparently Ardeshir J. was not so known until recent years and there was not mentioned any name of him.

● For the first time his name was mentioned by Raeen on his book named freemasonry.

? He mentioned his name briefly among the names of those members of Bidari Lodge so that it produced no sensibility.

● Some points occur to me which I submit: One is that, also Ironside has written such a case and recommended that while the Pahlavi dynasty was ruling, this subjects shouldn’t be published and it is said that Mohammad Reza Pahlavi took those notes. Before Ironside, it was General Danstervil who was considered the coup d’etat`s grandfather and had prepared the basis of coup d’etat. When he decided to leave Iran, his office was being given to Ironside. Edward Gray, the British Foreign Minister, also have a book in English which was then translated to French. The important point I saw in it was that according to the British Government as the Russian influence in Iran increased on the basis of Torkamanchai contract and it is seen that the court of Mohammad Ali shah was almost closer to the Russians, England resorted to an “invisible influence”. The writer says in this book that: for this we propagated the constitutionalism in Iran; the constitutionalism was originally given to Iran by us. In one of his speeches, the late Modarres, also pointed to this subject that: when the constitution was forming we were not ready for it but as it was a good thing, we accepted it because the good is good when it comes. From anyone.

Another point is that the British were seriously opposed to Staroselski.