Analysis of information sources in references of the Wikipedia article "Ruhollah Khomeini" in English language version.
In 1983, the U.S. helped bring to the attention of Tehran the threat inherent in the extensive infiltration of the government by the communist Tudeh Party and Soviet or pro-Soviet cadres in the country. Using this information, the Khomeini government took measures, including mass executions, that virtually eliminated the pro-Soviet infrastructure in Iran.Available online here.
With Khomeini's return, both Iran's liberal intelligentsia and the public at large looked forward to a new era where freedom of expression was enshrined in law, and the nation's vast oil wealth was used for the benefit of the entire nation, not only an unelected elite. Khomeini himself had promised as much when, writing from exile, he had vowed to set the people free from the cruel despotism that blighted their lives", "Khomeini had developed his unorthodox personal philosophy during his time as a student and teacher at the ancient holy cities of Qom and Najaf, where he was drawn to an obscure interpretation of Shia Islam, which held that all power should ultimately derive from the will of a divinely appointed religious leader.", "Now that he was safely back in Tehran as the undisputed figurehead of the Iranian revolution, Khomeini was determined to implement the radical agenda he had championed for more than twenty years. It was of no concern to him that his programme bore little relation to the wishes of the majority of the Iranian people, and was firmly at odds with the desire of most Iranians for the establishment of a constitutional democracy to replace the Sha's highly dictatorial system of government." "He worried that the brave new world of Islamic rule that he intended for Iran might become compromised by the participation of Leftists, Nationalists and the various other anti-Shah groups who, for the moment at least, blindly supported Khomeini's leadership without fully comprehending what he stood for. The enthusiasm among the Iranian masses for opposing the Shah and his supporters was so infectious that few people bothered to consider the implications of Khomeini's controversial agenda, which the ayatollah, it should be said, had taken great care to conceal from the ordinary populace.""'This is not going to be an ordinary government,' Khomeini told Revolutionary Council members. 'This will be a government based on the Sharia. Opposing this government means opposing the Sharia of Islam ... Revolt against God's government is a revolt against God, and revolt against God is Blasphemy'. The formation of the Revolutionary Guards would mark the start of one of the bloodiest periods in the recent history of the Middle East as Islamic zealots launched a bloody purge to rid the country of its middle-class professionals who, whilst welcoming the overthrow of the monarchy, had little enthusiasm for religious bigotry.
It is estimated that as many as 30,000 individuals may have been executed at that time, in response to a religious edict issued by Ayatollah Khomeini
He was a charismatic leader of immmense popularity. Millions of Iranians massed to welcome him when he returned as the Imam from exile in 1979, and a million or more joined his funeral procession after he died 10 years later.
I cannot imagine and no wise person can presume the claim that we spared our bloods so watermelon becomes cheaper. No wise person would sacrifice his young offspring for [say] affordable housing. People [on the contrary] want everything for their young offspring. Human being wants economy for his own self; it would therefore be unwise for him to spare his life in order to improve economy ... Those who keep bringing up economy and find economy the infrastructure of everything –– not knowing what human[ity] means – think of human being as an animal who is defined by means of food and clothes ... Those who find economy the infrastructure of everything, find human beings animals. Animal too sacrifices everything for its economy and economy is its sole infrastructure. A donkey too considers economy as its only infrastructure. These people did not realize what human being [truly] is.
He was a charismatic leader of immmense popularity. Millions of Iranians massed to welcome him when he returned as the Imam from exile in 1979, and a million or more joined his funeral procession after he died 10 years later.
