{"id":328434,"date":"2025-02-07T14:18:25","date_gmt":"2025-02-07T13:18:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/?p=328434"},"modified":"2025-02-07T14:18:25","modified_gmt":"2025-02-07T13:18:25","slug":"how-irans-clerical-regime-rebuilt-savak-into-a-global-repression-machine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/news\/terrorism-a-fundamentalism\/how-irans-clerical-regime-rebuilt-savak-into-a-global-repression-machine\/","title":{"rendered":"How Iran\u2019s Clerical Regime Rebuilt SAVAK into a Global Repression Machine"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure id=\"attachment_328440\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-328440\" style=\"width: 1000px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-328440\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Mohammad-Mohammadi-Reyshahri-the-first-Minister-of-Intelligence-of-the-Iranian-regime.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1000\" height=\"564\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Mohammad-Mohammadi-Reyshahri-the-first-Minister-of-Intelligence-of-the-Iranian-regime.jpg 1000w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Mohammad-Mohammadi-Reyshahri-the-first-Minister-of-Intelligence-of-the-Iranian-regime-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Mohammad-Mohammadi-Reyshahri-the-first-Minister-of-Intelligence-of-the-Iranian-regime-768x433.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Mohammad-Mohammadi-Reyshahri-the-first-Minister-of-Intelligence-of-the-Iranian-regime-745x420.jpg 745w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Mohammad-Mohammadi-Reyshahri-the-first-Minister-of-Intelligence-of-the-Iranian-regime-150x85.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Mohammad-Mohammadi-Reyshahri-the-first-Minister-of-Intelligence-of-the-Iranian-regime-696x393.jpg 696w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-328440\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Mohammad Mohammadi Reyshahri, the first Minister of Intelligence of the Iranian regime, sits in front of a blackboard displaying a chart outlining the ministry&#8217;s targets<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><b><i><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Four-minute read<\/span><\/i><\/b><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span data-contrast=\"auto\">The fall of the Shah in 1979 was widely seen as the end of SAVAK, Iran\u2019s dreaded secret police. However, rather than dismantling this notorious organization, the clerical dictatorship absorbed its core structure and expertise, turning it into one of the most feared intelligence services in the world. Official Iranian sources, along with historical investigations, reveal that SAVAK\u2019s anti-espionage and foreign intelligence units were repurposed to serve the new regime. This report examines how Iran\u2019s ruling clerics leveraged former SAVAK operatives\u00a0to create a surveillance state that continues to target dissent at home and abroad.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: justify;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">SAVAK\u2019s absorption into the clerical dictatorship<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134245418&quot;:true,&quot;134245529&quot;:true,&quot;335559738&quot;:160,&quot;335559739&quot;:80}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Iranian state television aired a revealing segment on February 2, 2025, in <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.khabaronline.ir\/news\/2019201\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">which Iman Goudarzi<\/span><\/a><span data-contrast=\"auto\">, a documentary filmmaker, stated: \u201cSAVAK had eleven divisions; only one was dismantled after the revolution. The rest remained intact and pledged allegiance to Imam Khomeini before the fall of the Shah.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span data-contrast=\"auto\">This claim corroborates multiple sources suggesting that the clerical dictatorship did not purge SAVAK but instead repurposed its foreign intelligence, counterintelligence, and technical surveillance units.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span data-contrast=\"auto\">In an interview <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/donya-e-eqtesad.com\/%D8%A8%D8%AE%D8%B4-%D8%B3%D8%A7%DB%8C%D8%AA-%D8%AE%D9%88%D8%A7%D9%86-62\/3950238-%D8%B6%D8%AF%D8%AC%D8%A7%D8%B3%D9%88%D8%B3%DB%8C-%D8%B3%D8%A7%D9%88%D8%A7%DA%A9-%DA%86%DA%AF%D9%88%D9%86%D9%87-%D8%A8%D9%87-%D8%A7%D9%86%D9%82%D9%84%D8%A7%D8%A8-%DA%A9%D9%85%DA%A9-%DA%A9%D8%B1%D8%AF\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">published by Donya-e-Eqtesad<\/span><\/a><span data-contrast=\"auto\"> on March 6, 2023, a former high-ranking SAVAK counterintelligence officer revealed: \u201cThe revolutionaries approached us and asked for our expertise. They wanted to know how to maintain national security without relying on Western intelligence. The counterintelligence unit once focused on Soviet spies, was restructured to handle \u2018domestic enemies\u2019 under the new order.\u201d<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">The current MOIS was built<br \/>on the backbone of the Shah\u2019s brutal SAVAK.  Former high ranking SAVAK officials were the first to fill the ranks of the infamous Iranian Ministry of intelligence which has carried out countless terror attacks across the world. <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/Iran?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#Iran<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/IranRevolution?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#IranRevolution<\/a>\u2026 <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/o1qbTBkNrB\">pic.twitter.com\/o1qbTBkNrB<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Facts on Iran (@FactsOnIran) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/FactsOnIran\/status\/1669760208397303809?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">June 16, 2023<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Similarly, in a report by <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.isna.ir\/news\/98072115516\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">ISNA on October 13, 2019<\/span><\/a><span data-contrast=\"auto\">, early Ministry of Intelligence (MOIS) members admitted to recruiting SAVAK personnel: \u201cMany of us knew that without a centralized intelligence system, the revolution would collapse under external threats. So, we reached out to former SAVAK operatives, particularly from the anti-espionage unit.\u201d<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span data-contrast=\"auto\">A former MOIS <\/span><span data-contrast=\"none\">official <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.isna.ir\/news\/98072115516\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">Saeed Hajjarian said in 2019:<\/span><\/a><span data-contrast=\"auto\"> \u201cWe initially functioned as multiple competing intelligence units. It was only after 1984 that MOIS became the dominant force, absorbing SAVAK\u2019s best assets.\u201d<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Despite MOIS\u2019s dominance, Iran\u2019s intelligence operations remain fragmented. <\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Former Iranian Minister of Intelligence Mohammad Reyshahri (1993) noted: \u201cMany intelligence functions were still controlled by IRGC Intelligence, making it difficult to create a unified strategy.\u201d<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span data-contrast=\"auto\">This fragmentation continues to allow different factions within the Iranian regime to use intelligence services for political purges and factional disputes.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: justify;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">Domestic Surveillance &amp; Torture<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134245418&quot;:true,&quot;134245529&quot;:true,&quot;335559738&quot;:160,&quot;335559739&quot;:80}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span data-contrast=\"auto\">The clerical dictatorship\u2019s intelligence services retained and refined the brutal interrogation and torture methods originally pioneered by SAVAK. This continuity was exemplified by figures like Javad Azadeh, a professional interrogator whose reputation for cruelty spanned both the Shah\u2019s and the Islamic Republic\u2019s security apparatus. During the Ahmadinejad era, Azadeh resurfaced in Iran\u2019s intelligence circles, applying his expertise in extracting forced confessions. As <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ilfoglio.it\/articoli\/2009\/08\/04\/news\/il-regime-di-ahmadinejad-ritira-fuori-il-gran-torturatore-70793\/\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">an Italian report noted in 2009,<\/span><\/a><span data-contrast=\"auto\"> his methods left no room for failure: \u201cJavad\u2019s techniques knew no limits. He ensured that spies, mullahs, and rebels all broke under his hands. No temperament, no matter how resilient, could resist him.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">THREAD<br \/>For more than four decades, the clerical regime in <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/Iran?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#Iran<\/a> has consistently blackmailed other nations and considered <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/extremism?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#extremism<\/a> as &quot;leverage&quot;. 1\/9<a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/ieaaOkZb6y\">https:\/\/t.co\/ieaaOkZb6y<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/W9u5BJHXqs\">pic.twitter.com\/W9u5BJHXqs<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; NCRI-FAC (@iran_policy) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/iran_policy\/status\/1567118800083980295?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">September 6, 2022<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: justify;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">Shah\u2019s Intelligence Machinery to Hunt Dissidents<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134245418&quot;:true,&quot;134245529&quot;:true,&quot;335559738&quot;:160,&quot;335559739&quot;:80}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span data-contrast=\"auto\">The transition of SAVAK was a calculated decision at the highest levels of the regime, including the former Supreme Leader Ruhollah Khomeini himself, who ensured that key intelligence officers were not only spared but reassigned to critical positions within the Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS) and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Intelligence Organization.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span data-contrast=\"auto\">According to Darius Rejali&#8217;s 1994 study on torture in Iran, the new regime\u2019s intelligence apparatus, often <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.refworld.org\/reference\/countryrep\/irbc\/1997\/en\/37923\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">referred to as SAVAMA<\/span><\/a><span data-contrast=\"auto\">, was established as a direct replacement for SAVAK. Rejali cites former Iranian President Abolhasan Bani-Sadr, who stated that SAVAMA was \u201cmostly staffed by old SAVAK officials\u201d and primarily engaged in external espionage (Rejali, 1994, p. 131-132). However, this was only part of the story. While some sources questioned its formal existence, media reports at the time suggested that SAVAMA was deeply involved in international assassinations, with a 1993 UN Human Rights Commission report explicitly accusing it of orchestrating the killings of political dissidents abroad (APS Diplomat Recorder, 11 July 1994).<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134245418&quot;:true,&quot;134245529&quot;:true,&quot;335559738&quot;:160,&quot;335559739&quot;:80}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span data-contrast=\"auto\">One of the earliest and most telling instances of this continuity was the arrest of <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/irannewsupdate.com\/news\/infightings\/how-the-mullahs-regime-used-the-shahs-savak-after-irans-1979-revolution\/\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">Mohammad Reza Saadati<\/span><\/a><span data-contrast=\"auto\">, a prominent member of the People&#8217;s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI), in May 1979. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.khabaronline.ir\/news\/1739833\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">This operation<\/a>, executed by former SAVAK operatives now operating under the regime\u2019s command, demonstrated how quickly the new regime repurposed its predecessor\u2019s expertise to suppress ideological opponents. As historical records show, SAVAK\u2019s counterintelligence officers were instrumental in orchestrating the detention, interrogation, and elimination of PMOI members, using the same tactics they had previously employed against Marxist groups and nationalist dissidents under the Shah.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">The head of the Foreign Intelligence and Movements Dept. in <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/Iran?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#Iran<\/a> regime&#39;s Intelligence Ministry (MOIS) is Reza Amiri Moghaddam. He is in direct contact with Intelligence Minister Mahmoud Alavi. <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/FreeIran2018?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#FreeIran2018<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/ExpelIranDiplomatTerrorists?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#ExpelIranDiplomatTerrorists<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/WNbep1FmWZ\">pic.twitter.com\/WNbep1FmWZ<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Mohammad Mohaddessin (@Mohaddessin) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Mohaddessin\/status\/1027172920676818944?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">August 8, 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span data-contrast=\"auto\">By 1993, a UK parliamentary report accused the regime in Iran of orchestrating assassinations across Europe, the United States, the Philippines, Pakistan, India, and Turkey. These operations mirrored SAVAK\u2019s pre-revolutionary tactics of eliminating opponents abroad.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span data-contrast=\"auto\">In recent years, Iranian intelligence has been linked to attempted kidnappings and assassinations of dissidents in France, the Netherlands, Denmark, and the United States (US State Department, 2023).<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span data-contrast=\"auto\">SAVAK-trained operatives also played a key role in establishing the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/publications\/special-reports\/an-overview-of-irans-history-of-hostage-taking-and-how-western-appeasement-has-fueled-tehrans-terrorism\/\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">regime\u2019s transnational assassination program,<\/span><\/a><span data-contrast=\"auto\"> which targeted opposition figures abroad. Many of the extrajudicial killings of dissidents in the 1980s and 1990s, particularly in Europe and the Middle East, were carried out with methodologies perfected by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.iranicaonline.org\/articles\/baktiar-teymur-iranian-general-born-in-1914-the-son-of-sardar-moazzam-baktiari\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">SAVAK\u2019s assassination squads<\/a> before 1979. These included targeted killings, forced disappearances, and the use of diplomatic cover to execute operations in foreign countries.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: justify;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">SAVAK\u2019s Legacy in Iran\u2019s Modern Intelligence State<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134245418&quot;:true,&quot;134245529&quot;:true,&quot;335559738&quot;:160,&quot;335559739&quot;:80}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span data-contrast=\"auto\">The Iranian regime has combined SAVAK\u2019s operational expertise with modern-era security strategies to build one of the world\u2019s most ruthless intelligence networks.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span data-contrast=\"auto\">While the Shah relied on Western training and equipment to operate SAVAK, the clerical dictatorship has ensured that its intelligence capabilities continue to grow through alliances with autocratic regimes worldwide. Meanwhile, the ideological justification for repression has shifted from defending the monarchy to defending a fundamentalist state\u2014yet the methods remain the same.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span data-contrast=\"auto\">As <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.isna.ir\/news\/98072115516\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">Saeed Hajjarian <\/span><\/a><span data-contrast=\"auto\">aptly put it: \u201cWe did not replace SAVAK. We repurposed it.\u201d<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Four-minute read&nbsp; The fall of the Shah in 1979 was widely seen as the end of SAVAK, Iran&rsquo;s dreaded secret police. However, rather than dismantling this notorious organization, the clerical [&#8230;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":328440,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[287],"class_list":{"0":"post-328434","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-terrorism-a-fundamentalism","8":"tag-iran-terrorism"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>How Iran\u2019s Clerical Regime Rebuilt SAVAK into a Global Repression Machine - NCRI<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Four-minute read\u00a0 The fall of the Shah in 1979 was widely seen as the end of SAVAK, Iran\u2019s dreaded secret police. 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