Pars Today

After the victory of the Islamic Revolution in Iran, the activities of the Tudeh Party, an Iranian communist party, which had been banned during the Shah's regime, resumed after 30 years.

However, the party members continued to work towards securing the illegitimate interests of the Soviet Union in Iran, including espionage, attempts to stage a coup, and collaboration with the Soviet Union to save the Ba’athist regime in Iraq after its attack on Iran.

The Tudeh Party of Iran was established in 1941 with a communist ideology. However, it soon became a tool and mercenary of the Soviet Union in Iran, and for this reason, it was never welcomed by the Muslim people of the country. The party betrayed the nationalization of Iran's oil industry and demanded that the northern oil fields be handed over to the Soviet Union in exchange for the concession of the southern oil fields to the UK, allegedly to maintain balance.

After the victory of the Islamic Revolution in Iran, the activities of the Tudeh Party, which had been banned during the Shah's regime, resumed after 30 years. However, the party members continued to work towards securing the illegitimate interests of the Soviet Union in Iran, including espionage. 

In fact, the leaders of the Tudeh Party explicitly confessed to collaborating with the Soviet Union, and it was revealed that the Soviet ambassador in Tehran had the final say in the decisions of the party's central committee.

Following these confessions and the information obtained by security forces about the Soviet Union's role in plotting against the Islamic Republic, particularly with regard to its massive support for Saddam in the war against Iran, an order was issued to expel 18 Soviet diplomats from Iran. 

After the Soviet Union failed to achieve its goals in Iran, it collaborated with its internal agents in the army to stage a coup against the Islamic Republic. However, the plot was foiled thanks to the vigilance of Iranian intellectuals in the army and security forces.

Following the exposure of the Tudeh Party's role in the Soviet Union's coup plot against the Islamic Republic of Iran in 1982, the authorities of the Islamic Republic deemed the continuation of the party's activities to be against the interests of the system and declared the party dissolved.

Noureddin Kianouri, one of the leaders of the Tudeh Party, said:

"In our opinion, these offenses are very serious and fall under the categories of espionage, treason, and corruption. They are so severe that, in my opinion, the Islamic Republic has the right to inflict the heaviest punishments for these offenses..."

Before the Islamic Revolution in 1979 and the establishment of the Islamic Republic in Iran, Iraq was part of the Eastern Bloc (Soviet Union) and Iran was part of the Western Bloc (USA). The Soviet Union thought that with Iraq's victory over Iran, Iran would join the Eastern Bloc countries. The Soviet Union was the largest supplier of military equipment and weapons to Iraq.

Source:“4 Great Betrayals of the Tudeh Party against the Iranian Nation" (2021). Islamic Revolution Document Center

Keywords: Communism in Iran, Tudeh Party in Iran, Iran-Soviet relations, Iran-Russia relations

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