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Iran
SAVAMA
Little information existed in 1987 on SAVAK's successor agency,
SAVAMA. According to General Robert E. Huyser, President Jimmy
Carter's last special envoy to imperial Iran, SAVAMA's first director
was Major General Fardust, who was arrested in December 1985 for
being a "Soviet informer." But after this major arrest the revolutionary
government's keen desire to gain an upper hand over leftist guerrilla
organizations may have influenced certain IRP leaders to relax
their previously unrelenting pursuit of military intelligence
personnel. Key religious leaders, including Majlis speaker Hashemi-Rafsanjani,
insisted on recalling former agents to help the regime eliminate
domestic opposition. Consequently, some intelligence officers
and low-ranking SAVAK and army intelligence officials were asked
to return to government service because of their specialized knowledge
of the Iranian left. Others had acquired in-depth knowledge of
Iraq's Baath Party and proved to be invaluable in helping decision
makers.
Although it is impossible to verify, in 1987 observers speculated
that some of SAVAK's intelligence-gathering operations were turned
over to SAVAMA. It remained to be determined whether these newly
authorized operations proved effective and whether there was coordination
with other branches of government, including the powerful Pasdaran.
Data as of December 1987
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