Doc on former diplomat Ardeshir Zahedi under Shah premieres
TEHRAN - (Iranart)- A documentary on Ardeshir Zahedi, a former Iranian diplomat who served during the reign of Iran’s last monarch Mohammad Reza Pahlavi as the country’s foreign minister and its ambassador to the United States and the United Kingdom during the 1960s and 1970s, premiered at the Mellat Palace Museum on Thursday.
“The Last Diplomat” directed by Amir Tajik uncovers untold stories of Iran’s history witnessed by Zahedi.
In addition, Zahedi was the son-in-law of the Shah and the documentary includes unseen photos and footages of the Pahlavi family in addition to personal albums of Zahedi.
The production team made more than 18 months of full-time efforts to collect exclusive information with the help of an experienced crew.
A poster for the documentary was also unveiled during the premiere attended by the crew, interested documentarians and individuals.
Speaking at the ceremony, Tajik said that the officials at the museum have made great contributions to the documentary.
“I tried very hard to collect the information. Part of Zahedi’s life was during the coup d’état against Mohammad Mossadeq’s government in 1953, which Zahedi believed was not a coup d’état,” he said.
“A major event of those days was the capture of Iran’s radio building, and the documentary shows previously unseen photos in addition to voices which belong to those days and are preserved in the secret archives of the radio station,” he said.
He also added that part of the documentary features recent words uttered by Zahedi in honor of martyred Commander Qassem Soleimani.
Zahedi is a descendant of two families that have shaped the history of modern Iran. His father, Fazlollah Zahedi (1897-1963), served as prime minister, and his maternal grandfather, Nasrollah Khan Moshir od-Dowleh, served as the first prime minister of Iran after the establishment of the Constitution in 1907.
Zahedi has led a very eventful life. During World War II, when Ardeshir was twelve, his father, who was the commander of the Isfahan division, was arrested by the occupying Allied forces and imprisoned in Palestine.
After completing his college education at Utah State University, Ardeshir returned to Iran to become deputy director of the Point Four Program.
In 1957, he married the Shah’s first daughter Shahnaz. Mahnaz, the Shah’s first granddaughter was born a year later. Although the couple separated in 1964, Ardeshir still remained a close confidant and friend of the Shah until his death in 1980.
In the last two decades of the Pahlavi dynasty, Zahedi served as an ambassador to the United States, and five years as foreign minister of Iran.
During his diplomatic career, he took an active role in the United Nations discussions. As the head of the Iranian delegation to the United Nations General Assembly, he signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
The 91-year-old Zahedi presently resides in Switzerland.
source: Tehran Times