The UK rejected several appeals made by exiled Iranian opposition individuals and groups in 1981 seeking British backing for military and political efforts to topple the revolutionary rule of the Islamic Republic, declassified British government documents reveal.

Following the victory of Islamic Revolution of February 1979, a wave of Iranian politicians, military officers, professionals, students, and businessmen fled into exile across Europe and the United States. From abroad, they attempted to rally Western, especially the British and American support for a counter-revolution in Iran.

A British policy review conducted by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) in the lead-up to the Shah’s fall had recommended maintaining contact with both internal and exiled opposition groups. As a result, the FCO kept informal channels open, though it remained officially and publicly neutral.

Documents, unearthed by MEMO in the British National Archives, reveal that, one year after the Iraq–Iran war began, the FCO was approached by numerous Iranian exiles loyal to the Pahlavi monarchy. They sought support for plans to spark a revolution against Ayat Allah Khomeini’s revolutionary rule in Iran, which was officially recognised by the UK.

In early January 1981, Sir John Graham, Deputy Permanent Under-Secretary at the FCO, met with Mohammad Derakhshesh, a former minister under the Shah and a staunch anti-clerical figure. Derakhshesh requested British support for what he described as a “revolt” by Iranian teachers in response to the closure of schools and universities, and the growing control of the education system by clerics. He claimed to be chairman of the Iranian Teachers’ Association, which he said had a membership of 600,000.

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He also informed Graham that he was mobilising overseas support for the teachers’ movement. When asked about his political stance, Derakhshesh stated that he had opposed the Shah and initially welcomed the revolution—but added that “what had emerged was not the revolution that he had wanted.”

According to meeting records, Sir Graham said he would “consider the proposal carefully” and offered to meet him again “to discuss the matter further” after Derakhshesh’s return from a visit to the United States. Graham later advised the relevant departments to assess whether Derakhshesh actually led a widespread organisation. While he doubted that Derakhshesh has “the personality to lead an opposition movement”, Graham noted that his background was “far from negligible.”

In late January, Ardeshir Zahedi, the former Iranian Foreign Minister, sent a message to the FCO through his friend Julian Amery, a pro-intervention Conservative MP and well-known Zionist politician. Zahedi claimed that the Khomeini regime was “close to its terminal phase”. He warned that the next regime could either be pro-Western or pro-Soviet, and argued that any opposition plan clearly supported by the US and the UK “would command the support of the (Iranian) emigration”.

In a reply to Amery, Foreign Secretary Lord Peter Carrington called Zahedi’s views “interesting” and thanked Amery for sharing the........

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