Bibliography 2: #BIB39634

Key	BIB39634
Reference type	Electronic Article
Title	A Century Ago, a Mob Brutally Attacked an American Diplomat in Persia. His Death Shaped U.S.-Iran Relations for Decades
Periodical title	Smithsonian Magazine
Author	Uenuma, Francine
Year	2024
Epub date	September 5, 2024
Abstract	The July 1924 killing of Robert Imbrie fueled the rise of the Pahlavi dynasty and set the stage for both a CIA-backed 1953 coup and the 1979 Iran hostage crisis. "The weeks leading up to Imbrie’s killing saw a spate of violent incidents against the Baha’i, a minority religious group viewed as a heretical sect by the majority Shiite Muslim population. Imbrie sensed the inflaming of religious belief for political ends, noting in a June 11, 1924, dispatch that the demonstrations were 'engineered by the mullahs [Muslim clergy], subsidized by the government.' He added, 'Mobs fired by oratory and hashish swarmed through the streets, unhindered by the police, crying against Baha’ists.' "For Reza, anger at the Baha’is was a far preferable focus for mullah-led opposition than his own tenuous grasp on political power. 'The violence in the streets which is aimed against the Baha’is is, in a sense, [Reza’s] way of yielding to the clergy,' says Michael Zirinsky, an emeritus historian at Boise State University who has written extensively about this period. "Reza’s stature had been eroded by his failed bid that spring to form a republic. It was made even more precarious by a wave of demonstrations over the July 3 killing of a popular newspaper editor by two police agents. "'There was this wide hostility to the idea of a republic, and there were demonstrations against [Reza], and in early 1924, it looked very much like he had lost his grip,' says Zirinsky. "Imbrie waded directly into this tumult, defending two American Baha’i women, physician Susan Moody and nurse Elizabeth Stewart, after angry crowds gathered outside of their home. By demanding government protection, Moody later asserted to reporters, the diplomat had drawn the ire of the crowd. She harbored 'no doubt' that Imbrie had 'sacrificed his life for us.' "Around 11 a.m. on July 18, Imbrie—accompanied by Melvin Seymour, a prisoner of the U.S. consulate—approached a fountain where, rumor had it, a Baha’i had been struck blind for failing to pay proper homage to Shiite saints. Some reports claimed a camera carried by Imbrie set the crowd off; another account by Packard asserted that 'a Mohammedan priest suddenly cried out, pointing at Major Imbrie: "He has put poison in the well!"' Still other reports suggested the crowd believed the men to be Baha’is themselves. "As the mob turned on Imbrie and Seymour, they hastily retreated to their carriage, making their way to the nearby Cossack barracks, which Reza then commanded. But they found no harbor there, and blows rained down on them from demonstrators and Cossack soldiers alike. The bloodied men escaped to the hospital, where Packard rushed to attend to Imbrie’s wounds, but the rioters soon breeched the building, tearing tiles from the floor of the operating room and using them to inflict grievous wounds on Imbrie’s skull. According to Packard’s postmortem report, Imbrie sustained more than 138 wounds, many from sharp objects. He was conscious throughout the attack. "Four horrific hours later, at 3 p.m., Imbrie succumbed to his injuries. He was 41 years old. Seymour, meanwhile, eventually recovered and returned to the U.S. "News of Imbrie’s death was met with shock and umbrage. While the possibility of violence against a foreigner amid the anti-Baha’i agitation was well known, the fact that Imbrie’s status as an American Foreign Service officer had done nothing to save him was especially disturbing."
Notes	Bahá'í Faith and Susan Moody referenced.
Language	English
Keywords	IRAN; UNITED STATES; DIPLOMACY; IMBRIE, ROBERT W; PAHLAVI DYNASTY; IRAN HOSTAGE CRISIS, 1979; MOODY, SUSAN I.
URL	https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/a-century-ago-a-mob-brutally-attacked-an-american-diplomat-in-persia-his-death-shaped-us-iran-relations-for-decades-180985016/

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