TEHRAN, Iran — Reactions are still pouring in over the BBC Persian Service’s June 1 story on the founder of the Islamic Republic, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, based on recently declassified CIA documents. The British broadcaster cites a 1980 CIA analysis, titled “Islam in Iran,” released in 2008 that claimed Khomeini had reached out to the administration of President John F. Kennedy in 1963. The BBC article also reports that Khomeini contacted the White House just before the fall of the Shah of Iran in 1979.
Al-Monitor did not have access to the declassified documents and was not able to independently verify them. The BBC has, however, made “Islam in Iran” available to the public.