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A brief look at the positions and activities of Mohammad Ali Foroughi

On May 12, 1930, Mohammad Ali Foroughi, the then Minister of Economy of Iran, became the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Iran. Foroughi was one of the prominent members of Freemasonry and one of the first and most effective elements of the Western cultural invasion against Iran in the Pahlavi era.
Sunday 12 December 2021 - 10:12

Irdc.ir: On May 12, 1930, Mohammad Ali Foroughi, the then Minister of Economy of Iran, became the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Iran. Foroughi was one of the prominent members of Freemasonry and one of the first and most effective elements of the Western cultural invasion against Iran in the Pahlavi era.

Mohammad Ali Foroughi was born in 1875 in Tehran. His father Mohammad Hussein - Zaka-ol-Molk - was one of the writers, poets and scientists of the time of Nasser al-Din Shah Qajar. It is said that the great ancestor of this family was a Jew from Baghdad who came to Iran for business and settled in Isfahan and became a Muslim. Foroughi's father, Mohammad Hussein Zaka-ol-Molk alias Foroughi, was considered one of the cultural figures of his time.

During his studies, Foroughi studied Arabic and French, as well as mathematics, physics, chemistry, and natural sciences, and studied medicine and pharmacy at the Darolfonoon, but left the field before graduating to study philosophy and literature. And completed the French and English languages. While studying, Foroughi was influenced by Mirzamalkam Khan, one of the pioneers in promoting Western culture and Freemasonry in Iran, and gradually became one of the most prominent Western thinkers in Iran. Foroughi, who was the translator the basic documents of Freemasonry from French to Persian, became one of the founders of the Awakening Lodge in Iran at the age of 32. He began his government career as a translator in the Ministry of Printing (Ministry of Guidance) and then in the last years of Muzaffar al-Din Shah's rule became a lecturer at the School of Political Science and head of the Secretariat. During these years he translated the books "The Wealth of Nations" and "History of the Oriental Nations". In 1907 and with the death of his father - Zaka-ol-Molk -, his title and job were given to his son and Foroughi became the director of the Higher School of Political Science.

After the issuance of the constitutional decree and the formation of the National Assembly, he took over the secretariat of the Assembly through the mediation of Sani al-Dawla (the first Speaker of the Assembly) and established an organization in accordance with the European Assemblies.

Foroughi also became a lawyer in the third term, but did not stay in the parliament for a few more months. In 1290, he was the Minister of Finance in the cabinet of Samsam al-Saltanah Bakhtiari, the Minister of Justice in the cabinet of Mushir al-Dawla, the Minister of Foreign Affairs in the cabinet of Mostofi, and the Minister of Finance in the re-cabinet of Mushir al-Dawla. He was appointed President of the Supreme Court and with this position was appointed by the last Qajar government as the head of the Iranian delegation to the Versailles Peace Conference in Paris.

Foroughi returned to Iran after a two-year stay in Europe and served as foreign minister in the cabinet of Mustafa al-Mamalik, finance minister in Mushir al-Dawla's cabinet, and twice as foreign minister and finance minister in Reza Khan's cabinets. After the extinction of the Qajar dynasty, he was the prime minister for a while and was the main host of the ceremony in Reza Khan's coronation assembly.

Foroughi played a key role in the rise to power of Reza Khan and the establishment of the Pahlavi dynasty. Hussein Maki writes: "Foroughi has always strengthened Reza Khan since his inception, either in terms of innate intelligence or in terms of his knowledge of British policy of" concentrating government and power "and establishing a dictatorship, and in many innovative political games. "And in fact he was one of the main taziyeh battalions."

Foroughi was a thinker of the Pahlavi dynasty. Foroughi's speech at Reza Khan's coronation ceremony contained all the elements of imperial chauvinism and archeology, which were later paid for by Foroughi's followers and disciples.

Mohammad Ali Foroughi became the Minister of War in the cabinet of Mostofi al-Mamalik in 1926. He was then appointed to the Iranian Embassy in Turkey, where he was able to establish very close relations with President Kemal Ataturk and Prime Minister Esmat Inonu and other Turkish officials.

Foroughi took advantage of this proximity and facilitated Reza Shah's trip to that country. Foroughi's purpose and intention of this trip was for the Shah to get acquainted with the manifestations of European civilization, which had become widespread in Turkey, and then to implement a part of that civilization in Iran as a souvenir.

Reza Shah left for Turkey on the June 2, 1934 and stayed in Turkey for forty days and after returning to Iran, he decided to bring Iran to the level of Turkey. Change of hat, discovery of hijab, establishment of university. They were all souvenirs of Turkey. Foroughi managed to fulfill his wishes with special skill without taking any personal steps. After returning from a trip to Europe, Reza Shah took steps that were entirely due to his visit to Turkey; Ferdowsi Millennium Celebration, Establishment of Tehran University, Establishment of Language Academy, Treaty of Saadabad, Kashf-e hijab and Shapoo Hat. In the Goharshad Mosque incident, Foroughi, the head of state and the best prime minister of Reza Shah, was related to Asadi, the governor of Khorasan, who did not do well in implementing Reza Shah's plans to, Kashf-e hijab and replace the Pahlavi hat. Two of Foroughi's daughters were Asadi's bride. Naturally, Foroughi became an intercessor, but the Shah was so angry and furious that not only he did not accept his intercession, but Also dismissed him in a disgraceful manner and executed Asadi.

Foroughi was rejected, sat in his house and closed the door on everyone. He stayed at home for six years, during which time Reza Shah did not visit him even once. But for Foroughi, this period is considered to be the most fruitful period of his life, because it was during these years of isolation that he wrote and researched works such as "The History of Philosophy in Europe", "Philosophy of Socrates and Plato". He dealt with the works of the greats of Persian literature and corrected and published their correct copies, including Saadi's books Gulistan and Bustan, and confronted and corrected the Shahnameh of Ferdowsi and Khamseh. In September 1941, when Iran was invaded by Russian and British forces from the north and south, Reza Shah remembered Foroughi once again and appealed to him to save himself from the predicament in which he was caught. Foroughi accepted the post of Prime Minister without giving any excuse to accept responsibility at that time. After the overthrow of Reza Shah and his transfer to Crown Prince Mohammad Reza Shah, the most important act of Foroughi's new cabinet was the signing of a tripartite treaty between Iran, Britain and the Soviet Union, in which the British and Soviet governments in exchange for Iran's cooperation with the Allies at the time. The war guaranteed Iran's independence and territorial integrity, and they pledged to withdraw their forces from Iran six months after the end of the war.

After almost a month of hesitation, Foroughi finally decided to reshuffle his cabinet and satisfy the majority of the deputies by changing a few ministers, but after introducing the new ministers to the parliament, only 66 of the 112 members of parliament voted in favor of his government, annoyed by this issue, he declared that he could not continue working with such a weak majority. After resigning from the post of Prime Minister, Foroughi, at the urging of Mohammad Reza Shah, who needed his guidance and advice, accepted the court ministry and held this position until his death.

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