Manhattan Reborn 1978

Southeast Texas, Houston.

19 Piney Point Village, Piney Point Village, Memorial District, west of downtown.

David stood by the car and told Elena and One-Eyed Andres about hosting a birthday dinner for his father, David Sr., then turned and walked towards Odis Parker and Toby Olga at the door, and asked with a smile.

"You don't have any plans tonight, right?"

"No." Mr. Parker replied with a smile, as if he knew it already.

"Um..." Toby blinked his big eyes and did not answer immediately, and asked tentatively.

"Are you going to continue working tonight?"

"More?"

David felt very interesting and asked, "Do you already have an appointment tonight?"

"That's not true..."

"Hehe~"

"My dad is celebrating his birthday tonight, so you should come over and join in the fun!"

"Okay." Toby breathed a sigh of relief, moved a step to the side, and said that he instantly entered work mode.

"I have sent the research report you came out yesterday to Maggie in New York this morning."

"She will type up the report and ask Mr. Pyne to forward it to the New York Fed."

"ok~"

David turned to look at Mr. Parker, who had an inexplicable excitement in his expression. He curled his lips and suppressed his curiosity. He walked into the living room first and sat down before asking.

"Did you get any more intelligence or news?"

Mr. Parker did not answer immediately, but glanced at the study.

David followed his gaze and said to Toby: "Please go and tell the instructor first, I will be right away."

"Ok."

. . .

Watching Toby walk into the study, Mr. Parker put the briefcase he carried in front of David and took out several file bags while saying.

"According to the latest news from Iran and the intelligence analysis we have obtained from various sources, we believe that the new government that Khomeini is about to form will have a very tough attitude toward the United States' acquiescence in King Pahlavi II's asylum in Panama!"

"Khomeini is very likely to use this reason to reject the conditions proposed by the United States to calm the domestic people's strong dissatisfaction with the king."

David crossed his hands and crossed his legs, frowned and thought for a moment, shook his head without accepting the information handed over by Mr. Parker.

"Expand it a little bit, I won't read it~"

"Ok!"

Mr. Parker opened a file bag, pulled out the information inside and said: "Ever since I heard you mention the chaos in Iran, I have found some old friends and traveled to Iran and several surrounding countries in batches to explore the situation in Iran at any time. latest news."

"At present, there are five main reasons for Pahlavi II's resignation."

"First, the land reform policy implemented by King Pahlavi and his son transferred land controlled by religious groups in Iran to ordinary tenant farmers, directly cutting off the important economic source of these religious groups."

"Second, the industrialization reforms forcibly promoted by Pahlavi II made it impossible for many traditional craftsmen in Iran to complete their career transformation immediately, and were forced to close their shops, change careers, and go into exile."

"For example: In 72, the Iranian government forcibly promoted machine-made bread, which caused more than 6000 traditional bread craftsmen to lose their jobs."

"In 75-76, the Iranian government launched an anti-profiteering campaign. About 2 businessmen were arrested and imprisoned. About 20 businessmen fled Iran and went into exile. More than [-] shops were forced to close~"

"Traditional craftsmen + businessmen + religious groups are all groups that were deprived of their power and interests during the modernization reforms implemented by Pahlavi II."

“Third, the surge in Iran’s urbanization rate has caused a large number of poor farmers to flow into big cities.”

“As of last year, Iran’s rural population only accounted for about 48% of the country’s population, and the rural population has decreased by 20% in 30 years!”

"Farmers who have poured into cities in large numbers have neither received higher education nor a stable source of income. Iran's rapidly developing oil industry has nothing to do with these poor people at the bottom."

"In 76, according to statistics from Iranian government officials, there were nearly 12500 poor people living in more than 100 tents or simple houses in the capital Tehran."

"And just a few hundred meters away from the slums, there are brand new high-end luxury apartments, shopping malls, modern dance halls, theaters, etc."

“Fourth, Iran’s more than 100 universities were also an important force in carrying out various anti-King demonstrations last year.”

"Because since the 50s, Pahlavi I arrested nearly ten thousand people across the country in order to clean up the remaining forces of Prime Minister Mossadegh."

"More than half of these people are staff, students and professors from various universities in Iran."

"So in the past 20 years, the vast majority of university graduates in Iran have refused to join government agencies to express their dissatisfaction with the king~"

"The above four categories of people, or they can be generally summarized into four groups, all slowly came together with the purpose of killing Pahlavi, and gradually formed a huge force."

"Hey!" David looked at Mr. Parker and interrupted him with a strange expression.

"I know everything you said..."

"Haha~" Mr. Parker smiled and nodded, holding up the information in his hand.

"I know you know!"

"But I still have to tell you that this information was collected and compiled by more than a dozen people over several months."

"And you..."

"It's not important, just keep going!" David smiled and waved his hand, interrupting him again.

"..."

Mr. Parker looked at David quietly for a while, put down the information in his hand, and continued.

"Until the 60s, Khomeini was only a lecturer in religious history, specializing in philosophy and theology."

"In 62, the Iranian government cabinet submitted an election law to allow Iranian women to be eligible to run for office. Khomeini and other religious figures immediately jumped out to strongly oppose it, forcing the cabinet to withdraw the bill."

"In 63, Pahlavi II proposed comprehensive modernization reforms in the country, including land reform, privatization of state-owned enterprises, improving women's rights, popularizing basic education and reducing illiteracy rates, etc."

"Khomeini believed that Pahlavi II's reforms violated the teachings that the people had always believed in, and declared a boycott of the king's reforms."

"Pahlavi II, he was quickly captured and thrown into prison."

"But just after Khomeini was imprisoned, those fanatical believers set off three days of large-scale riots in Tehran and other cities~"

"In order to quell the riots, Pahlavi II could only release Khomeini and send people to keep an eye on him."

"In 64, the United States and the Iranian government signed a "Status Agreement," the main clause of which is that Americans enjoy immunity in Iranian territory!"

"We can simply understand it as: Even if an American commits an unforgivable crime in Iran, he must be extradited back to the United States to face trial."

"So Khomeini once again stood up and shouted slogans: We don't want the West, we don't want the East... Eliminate the gap between rich and poor and build a great society..."

"The slogans he proposed + the Status Agreement really made the Iranian people completely disappointed in King Pahlavi II and generated strong opposition. They took to the streets to join the opposition demonstrations."

"This time Pahlavi II had Khomeini arrested again and directly exiled him, forcing him to live in Iraq for more than ten years."

"Last August, a deliberate arson occurred in a cinema in the Iranian port city of Abadan, killing more than 400 people, which directly triggered the silence of the majority of the Iranian people."

"The Iraqi government immediately expelled Khomeini, who stood up again. After leaving Iraq, he wanted to go to Kuwait for asylum but was rejected. He could only go to Paris, France for a temporary stay."

"Paris?" David murmured again, seeming to smell something strange.

Mr. Parker, with a smile on his lips, leaned back on the sofa and explained: "The unrest in Iran has also attracted great attention from the people and the media in European countries."

"Khomeini's arrival in Paris prompted many supporters who admired him very much to speak out in the media, saying that only he could save Iran."

"And Khomeini has also said in some media in Paris and privately that he can be a friend of the Americans."

"And publicly promised: If I return to Iran, I will definitely give everyone political freedom. I will not use force to purge opponents, let alone force women to put on the burqa again. They can freely choose their own destiny."

"He even said in an interview that due to personal wishes, age and health problems, he will not participate in any political activities after returning to Iran. He just wants to return to his hometown of Qom to retire."

David suddenly raised his left hand to Mr. Parker and asked with a frown: "Who did Khomeini meet in Paris?"

"Hehe~"

Mr. Parker chuckled and replied: "President Warren White's representative to Paris."

"They talked to Khomeini for two weeks!"

"Hi~hoo!!"

"and then?"

"Then the US military and CIA agents joined forces to help Khomeini resolve a possible military coup in Iran, paving the way for him to return home~"

"On February 2, when Khomeini's plane landed in Tehran, the capital of Iran, about 1 million people took to the streets to greet him."

"But to this day, he still stays in Tehran and has not returned to his hometown of Qom!"

The smile on Mr. Parker's lips disappeared, he stared directly at David and said, "Besides~"

"Since Iran announced it would stop exporting crude oil, the continued rise in international oil prices has led to OPEC member states starting frequent private contacts again."

"In the days after Khomeini returned to Tehran, he did not choose to meet with representatives of the United States first, but instead met with diplomatic envoys from the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait."

"This surprised many people and caused great concern about Khomeini's ability to keep his promises!"

"Yeah..." David looked down at his hands and nodded slightly.

"When Khomeini set foot on Tehran, no matter what he was going to do, it was already too late for some people to regret it."

“You can’t just look at what he says, but also what he will do!”

“It’s not necessarily war or natural disaster that can destroy a country.”

"A few words from a few people, ignorant actions by a few people, or a seemingly normal public event can completely change a country~"

"You don't even have to destroy any buildings in the city, let alone harm any civilians. You only need to make all the advantages of this country disappear, and it will gradually move towards an unknown future."

David stood up, walked to Mr. Parker, looked at him, and whispered.

"I don't like politics, and I don't like dealing with politicians."

"Because I don't want to have to guess every moment when I communicate with them... which sentence is the truth and which sentence is a lie!"

"So, if you don't have a clear judgment about Khomeini, you can try to classify him first."

"Is he a politician? Or a respectable wise man who cares about the country and the people?"

"Or maybe he has never thought that he has the talent to be an actor?"

"...Actor?" After hearing this, Mr. Parker felt more and more interesting and nodded.

"I understand~ If he was really an actor, his acting skills would be even better than those of international movie stars."

"Okay~ Is there anything else?" David waved his hand to interrupt Mr. Parker's teasing and asked.

"There are two things!"

Mr. Parker smiled and raised his hand and pointed behind him, "Mag and the others have arrived in Hawaii and are going to meet Davis Leahy to discuss follow-up cooperation."

"Do you have something you want me to bring to them?"

David subconsciously touched his nose and asked, "Is there any latest news from the gardener?"

"People from Vitol Company still have no response?"

"Not yet."

"However, if there is no news, it should be considered good news for us, right?"

"Hehe~"

"Then help me tell Mag and ask him to visit Susan and Polly."

"Ok."

"Another thing, what is it?"

"Bill Gutfreund."

"Um..." David looked at Mr. Parker strangely and asked.

"What's up with him?"

Mr. Parker shrugged and smiled: "He has already boarded the plane and is expected to arrive in Houston in the evening."

"According to what he said on the phone, there is something that must be discussed with you in person."

"Oh~"

David nodded as he recalled the scene when he met Bill Gutfreund in Hawaii.

"Maybe it's because Carnes ran into some trouble and it was inconvenient for him to come over, so he asked Bill to come over..."

"He'll leave it to you. You guys can come over together tonight."

"Ok."

----

new York.

It’s approaching noon~

Manhattan, Wall Street.

In an office on the twelfth floor of Stanley.

Pine held the microphone, finished reading the research report in his hand, and asked the other person.

"What do you think?"

"Yes, I'm about to turn it over to the New York Fed."

"Um.."

"Ok!"

Pine put down the phone and looked at David writing the research report in just one day. He couldn't help but smile and shake his head.

Could it be this time again? .luck? !