Mohammad Tavassoli: Ayatollah Khomeini told Dr. Yazdi that "after the revolution, there must be those who do not shake their hands in killing"

I wanted to prevent the destruction of Reza Shah's mausoleum, but Ayatollah Khomeini ordered it and Khalkhali carried it out

Mohammad Tavassoli, the former secretary general of the Freedom Movement of Iran, wrote to Iran Watch in response to the "Institute for the Regulation and Publication of Imam Khomeini's Works":

"In Dr. Yazdi's memoirs, it is stated that "Khalkhali was supported by Mr. Khomeini. In one of my meetings with Mr. Khomeini, I discussed in detail the consequences of Khalkhali's executions in Tehran and other cities, especially in Kurdistan, and their repercussions on the international level. But Mr. Khomeini believed that these killings were necessary to preserve the revolution. I did not have that belief and I openly disagreed. After a bit of discussion, Mr. Khomeini told me that after the revolution, there should be people who would not hesitate to kill."

In another part of his response to Iran Watch, Tavassoli also noted: "In May 1980, Mr. Khalkhali was demolishing the building of Reza Shah's mausoleum near the shrine of Hazrat Abdolazim (AS) with a well-equipped team. When I was informed that some people were demolishing the mausoleum building, I immediately ordered the mayor of the region to stop it, and the municipal forces prevented the demolition with the facilities they had. Shortly afterwards, Mr. Khomeini said in his speech that Reza Shah had committed injustice and that his tomb should be destroyed. Then, within 20 days, the building was completely destroyed, and today there is no trace of it."

Earlier, the Revolution Documentation Center wrote:

Recently, Mr. Mohammad Tavassoli, the former secretary general of the Freedom Movement, in an interview with the analytical news website "Iran Watch" on February 23, 2025, made claims contrary to the historical reality regarding Imam Khomeini, the clergy, and the events of the early months of the victory of the Islamic Revolution. The Islamic Revolution Documentation Center, in accordance with its mission, which is responsible for compiling, explaining, and correcting the contemporary history of Iran and the Islamic Revolution of Iran, has responded to one of the claims made by him in a documented manner and will respond to the other claims raised in this interview in detail along with documents and documents in the next issue of the journal "To Certificate of Documents".