Iranians View Regime of Shah Riza Pahlevi

The Shah of Iran's two week visit to the United States has set off a barrage of radically different statements by Iranian students here concerning the nature of the Shah's government.

Majid Tehranian 3G, who recently accused the Iranian government of ruthlessly supressing freedom of speech, press, and assembly, characterized Shah Riza Pahlevi's regime as "one of the most corrupt and tyrannical in our history." He has made these statements as "a leader" of the Confederation of Iranian Students, an organization of 6000 Iranians in America.

Immediate reaction to Tehranian's accusation came from Mohammed R. Madjd and Nadar Ardalan, students at the Graduate School of Design, who claim that the government "is working within a constitutional framework."

They contradicted a Tehranian statement that there were thousands of political prisoners in Iran and added that no concentration or hard labor camps exist in the country.

Criticizing Tehranian for "exaggerations, misrepresentations, and flights of ambitious fantasy," Madjd and Ardalan added that there were not 6000 Iranians in the United States for Tehranian to represent.

Still another view was presented by Donald K. Emerson, International Affairs Vice President of the United States National Student Association, who accused the Shah's regime of keeping Iranian students in prison without benefit of a trial. Emerson went on to say, "The Confederation of Iranian Students represents 39,000 students in Iran, Europe, and the United States."