Abstract

Family background; on Ardalan family and father Amanollah’s career during Reza Shah’s reign; joining the Imperial Iranian Navy (IIN); on the education of naval cadets; structure and personnel of the navy; history of the Iranian navy; Iranian navy during and after WWII; reasons for the rapid promotion of young officers in IIN; modernization of the IIN; on the purge of the top command in the 1970s; impact of the charges against Admiral Abbas Ramzi Ata’i on the navy; on the IIN fleet; strategic thinking in IIN; on the occupation of Abu Musa and Tunb islands; on the Dhofar war; relations between the Shah and the Iranian armed forces; on the causes of the Revolution; on why the navy did not disintegrate after the Revolution, and the role of Admirals Alavi and Madani in preserving the unity of the navy; assignment to establish an organization to promote electronic industries; background, structure and working of the Iran Electronic Industries; Electronic Industries as consultant to other government organizations; Shah’s views on the role of science in changing Iranian society; on Ali-Qoli Ardalan’s tenure at the Ministry of Court prior to the Revolution; on the Shah’s aversion to violence, and refusal to accept the advice of the military to quell the revolutionary uprisings; on Admiral Ahmad Madani’s political views; on the role of the IIN in the politics of the Persian Gulf.