Behzad Moezi
Behzad Moezi | |
|---|---|
| Born | 6 February 1938 Tehran, Iran |
| Died | 10 January 2021 (aged 82) Paris, France |
| Rank | Lieutenant colonel |
Behzad Moezi was an Imperial Iranian Air Force colonel.[1][2] He trained in the U.S., served in Mohammad Reza Pahlavi's air force for 23 years, and flew 1,200 hours during Iran's Gulf war against Iraq.[3] Moezi is considered "one of the most celebrated pre-revolution Iranian pilots".[4][5]
Life and career
Moezi was born in Tehran on 6 February 1938. His father, Lt. Gen. Mahmoud Moezzi, was a high-ranking officer. Moezzi was also a descendant of the royal Qajar dynasty.[6]
Moezi was responsible for flying Mohammad Reza Pahlavi and his family to Morocco during the Iranian revolution, and then flew the plane back to Iran. About this incident, Moezi said "The mullahs [Muslim clergymen] never forgive me", and "Nobody thanked me for getting rid of the Shah, nobody remembered that I brought back a $45 million airplane to the Iranian people."[7] According to Moezzi, he "had hated flying for the Shah".[8][9]
Moezi was a People's Mujahedin Organization of Iran member that had been undetected in the Iranian air force.[10] He flew ex Iranian President Abolhassan Banisadr and Massoud Rajavi to France ahead of three Iranian jets sent to intercept them.[11]
Moezi had been imprisoned after the Nozheh coup and then released at the outbreak of the war.[12] He died from leukemia on 10 January 2021, in Paris, aged 82.[13]
References
- ^ Afkhami, Gholam (2009). The Life and Times of the Shah. University of California Press. p. 538.
- ^ "Iran: The Great Escape". Time.
- ^ "Why the Shah's pilot flew Bani-Sadr to Paris". CSM.
- ^ "Iran's most celebrated fighter pilot Col. Behzad Mo'ezzi dies in Paris aged 83". Arab News.
- ^ "Ibani-Sadr Says He'll Stay in Paris Until Iran Takes Democratic Path". The New York Times.
- ^ "Iran's most celebrated fighter pilot Col. Behzad Mo'ezzi dies in Paris aged 83". Arab News.
- ^ "Why the Shah's pilot flew Bani-Sadr to Paris". CSM Journal.
- ^ Shawcross, William (1989). The Shah's Last Ride. Touchstone. p. 125.
- ^ Kadivar, Cyrus (2017). Farewell Shiraz: An Iranian Memoir of Revolution and Exile. The American University in Cairo Press. p. 153.
- ^ Vatanka, Alex (2021). The Battle of the Ayatollahs in Iran: The United States, Foreign Policy, and Political Rivalry since 1979. I.B. Tauris. ISBN 9780755600052.
- ^ "Why the Shah's pilot flew Bani-Sadr to Paris". CSM.
- ^ Buchan, James (2012). Days of God: The Revolution in Iran and Its Consequences. John Murray Publishers. p. 294.
- ^ "Iran's most celebrated fighter pilot Col. Behzad Mo'ezzi dies in Paris aged 83". Arab news.