Farewell Kiss

In the end, the protests achieved their aim. Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, who had ruled Iran since the early 1940s, realized he could no longer hold on to power.

“When we understood the Shah had to leave, we were in shock,” Levyan recalls. “It pained us deeply. As a Jew, I knew life under his rule had been good, and that the radical Muslims poised to replace him would bring disaster. As an officer in the King’s army, it was heartbreaking to hear he was preparing to leave the country.”

Loyal to the end, Levyan struggled to accept the news. “I asked my commander for permission to escort the Shah,” he says. “He refused — absolutely not. But I insisted. Eventually, they approved it.”

January 16, 1979, remains etched in his memory. At Tehran’s Mehrabad Airport, the Guard assembled as the Shah arrived with his family and entourage.

“I approached him, saluted, and then knelt to kiss his shoes as a sign of respect,” Levyan says. “He was deeply moved. He began to cry. It was all filmed — you can see in the footage how emotional he was.”

For Levyan, it was more than ceremony. “After everything he had endured, there were still Iranians standing before him, acknowledging his sovereignty, grieving his departure, pledging loyalty and waiting for his return.”

The image of the young officer kneeling before the departing monarch would later bring Levyan serious trouble. At the time, though, he sensed only that darker days lay ahead.

“The Shah loved the Jews,” Levyan says. “He supported us. Iranian Jews knew we had someone to rely on while he was in power. When Iraqi Jews fled to Iran, he helped them. He refused to grant safe haven to terrorist groups operating against the State of Israel — not the PLO, not others. He had been our shield, and now he was gone.”

Days later, Ruhollah Khomeini returned from 14 years in exile, stepping off a plane in Tehran after months in Paris. The image of Khomeini descending the aircraft stairs marked a turning point: The architect of the revolution had come home to reshape Iran into a regime that would project fear far beyond its borders.

“I was young, a junior officer,” Levyan says. “My commander told me, ‘Remove your ranks.’ If the Revolutionary Guards caught me as an officer in the King’s Guard, they would kill me. So I tore them off. And if I’d be caught, it would be as just another regular soldier.”

The revolution ushered in a new and terrifying reality. Ruhollah Khomeini consolidated power through the Revolutionary Guard, imposing a regime of fear on anyone suspected of loyalty to the old order. In the purge that followed, those linked to the Shah were executed or imprisoned. Many rank-and-file soldiers quickly pledged allegiance to the new leadership and remained in place.

“I was arrested with other soldiers and held for two months,” Levyan relates. “They didn’t suspect I had any special connection to the Shah, so I was released. My commander, however, was executed.”

Levyan never returned to regular army service, though he was later drafted into the Iran-Iraq War. “I fought for seven months in that terrible war before being discharged,” he says.

Over the Border

Leaving the military behind, Levyan returned to his first love: professional sports. A talented soccer player in his youth, he moved into coaching and worked with national teams. On the surface, life seemed to steady itself.

“Those were the years when the regime was still consolidating,” he says. “They were busy eliminating remnants of the Shah’s rule. The persecution of ordinary citizens — including Jews — had not yet peaked.”

He married, had two daughters, and life was relatively quiet. “But,” he says, “I knew in my heart that it wouldn’t last. There was no telling where the fanatics who had taken over the country would lead it.

“And then one day,” he continues, “I ran into a former athlete I had coached. I didn’t even recognize him at first, but he greeted me warmly and reminded me who he was. Apparently, he was looking for me, because then the tone shifted. He said, ‘Tell me, did you kiss the Shah’s feet?’ I was stunned. Why would he ask that? He told me there was a photo circulating — a picture of me kneeling before the Shah at the airport.”

The image he had barely thought about since that emotional farewell had resurfaced.

“He leaned in and said, ‘They’re looking for you. They want to kill you. Someone informed on you. They’re talking about an officer loyal to the Shah — and a Jew — who must be dealt with.’ ”

Levyan understood immediately that this was no idle rumor. His former student had ties to Khomeinist circles and intelligence figures.

“I ran home and told my wife. I told her to take the girls and run to her parents — it could be a matter of hours until they’d come looking for me.”

Meanwhil, Levyan knew that for himself, there was only one option: He needed to flee.

The Baluchis, an ethnic minority in southeastern Iran, operated smuggling networks along the porous borders. “I happened to know a Baluchi fellow who was involved in smuggling,” Levyan says. “I asked if he could get me into Pakistan. I paid him, and he gave me an address in Zahedan, near the Pakistani border.”

The drive from Tehran to Zahedan would take 16 hours. He said goodbye to his wife and children, got into his car, and started driving.

Looking back, Levyan sees his decision to flee that night as nothing short of miraculous. “Hours after I left, members of the secret police — SAVAK, rebranded under the new regime — arrived at my house to search for me,” he says. “But we had all left. Still, that didn’t stop them from entering the house like a commando unit, coming down from the roof and overturning everything, as if I were the most wanted criminal in the world.”

He says that Hashem performed miracles for him on the road, “miracles that I thank the Almighty for every day,” he affirms. “As I passed through Qom, I saw a soldier hitchhiking and decided to pick him up — I figured that if I were stopped, it would look better if I had a soldier traveling with me.”

The man joined him and, after a few minutes, asked where he was headed. Levyan explained he was driving to a resort town near his final destination.

“Then the soldier told me, ‘Listen, I serve in this area. There’s a road the army paved that goes straight to your destination with no checkpoints — it will save you hours.’ I trusted him.”

Minutes later, the soldier asked to be let out in the middle of nowhere — and vanished.

“To this day,” Levyan says, “I’m sure that soldier was Eliyahu Hanavi.”

Even so, danger lurked. “Just before reaching Zahedan, I was stopped by a border guard. My license plate was on their list. I thought it was over. But suddenly, the soldier turned to me and said, ‘You’re a taxi, right?’ I nodded. He looked, then said, ‘Great. Go in peace.’ ”

In Zahedan, Levyan met the Baluchi smuggler who would guide him across the border. “When I told him I was with the King’s Guard, he told me to wait a few days — the area was crawling with checkpoints and search teams.”

His patience paid off. A few days later, he donned a red Baluchi shirt, joined another family in a pickup truck, and after hours of driving, stepped onto Pakistani soil.

Back home, his family wasn’t off the hook. “They confiscated my father’s printing shop, my brother was arrested and beaten severely, and my wife and children were evicted from our large, beautiful home. The secret police simply told them the house was being expropriated,” he says.

From Pakistan, Levyan made his way to Israel via Switzerland.

“As an asylum seeker, I could have chosen America, but I preferred our homeland, among the Jewish people,” he says.

Yet he knew time was of essence if he wanted to save his wife and children, and six months later, he was finally able to arrange for them to be smuggled out, too.

A Place in My Heart

In Israel, David-Ardeshir Levyan began a career as a Persian-language broadcaster. He also worked for years assisting Iranian exiles in Arab countries, including Egypt and Turkey.

“At first,” he says, “I joined the Shah’s loyalists who were active in the West. We looked after exiles — the Shah’s followers who had escaped Iran. When Bill Clinton came to power, he closed the offices of the Shah’s supporters and refused to help us. Many years have passed, but innumerable Iranians worldwide are still waiting for the day this cursed regime falls and the Shah’s son — the legal heir of the dynasty —returns to lead the country.”

Levyan is certain that the majority of Iranians share this hope.

“Two or three months after the revolution, it was clear to most people in Iran that they had been deceived,” he says. “They were promised freedom, but got terror and violence instead. For too many years, the government has abused its citizens. Everything there is a lie. They sell Islam to the public while committing acts that contradict every principle of religion. The people know the Khomeinist revolution was a disaster, and anyone who cares about Iran is grateful that it looks like it’s being toppled at this point.”

Levyan strongly defends the Shah’s legacy, although by now, most of that is really water under the bridge. “Claims that he ruled harshly or murdered his people are lies, spread by Khomeinists and communists. He loved his people, and they loved him. If he had been cruel, he would have executed Khomeini, who had been imprisoned before exile. The Shah spared him because religious leaders begged for mercy. And we all know the result.”

During last summer’s 12-day war, Levyan was elated.

“I was overjoyed. It’s a pity we didn’t finish the job sooner, and that Trump put the brakes on us. A few more days of such action, and the regime would have fallen. But now it seems decisive. I’m waiting for the day we hear this regime has fallen and we can have coffee together in Tehran.”

Levyan believes the Shah’s son — 65-year-old Reza Pahlavi, a dissident in exile in the United States — will lead Iran into a new era.

“The Shah’s son and his supporters are lovers of Israel,” Levyan says. “The Shah himself was a strong supporter — relations were excellent. Citizens of both countries could visit freely. That is how it should be, and that is how it will be when Reza Pahlavi returns to Tehran.”

If tomorrow the regime in Tehran actually falls and the Shah’s son returns, would Levyan go back?

“I think about this often,” he says. “It’s a good question. I pray every day for my homeland, that this regime finally falls and that Iranians can again live with dignity and freedom. I came to Israel by choice because I am a Jew, and I love my people and my land. But there will always be a place for Iran in my heart.”

(Originally featured in Mishpacha, Issue 1102)