Explosion At The Iranian Consulate In San Francisco (1971)

KPIX-TV news footage from October 15th 1971 regarding a bomb explosion at the Iranian consulate in San Francisco. The consulate had been the target of some demonstrations by people who were protesting the Shah of Iran's policies. The explosion happened on the day that the Shah was throwing a lavish party in Iran, celebrating the 2500th anniversary of the creation of the Persian empire. No one was hurt as a result of the explosion. The leaders of the Confederation of Iranian Students in the Bay Area disclaimed responsibility for the event. The Consulate General, Dr. Parviz Adel, was not home during the explosion, but his children and staff members were. He claimed in an interview with KPIX that he knew the names of the perpetrators, and that they were not students and were staying in the U.S. illegally. The footage also features interviews with neighbors who either felt the explosion or whose houses were damaged as a result of it. Please note that this clip includes sequences of voice over only from reporter Ben Williams and there are audio problems with some of the synchronized magentic soundtrack, distorting people's voices. Thanks to Hamed Eghbal for providing this text description, in collaboration with SFSU's Center for Iranian Diaspora Studies. Opening graphic designed by Carrie Hawks.