Habib Sabet was born into a low middleclass family in 1903 in Tehran, Moezol-soltan borough. Habib was part of the new generation of the constitution of Revolution of 1906 looking for progress and development of the country – the main idea of the revolution. He went to Tarbiyat School.
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Sabet Pasal, a renowned capitalist of Iran, was a follower of a misled sect of Baha’ism. He was amongst those who played a major role in the administration of both political and economic institutes during the Shah’s reign. Like many relatives of the Pahlavi family such as Farmanfarmaian, Khiyamin, Rizayi and Akhavan, Sabet Pasal held shares in most banks, firms and companies, whilst being seen as one of the main shareholders of foreign investment in Iran. The Anglo-Iranian Bank and the banks of Iran and the Middle-East, Iranian industry, Iranian mines and industrial development as well as commercial enterprises such as Pepsi Cola, Volks-Waggon, Mashhad Cement, Plasco Kar, General Tyres and Rubber, Iran Farwag, Siycup and France Payk were but some of the areas in which this Zionist agent was active.
Dowlat VA Hukumat dar Iran, pp. 263-267.
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After few years, the government bought the Iranian TV station form its owner called sabet asal and by merger of this TV station with the Iranian National Television, airing of two ifferent programs from two different channels became possible. The programs aired by the Iranian National Television was named “First Program” and the programs which were broadcast from the Iranian Television became known as the “Second Program” the Second Program with apparently better quality and content was targeted against minority groups such as intellectual and university students and the First Program was designed and aired for the general public.
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(Jan. 25, 1963)
… He happened to come across a Bahá’i who works with the National Iranian Oil Company. The latter said: “Sabet Pasal the well-known capitalist was the real man behind Teyeb’s execution.” He explained that: “Sabet Pasal was received by His Imperial Majesty and told him that Teyeb had been the cause of destruction of the Bahá’i cemetry and Golestan Javid.”
To supplement this information, I refer to my memories from last summer when Kamal Sarvestani, an employee of the Ministry of Education, said: “We Bahá’is avenged the destruction by Muslims a few years ago of Haziratul-Quds in Tehran on the Feizieh School in Qom.” A few months before that I heard a Shiraz Bahá’i who said: “We not only avenged the past, but continued the Bahá’i issue as far as land reforms.” By that, he meant to infer that the “land reforms” issue was one which had been foreseen and that the idea thereof was from the Bahá’is.
On the whole, the Bahá’is believe that the Bahá’is’ assemblage in London was the cause of the crises over the past few months as well as the disputes between the Government and the clergy.
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The media were seen as key institutions in the Pahlavi project of modernization and development. Television was first broadcast in Iran in October 1958 by a private company owned by Habibollah Sabet Pasal, the man who can arguably be said to have created the Iranian Pepsi generation, importing soft drinks and cars, as well as television. Initially, programming consisted of imported serials and films from America, which made up over 50% of broadcast time, and programmes produced domestically, which were heavily influenced by American television, such as quiz shows. However, in 1966 the government took over Sabet’s television network and in October 1966 the National Iranian Television broadcast its first programme. In 1971 the National Iranian Radio and Television (NIRT) was incorporated as a public broadcasting monopoly, run as an independent government corporation.
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