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 IRAN Tribal leader

Khosro Khan Qashqai is the youngest and most virulently anti-government of the four paramount khans&mdash;all brothers&mdash;of the Qashqai tribe. Although his oldest brother, Naser, is the tribal chief, Khosro was for many years the war leader and commands considerable respect among his tribesmen. He has three strong passions: a bitter hatred of the Shah, a strong loyalty to his tribe and family, and an ambition to replace the Pahlavi family as rulers of Iran. These motivations outweigh any other friendships or alliances he may form. He has often professed friendship to the US, but has not hesitated to attack US policy in Iran. He once referred to the Shah as an American puppet who is plundering the nation's wealth.

Since 1954, when Khosro and two of his brothers were exiled, he has been involved in innumerable plots and rumors of tribal uprisings. He is closely connected with the National Front (NF) organization in West Germany, where he now lievs, although the NF does not consider him a bona fide nationalist. He has been reported to be in contact with the Tudeh (Communist) Party in East Germany, and has urged the NF to cooperated with the Tudeh against their common enemy, the Shah. He is also rumored to be in contact with UAR President Nasir. In 1963 negotiations were being held between the Qashqais and the Government to permit two of the brothers to return; Khosro, however, was not considered.

Khosro Qashqai was born in 1921 in Firuzabad in southern Iran, the main city of the Qashqais. His father, Ismail Khan Qashqai (Solat-ed-Dowleh), was poisoned by order of the Shah in the early years of the Pahlavi dynasty. The hatred of Ismail's sons for the Shah is said to date from this event. Khosro graduated from the American College of Tehran in 1939 and returned to his tribe to assume his hereditary duties. He served as governor of Firuzabad from 1943 to 1947. In addition to being the tribal war commander, Khosro was responsible for the tribe's foreign relations and politics. He served in the three consecutive sessions until 1953. Khosro Qashqai was vice president of the 16th Majlin (1950-52), and was a member of the Majlis Agricultural Commission during that session.

The opposition of the Qashqai Khans to the Government has been almost continual since World War II. In that conflict they supported the Germans, and during the 1940's and 1950's led tribal revolts aimed at