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Cassette copies of his lectures fiercely denouncing the Shah as (for example) “the Jewish agent, the American serpent whose head must be smashed with a stone”, became common items in the markets of Iran, helping to demythologize the power and dignity of the Shah and his reign. Aware of the importance of broadening his base, Khomeini reached out to Islamic reformist and secular enemies of the Shah, despite his long-term ideological incompatibility with them.
