He began as a supporter of Mohammad Mossadegh but was imprisoned during Mossadegh’s premiership.In the years following 1953, Homayoun finished his university studies, obtaining a doctorate in political science from the University of capital. He worked at the Iranian daily Ettelaat and later founded the highly successful daily newspaper Ayandegan. In the cabinet of Jamshid Amouzegar, he became the minister of information and tourism.
Following the events leading up to the Iranian Revolution, he was arrested in the autumn of 1978, together with many other former officials whom the monarchy tried to use as scapegoats in order to prevent its own eventual downfall. He escaped prison on February 12, 1979, just after the revolution, and went into hiding. Fifteen months later, he left Iran through the border with Turkey and went to Paris.
