Education Abroad and Political Awakening
In 1955, Shirvanlu left Iran to pursue higher education at Leeds University in England, specializing in the then-nascent field of sociology of art. His time abroad marked a period of intense political and intellectual engagement. He became an active member of the World Confederation of Iranian Students and later served as the first secretary of the Federation of Iranian Students in England.
In England, Shirvanlu gravitated toward leftist ideologies and became close to several notable political figures such as Jamshid Anvar, Mohsen Rezvani, and Parviz Nikkhah. He was particularly influenced by Maoist ideologies, which shaped his political activities. In 1965, Shirvanlu returned to Iran with Parviz Nikkhah to explore the feasibility of guerrilla resistance against the monarchy. Though they never followed through with militant actions, their ideas laid the groundwork for future political activism.
Arrest and Imprisonment
On April 1, 1965 (Farvardin 11), a failed assassination attempt on Mohammad Reza Shah by Reza Shamsabadi, a conscript in the Immortal Guard, triggered a sweeping crackdown on dissidents. On May 22 of that year, the Iranian government accused several leftist figures, including Shirvanlu, of orchestrating the attempt. While no concrete evidence linked them to the assassination plot, Shirvanlu and others admitted to exploring the creation of a Maoist guerrilla group.