Iran’s ruling elite, many of whom were educated abroad or aligned with nationalist ideals, became increasingly exposed to fascist ideologies. Terms such as “Aryan race,” originally from Indo-Iranian linguistic studies, were co-opted by Nazi racial theory, which had its own distorted interpretation of Aryan supremacy. This linguistic and pseudo-historical overlap laid a dangerous ideological foundation for what would become SOMKA.
Founding of SOMKA: The Early Seeds
The National Socialist Workers’ Party of Iran, abbreviated as SOMKA, was founded during the 1930s by Mohsen Mirza Jahansuz, a young Iranian nationalist and military officer with close ideological ties to the German Nazi Party. Born in Kermanshah in 1914, Jahansuz came from an aristocratic Qajar family and was known for his passionate beliefs in Aryan nationalism and anti-monarchist sentiment.
Educated during a time of heightened Nazi influence in Iran, Jahansuz was swept up in the wave of fascist ideology that glorified nationalism, militarism, and racial purity. He eventually formed a group of like-minded individuals dedicated to spreading these beliefs in Iran. This group would become the embryonic form of SOMKA.