Admiral Nassereddin Jahanbani passed away at his home in Virginia on February 6 at the age of 88. He was the son of General Mansour Jahanbani and Mahtaban Jahansouz, and the beloved brother of Princess Manijeh Pahlavi, Monir, Ghodsi, Bijan, and Kambiz.
Adm. Jahanbani was born on August 17, 1931 in Tehran. At the age of 19, he followed his father’s footsteps in the military by joining the Imperial Iranian Navy. He studied at Dartmouth Naval Academy in England and later, having attained the rank of lieutenant, he went on to complete his graduate studies in California.
During his time in the United States, Adm. Jahanbani trained in anti-submarine warfare in San Diego and served as the commander of the task force to commission two ships, IIs Babr and IIs Palang, bringing them from the Philadelphia naval shipyard back to Iran.
As Adm. Jahanbani rose through the ranks of the Iranian navy, he was stationed in various locations both within Iran and overseas. From 1973 to 1975, he was at Kharg Island’s naval base, where he headed naval aviation in the Persian Gulf. He also spent five years in Rome as the military attache to Italy. His years in Italy were among the happiest for him and his family, which by then had grown to include his wife, Minou Vaziri, and two children, Reza and Roya.
After returning to Iran with his family, Adm. Jahanbani directed the naval training center in Bandar Pahlavi by the Caspian Sea. It was then that the revolution broke out in Tehran. In February 1979, he was arrested by the Revolutionary Guard and imprisoned in Evin Prison for four months. During this time, his cousin General Nader Jahanbani was executed at Evin.
Meanwhile, at home in Tehran, his wife Minou did everything she could to help him escape. Ultimately, with the help of a former soldier and a friend, Adm. Jahanbani was able to flee, cross the border into Turkey, and finally make it to the United States, where he was granted asylum. His family joined him soon after. He spent his last 40 years in northern Virginia, rebuilding his life and dreaming of one day returning to Iran.
Adm. Jahanbani is survived by his wife, two children, six grandchildren, and one great-grandson. His family loved him dearly, and called him by the affectionate name of “Bab Nas.” Until his final days, they cherished spending time with him over tea, laughter, and countless stories about his life in Iran.
My deepest condolences to Reza and the entire family. I always enjoyed speaking to him and he was warm to us as children. God bless his soul. Deepest sympathies – Ali Hashemi-Nejad