Najaf had its own environment and to continue the movement against the Shah needed foresight and intelligence, somehow that a little mistake would lead to the success of the Pahlavi regime’s plot for isolating Imam.
But Imam knew Najaf very well, for he had been there before at the time of Ayatollah Haeri. And in the Najaf Hawzah no one talked about politics.
When Imam gave a speech at his first class and through it talked about the duty of Islamic scholars and governors, the unity among Shia and Sunni and the capability of the Muslim world, his talks raised different reactions.
Beside the movements of the dogmas of the Najaf Hawzah who believed that Imam has brought the same chaos he made in Qum to Najaf, another factor that needs to be mentioned is the activities of the SAVAK for controlling Imam, his students and followers.
Meanwhile in Iran there was a rumor that Imam has quit his movement and is busy with his classes.
Imam acted wisely to brake this environment and to be able to continue his movement.
Hojatoleslam Doaei says: “Imam who was a Mujahid had been exiled and now he was a great figure like a Marja who helped the Hawzah and so he was getting far from his movement. It was at this point that Imam started his movement again step by step. Imam had found his position in Najaf. Therefor he declared his first announcement and wrote an open letter to Hoveida (then Iran’s PM) in 1967 and at the same time he wrote another letter the scholars and clerics and students of Hawzahs, especially the Hawzah students in Qum… By this open letter he brought an especial joy to everyone.”
Source: Oral History of life and Campaigns of Imam Khomeini in Najaf by Akbar Falahi, pages 119-122