On Feb. 1, 1979, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the leader of the Islamic Revolution in Iran, stood at the top of the stairs of an Air France jet that had just landed in Tehran. This stern, robed man had been whisked from his country villa provided by the French government (then led by President Valery Giscard d’Estaing) to a waiting jet. During his 14 years in exile, Ayatollah Khomeini was treated reverentially by the French. Before descending the stairs, the 40 year old cleric paused, triumphantly.