[2][4][5] Later in a 1980 speech to the United Nations Security Council, Rajai displayed his beaten right foot to the audience, attributing its condition to being tortured by the Shah's interrogators in prison.

[2][5] Following the Iranian Revolution in 1979, Rajai left the Freedom Movement and was appointed the minister of education in an Interim Government led by Mehdi Bazargan.

[1] Using his newfound power, Rajai sought the rapid Islamization of Iranian schools by banning the teaching of English, removing courses thought to be ''non-Islamic,'' closing universities to prevent potential student dissent, and firing teachers with whom he disagreed.

Ruhollah Khomeini, acting as Supreme Leader, held a Provisional Presidential Council of six people headed by Mohammad Beheshti and later Abdolkarim Mousavi Ardebili.

Witnesses later stated that a trusted aide brought a briefcase into the conference room, set it between the two leaders, and then left.

A short period later, another person opened the case, triggering a hidden bomb that set the room ablaze, leading to the deaths of Rajai, Bahonar, and six other officials.