[7] However, he was dismissed from the school before graduating due to his skipping studies and exams to lead protests against the government of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, including storming a posh party hosted by the then Iranian ambassador to the United States, the son-in-law of the Shah, Ardeshir Zahedi.

[8] Ghotbzadeh left the US when his passport was revoked and moved to Algeria, Egypt, Syria and finally to Iraq, where he met Ayatollah Khomenei in 1963.

[12] In the late 1960s, Ghotbzadeh went to Canada for higher education and graduated from now defunct Notre Dame University College in Nelson, BC, in 1969.

[27] Ghotbzadeh wrote an open letter to the Majlis in August 1980 arguing for the quick release of the hostages, and told Reuters five days later that "United States presidential candidate Ronald Reagan, supported by Kissinger and others, has no intention of solving the problem.

"[28] In September and October, he made several other public statements alleging that a deal to delay the release of the hostages may have taken place.

[28] A decade later in 1991, Joseph E. Persico of The New York Times concluded a review of Gary Sick's book October Surprise stating: "Two friends of Ghotbzadeh who spoke to him frequently during this period said that he insisted repeatedly that the Republicans were in contact with elements in Iran to try to block a hostage release.

[5] Ghotbzadeh was first arrested on 7 November 1980 on charges of planning to kill Ayatollah Khomeini and criticising the Islamic Republic Party.

[36][37] Hujjat al-Islam Mohammad Reyshahri, the chief judge of the newly created Military Revolutionary Tribunal, explained what the plot was about.

In court he denied the accusations but confirmed the existence of a plot to topple the Islamic government and form a "real republic".

[3] In his 1991 book, Inside the KGB: Myth and Reality, Vladimir Kuzichkin claimed that Ghotbzadeh had been an agent of the Soviet military intelligence service during his studies in the United States before later detaching himself from it.

[25] The book also alleged that the KGB had fabricated and placed a false CIA cable to an unnamed American agent in Iran in his residence, which was used as evidence to arrest and try him.

[25] Ben Affleck's 2012 movie, Argo, used a real clip of Ghotbzadeh, showing him accusing Canada of "flagrantly violating international law.

"[42] Ghotbzadeh's great-niece, Sanaz Ghajarrahimi, wrote and directed a play, named Red Wednesday, which was presented at the New Ohio Theatre in New York from 26 July to 3 August 2013.

[43][45] In 2017 Ali Sajjadi, a Persian journalist, based in Washington DC, published a collection of Sadegh Ghotbzadeh manuscripts.

[47][48] The series follows Ghotbzadeh's fascinating journey from a revolutionary in exile, to government minister and finally traitor in the eyes of the Islamic Republic.

[49] The three-part mini series uses archive footage and features many people who knew Ghotbzadeh or had interesting encounters with him to shed light on his character and relate stories about his activities both before and after the Iranian Revolution.