Born in Shiraz, Tabatabaee came to power in a coup d'état with the help of Reza Khan Mirpanj, who later became the Shah of Persia, as Reza Shah Pahlavi. When Tabatabaee became prime minister, he was 33 years old. His career did have an early start, however. In Shiraz, he first opened a newspaper called Banāy-i Islam, followed by the newspaper Ra'd at the age of 23. After Ra'd was shut down by the authorities, he then published another newspaper called Bargh, and became active in the Persian Constitutional Revolution. His political tendencies were perceived to be pro-British by many Iranians and British diplomats. However, when he went into exile in the Palestine in the 1930s, he received money from fascist Italy and promised an oil concession in northern Iran. The historian Ervand Abrahamian characterized Tabatabaee as a "right-wing opportunist". In Palestine, he was also hired as a senior consultant by the government of Afghanistan with Britain's backing. Tehran's government vehemently objected to this move, leading Kabul to back down on the initiative. Tabatabaee died at the age of 80 of a heart attack in Tehran. He was buried in Ray. Sometime after his death, the ownership of Tabatabaee's house was transferred to SAVAK and was then converted into what is today known as Evin Prison, the main prison where political prisoners are kept, both before the Iranian Revolution and afterwards.
As a prime minister
It is argued by the historian Cyrus Ghani, that Tabatabaee was out of his depth when it came to governing. He was an incompetent administrator who had grandiose agenda such as reorganization of ministries, granting lands to peasants, which never fully came to fruition. The only plan of Tabatabaee that came to fruition was the closure of ships on Fridays and holidays, the end of sale and consumption of alcohol, and having calls to prayers at public buildings at noontime; these were motivated steps for the goal of getting greater support from the Ulama . Moreover, the average Iranian thought of him as first being concerned about British interests.
