In January 1964 (Ramadhan 1383), according to a well-organized plan, Ayatollah Khamenei and a few close friends traveled to Kirman and Zahedan in southern Iran, to expose the phony referendum the Shah was holding for his so-called reforms. There in the course of many public speeches, he exposed the satanic American policies of the Pahlavi regime. This time, the Shah's feared intelligence agency, SAVAK, stepped in and arrested him one late evening.
A watan Bahman 1342 (Ramadhan 1383=1964) Ayatullah Khamene'i da wasu daga cikin abokansa suka tafi birnin Kerman don gudanar da wasu ayyuka. Sun zauna na tsawon kwanaki biyu zuwa uku a garin suna wa’azi da ganawa da malamai da daliban garin, daga nan sai suka wuce zuwa garin Zahedan. Mutane sun yi maraba sosai da irin jawaban da ya dinga yi na tona asirin bakar siyasar Shah musamman a ranar shida ga watan Bahman ranar da aka gabatar da jabun zaben jin ra’ayin jama’a da gwamnatin Shah din ta gudanar.