| “Rajavi’s supporters are not able to comprehend the real feelings of the Iranian people and do not know that the Iranians hate any kind of fundamentalisms, such as Monafeghin. |
Holding the common meeting of the Iran’s Revolution Commander Council under the Directory of Saddam on 20.July 1988 demonstrated that the Iraqis Government has decided to take a relative important action, the signs of which were revealed by commencing the advancement of the Iraq’s military forces into the Iranian territories and publication of the military announcement no. 3269. The Iraqi arms forces proclaimed in this Declaration its goal of these operations called ‘Operations 4 with God’s assistance’ to liberate the Iraq’s rest territory, destroying the Iranian forces and capturing more Iranian forces in balancing with the Iraq’s captives. From the early in the morning on Friday 31 Tir 1367 = 21.07.1988 on and only three days after giving positive response to the Resolution 598 and in situations that the Iranian Ministry of Exterior was discussing with the General Secretary of the United Nations Organization, the forces of the enemy penetrated into the Iranian territory from two fronts of Kushk and Shalamtcheh. The enemy, in the front of Shalamtcheh, conquered the Shahid-Adab Canal and in the front of Kushk after conquering the route of Almehdi, reached the Khorramshahr-Ahwaz route. According to the available reports, Iraq conquered 30 kilometres of the 125-kilometer route of Khorramshahr-Ahwaz from the kilometre 60 of Ahwaz towards Khorramshahr and made many efforts, with the help of commando and armoured forces, to besiege Khorramshahr from the fronts of Shalamtcheh and Ahwaz route. Meanwhile, the volume of the enemy’s air attacks also increased. At the end of this day, the enemy’s forces, by passing across the Khorrmashar-Ahwaz route, conquered 2 kilometres of the Shahid-Sherkat route and stationed in a distance of 5 kilometre of the Karbala military headquarters.
The proclamation of the enemy’s advancing towards the Khorrmashahr-Ahwaz route makes us remember on the beginning of the war, which had a large impression among the people, especially the residents of the Khuzestan Province. Following this event, the people felt themselves again in risk and became mobilized. The forces being present for 8 years in the fronts and being many of them injured, returned to the frontlines. The governor of Khuzestan declared in a report: ‘In spite of the enemy’s advancing up to the threshold of the city Ahwaz, the conditions on all the conflict’s fronts, with regard to the intensive presence of the people, have completely been upset and the general situation of the Province is good… .
In order to resist against the attack and prevent any kind of further attacks on the cities of the Province, we have organized and armed the people of other cities like Sousangerd, Ahwas, Shoush, Andimeshk and Dezful to protect the cities in case the enemy attacks.
Following the conversion of the mentality and view of the Society about the violation of the Iraq’s military forces, Sepah also organized its defensive fronts to prevent the advancement of the enemy. These events which were relatively foreseeable for Iraq, prepared the ground for the change of situations in favour of Iran. In such a difficult situation that Khorramshahr and Ahwaz could be conquered, Hadj Seyyed-Ahamd Khomeini read the Imam’s message by telephone for the Sepah’s commander at that time as follows: ‘This is the vital moment of Islam and irreligion, say the moment of victory or defeat of either Islam or the irreligion, and we have to defend us meter by meter and nothing can be accepted from anybody, and this moment enables Sepah to be either revitalized in the Country or be forever abject and dead’.
Imam addressed the Sepah in his message in a serious and destiny-determining moment to stand against the enemy’s new strategy and joined this somehow with the Islam’s or irreligious dominant destiny as well as the Sepah’s destiny with the suicidal efforts of the enemy. The Imam’s message was immediately distributed among the Sepah’s commanders and Basij’s and Sepah’s fighters and revitalized the resistance and epical spirit in them, and as interpreted by the Deputy Commander of the General Forces, the smell of happiness and jihad was spread overall.
From the afternoon on Friday, by organizing the resistance groups and demonstration of courage and epic of the fighters like the first resistance days against the enemy in the year 1980, many damages and killings were gradually imposed on the enemy’s forces. In continuation of these efforts, on the afternoon of Sunday, the Hamid garrison was set free from the enemy’s occupation. This military event which brought about the reinforcement of the forces’ high morale was the beginning of the enemy’s defeat. In such conditions the Iraq’s official military speaker stated the captives’ statistic of the ‘Operations 4 with God’s assistance’ in the south region 1772 and in the 2. Army region 6863, totally 8635 persons. Of course, this official speaker, after that his country had accepted the cease-fire, represented new noticeable statistics and figures about spoils of the said operations, which, in case of being correct, shows clearly that the enemy was defeated in achieving its goals, say destroying its own forces and taking captives.
The Iraqis proclaimed the statistics of the Iranian captives, in order to strengthen the morale of their own forces and expressed that they had been victorious in aggression into the ground of the Islamic Republic of Iran.
The enemy’s operations in the west and middle fronts of the Country, covering Ghasre-Shirin, Sare-Pole-Zahab, gilane-Gharb and Sardasht, were intensively accomplished in order to decrease the concentration of its own forces in the south fronts. These operations were initially accompanied with successes, but based on the resistance of the own forces and probability of capture of the enemy’s surrounded forces, murmurings were gradually heard about the withdrawal of the Iraq’s forces from the stated regions like the primary days of the war.
Following the defeats of the Iraq’s military forces in different fronts and also the created changes within Iran and call up and organization of forces and revitalize the Iranians’ resistance morale, the Iraqi Government, officially proclaimed the withdrawal of its armed forces from the south region only 24 hours after commencement of the ‘Operations 4 with God’s assistance’ at ww.25 O’clock on Saturday on the State TV by breaking the normal programs. Meanwhile, the Iraqi’s military official speaker underlined that the Iraqi’s forces, in order to achieve the peace and with respect to the instruction of the Commander, have withdrawn. The Iraqi Culture and Information Minister interpreted the Iranian measures, regarding call up and organizing of volunteer forces, as a means of covering the previous events and occurrences of the war.
From the other part, the Iraqi’s army declared on 23 July 1988 by a military declaration no. 3273 its withdrawal from the west and middle fronts of the Country. We can read in this declaration the following:
‘In these operations the cities Ghasre-Shirin, Sare-Pole-Zahab, Gilane-Gharb, Soumar and Salehabad, as well as the districts Golan, Sarani and Amirabad were conquered. All of our forces shall leave these cities and districts, as we have already achieved our goals, tomorrow Tuesday 26 July 1988’.
Esmat Katani, the Iraqi’s representative at that time in the United Nations Organization, stated in his interview with the American CBS TV: ‘All the Iraqi’s troupes shall leave the Iranian territories on Tuesday’.
The Iraqis had already said: Merely for tactical reasons they would be stationed for 24 – 36 hours beyond the fronts of the Iranian grounds. But in spite of what Iraqis had proclaimed, 5 days thereafter, as its forces were defeated and destroyed, they were forced to withdraw from the Iranian territories, in such a way that merely in the south region 18 armored and mechanized brigades, which formed the main power of the Iraqi’s forces, were destroyed. The Iraqi’s aggressive army began to withdraw in such conditions that the international situation in the military aspect had changed in disadvantage of this country. In addition to this the change of the Iranian internal situation and call up the national forces to confront with the Iraqi’s aggression had caused sorrow for this country, as the ‘Aljomhourieh’ daily wrote in an analysis the following:
‘Iran, by organizing the public and invitation of the people to go to the fronts and under the pretension that Iraq had again begun its aggression, wants to provoke the nationalistic feelings of the Iranian people and revitalize their lost morale’.
The Iraqi’s repeated aggression into the Iranian territories and then withdrawal to its initial points caused intensive reaction in the international media. The French news agency called the Iraq’s measures as a means of strengthening the military pressure on Iran to acquire dominance and gaining a better situation during the peace discussions. Some of diplomats in Baghdad also believed that Iraq had intention to use its new military power to achieve the so called peace. The German news agency, by quoting the media of this country, reported that Baghdad tried to dictate the peace according to its own conditions, exactly the same how it had begun the war. The German Newspaper ‘Rundshau’ wrote thereto: ‘Saddam believes he would now be in a position to achieve anything’. The French news agency also reported by quoting the political experts: ‘Iraq believes, under military pressure, Iran would be forced to accept the said Resolution, but Iraq tries explicitly, by demanding direct discussions, to ignore the content of the Resolution’. Also the English weekly magazine ‘Economist’ wrote in its analysis: ‘Saddam thinks, if he continues his confrontation, he would be able to completely upset the Ayatollahs’ Government’.
Reaction and influences of the Iraq’s action in accepting the cease-fire was taken into consideration by the international media and analysts. Graham Fooler, one of the most famous experts of CIA Organization, underlying the Iranian religious and determination power, writes: ‘The Iranian determination was noticeable and with respect to the shortages, Iran followed up the war respectfully’. The repeated aggression of Iraq into the Iranian territories revitalized the determination and religion of the Iranian people and caused the re-defeat of Iraq in the war scenes. Meanwhile, the Radio London said in its news broadcasting: ‘Like the autumn 1980, the primary time of Iraq’s attack on Iran, a similar situation revived in Iran and the Iranian Government tries to use this condition further more to stabilize its situation’. In another report it was underlined: ‘The new wave of the Iraqi’s attacks on Iran has repeatedly revived the Iranian military machine. One of the war experts in the London International Research Organization believed that the occupation of the Iran’s territories by Iraq is a mistake, because it shall raise again the Iranian national and religious feelings like the beginning of the war in the year 1988’.
The partly intensive contentment and hopefulness of different countries of the world about the Iranian response to the Resolution 598 and the end of the war imposed pressure on Iraq to proclaim the acceptance of the cease-fire. In this regard the official speaker of England’s Foreign Ministry announced: ‘We are worried undoubtedly about the Iraq’s behavior after Iran has accepted the Resolution 598’. These actions imposed practically troubles on the efforts of the General Secretary of the United Nations Organization towards execution of the cease-fire. On this occasion, the Financial Times Publication warned also Iraq: ‘It is necessary to tell the President Saddam that the support which he has received from America, Russia and France is not like a blank check, and the Resolution 598 has been set out for this intention that nobody should be winner or loser in the Persian Gulf War’. Radio London said in a report by quoting the diplomats in the United Nations Organization:
‘This feeling has emerged that the international pressure shall probably be necessary to persuade Saddam to cooperate more’. The Arabic friends of Saddam, especially Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the two superiors and European countries, should persuade him not to jeopardize the peace in this valuable occasion’. The common aggression of Iraq and hypocrites forces (Mojahedin) to the West: While the enemy’s last armored tanks were withdrawing from the south region on 23. July 1988 and the Iraq’s military official speaker proclaimed that the Iraqi’s forces have already withdrawn from the two cities of Gilane-Gharb and Salehabad, the hypocrites forces (Mojahedin), based on a 33-hour planning and with the help of 25 brigades covering totally 4-5 persons, intended to reach Tehran in 5 phrases and upset the Islamic Republic!
One military official speaker of the hypocrites’ organization said about the Organization’s goals: ‘The Mojahedin’s strategy is imposing further damages to the Iranian forces and is opening the way for a general anti-Imam Khomeini revolution’.
The common measurement of Iraq and Monafeghin in advancement into the depth of the Iranian territories found an extensive reaction and caused many sensibilities, because these provocations after Iran’s conform with the Security Council Resolution was only then accomplished, when the international decision to end the war had been made, but the operations of Iraq and Monafeghin meant merely the continuation of the war.
Harvey Moris from the Independent journal, while analyzing the Monafeghin’s goals and strategy, wrote: “The Mojahedin’s and Iraq’s actual strategy is apparently the establishment of a liberalized region in the hands of Mojahedin, so that the Organization opposite to the Iranian Regime shall have a roll in the final peace agreement”.
Another publication knew also the Monafeghin’s measurement in respect to the worry about their destiny in case of Iraq’s approval with the cease of fire. The Iraqi’s support from the Monafeghin and their unity in executing these operations against the Islamic Republic was discussed by news agencies, in such a way that the Reuters News Agency reported quoting a diplomat: “The analyzers believe that these operations could not have been accomplished without the support of the Iraqi’s military forces, especially without artillery fire”.
Also the London Radio correspondent said over this matter: “Seldom has any one believed that Mojahedin have armed equipment, sufficient personnel or even artillery forces to be able to show resistance without the support of a regular military in this capacity within the Iranian territories”. Le Mond Newspaper, about one month before the common operations of Iraq and Monafeghin, had stipulated that the Iran National Liberation Military Forces are as an inseparable part of the military arrangement of the Iraqi’s army and any kind of its military activities without the Iraqi’s High Commandership permission shall be unimaginable.
In this direction the Reuter News Agency announced quoting some diplomats: ”In view of the peace discussions continuing in the United Nations seat in New York, the diplomats believe that Baghdad uses the National Liberation Military for maintaining the military pressure on Tehran”. At this time the influence and consequences of Monafeghin’s establishment within the Iraqi’s territories and their cooperation with the Iraqi’s military to attack on Iran were taken into consideration by the analysts. The London Radio said in an analysis: “The Mojahedin’s attack, whatever their goal may have been, has apparently no effect on Iran”. It has also been underlined in this interpretation: “There are different views over the Iraqi’s goals for supporting Monafeghin and their attacks into the Iranian territories, under which we may name ‘showing of power against the Iraqi’s pro-Iran Mojahedin and also establishing a basement for Masoud Rajavi’s forces within the Iranian territories.
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According to the interpreters: “If the above-indicated goals had to be reached, this has failed, because a great number of Mojahedin were killed in these disputes”.
Also the interpreter of the Guardian Publication printed in London wrote: “Rajavi’s supporters are not able to comprehend the real feelings of the Iranian people and do not know that the Iranians hate any kind of fundamentalisms, such as Monafeghin. Rajavi’s greatest mistake was this point that he transferred his all organization to Saddam and most of Rajavi’s criticizers say: “This action is a political suicide”.
David Horst indicated at the end of his article: “By this action the morale of the Iranian people was revived and instead of destroying the Iranian internally, helped to develop their stability”.
Also the Financial Times wrote: “Mojahedin do not benefit of extensive support in Iran”. The priority of Iran in the military scene which had caused the defeat of the common plan of Iran and Monafeghin, strengthened the political situation of this country which was continuing its discussions with the General Director of the National Organization.
On the basis of this general point of view, the War High Commander, Mr. Hashemi Rafsanjani, said in his Friday prayer speeches in Tehran: “If Iraq continues its aggressions, it shall be witnessing our response in the war field”. The Americans, who are not confident of the provocations of Iraq and Monafeghin against Iran, along with the other permanent members of the Security Council and Saudi Arabia, set Iraq under pressure and demanded also the Arabic countries to warn Iraq in respect of the Monafeghin’s non-administrable advancement.
At this time Charles Redman, the Secretary General of the American Foreign Ministry, said in a clear statement: “The Iranian National Liberation Army, stationed in Iraq, operates with the Iraqi’s support and follows up the shot down of the Iranian Regime by means of force”. He stressed:
“America does not support those groups who follow up the shot down of the Iranian Government by force”.
The change of situation in favor of Iran:
Iraq and Monafeghin, in addition to their operation within the Russian regional policies, were also influenced by the Russian thinking bases in relation to the ideal and thinking tendencies. With respect to the Russian socialistic view about the social crisis origins believing that the military defeat influences the creation of revolt, movement and revolution, Iraq and Monafeghin also believed that the Iranian military defeats can result in internal crisis consisting of social disorder and or justification crisis and create a suitable occasion for misuse.
The Russian experience after defeat from Japan in 1905 and presentation of the socialistic thoughts and ideas in 1917 which resulted in the victory of communists at the First International War contained the same experience.
Afterwards Stalin, in a letter to Pishewary in interpretation of the retirement causes of the Russian forces from the Iranian Azerbaijan, stated the same as Lenin’s tactics. Stalin has indicated in this letter: “Iran is not involved in a war with a foreign enemy, and this means that a military defeat cannot weaken the Iranian revolutionary forces. The result is that there was no suitable situation to conform Lenin’s tactics in 1905 and 1917”.
What caused Iraq and Monafeghin to be unsuccessful and put their calculations out of order, took place in reality in that point which they estimated for their own benefit. The positive response of Iran to the Resolution 598 and the continuation of Monafeghin’s and Iraqi’s attacks changed the internal processes and then the military situation to the favour of Iran and to the loss of Iraq and Monafeghin.
Gradually, the international pressure on Iraq increased, in such a way that the whole supervisors and analysts interpreted with suspicion the operations of Iraq and Monafeghin.
The struggle of the Iraqi’s forces at the beginning of re-conquer of Khorramshar, the message of Imam to Sepah and the reaction of the people in respect of this event resulted in presence in the war scenes, created a situation just the same as the beginning days of the war.
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Mr. Hashemi, in presentation of the Country’s internal situation and mental of the volunteer forces, said: “The smell of happiness and defense is breathed everywhere”.
In this stage, following the decree of Imam Khomeini ordering the presence in the fronts in an intensive dimension, 130 thousand of Basij personnel were sent to the fronts. Appreciation of the people was in such an intensive dimension that the acceptance and organizing of the volunteer forces created problems for the responsible persons of the military garrisons.
According to one of the commanders in a military garrison in the middle front which had capacity only for 10 thousand forces, 16 thousand persons were accommodated therein and it was planed that further 4 thousand persons had to be added to the same.
The shortage of facilities caused that some of the forces had to pass the night under the open air. Therefore, the Directory of the Human Power of the Forces General Commandership stressed that, demanding the volunteer forces not to introduce themselves in the official centers, the volunteers should introduce themselves and let register in the priority list of sending the armored forces, with respect of the capacity of the armed and supply forces of the armored units.
At the same time, the presence of the President and the Chairman of the Defense High Council at the time, Ayatollah Khamenei, had a noticeable influence in integration and determination of the war evolutions for the warriors and verification of their problems.
Ignorance of the justification wishes of the Islamic Republic of Iran in respect of condemnation of the aggressor and reception of indemnity from the same had caused the continuation of the war, and intensive and coordinated propagations of the opposed of the Islamic Republic had resulted that some of the international circles suspect the insistence and stability of the Iranian people. But the recent reaction of Iraq and Monafeghin has already showed the world Saddam’s lie peace-seeking and from the other part the justification of the Iranian resistance.
Ayatollah Khamenei stated in his speech in Ahwaz about this: “We have said from the beginning that Iraq is supporting the war and some persons did not accept it and some others did not want to accept this, but today our word is confirmed”.
The War High Commander, Mr. Hashemi Rafsanjani, said also in this respect: “We have so far defended submissively, but we were condemned to be seeking war and not to desire the peace; nobody cared that our people say: “We shall combat to reach the victory, it means a victory to get our rights and not get the ground of the others. We now have peace-seeking and righteous positions and Saddam is aggressive, unjustified and non-flexible in the world”.
The foreign media and the west analysts have also stressed the internal situation change and the public ideas in Iran. The London Radio said in this matter: “The recent attack of Iraq, after acceptance of cease-fire from the Iranian part, has strengthened the position of the Islamic Regime in the public view. In Iran once more at the time being a situation like that of autumn 1980, the time of the first Iraqi’s attack to the Iranian territories, has been established, the new wave of the Iraqi’s attacks has granted new life to the Iranian war machines and revived the people’s mobilization activities for the war”.
Hans Hyko Kubitz, analyst of the International Institute of London Strategic Survey, in view of changing the propagation process in the west media, stressed: “Iranians have gained noticeable propagation victory in the west newspapers… and the west newspapers have oriented themselves against Iraq”. Afterwards one of the armed forces officers of the Iraqi’s military, while analyzing in the Alsafir Newspaper the strategic results of Iraq, wrote: “At the time the Iranian forces accepted the cease fire, the leadership of Iraq had the operational initiatives in its hands, but fell in a great strategic mistake and attacked Iran severely. Especially in the Khuzestan region near Ahwaz, there were seen immediate changes in Iran and Iran, a country which was worried about the lack of volunteer forces, saw in a short time the national roaring movement creating enthusiasms in the Iranian public circles”. While Iran, because of its situation in the military scene and acceptance of the Resolution 598, was confronted with many complicated questions and difficulties, the common operation of Iraq and Monafeghin attacking the Iranian territories had consequences which influenced the internal situation of Iran and then the military scene and increased the internal integration of Iran. The aggressive character of the Iraqis Government and the necessity of Iranian resistance against this country brought about the imposition ground of the Resolution 59 to the Iraqi’s Regime, which had put some preconditions to accept it, and also a beginning was determined for establishment of cease fire by the United Nations. This situation was an occasion to enable Iran to stress its political points of view in respect of the peace negotiations, in such a manner that before establishment of cease fire, not to accept any provisions being permanently stressed by Iraq and after establishment of cease fire no negotiations shall be rendered with Iraq about the international known fronts.