As the condition on the front line of the war with Iraq worsened and simultaneously with the political crisis that led to the ouster of the first president of Iran Abolhassan Banisadr, the Mojahedin-e Khalq Organization (MKO) which thought that the Islamic Republic is in a weak position, turned the summer of 1981 into a bloody season for Iranian people.
According to the Holy Defense Research & Document Center, the summer of 1981 (1360 in Persian calendar) is one of the most crucial periods in the history of Iran. The country, which was previously embroiled in a crisis of separatist groups and foreign aggression, also encountered widespread terrorist activities and a civil war aiming at overthrowing the young revolutionary government. As a result of this campaign, not only the country officials, but also ordinary people were targeted and blindly murdered.
In this regard, the Holy Defense Research & Document Center writes: “This new crisis was so severe that it could not only overthrow the Islamic Republic, but also endanger the existence of a country called Iran, given the fact that some parts of Iran were already occupied by the foreign enemy and weakening of the central power would lead to stabilization of the occupation and as well as emboldening of the aggressor to advance further. If it were not for the leadership of Imam Khomeini and the support and resistance of people, the machinators would have accomplished their goals.” In the following, we will discuss the most important terrorist activities which occurred during the summer of 1981.
Rain of Blood
The Mojahedin-e Khalq Organization (MKO) led by Massoud Rajavi, in coordination with the intelligence services of other countries such as Iraq and France and with the assumption that the Islamic Republic was in a vulnerable position due to the status of the front line and the political crisis which led to the ouster of the then president, turned the summer of 1981 into a bloody season for Iranian people.
The MKO, which had been dreaming of gaining full power in Iran from the beginning of the Islamic revolution victory, activated its cadres who had infiltrated various institutions and organizations along with its assassination teams organized long before in team-houses to strike its final blow at the Iranian government. Given the June 30, 1981 experience, which made them understand that ordinary people would anticipate security agencies in confronting MKO elements, the group launched a campaign of terror attacks entitled ‘’cutting regime’s fingers’’ in which the ordinary people were murdered blindly. The following will cover only a portion of the crimes they committed during this bloody campaign.
Abuzar Mosque Bombing: On June 27, 1981, an element of the MKO named Mohammad Javad Ghadiri, who was the organization’s infiltrator in the Revolutionary Committee based in the Second Bureau of the Army Headquarters, made an assassination attempt on Ayatollah Khamenei, the then Friday prayer Imam of Tehran and Supreme Leader’s representative in the defense commission of the parliament, by planting a bomb concealed in a tape recorder on the mosque lectern. Ayatollah Khamenei was permanently injured, losing the function of his right wrist.
Bombing in the Islamic Republic Party Headquarters: On June 28, 1981, in the joint meeting of representatives and executive officials of the party with Ayatollah Beheshti, President of the Supreme Court and Secretary General of the party, a bomb detonated and led to the martyrdom of Ayatollah Beheshti and about 72 people present in the meeting 27 of whom were members of the parliament, 4 were ministers and a few deputy ministers. In addition, almost 30 people were injured. Responsible for the explosion was Mohammad Reza Kolahi, an influential member of the organization (MKO) and an infiltrator in the party who had left the meeting before the explosion with an excuse. The parliament speaker, Mr. Hashemi, was also scheduled to attend the meeting but had to go to hospital to investigate Ayatollah Khamenei’s condition. After the martyrdom of Ayatollah Beheshti, Ayatollah Mousavi Ardabili, the Attorney General at the time, was appointed by Imam Khomeini as the head of the Supreme Court on June 29. Also, on the same day, Imam appointed Ayatollah Rabbani Amlishi as replacement for Ayatollah Mousavi Ardabili.
Prime Minister's Office Bombing: On August 30, Massoud Kashmiri, the organization’s infiltrator in the Prime Minister's office, participated in a meeting with President Mohammad Ali Rajaei and Prime Minister Mohammad Javad Bahonar as the secretary of the Security Council. He placed the suitcase containing the bomb under the table below Mr. Rajaei and Mr. Bahonar’s feet and then left the meeting with an excuse. The bomb was designed in a way that it burned Rajai and Bahonar’s bodies and after the explosion, they could only be identified through their teeth.
Col. Houshang Vahid Dastjerdi, head of Shahrbani (police force), was also martyred in this explosion after suffering injuries for several days. At first, it was thought that Massoud Kashmiri, the secretary of the meeting, had also been killed but two days later it came to light that he was the perpetrator of the bombing. The MKO’s office in London initially issued a statement through a French news agency claiming responsibility for the blast, but was immediately denied by Rajavi due to the potential international consequences. It is worth mentioning that according to the available evidence, the suitcase containing the bomb was supposed to be planted in the meeting of heads of departments with Imam Khomeini, but because the guards did not permit Kashmiri, who was with Rajaei, to carry the suitcase with him to Imam's house, that plot was neutralized. The horror of being exposed made Kashmiri leave that place furiously.
After martyrdom of the President and the Prime Minister, the temporary presidential council was formed on August 31, and on September 1, it introduced Ayatollah Mahdavi Kani as the Prime Minister. The parliament also voted for him on September 2. On the same day, he introduced to the parliament the members of the cabinet who, except for the Minister of Roads and Transportation and the Minister of Interior, were the same as Dr. Bahonar’s cabinet and the parliament voted in favor of the cabinet on September 3.
Prosecutor's Office Bombing: On September 5, 1981, due to the explosion of a bomb planted on the ceiling of the lower floor by Mahmoud Fakharzadeh Kermani, a group’s infiltrator in the Revolutionary Prosecutor's Office, Ayatollah Qudusi was martyred. The MKO, in issue 236 of the “Mojahed Magazine”, officially claimed responsibility for the assassination. After this incident, the Supreme Judicial Council appointed Hojjatoleslam Mousavi Tabrizi as the Attorney General.
Tabriz Friday Prayers Bombing: On September 11, 1981, Majid Nikoo, a member of the organization (MKO), approached Ayatollah Madani, the Friday Imam of Tabriz, after the end of the Friday prayer sermons. While he was getting prepared for the prayers, Majid Nikoo took his hand and pulled Ayatollah Madani towards himself despite the guards' obstruction and detonated two of his grenades simultaneously leading to the martyrdom of Ayatollah Madani and 6 worshipers along with injuring 38 other. After this incident, Ayatollah Meshkini was appointed as the temporary Friday Imam of Tabriz.
Other Terror Attacks: Other officials were also assassinated and martyred by the MKO including Hojjatoleslam Beheshtinejad, Deputy Friday Imam of Isfahan; Mohammad Kachuei, director of Evin Prison; Seyed Reza Kamyab, representative of Mashhad; Hassan Ayatollah, representative of Tehran; Hojjatoleslam Khodadadi, representative of Imam Khomeini in Jihad of Construction in Anzali; Ali Ansari, governor of Gilan and his deputy Alireza Nouraei.
Bombing and random murdering: Based on experience, the MKO had learned that as long as people were on the scene and actively supporting the government, the ultimate goal of regime overthrow would never be accomplished. At this point, the organization put the strategy of ‘’cutting regime’s fingers’’ on agenda and launched a series of attacks on people and bombing in public places as a means of spreading fear among people so that they would no longer obstruct their activities. This thought was rooted in the eclectic doctrine of the Mojahedin. The following includes only a small part of the group’ terror attacks.
Throwing an incendiary bomb into a bus in Shiraz and leading to burning and martyrdom of a two-year-old child; bomb blast in front of the city governor's office; throwing two handmade explosive devices at a house belonging to a businessman in Shahroud; bomb explosion in front of Tamasha cinema on Enghelab Square of Tehran and martyrdom of 9 people; throwing grenades at the Jihad of Construction office in Boroujerd; bomb blast in front of the exit door of Khorramabad 100-bed hospital; bomb explosion in Azadi Square of Kermanshah and martyrdom of 14 people; throwing incendiary bombs inside a plastic shop and a car spare-part shop in Mashhad;
Throwing an incendiary bomb into a carpet shop in Shiraz; bomb explosion in a glass-cutting shop in Arak; throwing an incendiary bomb at a plastic shop in Neishabour; setting fire to a carpet shop in Shiraz; throwing incendiary bombs into a carpet shop in Sari causing 6 other shops to burn down; throwing incendiary bombs into a sewing shop in Semnan; setting fire to a cloth shop in Taybad; Bomb blast in front of Boroujerd National Bank; setting fire to a container carrying products of the cultural exhibition of Jihad of Construction in Mahshahr knowing that the driver was outside the container saying prayers while her daughter was inside sleeping and therefore causing martyrdom of a 3-year-old girl;
Shooting a Foreign Ministry employee while crossing the street in Tehran; murdering a butcher in his shop in Hamedan; murdering a vegetable seller on Damavand Street of Tehran; shooting a bicycle repairman in front of his shop in Arak; murdering a fruit seller in Mashhad; shooting two cyclists in front of Iran Cinema in Rasht; shooting people in Naseri Mosque in Kermanshah; murdering a worker in Rasht; murdering a shopkeeper in Karaj; murdering a student in Sari murdering a shopkeeper on Enghelab Square of Tehran; shooting people present in city governorship campus in Ghaemshahr; murdering a villager in Babol because he refused to hand over his motorcycle to the MKO members; murdering an old man who had come from Ramhormoz to Mashhad to visit his injured son in a hospital; murdering an employee of National Bank of Iran at a bus station in Tehran; murdering a clergyman in Amol; murdering the owner of a cloth shop and his son in front their shop in Quchan; murdering a shoemaker in Tehran.
Armed Demonstrations: In September of 1981, the MKO announced a plan for "armed and insurgent demonstrations" to its members, assuming that "large-scale bombings, deception operations and assassinations have prepared the ground for people and made them ready to rise up and overthrow the government. Therefore, it is necessary that the vanguard first break the atmosphere of repression so that people can come to the scene."
One of the MKO’s officials clarified this issue: "We are holding armed demonstrations in crowded areas in order to murder people and motivate them to fight and confront the government". Accordingly, the group organized several armed demonstrations in different parts of Tehran in the second half of September, which resulted in the death of ordinary people present at the site who had been confronting the group’s elements earlier than the security forces as well as shop and public property vandalism. Seventy members of the MKO were either killed or arrested, and these demonstrations had virtually no effect.