Operation Beit al-Moqaddas and Liberation of Khorramshahr

Selected by: Faezeh Sassanikhah
Translated by: M.B. Khoshnevisan

2025-5-28

After Operation Fat’h al-Mobin, we traveled to Kermanshah and visited Sar-e-Pol-e-Zahab before heading to Ilam. During Operation Beit al-Moqaddas, the 27th Brigade was still receiving support from the West. We maintained contact with individuals who had previously worked in Area 7 and were now leading the brigade. It was through these connections that I learned about Operation Beit al-Moqaddas. Around 9^th or 10^th of Ordibehesht 1361 (April 29 or 30, 1982), I traveled south to assist the 27th Brigade. Similar to Operation Fat’h al-Mobin, the medical and support forces were aiding the 27th Brigade during Operation Beit al-Moqaddas. They were fully committed to helping the brigade and were more organized than before.

In the previous interview, I mentioned that during Operation Beit al-Moqaddas, Mr. Khalifeh Soltani, who succeeded Mohammad Boroujerdi in Area 7, joined Rahmat Izadi and Mohsen Haji Baba and was also martyred. At the same time, Boroujerdi asked me to prepare a certificate of appreciation for the families of the martyrs in the western region. I prepared the certificate and took it to Martyr Ashrafi, who signed it. Finally, I went to Hamedan so that Ayatollah Nouri Hamedani, who was the Friday Prayer Leader of Hamedan at the time, could sign the certificates. We also brought a calligrapher to the region to write the text of the certificates. Therefore, during Operation Beit al-Moqaddas, I had to come to Tehran for a day and go to the IRGC printing house, which was next to the Hosseiniyeh Ershad, to have the certificates printed. Anyway, I went south during Operation Beit al-Moqaddas, but I was constantly traveling between Tehran, the south, and Kermanshah. On the night the operation began, I was not in the south, but my colleagues were there. I believe I arrived in the area on the 12th or 13th of Ordibehesht (May 2 or 3) and stayed for a few days. I was stationed in the 27th Brigade, located past the Darkhovein crossroads at the "Atomic Energy" headquarters. The 27th Brigade operated under the command of the Nasr headquarters, led by Hassan Bagheri during the Operation Beit al-Moqaddas. I also encountered Mehdi Zein al-Din during the operation, who served as the head of intelligence for the Nasr headquarters. I had hoped to join the 27th Brigade fighters as a regular combatant, but my friends were considerate and did not allow me to do so. Additionally, Boroujerdi had also forbidden me from participating.

On the day that Khorramshahr was liberated, I was in Kermanshah because Boroujerdi had asked me to return to do something. I had also heard the news of Mahmoud Shahbazi's martyrdom a day or two before. He was martyred in the Operation Beit al-Moqaddas. The stages of the Operation Beit al-Moqaddas were unfolding one after the other, leading to victory, and the liberation of Khorramshahr was imminent. The day of Khorramshahr's liberation was incredibly surreal. There was indescribable joy and celebration in Kermanshah.

After the liberation of Khorramshahr on 3^rd of Khordad 1360 (May 24, 1981), we traveled south and visited the area. Many believed that the war would soon come to an end. People were jubilant, dancing, and celebrating in the streets. The Operation Beit al-Moqaddas was a crucial victory for the Islamic Republic.

Around the same time as the Operation Beit al-Moqaddas, in Khordad 1360 (May 1981), the Shohada Special Brigade embarked on its first mission. Their objective was to travel to Sar-e-Pol-e-Zahab to conduct an operation that would put pressure on the enemy and potentially reclaim Qasr-e-Shirin. Retaking Qasr-e-Shirin would have been highly advantageous since Khorramshahr had already been recaptured. The Shohada Special Brigade deployed three battalions to the area, but the operation did not proceed as planned. The enemy had withdrawn from Qasr-e-Shirin following the liberation of Khorramshahr. As a result, the brigade regrouped and redirected their efforts to Kurdistan to liberate the Budkan Dam.

On that day, I visited the Martyrs' Special Brigade in Sar-e-Pol-e-Zahab. While in Abuzar Garrison, we received news that Iraq had evacuated Qasr-e-Shirin. Without hesitation, we immediately made our way towards Qasr-e-Shirin. The journey from Sar-e-Pol-e-Zahab to Qasr-e-Shirin was perilous, as the Iraqis were positioned in the surrounding heights and constantly attacked the road. There was a lower road that the guys used to travel on.

Source: Niazi, Yahya, Oral History of Sacred Defense, narrated by Bahman Karegar, The human force of Najaf Headquarters, the Center for Sacred Defense Documents and Research, 1403 (2024), p. 199.