Comrade! Take it easy(2)

A Report on the Anti-Shah Campaign in Iraq and Travel to Palestine and Lebanon

Seyed Mahmoud Doaee
Translated by: Zahra Hosseinian

2015-9-13

Bakhtiar and fighter forces in Iraq

In 1968, the exiled founder of SAVAK, Teymur Bakhtiar, was arrested in Beirut because of his activities against the Shah. He was about to be delivered to Iran. Iraqi Baathists brought Bakhtiar to Baghdad by hook or by crook. Then Bakhtiar was indebted to Iraqis support and the main contenders of fighting against Shah. They gave him a great Palace in Baghdad, along with budget and vast resources to form the National Liberation Front of Iran. It was a joke that we and SAVAK ex-head were doing the same activity. At first Bakhtiar invited all groups to attend in Liberation Front. Members of Tudeh Party; Democratic Party; Second National Front, (Middle East branch); members of Tudeh Party Revolutionary Organization; Hassan Masalli and Khosrow Kalantary’s small Communist groups of Second National Front; and Alinaghi Monzavi and General Panahian from Tudeh and Democratic Parties gathered in Iraq. Bakhtiar insisted to use Combatant Clergy, but Imam refused to visit him. Bakhtiar chose another way. He came to visit him along with Kerbala governor. Imam did not welcome him. In another occasion Iraqi agents detained Haj Agha Mustafa and took him to Baghdad to have visit with Bakhtiar in order to pave the way for cooperation between the clergy and Bakhtiar’s front; however, Haj Agha Mustafa did not accept to visit him.

The next attempt of Bakhtiar was trying to integrate Radio Baghdad Persian sections. In addition to the Combatant Clergy, other groups were also broadcasting in radio, including Hossein Riahi and Abbas Saberi of Palestine Group. Saberi would cover the activities of Maoists and Riahi would cover Hassan Masali and comrades deeds. Bakhtiar announced all sectors must work under the title of the National Liberation Front of Iran. I refused and didn’t go to Baghdad for the radio program. The section of Combatant Clergy on Radio Baghdad came to an end.

Later, Bakhtiar desisted and separated his radio wave. After three months, I returned to radio to perform again. The head of Persian department of Radio Baghdad was a picky Baathi. He became Persian Interpreter of Saddam Hussein afterwards and his image is clear in the movies of Massoud Rajavi and Saddam’s meetings.

Iranian opposition groups in Baghdad had extensive facilities. Iraqis had given them houses and vehicle and even some groups had studio in their houses to record radio programs. The only group that would not use these facilities was the Voice of Combatant Clergy. I had rented a room at Ḥaydarih Hosseinieh in Kadhimiya, and if I had to stay in Baghdad at night, I would go to my room at Hosseinieh. I would also perform programs alone in radio site. However, my relationship with representatives of other groups was emotional and humane. I would also go to the homes of people like Hussein Riahi and Abbass Saberi and they would come to my room in Najaf. I even attended in Hussein Riahi’s wedding when he married an Iranian-Iraqi radio narrator named Nawal.

Iraqis had accommodated a group of coming Iranians in Baghdad University dormitories. One night I was invited there by a friend. There, I visited Abbass Shahriari, the SAVAK agent in Tudeh Party. He had recently come from Iran. The comrades had gathered to visit him. He was deceitful and talkative. He wanted to know everyone. In order to impress me he said that he had gone to the funeral of martyr Ayatollah Saeedi and despite being a communist had raised a black flag and shouted “Ya Hussein”. I clearly opposed him and rejected Marxism. He said in a friendly manner: “I thought that you are one of us!” I replied: “The friendly behavior here in Baghdad does not mean that we are idealogical friends.” It was the last time that I visited Shahriari in Iraq.

I predicted that one day Iraq will give up helping fighter groups. Iraqis were negotiating with Iran regularly. Iran’s one of the main conditions for improving the relationship was the closure of Radio Baghdad. With the signing of Algiers Accords in 1975 and reconciliation of Iran and Iraq, radio propaganda against Shah first faded out and then stopped.

Acquaintance with MKO

One day I had sat in my room at Seyed’s school in Najaf, when Turab Haghshenas arrived. I was startled. I knew Turab from the years of working in Iran. He was from Jahrom. He did not continue his studies in seminary and went to university. In the Islamic Associations of Tehran University students we were in contact, and he would deliver clergy’s magazines and leaflets to students. It was common among fighters that if someone was far away from fighting for years, we must suspect them. At the beginning I was suspicious about him. He said that he had an important message from Ayatollah Zanjani and Ayatollah Taleghani for Imam and must visit him; also added: “I’ve come, because a lot of former fighters have changed and wanted to ensure you that this message is on behalf of Mr. Taleghani not SAVAK.”

I visited Imam and told him someone from Iran has an important message for you on behalf of Mr. Taleghani. Imam accepted, and Turab and I went to visit Imam. Turab asked for a saucer of water, and then he sprinkled some powder into it, put cotton into water, and rub it over the inside page of his calendar. The text which had been written with invisible ink became apparent. It was letters from Mr. Taleghani and Zanjan. In both letters there were some codes which ensured Imam Khomeini these letters are theirs. They asked Imam to intercede, so a group of MKO members, who had been identified in Dubai and had come to Iraq in the case of hijacking and were in detention of Iraqis, to be freed. The next day Imam called me, said: “I read Mr. Taleghani’s letter. Iraqis don’t have a good relationship with Muslim religious fighters, and if they understand that detainees are religious fighters and protected by the clergy, might hurt them more; and if they answer my demand by expedient, later they will request me in return and this is ill-advised.” I said to Imam what do you think if I myself take action? He replied it is permissible. I conveyed Imam’s opinion to Turab and added that I'm going to meet these people. Turab was happy. He said: “Tell them you’ve come on behalf of Turab Haghshenas, and then they’ll trust you.” He also said the password of internal organization: “Tokhmatik System”. Turab’s main message was: “Don’t resist and tell their identity to Iraqis.” I went to meet Iraqi officials. I said I know Iranians involved in hijacking and have a message for them. Iraqis handed over eight members of Organization to Bakhtiar successor, General Panahian. They had taken them to luxurious house in Baghdad. Panahian and I together visited them. MKO Members had sat on the balcony of house under the autumn sunshine and were studying. I approached them and while shaking their hands, I whispered three things in their ears: “Panahian is KGB agent and unreliable. I’ve come on behalf of Turab Haghshenas and he has said ‘Tokhmatik system’.” An intimate meeting was formed. I told them that Organization is worried about them and wanted them not to resist. They say: “We have said everything to Iraqis. They’ve delivered us to Panahian and he asked us to stay in Iraq to fight, but our end is to join to our friends in Palestine.” with the help of representative of Fatah Movement in Baghdad, Turab Haghshenas took these eight members to Beirut few days later.

Membership in Al-Fatah

I came close to Mujahideen due to serious approval of combatant scholars, including the late Taleghani, Zanjani, Hashemi, Montazeri and Ayatollah Motahari of first Mujahideen. My relationship with MKO was getting stronger day by day. Turab sometimes wrote the text of Voice of Combatant Clergy program. MKO suggested me to be trained in Lebanon under the auspices of Fatah organization when my cooperation with them strengthened.

Fatah was in the North of Lebanon and had some bases for training Non-Arab fighter groups away from the Israeli’s border. In Tripoli, at two bases which was called Al-Badawi and Nahr al-Bared, members of Mujahideen were trained by Fatah officers. I also had guerrilla life in these bases for four months. The late Yaqini and Taqi Shamekhi and I had been in a training course together. Iranian’s training in these bases was the responsibility of Palestinians. After four-month training, Fatah issued a membership card for me. It had been signed by Abu Jihad, the commander of PLO. Membership in Fatah had many benefits in Syria and Iraq. Fighters of each course had different ways to cross borders, so there was nothing to worry about. Border surveillance system wasn’t mechanized and passport forgery was easy. We had many Iranian passports and every time we changed our photos. Once in Damascus, I shocked a security officer. He had been suspicious. But after inspection, he found my identification documents included ‘Fatah card’, Iranian passport and passport of Bahrain’. He surprised. Honestly I explained that I am Iranian and fighter and I have no choice but to have these documents. Comrade, Take it easy!