Operation Mersad

{{Campaignbox Iran-Iraq War}} [[Image:Mujahedin was killed in Operation Mersad by Pasdaran in Kermanshah.jpg|303px|thumb|right|Mujahedin was killed in Operation Mersad by Pasdaran in Kermanshah at 1988]] '''Operation Mersad''' was the name given by the Iranian government to its successful counterattack against a July 1988 military incursion from Iraq by a military force of about 7000 members of the [[People's Mujahedin of Iran]], armed and equipped and given air support by Saddam's Iraq. The operation started on July 26 and lasted only a few days, and was the last military operation of any significance of the [[Iran-Iraq War]]. ==Prelude== After 8 years of bloody warfare, the Iran Iraq War was coming to an end under the [[UN Security Council Resolution]] 598, which was passed 20 July 1987. It is thought [[Iraq]] supported the attack to pressure Iran into a more favorable settlement. The Mujahedin under their leader [[Massoud Rajavi]] harbored the unrealistic hope that the attack would lead to a general uprising against the Islamic government of Ayatollah Khomeini. Rajavi would lead the Mujahedin with Iraqi support in an attack on the western borders of Iran. ==Events== Under the codename Foroughe Javidan (Eternal Shining), the [[Mujahedin]] started their ten day operation after the Iranian government accepted UN Resolution 598. While Iraqi forces attacked [[Khuzestan]], the Mujahedin attacked western Iran and battled the [[IRGC|Pasdaran]] for [[Kermanshah]]. Close air support from the Iraqis contributed heavily to the small gains the Mojahedin made into Iran, including the seizing and razing to the ground the small Iranian city of Islamabad-e Gharb.{{Citation needed|date=August 2009}} However, under heavy international pressure for ending the war, Saddam Hussein withdrew his fighter aircraft. Without any air cover, the Mojahedin could not stop Iranian airborne forces from being dropped behind [[Mojahedin]] lines. The operation ended in a [[Bay of Pigs invasion]]-like disaster for [[Mojahedin]]. Casualties ranged from 2,000 to 10,000. Tehran claims to have killed 4,500 NLA and Iraqi troops during the operation, while insisting that 400 Iranian soldiers were killed. ==Aftermath== {{Main|1988 executions of Iranian political prisoners}} At least in part as a response to Operation Mersad, Iran systematically executed thousands of political prisoners across the country, mainly members of the [[Mujahedin e-Kalq]] but also members of the [[Tudeh Party of Iran|Tudeh Party (Communist Party)]] and other opposition groups. The estimates for number of executions vary from around 1,400 to 30,000. ==External links== * [http://www.sajed.ir/en sajed.ir in English - The Official site of Holy Defence - Iraq-Iran War 1980-88] {{coord missing|Iran}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Mersad}}