Operation Mersad
Date :
26 - 30 July 1988
Location : Western borders of Iran
Result :
Strategic Iranian victory
Iranian victory in the northern sector
Iraqi victory in the central sector
Stalemate in the southern sector
Iraqi invasion of Iran fails
Defeat of the
Mujahadeen-e-Khalq (MEK) and destruction of their army
Execution of 30,000+ prisoners
Belligerents :
Mujahadeen-e-Khalq (MEK) (NLA)
Iraq
Iran
Peshmerga (only in the northern sector)
Commanders and leaders :
Massoud Rajavi
Ali Sayad Shirazi
Casualties and losses :
4,500 KIA (Iranian claim)
2,000 KIA (independent estimate)
1,400-30,000 executed
400 KIA (Iranian claim)
Operation Mersad was the name given by the Iranian government, taken from the Persian word meaning 'ambush' was the last major military operation of the war, ending in a decisive victory for Iran. The operation involved a successful counterattack against a July 1988 military incursion from Iraq, by the the bulk of the Iraqi army in the south west and by a military force of about 7000 members of the Mujahadeen-e-Khalq (MEK). The MEK soldiers were armed and equipped and given air support by Iraq and other foreign states. Led by the brilliant military figure, Lt. General Ali Sayad Shirazi, Operation Mersad began on 26 July 1988 and lasted only a few days, where the Iranian Armed Forces crushed the Iraqi Army in what was the last military operation of any significance of the Iran-Iraq War.
Both Iran and Iraq had accepted Resolution 598 on 20 July 1988. However, shortly thereafter Iraq decided to launch a new attack and wished to permanently occupy Khuzestan and western Iran, as well as to reach its goals from the beginning of the war. The Iraqi army attacked Khuzestan province, beginning with chemical weapons and air strikes, and once again pushed towards Khorramshahr. However, Iran had anticipated the attack, and used their remaining air force in conjunction with surface-to-air missiles to defeat the larger Iraqi air force. The Iranian forces then took the offensive on 25 July 1988 and re-obtained 600 square kilometres (230 sq mi) of Iraqi territory.
Prelude
After almost eight years of bloody warfare, the Iran Iraq War was coming to an end under the United Nations 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 Mujahedeen 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 Mujahedeen with Iraqi support in an attack on the western borders of Iran .
Events :
Under the codename Foroughe Javidan (Eternal Shining), the Mujahadeen-e-Khalq (MEK) 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 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.
However, under heavy international pressure for ending the war, Saddam Hussein withdrew his fighter aircraft. Without any air cover, the Mujahedeen could not stop Iranian airborne forces from being dropped behind Mujahadeen-e-Khalq (MEK) lines. The operation ended in a Bay of Pigs invasion-like disaster for the Mujahedeen. 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 .
Mujahadeen-e-Khalq Flag
Massoud Rajavi
Massoud Rajavi and Saddam Hussein
Martyr Ali Sayyad Shirazi