Heroes of the 8-year Holy Defence (5)

Welcome to the fifth part of our special series on the occasion of the Holy Defence Week marking start of the 8 year war imposed in 1980 by the US through its agent Saddam of the tyrannical Ba’th minority regime of Baghdad in a bid to overthrow the newly established Islamic Republic.

This nefarious plot, however, was foiled by the astute leadership of the Father of the Islamic Revolution, Imam Khomeini (God bless him), who instilled in the Iranians the spirit of jihad and sacrifice to emerge victorious. The first edition of Heroes of the 8-year Holy Defence, focused on the achievements of the martyred defence minister, Mostafa Chamran. The second edition featured the exploits of two teenaged Iranian students, Behnam Mohammadi of Khorramshahr, and Mohammad Hussain Fahmideh of Karaj against the might of the Ba’thist war machine. In the 3^rd edition, we presented you glimpses of the heroism of Ahmad Motavasselian, who after service against the anti-revolutionaries in Kurdistan and participation in the liberation of the port city of Khorramshahr, was kidnapped in Beirut by the Phalangist terrorist militia, while on a diplomatic mission to Lebanon, and handed over to the illegal Zionist entity, along with four other Iranian officials. It is not known whether Motavasselian and colleagues are still languishing in Israeli dungeons or have achieved martyrdom. Yesterday in the 4^th edition we highlighted the achievements of Mohammad Borujerdi, whose ethics and appearance earned him the title of Messiah of Kurdistan by its people.

Today in the fifth edition of Heroes of the 8-year Holy Defence, we will draw attention to the heroics of Hassan Baqeri, and how he achieved immortal martyrdom.

The imposed war brought to the fore the bravery of Iran’s mostly inexperienced youth who quickly mastered the techniques of indomitable defence against the sophisticated Ba’thist war machine, and became skillful commanders, who turned the tide of the war against an armed-to-the-teeth enemy. And this happened while the army of the overthrown Shah, whose generals fled the country and even joined the enemy in the vain hope of toppling the Islamic Republic system, was in the process of reorganization, which meant that defence of the country was left to the popular Basij volunteer forces and the newly formed Islamic Revolution Guards Corps. This did not mean the regular army did not play any role in suppressing the anti-revolutionary plots of the separatists in the border provinces or facing the onslaught of the well-equipped Ba’thist forces, supported militarily by both the Capitalist West and the Communist East, in addition to tens of billions of dollars of financial aid from reactionary Arab regimes, particularly Saudi Arabia. As a matter of fact, the very next day after the unprovoked Ba’thist invasion, the Iranian air forces swung into action to disable Saddam’s airfields, industrial complexes and military facilities, while the Iranian navy wiped out the entire fleet of Iraqi warships and frigates.

Born in Tehran in 1956 and named Gholam Hussain Afshordi, he later assumed the nickname Hassan Baqeri, and in 1975 enrolled in animal husbandry at Oroumiyeh University from which he was expelled by the SAVAK for his religious and political activities. He was serving as a conscript during the eventful days of the Islamic Revolution, and escaped from the garrison to join the welcoming committee on Imam Khomeini’s historical arrival in Tehran from 14 years of exile. He then led the revolutionaries in taking control of the Eshratabad garrison of Tehran, forcing the Shah’s officers to flee. He joined the Jomhuri Islami newspaper as a reporter and got admission in the faculty of law at Tehran University.

At the same time, he joined the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps and was founder of the IRGC intelligence department. When the war was imposed on Iran by the US through Saddam, he rushed to the battlefronts, and as a key IRGC strategist, assumed command of the revolutionary battalions. Baqeri passed the levels of excellence so quickly that he became a major-general at a young age. His name has been recorded as a genius and top strategist in the history of the Imposed War. He played important roles in the victories of the Iranian forces in various operations, including the liberation of the port city of Khorramshahr. On January 29, 1983, while studying the enemy positions from a trench on the frontlines in the Fakkeh Theatre, as deputy commander of the ground forces, he was hit by mortar fire and achieved martyrdom at the age of 27. He was laid to rest in the Behesht-e Zahra cemetery in Tehran.

Hassan Baqeri was commander of Operation Samen ol-A'emeh in the Darkhoveyn region; and before that the deputy commander of Operation Tariq al-Qods. He was also commander of Nasr Headquarters in Operation Fath ol-Mobin, Operation Bayt ol-Moqaddas and Operation Ramadhan. Before his martyrdom, as commander of Karbala Headquarters he played a significant role the success of Operation Moharram.

Recently his younger brother, General Mohammad Baqeri, was promoted as Chief of Staff of the Armed forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

FK/AS/EA