As a reminder, we talked about Fat'h al-Mobin operation, the third great operation for liberating the occupied regions of Iran’s territory just 18 months after the outbreak of war.

Fat'h al-Mobin operation was a great victory which paved the way for liberating Khorramshahr. This operation was a perfect demonstration of an all-out popular warfare, based on the power of faith, initiative and prudence that was shaped alongside the unity of the army and the IRGC and the intelligence dominance of the Iranian combatants. The IRGC which had taken part with 32 battalions in Tariq al-Quds operation, entered the scene of Fat'h al-Mobin operation with 135 battalions and molded its first armored division. When Fat'h al- Mobin was finished, the Iranian forces had liberated 2500 kilometers of northern Khuzestan. They drove the cities of Dezful, Shush and Andimeshk out of the Iraqi artillery fire and destroyed many of the Iraqi army's facilities. Daily New York Times wrote: "This was the most humiliating defeat for Iraq since the outbreak of the war. Iraqis were pushed back to the borderlines and three Iraqi divisions were destroyed."

The forces of Nasr headquarters got to the enemy's artillery unit and captured Iraqi artillery before the official launch of the operation very quickly without any clash with the Iraqis. The Iraqi artillery commander contacted the Chiefs of Staff and said: The artillery is falling. The commander of the headquarters said: How many armored battalions are there before you? How could you be attacked? Martyr Brigadier Ali Sayyad Shirazi, then commander of the army's ground force, said: "We had difficulty in transferring the captives and the injured. The devoted people of Dezful, with a pickup truck or any vehicle they could find brought the equipment we needed and then took back Iranian injured and Iraqi captives."

Looking at the results of operation and the losses of the Iraqi Ba'athist army, the magnitude of Fat'h al-Mobin operation can be further understood. Some of the results of Fat'h al-Mobin operation can be enumerated as follows: Liberation of 2,500 square kilometers of Iran's territory, Reaching of Iranian troops to the international borders in the west of Shush and Dezful, pulling the 4th and 5th radar sites and scores of villages out of the Iraqi fire, liberation of the important and strategic Dezful-Dehloran road, and pulling Dezful, Andimeshk, Shush and other important centers such as the Dezful Air Base out of the fire range of the enemy artillery. Destruction of more than 4 Iraqi divisions, capturing of more than 15,000 troops and officers of the Iraqi army, destruction of 361 tanks and personnel carriers, downing of 18 aircrafts and 3 helicopters, destruction of 300 vehicles, 50 artillery and 30 engineering units were other losses inflicted on the Iraqi army in Fat'h al-Mobin operation. Moreover, 320 tanks and personnel carriers, 500 vehicles, 165 artilleries, 50 engineering units and large quantities of enemy weapons and equipment were taken booties in the operation. The Iraqi soldiers who were killed and injured in Fat'h al-Mobin operation totaled 25,000. After Fat'h al-Mobin operation, the Iraqi Ba'athist army was prone to utter disintegration. This, besides worrying the rulers of Baghdad, was not hidden from the regional and international supporters and accomplices of Saddam as they were very much concerned over Saddam's shaky situation. The weakness and frustration of the Ba'athist enemy and the tilting of military balance to the benefit of the Islamic Republic were also reflected in foreign media. Robert Fisk, then correspondent of daily Times in Beirut, wrote: "The only possible conclusion from recent events, which Iraq is also very afraid of, is that, given the imbalance in the forces of both sides, Iran may win the war in the near future. Saddam now does not insist on the Arvand River regime, and is likely to pull out his forces from Iran in several stages if he starts negotiations with Iran.”

Following the complete liberation of Fat'h al-Mobin operation area, BBC radio said: "The western intelligence experts say Iran is winning the recent conflict with Iraq. Military pundits in the west considered the operation as a great victory for Iran. Iran's armed forces have more forces and have a high morale." BBC Radio, in two consecutive days, emphasizing the victory of the Iranian combatants, confirmed the results and its dimensions in the region as follows: "The prospect of Iran's final victory and eventually the collapse of Saddam's regime should be considered a danger to many regional countries. Such a defeat for Saddam can make merely military considerations dominate over the entire region, whose political and strategic significance is very notable." In such a shaky situation, Saddam's Ba'athist regime once again called for a ceasefire. This was due to the fact that several cities and hundreds of square kilometers of Iran's territory still remained under the Iraqi army's occupation. Reuters news agency quoted the Iraqi news agency on March 27, 1982, as saying: "Saddam today called for a ceasefire and resolving conflict with Iran through 'peaceful' ways to guarantee 'fair, legal and historical rights'." Egyptian dictator Hosni Mubarak urged the US and the west to do something against Iran. Morocco’s king Hassan and the Sudanese dictator Ja’far Nomeiri, who were Saddam’s staunch supporters, were striving to save him.  In this way, Saddam's supporters, tried to prevent the great Bayt ul-Moqaddas operation whose goal was to liberate Khorramshahr. Concurrent with Saddam regime’s peace claim, ample financial, human and military equipment poured into Iraq; and Egypt, Jordan, Sudan and Morocco sent thousands of troops to Iraq.

Iraq, exerting its utmost including the concentration of auxiliary forces in the south, intended to deter Iran's next decisive operations. The blow of Fat'h al- Mobin operation was so crushing that the enemy was dizzy and couldn't decide properly. In this situation, the southern region of Khorramshahr axis would turn into a critical and unsettled point, and the Iraqi army would be plunged into the trap it had made itself. This crisis was getting closer to its peak every moment. The Iraqi forces expanded minefields and other barriers in the region and, with recruiting of all reserve soldiers and dispatching them to the operation theater, they thought they had turned Khorramshahr into an impregnable fortress. Embankments were built in succession, the number of machine guns increased manifold, and more forces were stationed behind minefields to provide fire field. The former Soviet Union continued to help Iraq and handed over a large number of T-72 tanks and fighters to Iraq. West Germany and Italy sent an emergency Infrared anti-aircraft Milan missile and other weapons and ammunitions to Iraq. Kuwait, Saudi regime, and other rich Persian Gulf regimes continued their aid, giving the petrodollars of their nations to the minority regime of Saddam. Apparently, everything was ready to prevent Iran from putting into effect massive operation on the front. But the people and officials of the Islamic Republic were quite resolute on expelling the invaders from the occupied territories and there was no doubt about it.

RM/SS