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1981 Iranian Prime Minister's office bombing

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1981 Iranian Prime Minister's office bombing
The Prime Minister's office after the explosion
DateAugust 30, 1981
LocationPrime Minister's Office
DeathsAssassination of Muhammad Ali Raja'i, Muhammad Javad Bahonar, and other members of the Supreme Security Council

1981 Iranian Prime Minister's office bombing was an event that occurred on August 30, 1981, leading to the Martyrdom of Muhammad 'Ali Raja'i (the then President), Muhammad Javad Bahonar (the then Prime Minister), and a group of their companions. This incident took place in the midst of the Iran-Iraq War, following a series of assassinations of high-ranking officials of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Mas'ud Kashmiri, a member of the People's Mujahedin of Iran (MEK), was identified as the main perpetrator of this explosion. The organization initially accepted responsibility for the explosion but later denied it. However, in 1994, the US Department of State confirmed the role of the People's Mujahedin Organization in this event.

In commemoration of this incident, a week titled "Government Week" has been named in the official calendar of Iran, and numerous cultural works have been produced regarding it.

Significance of the Prime Minister's Office Explosion

On August 30, 1981,[1] coinciding with the meeting of the Supreme National Security Council of Iran, a massive explosion occurred in the Prime Minister's office, resulting in the martyrdom of Muhammad 'Ali Raja'i (President), Muhammad Javad Bahonar (Prime Minister), and several senior officials of the country at the time.[2]

This event occurred during the height of the Iran-Iraq War and simultaneously with the intensification of armed actions by the People's Mujahedin Organization against the Islamic Republic of Iran. This assassination took place after events such as the dismissal of Abu l-Hasan Bani Sadr and the Hafte-Tir bombing on June 28, 1981,[3] and was interpreted by Imam Khomeini as an attempt to overthrow the Islamic Republic system.[4]

Trace of MEK and CIA in the Assassination of Raja'i and Bahonar

Funeral procession of the martyrs of the 8th of Shahriwar

According to Sayyid Rida Zawara'i, the then head of the National Security Organization, Mas'ud Kashmiri, the then secretary of the Supreme National Security Council and an infiltrator member of the People's Mujahedin Organization, was the main perpetrator of the explosion at the Prime Minister's office on August 30, 1981. According to him, it was initially thought that Kashmiri had been killed and buried in the incident, but it later became clear that he had fled the country.[5]

According to a report by Ettela'at Newspaper, the People's Mujahedin Organization initially accepted responsibility for this explosion through Agence France-Presse (AFP) but rejected it after some time; an action likely taken to manage political and international pressures.[6] In 1993, the American magazine Spotlight reported on the possible role of the CIA in this incident,[7] and in 1994, the US Department of State officially confirmed the role of the People's Mujahedin Organization in this assassination.[8]

The case of this incident was reviewed several times until May–June 1986, but as of 2021, the complete identification of Mas'ud Kashmiri's accomplices has not reached a conclusion.[9]

Reflections and Domestic and International Reactions

The incident of August 30, 1981, was accompanied by widespread domestic and foreign reactions. Imam Khomeini, the then leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran,[10] along with other Marja's institutions, and religious and political groups, issued messages of condolence.[11] Additionally, various countries and the United Nations expressed their sympathy by sending messages of condolence[12] and lowering flags to half-mast.[13]

More than one million people attended the funeral procession of the victims in Tehran,[14] and commemoration ceremonies were held throughout the country.[15] The Iranian government declared one day of official holiday and five days of public mourning,[16] and in memory of this event, the second week of Shahriwar[17] was named Government Week.[18]

Notes

  1. ↑ «Munāfiqīn ʿāmil-i infijār-i daftar-i nukhust-wazīrī».
  2. ↑ Jamʿī az Pizhūhishgarān, Sāzmān-i Mujāhidīn-i Khalq; paydāyī tā farjām, vol. 2, pp. 628-632.
  3. ↑ «Tirūr-i shahīdān Rajāʾī wa Bāhonar chirā wa chigūna».
  4. ↑ Khomeinī, Ṣaḥīfa-yi Imām, vol. 15, p. 136.
  5. ↑ Jamʿī az Pizhūhishgarān, Sāzmān-i Mujāhidīn-i Khalq; paydāyī tā farjām, vol. 2, pp. 631-632.
  6. ↑ Rūznāma-yi Iṭṭilāʿāt, 1360/6/10 Sh.
  7. ↑ Jamʿī az Pizhūhishgarān, Sāzmān-i Mujāhidīn-i Khalq; paydāyī tā farjām, vol. 2, p. 628.
  8. ↑ Jamʿī az Pizhūhishgarān, Sāzmān-i Mujāhidīn-i Khalq; paydāyī tā farjām, vol. 2, p. 643.
  9. ↑ Rūzī-ṭalab & Islāmī, Parwanda-yi maskūt, p. 126; «Rāzhā-yi pinhān-i parwanda-yi infijār-i nukhust-wazīrī».
  10. ↑ Khomeini, Ṣaḥīfa-yi Imām, vol. 15, p. 145.
  11. ↑ See: Rūznāma-yi Iṭṭilāʿāt, Shahriwar 10, 11, & 12, 1360 Sh, pp. 1-2.
  12. ↑ See: Khomeini, Ṣaḥīfa-yi Imām, vol. 15, pp. 143-183; Zāhidī, Infijār-i daftar-i nukhust-wazīrī az majmūʿa-yi yak riwāyat-i muʿtabar, pp. 35-36.
  13. ↑ Rūznāma-yi Kayhān, 1360/6/11 Sh, No. 11373, p. 14.
  14. ↑ Hāshimī Rafsanjānī, Kārnāma wa khāṭirāt-i 1360 Sh (ʿubūr az buḥrān), p. 263.
  15. ↑ Rūznāma-yi Iṭṭilāʿāt, Shahriwar 10, 1360 Sh, p. 2.
  16. ↑ Rūznāma-yi Iṭṭilāʿāt, Shahriwar 9, 1360 Sh, p. 2; Hāshimī Rafsanjānī, Kārnāma wa khāṭirāt-i 1360 Sh (ʿubūr az buḥrān), p. 261.
  17. ↑ Iranian Lunar calender month
  18. ↑ «Dar 8 Shahriwar 1360 chi guzasht? / Hama chīz darbāra-yi infijār-i mashkūk-i daftar-i nukhust-wazīrī».

References

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