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{{Multiple issues|
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{{Infobox civilian attack
{{Infobox civilian attack
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On 28 June 1981 (7 [[Tir (month)|Tir]] 1360 ('''Hafte Tir''' – هفت تیر) in the [[Iranian calendar]]), a powerful bomb went off at the headquarters of the Iran [[Islamic Republic Party]] (IRP) in [[Tehran]], while a meeting of party leaders was in progress. Seventy-three leading officials of the Islamic Republic were killed, including Chief Justice [[Ayatollah Mohammad Beheshti]]<ref name = "Atheism">{{Citation|url= http://atheism.about.com/library/FAQs/islam/countries/bl_IranRevolutionTerror.htm|publisher=About|type=FAQ|title=Atheism| contribution=Religion in Iran – Terror and Repression}}</ref><ref name="The Daily News - June 1981">{{Citation|title=Eighties club|url= http://eightiesclub.tripod.com/id112.htm|newspaper=The Daily News|date=June 1981}}</ref><ref name="The Daily News - June 1981"/><ref name = "ABC">{{Citation|url = http://tvnews.vanderbilt.edu/program.pl?ID=72375|title=Iran ABC News broadcast|work=The Vanderbilt Television News Archive}}</ref> (who was the second-most powerful figure in the revolution after Ayatollah [[Khomeini]] at the time). The Islamic Republic of Iran first blamed [[SAVAK]] and the Iraqi regime. Two days later, the [[People's Mujahedin of Iran]] was accused <ref>{{cite book |last1=Colgan |first1=Jeff |title=Petro-Aggression: When Oil Causes War |publisher=Cambridge University Press 2013 |isbn=9781107029675 |page=167 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=enReCU97-zQC&pg=PA167&dq=1981+IRP+headquarter+bombing+mujahedin+khalq&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjax-bygrHiAhVok4sKHW34CWsQ6AEIJzAA#v=onepage&q=set%20off%20a%20bomb%20in%20the%20conference%20hall%20of%20the%20IRP%20headquarters%2C%20which%20killed&f=false}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=S. Ismael |first1=Jacqueline |last2=Perry |first2=Glenn |last3=Y. Ismael |first3=Tareq |title=Government and Politics of the Contemporary Middle East: Continuity and change |publisher=Routledge (2015) |isbn=9781317662839 |page=181 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7AKpCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA181&dq=IRP+headquarter+bombing+MEK&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiayb7hgbHiAhXuwsQBHdJnB7sQ6AEILTAB#v=onepage&q=From%20June%20through%20September%2C%20bombs%20planted%20by%20MEK-notably%20in%20the%20IRP%20headquarters%20and%20governmental%20offices%2C%20killed%20hundreds&f=false}}</ref><ref name="ABC-CLIO">{{cite book |last1=Newton |first1=Michael |title=Famous Assassinations in World History: An Encyclopedia |publisher=ABC-CLIO (2014) |isbn=9781610692861 |page=27 |pages= |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=F4-dAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA27&dq=IRP+headquarter+bombing+MEK&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiayb7hgbHiAhXuwsQBHdJnB7sQ6AEIJzAA#v=onepage&q=One%20week%20after%20his%20removal%2C%20MEK's%20militants%20bombed%20IRP%20headquarters%2C%20killing%2070%20high-ranking%20members&f=false}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Pedde |first1=Nicola |title=ROLE AND EVOLUTION OF THE MOJAHEDIN E-KA |url=https://ojs.uniroma1.it/index.php/vaseteh/article/download/3153/3137 |website=ojs.uniroma1}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=McGreal |first1=Chris |title=Q&A: what is the MEK and why did the US call it a terrorist organisation? |url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2012/sep/21/qanda-mek-us-terrorist-organisation |website=theguardian |accessdate=21 September 2012}}</ref><ref name="rand">{{cite web |last1=Goulka |first1=Jeremiah |last2=Larson |first2=Judith |last3=Wilke |first3=Elizabeth |last4=Hansell |first4=Lydia |title=The MEK in Iraq (2009) |url=https://www.rand.org/content/dam/rand/pubs/monographs/2009/RAND_MG871.pdf |website=rand}}</ref> by [[Ruhollah Khomeini]]<ref name="time"/>. Later a Kermanshah tribunal executed four "Iraqi agents" for the incident, and a tribunal in [[Tehran]] executed Mehdi Tafari for the same incident. In 1985, the head of military intelligence informed the press that this had been the work of royalist army officers. Iran's security forces blamed the United States<ref>{{cite book|title=Mujahedin-E Khalq (MEK) Shackled by a Twisted History|author= Lincoln P. Bloomfield Jr. |year=2013|publisher=University of Baltimore College of Public Affairs|isbn=978-0615783840|pages=27}}</ref> and "internal mercenaries".<ref>{{Citation|title=33 HIGH IRANIAN OFFICIALS DIE IN BOMBIMG AT PARTY MEETING; CHIEF JUDGE IS AMONG VICTIMS|url= https://www.nytimes.com/1981/06/29/world/33-high-iranian-officials-die-bombimg-party-meeting-chief-judge-among-victims.html|newspaper=NY Times}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |first=Ervand |last=Abrahamian |title=Radical Islam: The Iranian Mojahedin |publisher=I.B. Tauris|year=1989|isbn=978-1-85043-077-3|pages=219-220}}</ref>
On 28 June 1981 (7 [[Tir (month)|Tir]] 1360 ('''Hafte Tir''' – هفت تیر) in the [[Iranian calendar]]), a powerful bomb went off at the headquarters of the Iran [[Islamic Republic Party]] (IRP) in [[Tehran]], while a meeting of party leaders was in progress. Seventy-three leading officials of the Islamic Republic were killed, including Chief Justice [[Ayatollah Mohammad Beheshti]]<ref name = "Atheism">{{Citation|url= http://atheism.about.com/library/FAQs/islam/countries/bl_IranRevolutionTerror.htm|publisher=About|type=FAQ|title=Atheism| contribution=Religion in Iran – Terror and Repression}}</ref><ref name="The Daily News - June 1981">{{Citation|title=Eighties club|url= http://eightiesclub.tripod.com/id112.htm|newspaper=The Daily News|date=June 1981}}</ref><ref name="The Daily News - June 1981"/><ref name = "ABC">{{Citation|url = http://tvnews.vanderbilt.edu/program.pl?ID=72375|title=Iran ABC News broadcast|work=The Vanderbilt Television News Archive}}</ref> (who was the second-most powerful figure in the revolution after Ayatollah [[Khomeini]] at the time). The Islamic Republic of Iran first blamed [[SAVAK]] and the Iraqi regime. Two days later, the [[People's Mujahedin of Iran]] was accused <ref>{{cite book |last1=Colgan |first1=Jeff |title=Petro-Aggression: When Oil Causes War |publisher=Cambridge University Press 2013 |isbn=9781107029675 |page=167 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=enReCU97-zQC&pg=PA167&dq=1981+IRP+headquarter+bombing+mujahedin+khalq&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjax-bygrHiAhVok4sKHW34CWsQ6AEIJzAA#v=onepage&q=set%20off%20a%20bomb%20in%20the%20conference%20hall%20of%20the%20IRP%20headquarters%2C%20which%20killed&f=false}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=S. Ismael |first1=Jacqueline |last2=Perry |first2=Glenn |last3=Y. Ismael |first3=Tareq |title=Government and Politics of the Contemporary Middle East: Continuity and change |publisher=Routledge (2015) |isbn=9781317662839 |page=181 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7AKpCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA181&dq=IRP+headquarter+bombing+MEK&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiayb7hgbHiAhXuwsQBHdJnB7sQ6AEILTAB#v=onepage&q=From%20June%20through%20September%2C%20bombs%20planted%20by%20MEK-notably%20in%20the%20IRP%20headquarters%20and%20governmental%20offices%2C%20killed%20hundreds&f=false}}</ref><ref name="ABC-CLIO">{{cite book |last1=Newton |first1=Michael |title=Famous Assassinations in World History: An Encyclopedia |publisher=ABC-CLIO (2014) |isbn=9781610692861 |page=27 |pages= |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=F4-dAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA27&dq=IRP+headquarter+bombing+MEK&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiayb7hgbHiAhXuwsQBHdJnB7sQ6AEIJzAA#v=onepage&q=One%20week%20after%20his%20removal%2C%20MEK's%20militants%20bombed%20IRP%20headquarters%2C%20killing%2070%20high-ranking%20members&f=false}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Pedde |first1=Nicola |title=ROLE AND EVOLUTION OF THE MOJAHEDIN E-KA |url=https://ojs.uniroma1.it/index.php/vaseteh/article/download/3153/3137 |website=ojs.uniroma1}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=McGreal |first1=Chris |title=Q&A: what is the MEK and why did the US call it a terrorist organisation? |url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2012/sep/21/qanda-mek-us-terrorist-organisation |website=theguardian |accessdate=21 September 2012}}</ref><ref name="rand">{{cite web |last1=Goulka |first1=Jeremiah |last2=Larson |first2=Judith |last3=Wilke |first3=Elizabeth |last4=Hansell |first4=Lydia |title=The MEK in Iraq (2009) |url=https://www.rand.org/content/dam/rand/pubs/monographs/2009/RAND_MG871.pdf |website=rand}}</ref> by [[Ruhollah Khomeini]]<ref name="time"/>.The Mujahedin never publicly confirmed or denied any responsibility for the deed.<ref name="time"/> According to the [[United States Department of State|U.S. department of state]], the bombing was carried out by the MEK.<ref>{{cite web |title=Background Information on Designated Foreign Terrorist Organizations |url=https://2009-2017.state.gov/j/ct/rls/crt/2005/65275.htm |website=www.state.gov |accessdate=10 December 2018}}</ref>


==Bombing==
==Bombing==
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On 28 June 1981 the Hafte tir bombing occurred killing the chief justice and party secretary [[Ayatollah Mohammad Beheshti]], four cabinet ministers (Health, transport, telecommunications and energy ministers), twenty-seven members of the [[Majlis]], including [[Mohammad Montazeri]], and several other government officials.<ref name = "Atheism"/><ref name= "The Daily News - June 1981"/><ref name = "ABC"/>
On 28 June 1981 the Hafte tir bombing occurred killing the chief justice and party secretary [[Ayatollah Mohammad Beheshti]], four cabinet ministers (Health, transport, telecommunications and energy ministers), twenty-seven members of the [[Majlis]], including [[Mohammad Montazeri]], and several other government officials.<ref name = "Atheism"/><ref name= "The Daily News - June 1981"/><ref name = "ABC"/>


==Immediate aftermath==
==Suspects==
Khomeini accused the PMOI to be responsible and, according to BBC journalist [[Baqer Moin]], the Mujahedin were "generally perceived as the culprits" for the bombing in Iran.<ref>Moin, Baqer, ''Khomeini'', Thomas Dunne Books (2001), p. 241</ref> The Mujahedin never publicly confirmed or denied any responsibility for the deed, but stated the attack was ‘a natural and necessary reaction to the regime's atrocities.’ The bomber was identified as a young student <ref name="time">{{Citation|url=http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,954849,00.html| title=Enemies of the Clergy|newspaper=Time | date=20 July 1981}}</ref> and Mujahedin operative by the name of [[Mohammad Reza Kolahi]], who had secured a job in the building disguised as a sound engineer.<ref>[http://www.shahsawandi.com/index.php?option=com_zoom&Itemid=39&page=view&catid=8&PageNo=1&key=16&hit=1 (Persian website)] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090628075550/http://www.shahsawandi.com/index.php?option=com_zoom&Itemid=39&page=view&catid=8&PageNo=1&key=16&hit=1 |date=2009-06-28 }}</ref>
Khomeini accused the PMOI to be responsible and, according to BBC journalist [[Baqer Moin]], the Mujahedin were "generally perceived as the culprits" for the bombing in Iran.<ref>Moin, Baqer, ''Khomeini'', Thomas Dunne Books (2001), p. 241</ref> The Mujahedin never publicly confirmed or denied any responsibility for the deed, but stated the attack was ‘a natural and necessary reaction to the regime's atrocities.’ The bomber was identified as a young student <ref name="time">{{Citation|url=http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,954849,00.html| title=Enemies of the Clergy|newspaper=Time | date=20 July 1981}}</ref> and Mujahedin operative by the name of [[Mohammad Reza Kolahi]], who had secured a job in the building disguised as a sound engineer.<ref>[http://www.shahsawandi.com/index.php?option=com_zoom&Itemid=39&page=view&catid=8&PageNo=1&key=16&hit=1 (Persian website)] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090628075550/http://www.shahsawandi.com/index.php?option=com_zoom&Itemid=39&page=view&catid=8&PageNo=1&key=16&hit=1 |date=2009-06-28 }}</ref>

⚫
According to the 2006 [[United States Department of State|U.S. department of state]] Country reports says that "In 1981, the MEK detonated bombs in the head office of the Islamic Republic Party and the Premier's office, killing some 70 high-ranking Iranian officials."<ref>{{cite web |title=Background Information on Designated Foreign Terrorist Organizations |url=https://2009-2017.state.gov/j/ct/rls/crt/2005/65275.htm |website=www.state.gov |accessdate=10 December 2018}}</ref> According to Kenneth Katzman, "there has been much speculation among academics and observers that these bombing may have actually been planned by senior IRP leaders, including current Iranian President Ali Akbar Hashemi-Rafsanjani, to rid themselves of rivals with the IRP."<ref>{{cite book|title=Iran: Outlaw, Outcast, Or Normal Country?|author1=Kenneth Katzman|publisher=Nova Publishers|year=2001|isbn=978-1-56072-954-9|editor=Albert V. Benliot|p=101|chapter=Iran: The People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran}}</ref>

According to [[Ervand Abrahamian]], "whatever the truth, the Islamic Republic used the incident to wage war on the Left opposition in general and the Mojahedin in particular."<ref>{{cite book|title=Radical Islam: The Iranian Mojahedin|last=Abrahamian|first=Ervand|publisher=I.B. Tauris|year=1989|isbn=978-1-85043-077-3|pages=219-220}}</ref>


== Iranian judicial proceedings, views and commemoration ==
== Iranian judicial proceedings, views and commemoration ==
⚫
A few years later, a Kermanshah tribunal executed four "Iraqi agents" for the incident. Another tribunal in [[Tehran]] executed Mehdi Tafari for the same incident. In 1985, the head of military intelligence informed the press that this had been the work of royalist army officers.<ref name="Bloomfield"/>Iran's security forces blamed the United States (referring to it as the [[Great Satan]])<ref name="Bloomfield">{{cite book|title=Mujahedin-E Khalq (MEK) Shackled by a Twisted History|author= Lincoln P. Bloomfield Jr. |year=2013|publisher=University of Baltimore College of Public Affairs|isbn=978-0615783840|pages=27}}</ref> and "internal mercenaries".<ref>{{Citation|title=33 HIGH IRANIAN OFFICIALS DIE IN BOMBIMG AT PARTY MEETING; CHIEF JUDGE IS AMONG VICTIMS|url= https://www.nytimes.com/1981/06/29/world/33-high-iranian-officials-die-bombimg-party-meeting-chief-judge-among-victims.html|newspaper=NY Times}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |first=Ervand |last=Abrahamian |title=Radical Islam: The Iranian Mojahedin |publisher=I.B. Tauris|year=1989|isbn=978-1-85043-077-3|pages=219-220}}</ref> Assassinations of "leading officials and active supporters of the regime by the Mujahedin were to continue for the next year or two," though they failed to overthrow the government.<ref name="Moin, Baqer 2001 p.243">Moin, Baqer, ''Khomeini'', Thomas Dunne Books, (2001), p.243</ref>


⚫
A Kermanshah tribunal executed four "Iraqi agents" for the incident. Another tribunal in [[Tehran]] executed Mehdi Tafari for the same incident. In 1985, the head of military intelligence informed the press that this had been the work of royalist army officers.<ref name="Bloomfield"/>Iran's security forces blamed the United States (referring to it as the [[Great Satan]])<ref name="Bloomfield">{{cite book|title=Mujahedin-E Khalq (MEK) Shackled by a Twisted History|author= Lincoln P. Bloomfield Jr. |year=2013|publisher=University of Baltimore College of Public Affairs|isbn=978-0615783840|pages=27}}</ref> and "internal mercenaries".<ref>{{Citation|title=33 HIGH IRANIAN OFFICIALS DIE IN BOMBIMG AT PARTY MEETING; CHIEF JUDGE IS AMONG VICTIMS|url= https://www.nytimes.com/1981/06/29/world/33-high-iranian-officials-die-bombimg-party-meeting-chief-judge-among-victims.html|newspaper=NY Times}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |first=Ervand |last=Abrahamian |title=Radical Islam: The Iranian Mojahedin |publisher=I.B. Tauris|year=1989|isbn=978-1-85043-077-3|pages=219-220}}</ref> Assassinations of "leading officials and active supporters of the regime by the Mujahedin were to continue for the next year or two," though they failed to overthrow the government.<ref name="Moin, Baqer 2001 p.243">Moin, Baqer, ''Khomeini'', Thomas Dunne Books, (2001), p.243</ref> According State.gov website, the MEK "detonated bombs in the head office of theIslamic Republic Party and the Premier’s office", although the report has since been taken down from the website.<ref>{{cite web |title=Background Information on Designated Foreign Terrorist Organizations |url=https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:c0T-_vTVI2QJ:https://www.state.gov/documents/organization/65479.pdf+&cd=3&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=ir |website=www.state.gov |accessdate=10 December 2018}}</ref>
According to Tasnim, it is not possible that MEK to be fully responsible for the incident, and the bomb had been transmitted to Iran or built by military technicians in the country, with the help of Western and Israeli spy services. In other words, the United States and Israel, with the sophisticated technology of that day, designed the bomb and plan of operation then presented the bomb and plan to MEK for operating.<ref name="tasnimnews">{{cite web |title=ابهاماتی از حادثه هفت تیر که هرگز پاسخ داده نشد! |url=https://www.tasnimnews.com/fa/news/1396/04/08/1448937/%D8%A7%D8%A8%D9%87%D8%A7%D9%85%D8%A7%D8%AA%DB%8C-%D8%A7%D8%B2-%D8%AD%D8%A7%D8%AF%D8%AB%D9%87-%D9%87%D9%81%D8%AA-%D8%AA%DB%8C%D8%B1-%DA%A9%D9%87-%D9%87%D8%B1%DA%AF%D8%B2-%D9%BE%D8%A7%D8%B3%D8%AE-%D8%AF%D8%A7%D8%AF%D9%87-%D9%86%D8%B4%D8%AF |website=tasnimnews |accessdate=29 June 2017}}</ref>
According to Tasnim, it is not possible that MEK to be fully responsible for the incident, and the bomb had been transmitted to Iran or built by military technicians in the country, with the help of Western and Israeli spy services. In other words, the United States and Israel, with the sophisticated technology of that day, designed the bomb and plan of operation then presented the bomb and plan to MEK for operating.<ref name="tasnimnews">{{cite web |title=ابهاماتی از حادثه هفت تیر که هرگز پاسخ داده نشد! |url=https://www.tasnimnews.com/fa/news/1396/04/08/1448937/%D8%A7%D8%A8%D9%87%D8%A7%D9%85%D8%A7%D8%AA%DB%8C-%D8%A7%D8%B2-%D8%AD%D8%A7%D8%AF%D8%AB%D9%87-%D9%87%D9%81%D8%AA-%D8%AA%DB%8C%D8%B1-%DA%A9%D9%87-%D9%87%D8%B1%DA%AF%D8%B2-%D9%BE%D8%A7%D8%B3%D8%AE-%D8%AF%D8%A7%D8%AF%D9%87-%D9%86%D8%B4%D8%AF |website=tasnimnews |accessdate=29 June 2017}}</ref>


To commemorate the event several public places in [[Iran]] including major squares in [[Tehran]] and other cities are named “Hafte Tir”.<ref>[http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?q=hafte+tir+Tehran+map&hl=en&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=wl Google Maps<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>
To commemorate the event several public places in [[Iran]] including major squares in [[Tehran]] and other cities are named “Hafte Tir”.<ref>[http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?q=hafte+tir+Tehran+map&hl=en&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=wl Google Maps<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>

== Analysis ==
⚫
According to [[Ervand Abrahamian]], "whatever the truth, the Islamic Republic used the incident to wage war on the Left opposition in general and the Mojahedin in particular."<ref>{{cite book|title=Radical Islam: The Iranian Mojahedin|last=Abrahamian|first=Ervand|publisher=I.B. Tauris|year=1989|isbn=978-1-85043-077-3|pages=219-220}}</ref> According to Kenneth Katzman, "there has been much speculation among academics and observers that these bombings may have actually been planned by senior IRP leaders, to rid themselves of rivals within the IRP."<ref name="Outlaw">{{cite book|title=Iran: Outlaw, Outcast, Or Normal Country?|author1=Kenneth Katzman|publisher=Nova Publishers|year=2001|isbn=978-1-56072-954-9|editor=Albert V. Benliot|p=101|chapter=Iran: The People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran}}</ref>

==2018 developments==
In 2018 Dutch media said that the mastermind behind the bombing, [[Mohammad-Reza Kolahi]], was assassinated in the city of [[Almere]] on 15 December 2015. Samadi was living undercover as an electrician in the Netherlands since the early 1990s under the name 'Ali Motamed'.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ad.nl/amsterdam/in-almere-geliquideerde-ali-achter-beruchtste-aanslag-iran~acc384f7/|title=In Almere geliquideerde 'Ali' achter beruchtste aanslag Iran|publisher=Algemeen Dagblad}}</ref>


== See also ==
== See also ==

Revision as of 05:03, 3 June 2019

Hafte Tir bombing
Martyrs of 7th Tir on stamp
LocationTehran, Iran
Coordinates31°15′17″N 29°59′37″E / 31.254825°N 29.993677°E / 31.254825; 29.993677
Date28 June 1981
20:20 local time (UTC+3)
TargetIRP leaders
Attack type
Suicide bombing
Deaths73

On 28 June 1981 (7 Tir 1360 (Hafte Tir – هفت تیر) in the Iranian calendar), a powerful bomb went off at the headquarters of the Iran Islamic Republic Party (IRP) in Tehran, while a meeting of party leaders was in progress. Seventy-three leading officials of the Islamic Republic were killed, including Chief Justice Ayatollah Mohammad Beheshti[2][3][3][4] (who was the second-most powerful figure in the revolution after Ayatollah Khomeini at the time). The Islamic Republic of Iran first blamed SAVAK and the Iraqi regime. Two days later, the People's Mujahedin of Iran was accused [5][6][7][8][9][10] by Ruhollah Khomeini[11].The Mujahedin never publicly confirmed or denied any responsibility for the deed.[11] According to the U.S. department of state, the bombing was carried out by the MEK.[12]

Bombing

Hafte Tir bombing victims mausoleum, designed by Mir-Hossein Mousavi

On 28 June 1981 the Hafte tir bombing occurred killing the chief justice and party secretary Ayatollah Mohammad Beheshti, four cabinet ministers (Health, transport, telecommunications and energy ministers), twenty-seven members of the Majlis, including Mohammad Montazeri, and several other government officials.[2][3][4]

Immediate aftermath

Khomeini accused the PMOI to be responsible and, according to BBC journalist Baqer Moin, the Mujahedin were "generally perceived as the culprits" for the bombing in Iran.[13] The Mujahedin never publicly confirmed or denied any responsibility for the deed, but stated the attack was ‘a natural and necessary reaction to the regime's atrocities.’ The bomber was identified as a young student [11] and Mujahedin operative by the name of Mohammad Reza Kolahi, who had secured a job in the building disguised as a sound engineer.[14]

Iranian judicial proceedings, views and commemoration

A few years later, a Kermanshah tribunal executed four "Iraqi agents" for the incident. Another tribunal in Tehran executed Mehdi Tafari for the same incident. In 1985, the head of military intelligence informed the press that this had been the work of royalist army officers.[15]Iran's security forces blamed the United States (referring to it as the Great Satan)[15] and "internal mercenaries".[16][17] Assassinations of "leading officials and active supporters of the regime by the Mujahedin were to continue for the next year or two," though they failed to overthrow the government.[18]

According to Tasnim, it is not possible that MEK to be fully responsible for the incident, and the bomb had been transmitted to Iran or built by military technicians in the country, with the help of Western and Israeli spy services. In other words, the United States and Israel, with the sophisticated technology of that day, designed the bomb and plan of operation then presented the bomb and plan to MEK for operating.[19]

To commemorate the event several public places in Iran including major squares in Tehran and other cities are named “Hafte Tir”.[20]

Analysis

According to Ervand Abrahamian, "whatever the truth, the Islamic Republic used the incident to wage war on the Left opposition in general and the Mojahedin in particular."[21] According to Kenneth Katzman, "there has been much speculation among academics and observers that these bombings may have actually been planned by senior IRP leaders, to rid themselves of rivals within the IRP."[22]

2018 developments

In 2018 Dutch media said that the mastermind behind the bombing, Mohammad-Reza Kolahi, was assassinated in the city of Almere on 15 December 2015. Samadi was living undercover as an electrician in the Netherlands since the early 1990s under the name 'Ali Motamed'.[23]

See also

References

  1. ^ "33 HIGH IRANIAN OFFICIALS DIE IN BOMBIMG AT PARTY MEETING; CHIEF JUDGE IS AMONG VICTIMS", NY Times
  2. ^ a b "Religion in Iran – Terror and Repression", Atheism (FAQ), About
  3. ^ a b c "Eighties club", The Daily News, June 1981
  4. ^ a b "Iran ABC News broadcast", The Vanderbilt Television News Archive
  5. ^ Colgan, Jeff. Petro-Aggression: When Oil Causes War. Cambridge University Press 2013. p. 167. ISBN 9781107029675.
  6. ^ S. Ismael, Jacqueline; Perry, Glenn; Y. Ismael, Tareq. Government and Politics of the Contemporary Middle East: Continuity and change. Routledge (2015). p. 181. ISBN 9781317662839.
  7. ^ Newton, Michael. Famous Assassinations in World History: An Encyclopedia. ABC-CLIO (2014). p. 27. ISBN 9781610692861.
  8. ^ Pedde, Nicola. "ROLE AND EVOLUTION OF THE MOJAHEDIN E-KA". ojs.uniroma1.
  9. ^ McGreal, Chris. "Q&A: what is the MEK and why did the US call it a terrorist organisation?". theguardian. Retrieved 21 September 2012.
  10. ^ Goulka, Jeremiah; Larson, Judith; Wilke, Elizabeth; Hansell, Lydia. "The MEK in Iraq (2009)" (PDF). rand.
  11. ^ a b c "Enemies of the Clergy", Time, 20 July 1981
  12. ^ "Background Information on Designated Foreign Terrorist Organizations". www.state.gov. Retrieved 10 December 2018.
  13. ^ Moin, Baqer, Khomeini, Thomas Dunne Books (2001), p. 241
  14. ^ (Persian website) Archived 2009-06-28 at the Wayback Machine
  15. ^ a b Lincoln P. Bloomfield Jr. (2013). Mujahedin-E Khalq (MEK) Shackled by a Twisted History. University of Baltimore College of Public Affairs. p. 27. ISBN 978-0615783840.
  16. ^ "33 HIGH IRANIAN OFFICIALS DIE IN BOMBIMG AT PARTY MEETING; CHIEF JUDGE IS AMONG VICTIMS", NY Times
  17. ^ Abrahamian, Ervand (1989). Radical Islam: The Iranian Mojahedin. I.B. Tauris. pp. 219–220. ISBN 978-1-85043-077-3.
  18. ^ Moin, Baqer, Khomeini, Thomas Dunne Books, (2001), p.243
  19. ^ "ابهاماتی از حادثه هفت تیر که هرگز پاسخ داده نشد!". tasnimnews. Retrieved 29 June 2017.
  20. ^ Google Maps
  21. ^ Abrahamian, Ervand (1989). Radical Islam: The Iranian Mojahedin. I.B. Tauris. pp. 219–220. ISBN 978-1-85043-077-3.
  22. ^ Kenneth Katzman (2001). "Iran: The People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran". In Albert V. Benliot (ed.). Iran: Outlaw, Outcast, Or Normal Country?. Nova Publishers. p. 101. ISBN 978-1-56072-954-9.
  23. ^ "In Almere geliquideerde 'Ali' achter beruchtste aanslag Iran". Algemeen Dagblad.
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