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Haft-e Tir bombing
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Haft-e Tir bombing
On 28 June 1981 (7 Tir 1360 in the Iranian calendar; Persian: هفت تیر, romanized: Haft-e Tir), a powerful bomb went off at the headquarters of the Islamic Republican Party (IRP) in Tehran, while a meeting of party leaders was in progress. Seventy-four leading officials of the Islamic Republic of Iran were killed, including Chief Justice Ayatollah Mohammad Beheshti, who was the second most powerful figure in the Iranian Revolution (after Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini).
The Iranian government first blamed SAVAK and the Iraqi regime. Two days later, on 30 June, the People's Mujahedin of Iran was accused by Khomeini of being behind the attack. The Iranian government also put blame on the United States for the bombing.
A few years afterward, a tribunal in Kermanshah sentenced four alleged "Iraqi agents" to death for their supposed role in the incident. Separately, a Tehran tribunal executed Mehdi Tafari on the same charges. By 1985, however, the head of military intelligence publicly claimed that the operation had in fact been carried out by royalist army officers.
On 28 June 1981, the Haft-e 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 the son of the deputy supreme leader Hussein-Ali Montazeri, Mohammad Montazeri, and many other government officials.
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. The Mujahedin never publicly confirmed or denied any responsibility for the deed. They stated that the attack was "a natural and necessary reaction to the regime's atrocities."
SAVAK and Iraq were immediately held responsible by Iranian authorities, but two days later the People's Mujahedin of Iran (MEK) was blamed. On 6 July, the bomber was finally identified as a 23-year-old man named Mohammad Reza Kolahi. Kolahi had secured a job in the building disguised as a sound engineer. Iran accused Kolahi of being a member of the MEK. But one Iranian dissident said the government did not find him having any organizational links.
Several years later, Iran executed four "Iraqi agents" for the bombing. In 1985, Iranian military intelligence stated that the bombing was not conducted by the MEK but by pro-monarchy officers in the Iranian army.
Many scholarly sources believe the People's Mujahedin of Iran (MEK) was responsible for the bombing. Anthony Cordesman writes that this bombing, along with 1981 Iranian Prime Minister's office bombing, turned Iranian public opinion against the MEK and expanded Iranian government crackdown on the group.
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Haft-e Tir bombing
On 28 June 1981 (7 Tir 1360 in the Iranian calendar; Persian: هفت تیر, romanized: Haft-e Tir), a powerful bomb went off at the headquarters of the Islamic Republican Party (IRP) in Tehran, while a meeting of party leaders was in progress. Seventy-four leading officials of the Islamic Republic of Iran were killed, including Chief Justice Ayatollah Mohammad Beheshti, who was the second most powerful figure in the Iranian Revolution (after Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini).
The Iranian government first blamed SAVAK and the Iraqi regime. Two days later, on 30 June, the People's Mujahedin of Iran was accused by Khomeini of being behind the attack. The Iranian government also put blame on the United States for the bombing.
A few years afterward, a tribunal in Kermanshah sentenced four alleged "Iraqi agents" to death for their supposed role in the incident. Separately, a Tehran tribunal executed Mehdi Tafari on the same charges. By 1985, however, the head of military intelligence publicly claimed that the operation had in fact been carried out by royalist army officers.
On 28 June 1981, the Haft-e 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 the son of the deputy supreme leader Hussein-Ali Montazeri, Mohammad Montazeri, and many other government officials.
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. The Mujahedin never publicly confirmed or denied any responsibility for the deed. They stated that the attack was "a natural and necessary reaction to the regime's atrocities."
SAVAK and Iraq were immediately held responsible by Iranian authorities, but two days later the People's Mujahedin of Iran (MEK) was blamed. On 6 July, the bomber was finally identified as a 23-year-old man named Mohammad Reza Kolahi. Kolahi had secured a job in the building disguised as a sound engineer. Iran accused Kolahi of being a member of the MEK. But one Iranian dissident said the government did not find him having any organizational links.
Several years later, Iran executed four "Iraqi agents" for the bombing. In 1985, Iranian military intelligence stated that the bombing was not conducted by the MEK but by pro-monarchy officers in the Iranian army.
Many scholarly sources believe the People's Mujahedin of Iran (MEK) was responsible for the bombing. Anthony Cordesman writes that this bombing, along with 1981 Iranian Prime Minister's office bombing, turned Iranian public opinion against the MEK and expanded Iranian government crackdown on the group.
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