117: Chapter 114 Barney Sader

March 3, 1981, Tehran.

Bani-Sadr sat in the Presidential Palace for the whole day.

Newspapers from home and abroad were spread out on the table.

Iranian newspapers—including those pro-Ayatollah Khomeini—used full pages to report on the Battle of Basra.

The headlines were all similar: "Iran's Army Captures Basra in Sixty-One Hours," "Blitzkrieg on the Fao Peninsula," "Thirty Thousand Iraq troops surrender."

Foreign newspapers were even more exaggerated.

The New York Times used its front page: "Iran's Desert Fox—How the 21-Year-Old Prince Changed the Middle East war situation."

The article described Reza's battle plan in detail—first attacking the Fao Peninsula, then cutting off Basra, and using ambushes to block reinforcements—calling it "one of the most sophisticated military operations in the Middle East since World War II."

France's Le Figaro was even more direct: "Reza Pahlavi: The New Generation of the Persian King."

After reading these newspapers, Bani-Sadr's face turned pale and then green.

He was the commander-in-chief.

Nominally, this was his victory.

But not a single newspaper mentioned his name.

All the praise, all the glory, all the attention, were focused on one person—Reza Pahlavi.

"He promised me," Bani-Sadr said to his assistant, "He said the victory would be mine, and the responsibility would be his. Now what? The victory is his, and the responsibility is his too. I got nothing."

The assistant said cautiously: "Mr. President, His Highness issued a statement attributing the credit to the Ayatollah and you—"

"What is the use of a statement?! Newspapers all over the world are writing his name, who reads the statement?"

Bani-Sadr stood up and paced back and forth in the office.

"I'm going to do one thing," he said.

"What is it?"

"Strip him of his power. The Battle of Basra is over; the front line no longer needs someone with full command authority. I want to take back his free command authority and make him accept the unified command of the Supreme Defense Council just like the other generals."

"This requires the Ayatollah's approval."

"I will go see the Ayatollah."

March 5, Qom.

Bani-Sadr made a special trip to Qom to see Ayatollah Khomeini.

Ayatollah Khomeini received him in his residence.

The old man was wearing a black robe, sitting on a carpet, with an open Quran in front of him.

"Ayatollah," Bani-Sadr said, "The victory at Basra has proven the combat effectiveness of the Iran army. But now the command system needs to be adjusted."

"How to adjust?"

"Revoke Reza's free command authority. After Basra was taken, the front line has stabilized. There is no need for one person to have unconstrained command authority."

Ayatollah Khomeini looked at him, his gaze as sharp as a knife.

"Are you proposing this suggestion because of military necessity, or because of other reasons?"

Bani-Sadr's heartbeat skipped a beat.

"Military necessity. Ayatollah, for one person to hold too much military power is dangerous for the Islamic Republic."

"The person you are talking about, is it Reza Pahlavi?"

"Yes."

Ayatollah Khomeini remained silent for a long time.

"Reza Pahlavi just won Basra for Iran," he finally said, "If we strip him of his power at this time, what will the whole country think?"

"Ayatollah—"

"They will see it as us killing the donkey after it has finished grinding the mill."

Bani-Sadr opened his mouth but couldn't say a word.

"I will not revoke his command authority," Ayatollah Khomeini said, "At least not now. We can talk about it after the war ends."

"But Ayatollah, his prestige now is already—"

"His prestige was earned through fighting, not stolen. If you also want prestige, go to the front line and fight a battle."

Bani-Sadr was choked and speechless.

After returning to Tehran from Qom, he did two things.

The first thing was that he began to secretly contact the generals in the army who were dissatisfied with Reza.

Most of these generals were old officers of the former imperial army who had been marginalized after the revolution and were jealous of this "halfway" prince, Reza.

The second thing was that he began to contact foreign reporters, implying that the true credit for the Battle of Basra should be attributed to the "collective decision-making of the Supreme Defense Council," rather than any one individual.

What he didn't know was that both of these things had been captured by Karimi's intelligence network.

March 8, Ahvaz.

Karimi placed a report in front of Reza.

"Bani-Sadr is making moves behind the scenes."

Reza finished reading the report and didn't speak.

"Your Highness, he is contacting the opposition in the army. At least three officers above the brigade level have had secret contact with him."

"Which three?"

"The 11th Division Commander Javad, 15th Brigade Commander Asgari, and Logistics Commander Mostafa. All three are old hands from the imperial army and have always been dissatisfied with Your Highness leading the Revolutionary Guard in battle."

Reza nodded.

"What kind of waves can they make?"

"Taken individually, they can't. But if Bani-Sadr unites them, he might create chaos at the military command level."

"What kind of chaos?"

"For example, delaying execution when you issue orders. Or moving your troops away at a critical moment. Or throwing obstacles in the way of your logistics supply lines."

Reza stood up and walked to the window.

"Karimi, how much guts do you think Bani-Sadr has?"

"He doesn't have much guts. But his fear is great."

"Fear?"

"He is afraid of you. He is afraid that you will replace him after the war. He is afraid that the Ayatollah will use you to replace him. Fear will make a timid person do crazy things."

Reza was silent for a while.

"Keep an eye on him, but don't touch him."

"Why?"

"Because now is not the time for infighting. Saddam Hussein is preparing a counterattack, and the threat of Chemical weapons has not yet been lifted. If I turn against Bani-Sadr now, Iran will be divided internally, and Saddam Hussein will take advantage of the situation."

"Then when should we move against him?"

"Wait for him to make a mistake himself. A fearful person will sooner or later make a fatal mistake. By then, I won't need to do it myself; the Ayatollah will handle him."

March 10, Ahvaz.

Fatima brought two pieces of news, one good and one bad.

The good news: The prototype test of the Persia-3 anti-aircraft missile was successful. The range was increased from the eight kilometers of the Persia-2 Missile to fifteen kilometers, capable of striking medium-to-high altitude targets. The hit rate was 75 percent.

The bad news: The chemical protective suits promised by France had not arrived yet. Ponce said that the French government was discussing it, and some people were worried that exporting chemical protection equipment to Iran would arouse dissatisfaction from the United States.

"Can the Americans control the French?" Reza asked.

"They can't. But they can apply pressure. Reagan has just taken office and is very concerned about the Middle East situation. The United States does not want Iran to gain too much advantage in the war—that would break the regional balance."

"So the Americans will help Saddam Hussein?"

"Not directly, but indirectly by stopping other countries from helping us."

Reza thought for a moment: "Reply to Ponce, tell him, if the chemical protective suits don't arrive within a month, the exclusive operating rights of the Port of Basra will be gone."

"Is this a threat?"

"This is a reminder."

March 12, Basra.

Rajai sent a detailed city governance report from Basra.

Tap water had been completely restored. Electricity was restored by 60 percent. The market was operating normally. The attitude of the Shia residents in the city towards the Iran army had changed from cautious to friendly. Some local religious leaders began to publicly support Iran, calling the Iran army the "liberators of the Shia."

But there were also problems.

"Your Highness," Rajai wrote in the report, "The Sunni residents in Basra account for about 20 percent. They are fearful of the Iran army. Some Sunni residents have opened fire on our patrols at night. Three attacks have already occurred, causing two injuries on our side."

After reading the report, Reza replied to Rajai with a telegram:

"First, do not take retaliatory actions against the Sunni residents. Second, find the influential Sunni elders in the area and talk to them. Tell them we are not here to persecute the Sunnis; we are here to fight Saddam Hussein. Once Saddam Hussein falls, the Sunnis and the Shia will both be the masters of Iraq, just the same. Third, catch the attackers, but don't kill them. After catching them, hold a public trial, and let the local residents see that we are a law-abiding force."

...

Karimi intercepted intelligence from Baghdad.

"Your Highness, Saddam Hussein is forming a new unit—'Saddam Hussein's Fedayeen'. They are recruiting volunteers from all over the country to specifically counterattack Basra."

"How many troops?"

"It's unclear at the moment. But the recruitment advertisements are being broadcast all over Iraq. Saddam Hussein appeared on camera himself, calling on the Iraqi people to 'reclaim the sacred territory occupied by Iran'."