121: Chapter 118 Kum

April 7, Qom.

Bani-Sadr's second

Chapter 94: Eve of the Coup

April 7, 1981, Qom.

When Bani-Sadr saw Ayatollah Khomeini for the second time, the old man was in the courtyard feeding pigeons.

He waited for ten minutes before Ayatollah Khomeini finished scattering the feed and turned to walk into the house.

An assistant brought tea. Ayatollah Khomeini sat down, looked at Bani-Sadr, and said nothing, waiting for him to speak.

"Ayatollah," Bani-Sadr said, "Reza Pahlavi bombed the Chemical weapons base in Samarra."

"I know."

"He did not receive approval from the Supreme Defense Council."

"I also know."

"Ayatollah, this violates the chain of command—"

"So did Basra," Ayatollah Khomeini said calmly. "Before he attacked the Fao Peninsula, he also didn't get the committee's approval. But the Fao Peninsula was taken, Basra was taken, and the Chemical weapons base was destroyed. The results are good."

"The procedure is wrong—"

"Procedure," Ayatollah Khomeini repeated the word, his mouth twitching slightly as if in contempt. "You talk to me about procedure. I ask you, if he followed procedure—reporting to the committee first, the committee debating for three days, then approving, and then him going to bomb Samarra—the ammunition would have already been transported to the front line by then. What can procedure save?"

Bani-Sadr's words were stuck in his throat.

"Ayatollah, the problem isn't this time; it's the future. If he continues like this, sooner or later, he won't respect anyone. Including you."

Ayatollah Khomeini's eyes narrowed slightly.

"Including me?"

"Yes."

"You think he won't respect me?"

Bani-Sadr realized he had said the wrong thing, but since it was already out, he had to press on: "He is the son of Pahlavi. The path his father took back then—"

"I know the path his father took and the path he is taking better than you do," Ayatollah Khomeini interrupted, his tone not rising, but his intensity changing. "You didn't come here today to talk to me about procedure, nor to discuss the problems of the Pahlavi family. You came here to ask me to take action."

Silence.

"I will not move against him," Ayatollah Khomeini said. "At least not now. Saddam Hussein is still there, and the war is not over. If I move against Reza at this time, the whole country will be in chaos."

Bani-Sadr stood up, bowed to Ayatollah Khomeini, and walked out of the house.

In the courtyard, he paused and watched the pigeons pecking at the ground.

He understood the subtext of Ayatollah Khomeini's last sentence—"At least not now." That is to say, in the future, he would.

But when would that future be? If Ayatollah Khomeini waited until the war was over to take action, by then Reza would have accumulated enough military prestige that, if he turned against them, who could suppress him?

Bani-Sadr walked on the streets of Qom for twenty minutes and realized one thing: he must solve the problem of Reza before the war ended. He could not wait until that day.

April 9, Ahvaz.

Karimi placed a piece of intelligence in front of Reza.

"Bani-Sadr is in contact with the Mujahedin."

Reza looked up at him: "The Mujahedin?"

"Yes. People from the Mujahedin and Bani-Sadr's assistant have met twice, at a private residence in the southern part of Tehran. Our people tracked the whole process."

The Mujahedin—the Mujahedin-e-Khalq. An Islamic leftist armed group, opposing Ayatollah Khomeini and simultaneously opposing Saddam Hussein, with a large underground network within Iran. They had guns, bombs, and people.

Reza finished reading the intelligence and placed it back on the table.

"What does he want to do with the Mujahedin?"

"Not sure. It could be to win them over, to establish a political alliance. It could also be something more dangerous."

"What is something more dangerous?"

Karimi did not speak immediately.

Reza looked at him: "Do you think he wants to assassinate me?"

"I dare not rule out that possibility," Karimi said. "The Mujahedin have the capability for assassination. They have assassinated many government officials before. If Bani-Sadr makes them an offer—"

"He doesn't have the guts."

"Your Highness, fear can give people guts."

Reza stood up and walked a few steps.

"Strengthen my security," he said, "but don't make it public. Let Hassan's men be directly responsible; do not use the regular guard units."

"Anything else?"

"Also—keep watching Bani-Sadr. Every time he contacts the Mujahedin, I want to know. The more evidence, the better."

"Are you planning to hand the evidence to Ayatollah Khomeini?"

"Waiting for the right moment."

April 12, Ahvaz, military meeting.

Reza gathered all the front-line commanders in Ahvaz.

"Let's get to the point," he said, getting straight to the matter. "Saddam Hussein will counterattack Basra at the end of April. There are three grounds for this: First, after the Samarra explosion, he re-mobilized Chemical weapons ammunition from other bases. The quantity is less than before, but it is enough. Second, satellite photos show that Iraq has assembled a large number of armored troops in the area seventy kilometers north of Basra, estimated at three to four divisions, six hundred to eight hundred tanks. Third, the new Scud missile missiles Iraq purchased from the Soviet Union are in transit."

Rajai asked: "Will they use Chemical weapons first or missiles first?"

"Both are possible. But I judge that he will first use missiles to strike Tehran and Isfahan, creating panic to force us to withdraw reinforcements from Basra, and then launch a ground offensive when our defensive line is empty."

Rezai said: "Then how do we respond?"

"We don't," Reza said. "Basra stays put. Tehran will handle Tehran's affairs."

"If the missiles are loaded with Chemical warheads and hit Tehran, what will Ayatollah Khomeini think?"

"Ayatollah Khomeini will be angry and will pressure me to retaliate. But I will not withdraw the troops from Basra."

"Why?"

"Because Saddam Hussein wants me to move. If I move, he wins."

Reza pointed to the area north of Basra on the map: "We are going to fight an annihilation battle here. Let his three to four divisions come in. Once they enter the alleys of Basra, my tanks will become targets and turn into his."

"But how do we defend against Chemical weapons?"

"Chemical protective suits have already been sent to the front line. All front-line troops have a gas mask each, to be worn at all times. In addition—" he paused, "Hassan's men have already deployed three surveillance teams in western Iraq, specifically to watch the Scud Missile launchers. Once a target is discovered, they will report it immediately, and we will use the Air Force to destroy it."

"Can the Air Force be dispatched?" Rezai asked. "Iraq's air defense—"

"I will have the aircraft penetrate at low altitude. Flying at an altitude below fifty meters, the radar cannot lock on."

"Have the pilots received this kind of training?"

"They are receiving it now. I'm giving them two weeks."

April 15, Ahvaz.

Reza received two messages late at night.

The first was from Karimi: The third contact between Bani-Sadr and the Mujahedin has been confirmed. The content of this contact was obtained by Karimi's informant as a recording fragment—Bani-Sadr said one sentence in the recording: "This person must disappear before the war ends."

Who "this person" refers to goes without saying.

The second was from Hassan's surveillance team: Near Ramadi in western Iraq, three MAZ-543 Scud Missile launchers were discovered, currently undergoing pre-launch preparations.

Reza processed the second message first.

He picked up the phone and called the Air Force liaison officer: "Three F-4 Phantoms, load anti-radiation missiles, target the Scud Missile launchers in Ramadi. Depart immediately. Penetrate at low altitude, strike, and withdraw."

"Are the pilots ready?"

"They only have the option of being ready."

After hanging up the phone, he looked at the first message again.

"This person must disappear before the war ends."

He listened to the recording fragment three times, then said to Karimi: "Organize all the evidence and make it into a complete report. Include the time, location, and people involved in the three contacts, as well as this recording."

"Give it to Ayatollah Khomeini?"

"Give it to Montazeri," Reza said. "Not Ayatollah Khomeini."

Karimi was stunned for a moment: "Why give it to Montazeri?"

"Because Montazeri is Ayatollah Khomeini's successor, and he has no special feelings for Bani-Sadr. When he sees the evidence, he will go to Ayatollah Khomeini himself. This is much more effective than me going to Ayatollah Khomeini directly. If I go to complain directly, Ayatollah Khomeini might think I am eliminating political opponents. But if Montazeri says it, Ayatollah Khomeini will consider it seriously."

Karimi digested this for a few seconds and said: "Brilliant."

April 16, 2:00 AM, over Ramadi.

Three F-4 Phantoms fighter jets swept across the Iraqi desert at an ultra-low altitude of fifty meters.

The radar signal of the launchers had already been locked by the anti-radiation missiles.

The lead pilot pressed the launch button.

Three missiles flew out simultaneously, rushing at high speed along the direction of the radar signal.

The explosion occurred four seconds later. The three MAZ-543 launchers were hit in succession, and the Scud missile missiles on them detonated in the high heat, forming three huge fireballs.

The three F-4s turned around and retreated east, hugging the ground.

The entire operation, from launch to withdrawal, did not exceed ninety seconds.

The three Scud Missile launchers, along with the three missiles already loaded on them—all were destroyed.