162: Chapter 159 Setting up a trap

February 20, 1982, Tehran, Ministry of Defense, Office of the Deputy Minister.

Ahmad Rajabi was reviewing documents.

His secretary walked in and whispered, "Deputy Minister, His Excellency Reza is outside."

Rajabi looked up.

"Reza? He didn't make an appointment."

"He says it is an urgent matter."

Rajabi put down his pen.

Reza's sudden visit meant that something serious was happening.

"Let him in."

Reza walked into the office, closed the door, and then personally checked every corner of the room.

"His Excellency Reza," Rajabi stood up, "what happened?"

"Sit down," Reza said.

Rajabi sat down.

Reza placed a folder on the desk.

"Open it and take a look."

Rajabi opened the folder.

Inside were some photographs, some documents, and some communication records.

The more he read, the paler his face became.

"These are—"

"Beheshti is an Iraqi spy," Reza said, "His code name is 'Eagle'. He has already received one million dollars from Iraq."

Rajabi's hands were trembling.

"Beheshti?" He repeated, "He is an Ayatollah. How could he—"

"He could," Reza said, "and he did."

Rajabi fell silent.

He had known Beheshti for thirty years. They had come to Tehran from Isfahan together. They had participated in the Islamic Revolution together. They had established the new regime together.

And now, he was being told that Beheshti was a traitor.

"Is it possible that you are mistaken?" Rajabi asked.

"No," Reza said, "we have complete evidence."

Rajabi closed his eyes.

He knew that Reza would not accuse someone lightly. If Reza said Beheshti was a traitor, then Beheshti was a traitor.

"What do you want me to do?" he finally asked.

"I want you to continue providing him with information," Reza said.

Rajabi opened his eyes.

"What?"

"Beheshti has approached you and asked you to provide military intelligence," Reza said, "and you will continue to provide it. But the information provided will be the information I give you."

Rajabi understood.

"You want to use me as a channel to pass false information to Iraq."

"Yes," Reza said.

"Why not just arrest him?" Rajabi asked, "Why not expose him publicly?"

Reza looked at Rajabi.

"Two reasons," he said, "First, if I arrest him now, Iran's religious circles will be shaken. An Ayatollah being a traitor would make everyone lose faith in the leadership of the Islamic Revolution. Second, as a spy, he is more useful than as an arrested traitor."

"More useful?"

"Through him, I can control Iraq's perception," Reza said, "I can make Saddam Hussein believe what he wants to believe. I can make Saddam Hussein make decisions that are favorable to Iran."

Rajabi fell silent.

He understood Reza's logic. But he also knew that this was a very dangerous game.

"What if he finds out?" Rajabi asked, "What if he discovers that the information I provide is fake?"

"He won't," Reza said, "I will ensure that the information looks real. Every detail will be true, but the overall picture will be false."

"I understand," Rajabi said, "I will do it."

"Very good," Reza said, "but you must keep it a secret. Except for me and Karimi, no one can know about this."

"Including the Supreme Leader?"

"Especially the Supreme Leader," Reza said, "it is not the time yet."

Rajabi nodded.

Reza took a piece of paper out of his pocket.

"This is the first piece of information," he said, "Tomorrow, you will give it to Beheshti in the normal way."

Rajabi looked at the paper.

It read:

"Iran has decided to concentrate all Scud missile bases in the west. No Scud missiles will be kept near Tehran anymore. This is a strategy of concentrated deployment."

After reading it, Rajabi looked at Reza.

"Is this true?" he asked.

"That is not important," Reza said, "What is important is that Iraq will believe it."

Ahvaz, Reza's office.

Karimi was reporting.

"Javadi contacted Beheshti again today," he said, "This is the third time this week."

"What did he say?" Reza asked.

"He said he needs help," Karimi said, "His project failed. He cannot create a system to counter Cruise missiles."

"How did Beheshti respond?"

"Beheshti still refused to help him directly," Karimi said, "but Beheshti suggested that he find an Iraqi engineer."

Reza's eyes narrowed.

"An Iraqi engineer?"

"Yes," Karimi said, "Beheshti said that he could use his connections to have Iraq secretly send an engineer to help Javadi."

This was a very important piece of information.

Beheshti was not just passing information to Iraq. He was also trying to get Iraqis to infiltrate Iran's military projects.

"Did Javadi agree?" Reza asked.

"He is considering it," Karimi said, "He did not refuse immediately, nor did he agree immediately. He knows this is a dangerous thing."

Reza tapped his fingers on the desk.

If Javadi agreed to let an Iraqi engineer come to help him, then that would be treason.

If Javadi refused, then he could still be saved.

But either way, this gave Reza an opportunity.

"We will continue to monitor," Reza said, "If he agrees, we will arrest him immediately. If he refuses, we will let him continue his failed project."

"Okay," Karimi said.

"Also," Reza said, "we need to find out how Beheshti is contacting the Iraqi engineer. This could be a new channel."

"I will investigate."

Baghdad, Iraqi General Staff Intelligence Department.

Hassan Rajab was reading new intelligence.

This intelligence came from "Eagle".

The intelligence stated that Iran had concentrated all Scud missile bases in the west. There were no longer any Scud missiles near Tehran.

Hassan Rajab reported this intelligence to Saddam Hussein.

Baghdad, Saddam Hussein's office.

Saddam Hussein looked at the intelligence.

"If this is true," he said, "then we have an opportunity."

"What opportunity?" the Chief of Staff asked.

"We can concentrate our forces to attack the west of Iran," Saddam Hussein said, "We can destroy all of the Iranian Scud missile bases."

The Chief of Staff thought for a moment.

"This is a major operation," he said, "We need at least one hundred bombers."

"How many do we have?"

"We have one hundred and twenty," the Chief of Staff said, "but some are under maintenance."

"Speed up maintenance," Saddam Hussein said, "I want to assemble one hundred combat-ready bombers within two weeks."

"Two weeks?"

"Yes," Saddam Hussein said, "I want to conduct a large-scale air strike on the west of Iran within two weeks."

"Yes."

The Chief of Staff left.

Saddam Hussein sat in his chair, looking at the map.

He marked several targets on the map—the Scud missile bases in western Iran, the air bases in western Iran, and the radar stations in western Iran.

If this air strike was successful, Iran would lose their missile power.

If Iran lost their missile power, they would be unable to counterattack Iraq.

If Iran could not counterattack, Iraq could focus on a ground offensive.

This war could end within a few months.

A satisfied smile appeared on Saddam Hussein's face.

But what he did not know was that he was falling into a deeper trap.

Ahvaz, Reza's office.

Reza was discussing with Karimi.

"Iraq is preparing for a large-scale air strike," Karimi said, "They plan to assemble one hundred bombers within two weeks."

"They are going to attack western Iran," Reza said.

"Yes," Karimi said, "They believe that all our Scud missile bases are in the west."

"Very good," Reza said, "The trap is working."

"How should we respond?"

"Two steps," Reza said, "First, we continue to deploy fake Scud missile bases in the west. Let Iraq see these bases and let them think their targets are real."

"Fake bases?"

"Yes," Reza said, "We will use wood and canvas to make some fake launch vehicles and fake missiles. We will deploy them in the open spaces in the west. From the air, they will look just like the real thing."

"What about the second step?"

"The second step," Reza said, "is that we will deploy all the Persia-4 air defense missiles along the path of the Iraqi bombers."

"All of them?"

"Yes," Reza said, "Fifty missiles. We will ensure that one hundred Iraqi bombers do not return."

Karimi looked at Reza.

"This is a major operation," he said, "If it fails, our air defense system will be finished."

"It will not fail," Reza said, "Iraq does not know that we have fifty missiles. They think we only have a dozen or so. Their air strike plan is based on this false assumption."

Karimi nodded.

This was a perfect trap.

Through false intelligence, get Iraq to commit one hundred bombers.

Through hidden strength, let the Iraqi bombers never return.

If successful, the Iraqi Air Force will be severely weakened.

If successful, Iran will gain air superiority.

"I will arrange it," Karimi said, "I will have Fatima prepare the deployment of the air defense missiles."

"Very good," Reza said, "One more thing."

"What?"

"Regarding Javadi," Reza said, "If he agrees to let the Iraqi engineer come, notify me immediately."

"Okay."

Karimi left.

Reza sat in the office, looking out the window.

The chess game was becoming bigger and bigger.

Every move was a gamble.

But Reza knew he had to gamble.

Because if he didn't gamble, he would lose.

If he won the gamble, he could change the course of the war.

He had to win.