166: Chapter 163 Cleansing

March 2, 1982, 5:00 AM, a secret military base on the outskirts of Tehran.

It was not yet dawn.

Forty-two people were escorted into a courtyard.

Beheshti was at the front.

He was wearing his Ayatollah robes; this was the last time he would wear them.

Javadi was second.

He was wearing a military uniform, but his rank insignia had been torn off.

The remaining forty people included a Deputy Minister of Defense, officers from the Revolutionary Guard, imams from mosques, and members of parliament.

Every single one of them was a high-ranking figure in Iran.

Every single one of them had betrayed Iran.

Karimi stood to the side, watching all of this.

There was no expression on his face.

But his inner feelings were complex.

Among these people, there were several he had known before.

He had once attended meetings with them, eaten with them, and discussed the future of Iran with them.

And now, they were to be executed.

Karimi picked up a document.

"According to the laws of the Islamic Republic of Iran," he said, "you have been sentenced for treason. The punishment is death. The time of execution is now."

Beheshti raised his head.

"May I say a few words?" he asked.

Karimi looked at him.

"Go ahead."

Beheshti looked around.

"I was wrong," he said. "I betrayed Iran. I betrayed the Islamic Revolution. I betrayed my people. I deserve to die."

He paused for a moment.

"But I hope," he continued, "that my death can serve as a lesson for Iran's leadership. Do not let power be concentrated in the hands of one person. Do not let one person decide everything. Otherwise, Iran will see more Beheshtis emerge."

Karimi did not answer.

He knew that there was some truth in what Beheshti said.

But he also knew that this was not something he could decide.

"Anything else?" Karimi asked.

"No," Beheshti said.

Karimi made a gesture.

The firing squad raised their guns.

"Ready."

"Aim."

"Fire."

Forty-two gunshots rang out.

Forty-two people fell.

The dawn sky was stained red.

Ahvaz, Reza's office.

Karimi reported over the phone.

"It has been carried out," he said. "Forty-two people, all executed."

"What did Beheshti say?" Reza asked.

"He said he deserved to die," Karimi said, "but he also said, 'Do not let power be concentrated in the hands of one person.'"

Reza was silent for a moment.

"He has a point," he said.

"Yes," Karimi said.

"But he was also a traitor," Reza said. "His words cannot influence our judgment."

"I understand."

The call ended.

Reza sat in his office, pondering Beheshti's final words.

Do not let power be concentrated in the hands of one person.

This was a warning.

A warning from the dead.

Reza knew that if he continued to concentrate power, he would become the next dictator. He would become the next Saddam Hussein.

But he also knew that Iran currently needed strong leadership.

He needed to concentrate power, at least during the war.

After the war ended, he could reconsider the issue of decentralization.

But for now,

he shook his head.

Now was not the time to think about this.

He still had a lot of work to do.

He picked up a document.

It was Fatima's report.

Regarding a new air defense system.

Kermanshah, Iran Air Defense Research Center.

Fatima was holding a meeting with her team.

"We need a new system," she said, "a system capable of dealing with Cruise missiles."

"We have already discussed this," Hassan said, "it will take at least six months."

"We do not have six months," Fatima said. "Iraq could use Cruise missiles again at any time."

"Then what should we do!?"

Fatima opened her notebook.

"I have a new idea," she said. "Not a long-range air defense system. A short-range system."

"Short-range?"

"Yes," Fatima said. "We do not try to shoot down the Cruise missile at high altitude. We deploy defense systems near the targets. When a Cruise missile approaches a target, its speed decreases. It enters a state where it is easier to hit."

Hassan thought for a moment.

"That makes sense," he said, "but we need to deploy defense systems around every potential target. That requires a lot of resources."

"Not every target," Fatima said. "Just the most important ones. Oil fields, ports, military command centers. We will deploy to these places first."

"What weapons should we use!?"

"Anti-aircraft guns," Fatima said. "High-rate-of-fire anti-aircraft guns. And short-range infrared-guided missiles."

Hassan drew a diagram on paper.

"This is a multi-layered defense system," he said. "The first layer is anti-aircraft guns, at the closest range. The second layer is short-range missiles, at a slightly further range. That way, even if one layer fails, there is another."

"Yes," Fatima said, "that is my idea."

"But we need a lot of anti-aircraft guns and short-range missiles," Hassan said. "We do not have enough currently."

"We need to produce more," Fatima said. "I will apply to Reza for resources."

"One more thing," Hassan said. "The operators for the anti-aircraft guns and short-range missiles. They need training."

"Yes," Fatima said. "We need extensive training."

Fatima wrote down a plan on paper.

A complete air defense plan.

If this plan could be implemented, Iran would be able to effectively deal with Cruise missiles.

Ahvaz, in Reza's office.

Fatima reported to Reza via video conference.

"I need five hundred anti-aircraft guns," she said, "and two hundred short-range missile systems."

Reza looked at the numbers.

"That is a large quantity," he said.

"Yes," Fatima said, "but it is necessary."

"Where can we get them from?"

"We can produce some ourselves," Fatima said. "We have production lines for anti-aircraft guns. But the quantity is not enough. We need to import some from abroad."

"From where!?"

"North Korea, Libya, China," Fatima said, "and some African countries. They have some Soviet Union anti-aircraft guns and missiles. They are willing to sell them to us."

"How much will it cost?"

"About two billion Rials," Fatima said.

Reza thought for a moment.

Two billion Rials.

That was a large sum.

But Iran needed these weapons.

"Very well," he said, "I will approve it."

"Thank you," Fatima said.

"One more thing," Reza said.

"What!?"

"Operator training," Reza said. "How long will it take for you to train enough operators!?"

"Three months," Fatima said, "if we start large-scale training."

"Three months is too long," Reza said.

"Then what do we do!?"

"I have an idea," Reza said. "We select personnel from the Revolutionary Guard. They already have basic military training. We only need to teach them how to operate the air defense weapons. That way, the training time can be shortened to one month."

"One month?" Fatima said. "That is possible."

"Good," Reza said, "I will arrange it."

The video conference ended.