171: Chapter 168 Exposed

March 12, 1982, Iran-Turkey border.

A man named Saeed crossed the border checkpoint. He was using a forged Iranian passport. His true identity was a senior agent of the Iraqi Intelligence Service.

His mission was to find Beheshti.

Saddam Hussein had already grown suspicious of the Hawk. But he needed confirmation. He needed to know if the Hawk was dead, had been captured by Iran, or had defected.

Saeed got into a car and drove toward Tehran.

Tehran.

Saeed arrived at the mosque that Beheshti frequented.

He observed from the outside for two hours.

The mosque was quiet. There was nothing unusual.

He walked inside, pretending to be a devout believer.

After finishing his prayers, he found an old man. This old man was the mosque's caretaker, and he knew everyone who came there regularly.

"I come from Shiraz," Saeed said. "I am an admirer of Ayatollah Beheshti. I would like to see him."

The old man looked at Saeed.

There was a cautious look in the old man's eyes.

"Ayatollah Beheshti," the old man said, "has passed away."

"What?" Saeed feigned shock. "When?"

"A few weeks ago," the old man said. "Heart attack."

"I didn't know," Saeed said. "Why wasn't it announced publicly?"

The old man was silent for a moment.

"The government decided to keep it low-key," the old man said.

Saeed nodded.

But he could sense that the old man was not telling the whole story.

"Can I see his family?" Saeed asked. "I would like to express my condolences."

"His family is not in Tehran," the old man said. "They have gone to a secret location."

"Why?"

"I don't know," the old man said.

But Saeed knew the old man was lying.

The old man knew more, but he was unwilling to speak.

Saeed left the mosque.

He stayed in Tehran for three days, investigating in secret.

Through several of his informants, he slowly pieced together the truth.

Beheshti did not die of a heart attack.

Beheshti had been secretly executed.

It wasn't just Beheshti; more than forty other high-ranking Iranian officials had all been executed.

The entire Iraqi spy network in Iran had been completely destroyed.

Saeed's face changed.

He immediately sent a report to Baghdad through secret channels.

Baghdad, Saddam Hussein's office.

Hassan Rajab walked in with the report.

"Your Excellency, Saddam Hussein," he said, "Saeed has reported."

"Speak," Saddam Hussein said.

"Beheshti was executed two weeks ago," Hassan Rajab said. "Along with more than forty others, all executed. Our spy network in Iran has been completely destroyed."

Saddam Hussein was silent.

His face turned increasingly pale.

Then he suddenly stood up and swept everything on the desk to the floor.

Documents, ink, coffee cups—everything crashed to the ground.

"Reza!" he shouted. "Reza!"

He paced back and forth in the office, his eyes burning with rage.

"He deceived me," he said. "That intelligence was fake from the very beginning. All of the intelligence was fake."

Hassan Rajab stood there, not daring to speak.

"That 'attack' by the Scud missile," Saddam Hussein said, "was fake. Reza had Beheshti tell me, making me believe Beheshti's intelligence was real. Then he passed all the false information to me through Beheshti."

"Yes," Hassan Rajab said.

"Our preparations for Chemical weapons," Saddam Hussein said, "were also based on fake intelligence. The Hawk told me to delay, so I delayed. During that week of delay, Iran destroyed all of our transport infrastructure."

"Yes."

"Our assessment of the Scud missile bases," Saddam Hussein said, "was also based on fake intelligence. The Hawk told us Iran's missiles were all in the west, so we sent one hundred bombers to attack the west. But in reality, the west was a trap. We lost one hundred bombers."

Hassan Rajab nodded.

Saddam Hussein finally stopped. He sat in his chair and closed his eyes.

For a full minute, he didn't speak.

Then he opened his eyes.

"I want to make Reza pay the price," he said. "A personal price."

"What do you mean?" Hassan Rajab asked.

"I want him dead," Saddam Hussein said. "Send the best agents to Iran. Find Reza and kill him. At any cost."

Hassan Rajab was stunned.

Directly assassinating Reza was a massive operation.

"Reza is heavily protected," he said. "We would need at least a year to prepare for such an operation."

"I don't have a year," Saddam Hussein said. "I want him dead within a month."

"A month?"

"A month," Saddam Hussein repeated. "Deploy all of our resources. All of our agents. I want to find his weakness and exploit it."

Hassan Rajab nodded.

"Yes."

He went out.

Saddam Hussein sat in his chair.

He knew this was a desperate move.

But he had no choice.

Iraq had lost on the battlefield. Lost in intelligence. Lost in diplomacy.

His only hope was to eliminate Reza.

If Reza died, the Iranian leadership would fall into chaos.

If Iran fell into chaos, Iraq would have a chance to counterattack.

Ahvaz, Reza's office.

Karimi reported to Reza.

"Saeed," he said, "an Iraqi intelligence agent has entered Iran. He is investigating the matter of Beheshti."

"What does he know?" Reza asked.

"Everything," Karimi said. "He already knows that Beheshti has been executed. He has already reported to Saddam Hussein."

Reza nodded.

"The game is over," he said. "Saddam Hussein now knows we have been deceiving him."

"Yes."

"Should we capture Saeed?" Reza asked.

"It's already too late," Karimi said. "He has already sent the report. Even if we capture him, Saddam Hussein already knows."

"Then we will let him leave," Reza said. "He is of no use to us anymore."

"Yes."

"Also," Reza said, "what will Saddam Hussein do now?"

Karimi thought for a moment.

"He will be furious," he said. "He will look for a way to retaliate."

"Specifically, what?"

"I suspect," Karimi said, "he will want to attack you directly."

Reza was silent.

"I think so too," he said.

"We need to strengthen your security," Karimi said.

"I agree," Reza said. "But more importantly, we must strike him before he strikes us."

"What do you mean?"

"Destroy his Chemical weapons factories," Reza said, "before he can use Chemical weapons again."

"Do we already know the locations of the factories?"

"Basically, yes," Reza said. "Our intelligence system has located three major Chemical weapons factories. Two are near Baghdad, one is near Mosul."

"When will we attack?"

"Within two days," Reza said.

"Two days?" Karimi said. "Our Special Forces have not yet recovered. In the last operation, they lost eight men."

"We are not just using Special Forces," Reza said. "We will also use Scud missiles and long-range bombers."

"Can our long-range bombers reach Mosul?"

"Yes," Reza said. "But they cannot return. This is a one-way mission."

Karimi looked at Reza.

"What about the pilots?" he asked.

"They will parachute out," Reza said. "We have already established a rescue network in the Kurdish region of northern Iraq. The Kurds will help them."

Karimi nodded.

This was a complex but feasible plan.

"I will arrange it," he said.

"There is one more thing," Reza said.

"What?"

"The Supreme Leader wants to see me," Reza said. "Tomorrow morning."

Karimi looked at Reza.

"Why?"

"He didn't say," Reza said. "But I can guess."

"What?"

"He is worried about me," Reza said. "He thinks I have become too powerful."

Karimi was silent.

"I will go to Tehran tomorrow," Reza said. "You stay here in Ahvaz. Prepare the plan for attacking the Chemical weapons factories. Once I return, we will execute it immediately."

"Yes."

Karimi went out.

Reza sat in the office.

Tomorrow he would go to see the Supreme Leader.

The Supreme Leader was a very shrewd man.

He would not attack Reza openly.

But he would use other ways to limit Reza's power.

Reza needed to handle this carefully.