173: Chapter 170 Sea of ​​Fire

Near Baghdad, the first Chemical weapons factory.

The factory workers were working the night shift.

They did not know that they had only minutes left to live.

00:07 AM.

The first Scud missile struck the factory's main production workshop.

A massive explosion.

Chemical weapons storage tanks were detonated.

The entire factory turned into a sea of fire.

But more terrifyingly, the toxic gas from the Chemical weapons began to spread.

Everyone within two kilometers of the factory began to die.

Not just the factory workers, but also the villagers from nearby villages.

Iraq's own Chemical weapons killed Iraq's own people.

Near Baghdad, the second Chemical weapons factory.

00:10 AM.

Eight Scud missiles struck the factory simultaneously.

The factory was razed to the ground.

All Chemical weapons storage tanks were detonated.

The toxic gas spread to the surrounding villages.

But the factory in Mosul was not attacked by Scud missiles.

Iran's Scud missiles did not have enough range. Mosul was outside the range of Iran's Scud missiles.

The factory in Mosul had to be destroyed by bombers.

00:15 AM.

Ten Iranian bombers approached Mosul.

But a problem arose.

Iraq had deployed an air defense brigade in Mosul.

Colonel Hamid had not anticipated this. Intelligence had deemed Mosul's air defense to be weak.

But in reality, Saddam Hussein had secretly transferred an air defense unit to Mosul over the past two weeks.

Iraqi air defense missiles began to launch.

The first Iranian bomber was shot down.

Then the second.

The third.

Colonel Hamid spoke to the pilots over the intercom: "Do not retreat! We must destroy the factory!"

The remaining seven bombers continued to fly toward the factory.

The fourth was shot down.

The fifth was shot down.

Only five remained.

But they reached the airspace above the factory.

Each bomber dropped all of its bombs.

The factory was partially destroyed.

But not entirely.

After dropping its payload, the sixth bomber was hit by an air defense missile.

The seventh was hit.

Only three bombers successfully dropped their bombs and evaded the air defense missiles.

Colonel Hamid's bomber was one of them.

He flew north, toward the Kurdish region.

But his fuel was running out.

He ejected 50 kilometers away from the Kurdish region.

He and his navigator began their escape journey in the mountains of Iraq.

Ahvaz, Reza's office.

01:00 AM.

Karimi reported to Reza.

"Two Chemical weapons factories have been completely destroyed," he said. "The factory in Mosul has been partially destroyed."

"Our losses?" Reza asked.

"Seven bombers were shot down," Karimi said. "Twenty-one pilots; some may have died, and some may have ejected."

Reza closed his eyes.

Twenty-one pilots.

They were all heroes of Iran.

They sacrificed themselves to destroy Saddam Hussein's Chemical weapons.

"Colonel Hamid?" Reza asked.

"Colonel Hamid ejected," Karimi said. "He is in the mountains of Iraq. We have already contacted the Kurdish rescue network. They will find him."

Reza nodded.

"The factory in Mosul," he said, "how much capacity remains?"

"Our assessment is," Karimi said, "the factory's production capacity has been cut by 60%. The remaining 40% can continue to produce Chemical weapons, but at a very slow pace."

"Can Saddam Hussein use Chemical weapons again now?"

"To a limited extent," Karimi said. "He still has some stock. He can launch one or two more small-scale Chemical weapons attacks. But he cannot wage large-scale chemical warfare."

Reza breathed a sigh of relief.

He had at least stopped Saddam Hussein.

At least in the short term.

"Our victory," he said, "came at the cost of seven bombers and twenty-one pilots."

"Yes."

"Worth it," Reza said, "but too expensive."

Karimi was silent.

He knew that Reza's heart was heavy.

Every Iranian death caused Reza pain.

But Reza had to continue.

Because he was the leader of Iran.

Baghdad, Saddam Hussein's office.

02:00 AM.

Saddam Hussein was woken up by a phone call.

He listened to the report.

Two Chemical weapons factories were completely destroyed. The factory in Mosul was partially destroyed.

Iraq's Chemical weapons production capacity was severely weakened.

Saddam Hussein's expression changed.

"This is a disaster," he said.

"Yes," the Chief of Staff said.

"But we shot down seven Iranian bombers," the Chief of Staff continued. "This is a victory."

"Seven bombers cannot make up for the Chemical weapons we have lost," Saddam Hussein said.

The Chief of Staff was silent.

Saddam Hussein stood up and walked to the window.

He looked at Baghdad outside the window.

He knew he had to take retaliatory action.

Otherwise, he would lose everything—his power, his regime, his life.

"I am going to attack Tehran," he said.

"What?" the Chief of Staff said.

"I will use all of our Scud missiles to attack Tehran," Saddam Hussein said. "I want to make the people of Iran feel fear."

"We do not have enough Scud missiles," the Chief of Staff said. "We have about fifty."

"Use them all," Saddam Hussein said. "Fifty missiles hitting Tehran simultaneously."

"When?"

"Tomorrow night," Saddam Hussein said. "I want the Iranian people to see that the fear their people in Ahvaz and Basra have experienced, the people in Tehran will experience as well."

The Chief of Staff nodded.

He went out.

Saddam Hussein sat in his chair.

He knew that attacking Tehran would provoke a strong reaction from the international community.

But he did not care.

He had already used Chemical weapons. The international community was already condemning him.

He wanted to make Iran pay the ultimate price.

Ahvaz, Reza's office.

03:00 AM.

The phone rang.

It was Karimi.

"I have urgent intelligence," he said.

"What?" Reza asked.

"Saddam Hussein is going to attack Tehran," Karimi said. "Tomorrow night. Using fifty Scud missiles."

Reza closed his eyes.

Tehran was the capital of Iran.

Tehran had a population of ten million.

If fifty Scud missiles landed in Tehran simultaneously, the death toll would be massive.

"Can our air defense system handle it?" he asked.

"We only have five Persian-4 Missiles in Tehran," Karimi said. "Five missiles cannot shoot down fifty Scud missiles."

"Then what do we do?"

Karimi was silent.

"We must launch a preemptive strike," he finally said. "We must destroy his Scud missiles before Saddam Hussein launches them."

"Do we know where his Scud missile bases are?" Reza asked.

"We know some," Karimi said, "but not all."

Reza thought for a moment.

"We will do what we can," he said. "We will attack the bases we know of. As for the rest, we will do our best to intercept them."

"We may have significant civilian casualties," Karimi said.

"I know," Reza said, "but we must try our best."

The phone hung up.

Reza sat in his office.

He wrote a line in his notebook:

"Tomorrow, Tehran will face Iraq's largest missile attack. How many people we can protect, I do not know. But I must try my best."

He closed the notebook.

He picked up the phone.

"Fatima," he said.

"Yes, Excellency Reza."

"Mobilize all air defense forces to Tehran," Reza said. "Immediately."

"Yes."

"I will personally command the air defense of Tehran," Reza said.

"Excellency Reza," Fatima said, "you are going to Tehran?"

"Yes," Reza said. "I will set off tomorrow morning."

"But Saddam Hussein will send people to assassinate you—"

"I know," Reza said, "but I must go. The people of Tehran need to see their leader. They need to know that they have not been abandoned."

Fatima was silent.

"I will prepare the air defense missiles," she finally said. "We will protect Tehran."

The phone hung up.

Reza stood up.

Tomorrow, he would go to Tehran.

Tomorrow, he would face Saddam Hussein's largest attack.

Tomorrow, he would protect ten million people.

Tomorrow, he might die.

But he could not not go.

Because he was the leader of Iran.

Because Tehran was the capital of Iran.

Because the people of Iran needed to see him.