182: Chapter 179 Thunderous Shock

Afternoon, the Supreme Leader's office.

Reza and Karimi entered the office together.

Reza got straight to the point.

"Supreme Leader," he said, "I lied to you."

The Supreme Leader was stunned for a moment.

"What?"

"The plan to attack Basra," Reza said, "was fake. The real plan is to attack the assembly area north of Basra."

The Supreme Leader's expression changed.

"Why?"

Reza began to explain.

He told the story of Mirza, the double-agent strategy, and the plan to use Mirza to pass on false intelligence.

After listening, the Supreme Leader was silent for a long time.

"Mirza," he finally said, "is a spy?"

"Yes."

"I have trusted him for five years."

"I know."

"Why didn't you tell me immediately?"

"Because," Reza said, "if I had told you immediately, you might have dealt with him right away. In that case, we would have lost the opportunity to use him."

"Or," the Supreme Leader said, "you didn't tell me because you wanted to use this opportunity yourself and get all the credit."

Reza did not avoid the question.

"That was a factor," he said, "but it was mainly about utilizing the opportunity."

The Supreme Leader looked at Reza.

He was not angry, nor did he agree. He just looked at Reza.

"You are gambling," he finally said. "You are betting that I will forgive you."

"Yes."

"Why are you so confident I will forgive you?"

"Because I succeeded," Reza said. "If I had failed, you would have dealt with me. But because I succeeded, you won't."

The Supreme Leader slowly smiled.

"Reza," he said, "you are a dangerous person."

"I know."

"Ayatollah Khomeini was right. We must be careful of you."

"I know that too."

The Supreme Leader was silent for a while.

"Mirza," he said, "I will handle him myself. Do not interfere."

"Yes."

"Also," the Supreme Leader said, "the attack on April 2nd—proceed according to your real plan. I approve."

"Thank you."

"However," the Supreme Leader said, "every future decision must be discussed with me first. If you lie to me again, I will not forgive you."

"Yes."

The meeting ended.

Reza and Karimi walked out of the office.

Walking down the street, Karimi asked,

"I thought he would be very angry."

"He was angry," Reza said, "he just didn't show it."

"Then are we safe?"

"Temporarily safe," Reza said, "but his suspicion of me has deepened."

"Then why tell him?"

Reza thought for a while.

"Because," he said, "if I didn't tell him, he would find out sooner or later. If he finds out on his own, things will be worse."

"I understand."

"Besides," Reza said, "between him and me, we need to establish a special relationship. A relationship where he can tolerate me lying, but I also always tell him the truth in the end. This way I can retain freedom of action, but he also won't feel completely deceived."

"This is an art."

"It is political art," Reza said. "I used to be an engineer. Now I must learn this art."

They got into the car.

The car drove toward the airport.

The attack on April 2nd was only two days away.

The war was about to enter a new phase.

...

April 2, 1982, 2:00 AM.

The Iranian army of 100,000 troops advanced in three directions toward the Iraqi assembly area north of Basra.

Reza was at the front-line command post.

He did not stay in Ahvaz; he insisted on going to the front line.

The Supreme Leader did not agree, but Reza insisted.

"I must be at the front line," he said. "If there is an accident, I must make decisions immediately."

The Supreme Leader finally agreed, but sent thirty of his personal guards to protect Reza.

The front-line command post was a reinforced underground bunker, about ten kilometers from the front line. It had complete communication equipment. Reza could monitor the entire battlefield through radar, satellites, and radio.

2:05 AM.

The first Special Forces entered Iraqi territory.

Their mission was to cut the communication lines of the Iraqi assembly area.

2:20 AM.

The Special Forces reported the mission was complete.

The main communication lines of the Iraqi assembly area were cut.

Their communications with Baghdad and Basra were severed.

2:30 AM.

Iranian artillery opened fire.

Three thousand guns fired at targets in the Iraqi assembly area.

Huge flames lit up the sky.

The Iraqi assembly area turned into a sea of fire.

2:45 AM.

The Iranian Air Force took off.

Eighty fighters and bombers flew toward the Iraqi assembly area in batches.

Iraq's air defense forces had withdrawn to defend Basra. The assembly area's air defense was weak.

Iranian planes reached their targets with almost no resistance.

They dropped a large number of bombs.

The Iraqi assembly area was razed to the ground.

3:00 AM.

Iranian ground forces began to advance.

The Revolutionary Guard was in the lead, with the regular army behind.

They did not encounter strong resistance.

Iraq's 15,000 troops suffered heavy losses under such intense shelling and air strikes.

Surviving Iraqi soldiers began to surrender or retreat.

By 4:00 AM, the Iranian army had broken through Iraq's front-line positions.

By 5:00 AM, the Iranian army had controlled most of the assembly area.

By 6:00 AM, the Iranian army had captured a large number of Iraqi prisoners of war.

6:00 AM, front-line command post.

Fatima walked in with a report in her hand.

"General Reza," she said, "our progress has exceeded expectations."

"Details?"

"We have controlled the assembly area. We have captured about 8,000 Iraqi prisoners of war. We have seized 300 tanks, 200 armored vehicles, and 800 artillery pieces."

Reza nodded.

This was a huge victory. 8,000 prisoners, 300 tanks. This was equivalent to a complete Iraqi division.

"Iraq's reaction?"

"Baghdad hasn't reacted yet," Fatima said. "We cut the communication. They still don't fully understand what happened."

"What about Basra?"

"The Iraqi defenders in Basra are still defending in the city," Fatima said. "They thought we were going to attack Basra, so they stayed in place."

Reza thought for a moment.

"When will they discover the assembly area has been breached?"

"In another hour or two," Fatima said.

"Then we have another hour or two."

"Use it to do what?"

"Expand the results," Reza said. "We will continue to advance. We want to occupy as much territory and seize as much equipment as possible before Iraq reacts."

"How far can we advance?"

"Our goal," Reza said, "is a few oil facilities north of Basra."

Fatima was stunned for a moment.

"Oil facilities?"

"Yes," Reza said, "Iraq's southern oil is mainly exported from north of Basra. If we can control these oil facilities, we will cut off Iraq's main source of foreign exchange."

"This exceeds the original plan."

"Right," Reza said, "but the opportunity has appeared, and we must seize it."

"If Iraq reacts, we will be isolated."

"I predict," Reza said, "that it will take at least four hours for Iraq to react. We will use these four hours to occupy the oil facilities. Then we will withdraw."

Fatima hesitated for a moment.

"General Reza," she said, "you did not discuss this with the Supreme Leader."

"I know," Reza said.

"You just promised him that every decision would be discussed with him."

Reza looked at Fatima.

"The opportunity is right here," he said. "If I call the Supreme Leader to discuss it, by the time he makes a decision, the opportunity will be gone."

"But—"

"I will bear the consequences," Reza said. "Execute immediately."

Fatima was silent for a while.

She looked at Reza.

She knew Reza was right. But she also knew that Reza was breaking his promise.

"Yes," she finally said.

She went out.

Reza picked up the phone and personally directed the front-line troops to continue advancing.