Tehran Executes Thousands of Political Opponents

In late July 1988, the National Liberation Army of Iran, the military wing of the People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran, launched an armed incursion -- Operation Eternal Light -- into Iran from its bases in Iraq.The Islamic-Marxist political organization had initially supported Ayatollah Khomeini but soon clashed with him because of ideological disagreements. As a result, they fought on the side of Iraq during the war.Iranian military forces launched a counter-attack known as Operation Mersad. The Iranians easily and quickly repelled the ill-conceived and poorly executed attack.In the immediate aftermath of the incursion, Iranian prisons entered an unusual state of emergency. All contacts with the outside world were ceased. Then, the killings of prisoners affiliated with the Mojahedin began.The executions in Tehran likely began on July 27, 1988, in Evin and on July 30 in Gohar-Dasht prison. Read full story