Memoirs of Akbar Hashemi – July 24, 1988

We woke up for morning prayer. Mr. Hassan Rouhani and Mr. Engineer Mousavi, the Prime Minister, called from Tehran and told about the command of the army's ground forces, the dire situation of the troops, and the commanders' weakness in controlling the troops, etc.

We left for Ahvaz at six in the morning. We entered the golf course around eight o'clock. I spoke with Mr. [Rahim] Safavi at Moghadam camp. He said that the enemy is not showing any movement today and is probably waiting for reinforcements to arrive from the west. Recently, he sent his forces to the west. Mr. Mohsen Rezaei came. He told the battle situation of the past two days and the future plan. He is satisfied with the speed of recruitment of popular forces.

Brigadier General Jamali, the deputy commander of the army's ground forces, and colonel Torabi [commander of the army's information protection] came. They told the situation of the army forces in the south and west; It is a pity and the enemy can go wherever he wants there. They claim that they are gathering and reorganizing and employing forces.

Messrs. Behzad Nabavi and [Masoud Roghani [a member of the general staff] of the armed forces] came. I had asked them to negotiate with the commanders in the region to learn about the situation and needs and get to know more about the war zone, and after some negotiation and explanation, I sent them to the Baath headquarters.

Mr. Sadiq Khalkhali, representative of Qom, came. He wanted to hand over the responsibility of the wartime court to punish the offenders. I told [Ayatollah Mousavi Jazayeri] to visit the units and camps and bring a report.

The news comes from the western front that the enemy has entered the western city of Gilan and our combat forces are gathering quickly and are busy organizing them. I told them to attack the enemy spread on the roads and plains in the west.

In the evening, Mr. Abdullah Nouri [representative of Imam Khomeini in Jihad Sazandgi] and Ebrahimi came. They suggested that a demolition operation be carried out; I said it is in order. Mr. [Mohsen] Mirdamadi, the governor of Khuzestan, came. He proposed the formation of an organization of irregular wars, which after getting the approval of the commanders of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, it was decided to be formed under the order of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and with the decree of the commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. In order to organize and prepare the various forces that are coming to Khuzestan these days, a coordination plan was determined between the Khuzestan War Support Council and the IRGC.

I wrote an order for Mr. [Sadegh] Khalkhali to deal with the affairs of the front's offending soldiers and propose punishment and encouragement. He wants to have the authority to punish himself. At the beginning of the night, Ayatollah Khamenei came to golf in army uniform. Brigadier General [Mohammed] Salimi is also with them. They plan to stay in the region for a few days and speak to the units in order to raise their morale. Today, in a message to the Friday imams, they announced that they are going to the fronts and asked them to join them, and now the movement of the scholars towards the fronts has started. It is a wave that takes slowly but has a good psychological effect. The weather in Khuzestan is very hot.

At the end of the night, Mr. Mohsen Rezaei informed that the enemy had left the Abazar barracks and also left Gilan Gharb, but Mr. Hosni Saadi did not accept it. Mr. Rezaei made suggestions about the powers of the IRGC commander.

Mr. [Mohammed] Faruzandeh came. He had a plan to send Karun water to Khorramshahr and Ahvaz region in case of enemy entry, which seemed to be practical; I told them to prepare the preparations and present it to the General Staff.