Ayatollah Montazeri’s Words Expose Truth Behind Iran’s 1988 Massacre

Iran: Revealing More Shocking Truths About the 1988 Massacre of Political Prisoners
From the Words of Ayatollah Montazeri, Then Deputy to Khomeini, Addressing the “Death Committee”

• New revelations on the genocide of Mojahedin and executions of other political groups under Khomeini’s orders
• 300 female Mojahedin detainees, including 2 French nationals, executed en masse
• Ahmad Khomeini said 10,000 Mojahedin supporters who merely read the group’s publications must be executed
• The concept of Velayat-e Faqih (Guardianship of the Islamic Jurist) has become disgusting to the people, who are utterly fed up

With the release of the audio recording of Ayatollah Montazeri’s second meeting with members of the Death Committee involved in the 1988 massacre of political prisoners, further shocking facts about this horrific crime have come to light (BBC – Monday night, April 14, 2025).

In August 2016, an audio file of Montazeri’s first meeting with the Death Committee on August 15, 1988, was released, exposing horrifying details of what he called “the greatest crime in the history of this regime.”

The new recording, which is only a partial and edited excerpt of Montazeri’s second meeting with the Death Committee, reveals further dimensions of the genocide against the Mojahedin (PMOI/MEK) and executions of members of other political groups on the orders of the bloodthirsty Khomeini. It also serves as clear testimony to the steadfast Mojahedin and the legitimacy of their just and revolutionary resistance against the ominous system of Velayat-e Faqih.

1. Montazeri explicitly attributes responsibility for the massacre of political prisoners to Ahmad Khomeini and the Ministry of Intelligence, recalling: “You yourself told me that all those 10,000 “Monafeqin” (a derogatory term used by the regime to refer to the PMOI) who merely read their leaflets should be executed.” In the first meeting, Montazeri had also stated, “The Intelligence Ministry advocated and invested in this (massacre), and Ahmad Agha (Ahmad Khomeini) had been saying for three or four years that even those who read the Mojahedin’s newspapers or leaflets should be executed.”
2. Montazeri emphasized the public’s deep revulsion toward the system of Velayat-e Faqih, saying:
   “The Velayat-e Faqih has become utterly disgusting to the people. They are fed up with them… Even the families of those we’ve just killed are saying, ‘So the Mojahedin were right all along.’ If we had instead tried kindness, tolerance, and compassion, their numbers would’ve diminished. But with this, we’re only increasing them.”
3. Referring to female Mojahedin arrested during Operation Eternal Light (Forough Javidan) in Kermanshah Province, Montazeri recounts:
   “Mr. Khalkhali was sitting right here. He said they brought in 300 girls, supposedly from Mersad—Mersad in Bakhtaran—and two of them were French. Khalkhali said, ‘I was there. I told them to execute all of them.’ I said, ‘You might execute all of them now, but not these two—they’re French.’ He replied, ‘No, execute them.’ I said, ‘Have you seen how the French government and their media reacted? I even read that a committee was set up in France to look into this. That woman was captured in Mersad and—boom!—just like that, it was over. If we had kept those two girls, do you realize how much we could’ve traded them for? With France—maybe for prisoners or something.”
4. The regime’s misogynistic and animalistic hatred toward Mojahedin women is evident in another case mentioned by Montazeri:
   “One night, Eslami Shiraz brought a case file of a girl from Tehran… he brought her will. She had written to her parents not to worry, that this world is fleeting, quoting the Quran, Nahj al-Balagha, and other things. I asked: ‘Did this girl have a history of violence or murder?’ He said, ‘No, she was just a supporter.’ Her entire will radiated light… Under Islamic law, if a girl or woman doesn’t believe in God, the Prophet, or the Quran, she’s an apostate, but you can’t kill her. This girl believed in God, the Prophet, the Quran—everything. She just said: ‘This Islamic Republic doesn’t match my ideals.’ Can you execute someone for that? Is this what (Islamic) jurisprudence has become?”

1. Even within the regime’s own accepted jurisprudence, Montazeri challenges the legitimacy of executing women labeled as mohareb (enemies of God):
   “I personally have doubts when it comes to executing women and girls. Ibn Idris claims that there is a consensus that a female mohareb cannot be executed. Many of these girls weren’t even moharebs. A mohareb is someone who takes up arms. Most of them had just read a leaflet and ended up in prison.”

6. It is noteworthy that Montazeri made these revelations while still serving as Khomeini’s designated successor and before his dismissal. Despite his criticism, he still defended the regime in its entirety. Even in proposing solutions, he emphasized his goal was to preserve the system and Khomeini’s image. Montazeri even considers the execution of 100 Mojahedin members within prisons and its public announcement to be permissible, stating:
   “We’ve lost our reputation globally. The international community has condemned us. Families are mourning and furious. The solution was what I offered that day (referring to the first meeting with the Death Committee); those involved in prison-based activities, or had relations with them—say, 100 of them—could be prosecuted by Eshraghi, sentenced to death, and executed. Then we’d publicly announce: ‘These were their crimes.’ But what we’ve done now doesn’t align with any religious or logical principle.”

Montazeri adds: “I wanted the image of Velayat-e Faqih to remain respected, with the sanctity it had when Mr. Khomeini first returned to Iran and was a source of hope for all. Everyone adored him. We wanted him to stay that way.”

Thus, albeit belatedly and in fragments, the release of Montazeri’s second audio recording sheds further light on the massacre of political prisoners. This heinous crime has been described by Professor Javaid Rehman, UN Special Rapporteur on Iran, in his latest report as a crime against humanity and genocide against the Mojahedin.

The NCRI Committee on the Judiciary, emphasizing the necessity of prosecuting all those responsible for the massacre of political prisoners, states that neither Khomeini, nor Khamenei, nor any of the officials, instigators, or perpetrators can be absolved from the consequences of this great crime against humanity under any excuse or pretext.

Professor Rehman’s report emphasizes: “The magnitude and numbers of those involved in these crimes is enormous stretching from the Supreme Leader, the Sharia’s judges, the prosecutors, representative from the Ministry of Intelligence, members of the “death commission” and their facilitators; prison guards, members of the Revolutionary Guards and all those who facilitated the commission of these crimes in international law and their subsequent ongoing concealment. Many of the individuals remain in high-powered positions as of today. Those who committed crimes against humanity and other crimes in international law during the 1980s and subsequently must be held accountable and impunity must end in the Islamic Republic of Iran.”

Secretariat of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI)

Committee on the Judiciary

15 April 2025