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The clerical dictatorship in Iran, notorious for its deceit and falsehoods, has long attempted to associate the mass execution of thousands of political prisoners in the summer of 1988 with the Eternal Light Operation conducted by the National Liberation Army from July 26 to July 30, 1988. By doing so, the regime seeks to frame the <\/span>biggest genocide<\/span><\/a> in Iran\u2019s history as an extension of an international conflict, thereby evading the legal consequences of its actions against a civilian population held in the regime’s most secure prisons, who posed no threat from within.<\/span><\/p>\n On September 18, 2013, the semi-official\u00a0<\/span>ISNA news agency quoted<\/span><\/a> \u201cParsineh,\u201d a student inquiry website affiliated with the regime\u2019s Supreme Leader, as saying, \u201cThe executions were not aimed at getting rid of prisoners but rather in response to their rebellion in prison, coinciding with the \u2018Mersad Operation.\u2019\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n The Mersad Operation is the regime\u2019s expression for Operation Eternal Light.<\/span><\/p>\n In an interview with Simaye Azadi (Iran NTV) in August 2024, Masoumeh Kashani, a member of the People\u2019s Mojahedin Organization (PMOI\/MEK), provided crucial insights into the premeditated nature of the 1988 massacre, emphasizing that preparations began months before the actual executions.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n She highlighted<\/span><\/a> that political prisoners were systematically categorized and segregated based on their affiliations as early as February 1988. \u201cThe groundwork for the massacre was laid well in advance,\u201d she stated. \u201cPrisoners were meticulously sorted and separated according to their perceived threat to the regime, aligning with Khomeini\u2019s fatwa that called for the extermination of steadfast dissidents. This deliberate and methodical approach by the regime dispels any notion that the executions were a spontaneous reaction to a prison rebellion.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Kashani also shared a poignant personal account of her brother, Gholamreza Kashani, one of the first victims of the 1988 massacre, underscoring the regime\u2019s deceitful narrative. \u201cMy brother was executed just two days after Khomeini accepted the ceasefire with Iraq. He, along with three others, was held in solitary confinement and then executed in the early hours of July 29, 1988,\u201d she recounted. \u201cKhomeini\u2019s orders for this genocide were premeditated, designed to be carried out whenever deemed necessary.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Among the few survivors of the 1988 massacre, some individuals have returned to join the PMOI and have testified about the regime\u2019s preplanning for the massacre. <\/span>Mahmoud Royaei<\/span><\/a>, <\/span>Hossein Farsi<\/span><\/a>, and <\/span>Majid Saheb Jam<\/span><\/a>, among others, have shared their experiences of how the clerical regime was setting the stage for mass killings as early as February 1988.<\/span><\/p>\n As #Iran<\/a> Commemorates the #1988Massacre<\/a>, Regime Continues Its Killing Spree with Impunityhttps:\/\/t.co\/evJuOcbfIj<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/BudHG1CXrf<\/a><\/p>\n — NCRI-FAC (@iran_policy) August 8, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\nSurvivor Testimonies and Preplanning<\/span><\/h2>\n
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