{"id":334567,"date":"2025-07-23T21:13:57","date_gmt":"2025-07-23T20:13:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/?p=334567"},"modified":"2025-07-24T21:36:08","modified_gmt":"2025-07-24T20:36:08","slug":"the-inside-threat-that-ended-irans-two-major-wars","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/news\/iran-resistance\/the-inside-threat-that-ended-irans-two-major-wars\/","title":{"rendered":"The Inside Threat That Ended Iran\u2019s Two Major Wars"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"iran
Victorious female fighters of the National Liberation Army chant \u201cToday Mehran, tomorrow Tehran\u201d after liberating the strategic border city of Mehran on June 18, 1988<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Three-minute read<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

When Iran\u2019s ruling establishment accepted a cease-fire on June 24, 2025\u2014after twelve days of devastating missile exchanges, nationwide blackouts, and a collapsing economy\u2014it rushed to declare \u201cvictory\u201d<\/a> in official statements. But beneath the bravado was unmistakable retreat. Much like in 1988, when the regime abruptly agreed to end its eight-year war with Iraq, this truce was not a product of strength\u2014but of fear. Not fear of a foreign enemy, but of an uprising at home.<\/p>\n

The wars did not descend upon Iran out of the blue; they were provoked, enabled, and prolonged by the regime\u2019s own aggressive designs\u2014its strategy of exporting crisis abroad to suppress rebellion within.<\/p>\n

In the 1980s, the regime\u2019s refusal to end the war with Iraq after reclaiming lost territory prolonged the bloodshed for years. Rather than prioritize national security, it gambled on a messianic fantasy of \u201cliberating Jerusalem through Karbala<\/a>\u201d\u2014a war it could never win but used to tighten control and silence dissent. The ultimate price? Over one million dead, a broken economy, and a military left vulnerable to a lightning offensive by the National Liberation Army (NLA), which in the summer of 1988 miraculously seized the city of Mehran. The NLA\u2019s pace, morale, and daring crushed regime defenses and sent shockwaves through the establishment. When the resistance declared \u201cToday Mehran, tomorrow Tehran,\u201d the illusion of invincibility shattered\u2014and the founder of the regime drank what he called a \u201cpoisoned chalice.\u201d<\/p>\n

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MEK\u2019s Impact on the #Iran<\/a>-Iraq Warhttps:\/\/t.co\/DQC5tILQhe<\/a><\/p>\n

— NCRI-FAC (@iran_policy) September 30, 2023<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n