Memoirs of Akbar Hashemi – March 14, 1988

I woke up before the call to prayer. The oil heater was turned off. Mr. Amir Abadi - the member of parliament who is with us - came and made it. It was reported that Iraq launched four missiles at Tehran last night, one of which was effective. It turned out that Operation Beit al-Maqdis 3 started last night to capture the heights of Gujar and has achieved 70% of the goals.

Mr. Daneshyar, the head of the headquarters, explained about the IRGC's defense lines in Kurdistan and the problems and needs, and Mr. Shamsi, the head of the Marivan IRGC, explained the general situation of the counter-revolution and the people.

He described Kurdistan. He believes that the people of Kurdistan, especially the Marivan region, are loyal to the revolution and that the counter-revolution has no influence on the people. He came with us.

We saw the southern shores of Marivan Lake, where there are a number of populated villages. The rear of the 28th Sanandaj Division is also among them. We visited an important and elaborate field hospital that is under construction in the east of Marivan. It is made with prefabricated parts that are both for the front and for people to use later; It is bombproof and resistant.

The city of Marivan is half empty and only a few shops and public service centers are open. People have gone out for fear of bombing and shelling during the operation. Iraqi artillery shells reach Marivan. The radio went into a state of emergency and announced the Beit al-Maqdis 3 operation. We will announce the current operation under another name later.

Mr. Mohsen Rezaei informed that Saddam personally came to the region and settled in Arbat and summoned his forces from the south and said that road construction is going well. Soon the main stage of the operation will begin. He asked for more bulldozers. I told Mr. Rouhani to tell Jihad and the Road Ministry to help.

In the evening, Mr. Rezaei informed by phone that they have made great progress today and confidently said that the work of Halabcheh region will be completed soon.

In the evening, we went to Moghadam camp with our companions. Mahdi also came with us. interesting and green valleys, rivers and plains are in the south of Marivan. We passed through Devil's Valley and Dezli. We saw the rear of many Iraqi Kurdish forces and refugee camps. In the evening, we reached the peak of Swan Peak. Mr. Rezaei's camp is there. From the top of the mountain, we saw the view of Dasht Zor.

In the camp, they explained the operation. Everyone was happy with the victories achieved and developing, and news of new progress arrived every moment. We stayed there until ten at night. The artillery near us was roaring, but the sounds were pleasant and pleasing to the ear. The troops are moving forward. The Iraqis have no resistance and it is a surprise to the commanders. They are afraid that there is a trick at work. We had dinner and returned to the camp.

Mehdi was allowed to stay there. His body was stained with the blood of a wounded man who had brought him back from the Kharmal region. We decided to name the operation Wal-Fajr 10 and not to announce it tomorrow for more certainty and not to provoke the enemy.