Guerrilla groups of Iran
Encyclopedia
Several leftist guerrilla
groups attempting to overthrown the pro-Western regime of Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi
were notable and active in Iran
from 1971 to 1975. The groups shared a commitment to armed struggle, but differed in ideology. Most were Marxist
in orientation, but the largest group — People's Mujahedin of Iran
— was founded as an Islamic socialist
organization.
While the guerrilla movement did not lead the revolution that overthrew the Pahlavi regime, four guerrilla organizations — the Feda'i, the pro-Tudeh Feda'i Munsh'eb, the Islamic Mujahedin and the Marxist Mujahedin — are said to have "delivered the regime its coup de grace," in the street fighting of February 9-11 1979.
, a scholar of the subject:
Guerrilla groups formed it is believed, because the non-armed, mass-based communist Tudeh party was under such intense repression it was unable to function, while in the outside world guerillas Mao Tse Tung, General Vo Nguyen Giap
and Che Guevara
were having, or had had, much success. The Iranian guerrilla strategy has been described by Abrahamian as "heroic deeds of violent resistance to break the spell of government terror".
The background of the guerrillas was overwhelming educated middle class. From 1971 to 1977 an estimated 341 of them were killed, of whom over 90% of those for whom information could be found were intellectuals.
. Guerillas killed three policemen and freed two previously arrested guerrillas.
The guerilla organizations were quite active in the first half of the 1970s In the two and half years from mid 1973 through 1975, three United States colonels, a Persian general, a Persian sergeant, and a Persian translator of the United States Embassy were all assassinated by guerilla groups. On January 1976 eleven persons sentenced to death for these killings.
By the second half of the 1970s, however, the groups were in decline, suffering from factionalism and government repression.
Following the Iranian Revolution
most of the groups were successfully suppressed by the Islamic Republic. People's Mujahedin of Iran
(PMoI) continued but moved to Iraq which was at war with the Islamic Republic. The (PMoI) currently describes itself as a non-violent, democratic opposition group.
Guerrilla warfare
Guerrilla warfare is a form of irregular warfare and refers to conflicts in which a small group of combatants including, but not limited to, armed civilians use military tactics, such as ambushes, sabotage, raids, the element of surprise, and extraordinary mobility to harass a larger and...
groups attempting to overthrown the pro-Western regime of Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi
Mohammad Reza Pahlavi
Mohammad Rezā Shāh Pahlavi, Shah of Iran, Shah of Persia , ruled Iran from 16 September 1941 until his overthrow by the Iranian Revolution on 11 February 1979...
were notable and active in Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
from 1971 to 1975. The groups shared a commitment to armed struggle, but differed in ideology. Most were Marxist
Marxism
Marxism is an economic and sociopolitical worldview and method of socioeconomic inquiry that centers upon a materialist interpretation of history, a dialectical view of social change, and an analysis and critique of the development of capitalism. Marxism was pioneered in the early to mid 19th...
in orientation, but the largest group — People's Mujahedin of Iran
People's Mujahedin of Iran
The People's Mujahedin of Iran is a terrorist militant organization that advocates the overthrow of the Islamic Republic of Iran....
— was founded as an Islamic socialist
Islamic socialism
Islamic socialism is a term coined by various Muslim leaders to describe a more spiritual form of socialism. Muslim socialists believe that the teachings of the Qur'an and Muhammad are compatible with principles of equality and the redistribution of wealth....
organization.
While the guerrilla movement did not lead the revolution that overthrew the Pahlavi regime, four guerrilla organizations — the Feda'i, the pro-Tudeh Feda'i Munsh'eb, the Islamic Mujahedin and the Marxist Mujahedin — are said to have "delivered the regime its coup de grace," in the street fighting of February 9-11 1979.
Background
According to Ervand AbrahamianErvand Abrahamian
Ervand Abrahamian is a historian of Middle Eastern and particularly Iranian history.An Armenian born in Iran and raised in England, he received his M.A. at Oxford University and his Ph.D. at Columbia University. He teaches at the City University of New York where he is Distinguished Professor of...
, a scholar of the subject:
In terms of political background, the guerrillas can be divided into five groups:
- the Sazaman-i Cherikha-yi Feda'i Khalq-i Iran (The Organization of the Iranian People's Guerrilla Freedom Fighters
Organization of Iranian People's Fedaian (Majority)The Organization of Iranian People's Fadaian or Fedayan-e Khalq , 'Organization of self-sacrificers of the people of Iran ') is the largest socialist party in Iran and advocates the overthrow of the Islamic regime in Iran...
), known in short as the Marxist Feda'i;- the Sazman'i Mujahedin-i Khalq-i Iran [or the People's Mujahedin of Iran
People's Mujahedin of IranThe People's Mujahedin of Iran is a terrorist militant organization that advocates the overthrow of the Islamic Republic of Iran....
];- the Marxist offshoot from the Mujadedin, known as the Marxist Mujahedin or Peykar
PeykarPeykar also called the Marxist Mojahedin, was a secular splinter group from the People's Mujahedin of Iran , the largest of Iran's guerrilla groups. Its members broke away from the PMoI to support of secular Marxism Leninism, rather than the Leftist Islamist modernism of the People's Mujahedin...
;- small Islamic groups on the whole limited to one locality: Gorueh-i Abu Zarr (Abu Zarr Group) in Nahavand, Gorueh-i Shi'iyan-i Rasin (True Shi'i Group) in Hamadan, Gorueh-i Allah Akbar (Allah Akbar Group) in Isfahan, and Goreueh-i al-Fajar (Al-Fajar Group) in Zahedan;
- small Marxist groups. These included both independent groups, such as the Sazman-i Azadibakhshi-i Khalzha-yi (Organization for the Liberation of the Iranian Peoples), Gorueh-i Luristan, [etc.]
Guerrilla groups formed it is believed, because the non-armed, mass-based communist Tudeh party was under such intense repression it was unable to function, while in the outside world guerillas Mao Tse Tung, General Vo Nguyen Giap
Vo Nguyen Giap
Võ Nguyên Giáp is a retired Vietnamese officer in the Vietnam People’s Army and a politician. He was a principal commander in two wars: the First Indochina War and the Vietnam War...
and Che Guevara
Che Guevara
Ernesto "Che" Guevara , commonly known as el Che or simply Che, was an Argentine Marxist revolutionary, physician, author, intellectual, guerrilla leader, diplomat and military theorist...
were having, or had had, much success. The Iranian guerrilla strategy has been described by Abrahamian as "heroic deeds of violent resistance to break the spell of government terror".
In a situation where there are no firm links between the revolutionary intelligentsia and the masses, we are not like fish in water, but rather like isolated fish surrounded by threatening crocodiles. Terror, repression, and absence of democracy have made it impossible for us to create working-class organizations. To break the spell of our weakness and to inspire the people into action we must resort to revolutionary armed struggle...
The background of the guerrillas was overwhelming educated middle class. From 1971 to 1977 an estimated 341 of them were killed, of whom over 90% of those for whom information could be found were intellectuals.
History
The event from which most historians mark the beginning of the guerrilla era in Iran was the February 8, 1971 attack on a gendarmerie post at Siakal on the Caspian SeaCaspian Sea
The Caspian Sea is the largest enclosed body of water on Earth by area, variously classed as the world's largest lake or a full-fledged sea. The sea has a surface area of and a volume of...
. Guerillas killed three policemen and freed two previously arrested guerrillas.
The guerilla organizations were quite active in the first half of the 1970s In the two and half years from mid 1973 through 1975, three United States colonels, a Persian general, a Persian sergeant, and a Persian translator of the United States Embassy were all assassinated by guerilla groups. On January 1976 eleven persons sentenced to death for these killings.
By the second half of the 1970s, however, the groups were in decline, suffering from factionalism and government repression.
- The People's Mujahedin of Iran (Sazman'i Mujahedin-i Khalq-i Iran) was in the middle of an internal debate over whether to continue armed struggle, and the group's own publications report few actions in 1978 and a `relative silence` as the number of actions decreased after June 1978.
- The Iranian People's Sacrificing Guerrillas (Cherik'ha-ye Feda'i-ye Khalq-e Iran), according to one of the group's leaders, `disintegrated and disappeared` after `the blows of 1976`, `set itself principally to protecting itself,` and engaged only in `scattered actions` to show that it still existed. Only a few dozen members remained at large. Ideologically, the group decided that objective conditions for revolution didn't exist, and as the Islamist movement escalated, the organization claimed credit for relatively few actions - one in the summer 1977, two in early 1978, and five in the summer of 1978, according to the group's pronouncements. At the end of the year, with membership presumably growing, the organization picked up its pace, claiming credit for a half-dozen actions in December 1978 and a dozen in January 1979.
Iranian Revolution
By late 1978 however, the massive demonstrations, return of oppositionists from abroad, and pressure on the monarchy's security forces from the revolutionary movement revived the groups. Guerilla groups became active "both in killing Iranian military and police leaders and participating in oppositional demonstrations ... in the course of 1978 ... the Fedaiyan and the Mojahedin were able to ... become sizable movements, largely of young people."Following the Iranian Revolution
Iranian Revolution
The Iranian Revolution refers to events involving the overthrow of Iran's monarchy under Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi and its replacement with an Islamic republic under Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the leader of the...
most of the groups were successfully suppressed by the Islamic Republic. People's Mujahedin of Iran
People's Mujahedin of Iran
The People's Mujahedin of Iran is a terrorist militant organization that advocates the overthrow of the Islamic Republic of Iran....
(PMoI) continued but moved to Iraq which was at war with the Islamic Republic. The (PMoI) currently describes itself as a non-violent, democratic opposition group.
Most notable Iranian guerrilla groups
- People's Mujahedin of IranPeople's Mujahedin of IranThe People's Mujahedin of Iran is a terrorist militant organization that advocates the overthrow of the Islamic Republic of Iran....
(Mojāhedin-e Khalq-e Irān) - Organization of Iranian People's Fedai GuerrillasOrganization of Iranian People's Fedai GuerrillasThe Organization of Iranian People's Fedai Guerrillas emerged as radical Marxist-Leninist movement in Iran in 1971, formed to overthrow the Pahlavi regime...
- Iranian People's Fedai GuerrillasIranian People's Fedai GuerrillasThe Iranian People's Fedai Guerrillas is an Iranian opposition organization. It has a Marxist-Leninist ideology. The group was formed in 1979, when Ashraf Dehghani broke away from the Organization of Iranian People's Fedai Guerrillas...
(Ashraf Dehghani) - Organization of Iranian People's Fedaian (Majority)Organization of Iranian People's Fedaian (Majority)The Organization of Iranian People's Fadaian or Fedayan-e Khalq , 'Organization of self-sacrificers of the people of Iran ') is the largest socialist party in Iran and advocates the overthrow of the Islamic regime in Iran...
- Fedaian Organisation (Minority)
- Union of People's Fedaian of IranUnion of People's Fedaian of IranThe Union of People's Fedaian of Iran is a communist organization that publishes a monthly magazine called Iran Today.The organization was established in April 1994, following the Convention of Unity Congress...
- PeykarPeykarPeykar also called the Marxist Mojahedin, was a secular splinter group from the People's Mujahedin of Iran , the largest of Iran's guerrilla groups. Its members broke away from the PMoI to support of secular Marxism Leninism, rather than the Leftist Islamist modernism of the People's Mujahedin...
See also
- List of guerrilla movements
- Organizations of the Iranian RevolutionOrganizations of the Iranian RevolutionMany organizations, parties and guerilla movements were involved in the 1978-9 revolution in Iran. Some were part of Ayatollah Khomeini's network and supported the theocracy of Islamic Republic, others did not support theocracy and were suppressed. Some were created after the fall of the Pahlavi...
- JundallahJundallahJundallah, or Jondollah , also known as People's Resistance Movement of Iran , is an organization based in Balochistan that claims to be fighting for the rights of Sunni Muslims in Iran. It was founded by Abdolmalek Rigi who was captured and executed in Iran in 2010...
Sources
- Iran Between Two Revolutions By Ervand Abrahamian, Princeton University Press, 1982
- Mottahedeh, Roy, The Mantle of the Prophet : Religion and Politics in Iran, One World, Oxford, 1985, 2000