TEHRAN – Martyr commander Gholamreza Salehi’s diaries of operations Karbala 4 and 5 during the 1980-1988 Iran-Iraq war will be published in a book named “Final Attack” in the near future.

The book has been compiled by Ahmad Dehqan, one of the few Iranian writers who fought in the war, and will be published by Fatehan Publications.

According to Dehqan, Salehi had begun writing diaries since the beginning of his presence on the frontline. 

“The book had already been completed years ago, but right after its completion some organizations disagreed with its publication and the book was banned,” Dehqan told MNA on Sunday.

He said that the book will, therefore, be published with certain modifications and added, “However, I still believe the notes are so rich and important, since they are able to present a new and non-stereotyped narration from the 8-year history of the war,” he added.

Dehqan noted that many memories of the war are being published these days from the major decision-makers of the war and added, “Martyr Salehi wrote his diaries during the war, but they show three decades after the war, that is, many events match today’s events.”
 
“This is a rare source from the history of the war, which can reveal many secrets and untold events about the war,” he added.

“It is interesting to know that martyr Salehi used to write his notes in a diary every day and used to give it to his family at the end of each year saying that they are his greatest legacy and must be preserved carefully,” he noted. 

Salehi was martyred on July 13, 1988 and was buried in his hometown Najafabad in Isfahan Province on the same day that Iran accepted UN Resolution 598, which ended the war on July 20, 1988.

Operation Karbala-4 was launched by Iran under the cover of darkness in late December 1986, and was intended to give Iranian forces a foothold along the Arvand Roud waterway in southwest Iran. The Iranian troops would go on the offensive once across the waterway. However, the operation did not go as planned.

The operation led to a high number of casualties on the Iranian side.

According to some reports, about 1,000 were martyred in the operation, 3,900 went missing and 11,000 were injured.

Photo: Ahmad Dehqan in an undated photo. (Tasnim/Erfan Kuchari)

RM/MMS/YAW