TEHRAN Tir 7 marks the 20th anniversary of the martyrdom of Ayatollah Seyed Mohammad Beheshti and 72 of his colleagues.

On this very day in 1981, the agents of violence and terror martyred Beheshti and 72 other men of the revolution with a devastating bomb which exploded in the gathering hall of the center of the Islamic Republic Party. But the martyrdom of Beheshti and his colleagues proved the eternity of the righteousness of the Islamic Revolution in history. A glance at the events which happened before the catastrophe of Tir 7 reveals the failure of the line of terror and violence in the country. On June 11, 1981, the Founder of the Islamic Revolution, the late Imam Khomeini, issued a short decree which dismissed Abolhassan Banisadr as the commander-in-chief of the armed forces. Following the decree of the late Imam Khomeini, the Islamic Consultative Assembly put the incompetence of Banisadr on the agenda. Taking advantage of the unstable situation in the country at that time, the National Front announced plans to stage a rally in protest of the **** qesas **** (Islamic law of retribution) bill. However, on June 15 the late Imam Khomeini issued a decree declaring that the National Front members were blasphemers and the rally never took place. Meanwhile, the terrorist Mojahedin Khalq Organization (MKO) which was determined to fight against the Islamic Revolution, issued a political-military statement on June 20 and started terrorist activities against the Islamic Revolution. In this statement, the MKO raised the issue of assassinating prominent leaders of the Islamic Republic. Following the announcement of the political incompetence of Banisadr and his dismissal by the late Imam Khomeini on June 22, the MKO prepared a violent response. They infiltrated their agents into the main organs of the system in order to pave the way for their terrorist operations. With the help of Hashem Kolahi, one of their agents who had infiltrated the central office of the Islamic Republic Party, the MKO planned to bomb the joint meeting of members of the Majlis, the cabinet and the Judiciary. The MKO aimed to martyr a large number of officials and pave the way for the secular liberal line to come to power in the country again.

At the weekly meeting of officials on the Tir 7, 1360, martyr Beheshti stood to announce the agenda of the meeting.

Witnesses say that the lights were turned off and on two times. This was a sign for the bomb blast. At that moment, martyr Beheshti was talking about presidential elections when suddenly a powerful bomb exploded.

In a moment, fire spread everywhere and people were trapped under the roof of the hall. Cries of "Ya Hossein" and "Ya Zahra" were heard everywhere. Martyr Beheshti, four members of martyr Rajaei's cabinet, 27 Majlis representatives and a large number of the men of the revolution sacrificed their lives for the revolution. Imam Khomeini's message on the martyrdom of Beheshti reflected the feelings of those who attended the funerals of the martyrs. The late Founder of the Islamic Revolution said: "Beheshti lived oppressed, died oppressed and he was like a thorn in the eye of the enemies of Islam.