TEHRAN – Iranian troupes plan to perform some street theater in memory of Quds Force chief Lieutenant General Qassem Soleimani, who was martyred in a U.S. airstrike in Baghdad, in a program arranged by the Art Bureau.

“The plays will be performed across the country during the 40th day of mourning for the martyrdom of the commander,” Kurosh Zarei, the director of bureau’s Center for Dramatic Arts said in a press release on Sunday.

He pointed to his play “Like a Fish on Land”, which was produced by the Art Bureau last year and said, “Martyr Soleimani was a hidden character in the play.”
 
The play was about the soldiers of Islamic Revolution Guards Corps’ Sarallah Division 41, which was led by Soleimani during the 1980s Iran-Iraq war.

“The play also focused on the 175 Iranian divers who were buried alive in scattered mass graves in Iraq,” said Zarei who was the director of the play.

“However, we are planning to restage the play to put the spotlight on the character of the commander in the play this year,” he noted.

Zarei expressed his hope that the cultural organizations step up to support the play this year to enable better performances of “Like a Fish on Land”.

The skeletons of the divers were unearthed by an excavation team in early June, 2015. Most of the skeletons were discovered handcuffed with wire with no sign of execution.

The divers were members of a shock troop squad, which crossed the Arvand River to overrun Umm al Rassas, a nearby island on the Shatt-al-Arab waterway, during the Operation Karbala 4 on December 25, 1986. However, they were captured by Iraqi forces.

Photo: Thespians perform “Like a Fish on Land” by director Kurosh Zarei at Imam Ali Mosalla in Kerman on February 24, 2019. (Tasnim/Mohammad-Javad Kianinia)

RM/MMS/YAW