Operation Beit-ol-Moqaddas (Operation Jerusalem), also known as the Operation Toward Beit-ol-Moqaddas (عملیات الی بیت‌المقدس), was an Iranian operation conducted during the Iran–Iraq War. The operation was a success, as it achieved its standing aim of liberating Khorramshahr and pushed Iraqi troops back to the border. This operation, coupled with Operation Tariq-ol-Qods, and Operation Fath-ol-Mobin, succeeded in evicting Iraqi troops from southern Iran and gave Iran the momentum.

Prelude

On 22 September 1980, because of threats from Khomeini's regime, leading to the abrogation of the 1975 Algiers Agreement, Iraqi President Saddam Hussein declared war against Iran and launched a land invasion of southern Iran, although operations did occur elsewhere on the Iran–Iraq border. After achieving successes due to the post-Revolution military and political chaos in Iran, Saddam Hussein ordered that the Iraqi troops "dig-in" on the front line. He hoped that this would show the world that he cared about the fate of the Iranian people, and that he was only concerned with achieving his aim of securing the entire Shatt al-Arab waterway, which had been resolved since the 1975 Algiers Agreement, but was disputed again since the treaty was abrogated due to Iran's actions. However, since the Islamic Revolution of Iran in 1979, Iraq had felt that it was necessary to assume what it wanted through force, since previous attempts in getting the revolutionary Iranian government to negotiate a new settlement had proved fruitless, due to Iran's foreign policy. Once the Iraqi forces had settled, the Iranians were planning a series of operations designed to evict the Iraqis from southern Iran, of which Operation Tariq al-Qods was one.

Battle

The Iranians attacked, with some 70,000 soldiers in the Ahvaz–Susangerd area. The Iraqi forces in the area withdrew, and strengthened the defenses of Khorramshahr. The Iraqis launched a counter-offensive on 20 May. However, despite its scale, the Iranians were able to repulse the attack. On 24 May, the Iranians liberated Khorramshahr; the strategic and symbolic Iranian city whose capture by Iraq had been the low-point of Iranian fortunes in the early days of the war. The Iraqis were ordered to retreat, although many had done so when Khorramshahr had fallen, back into Iraq. The Iranians captured 15,000-19,000 Iraqi troops and a substantial amount of Iraqi military hardware in Khorramshahr. The commander of the Iraqi forces in the city, Colonel Ahmad Zeidan, attempted to flee, but was trapped in a minefield which previously had been set up on his orders, and killed when he stepped on a mine.

Units

Iran

Iranian units involved in the operation were as follows: Each IRGC battalion was consisted of 300 Basij volunteers at most, while each Army battalion was around 2.5 times bigger. However, the number of battalions in each IRGC brigade was bigger than those of the Army. Karbala Central Headquarters Commanded by Mohsen Rezaei (IRGC commander) and Col. Ali Sayyad Shirazi (Army commander) Commanded by Gholam Ali Rashid and Col. Massoud Monfared Niyaki Commanded by Hossein Kharrazi Commanded by Ahmad Kazemi Commanded by Morteza Ghorbani Commanded by Hassan Baqeri and Col. Hossein Hassani Saadi Commanded by Abdol-Mohammad Raoofi-Nezhad Commanded by Ahmad Motevasselian Commanded by Ahmad Gholampoor and Col. Siroos Lotfi Commanded by Mehdi Bakeri Commanded by Ali Hashemi Commanded by Qasem Soleimani Combat engineer units involved were as follows: Other forces included:

Iraq

Iraqi units involved in the operation were as follows: Commanded by Brig. Gen. Jawad Asaad Shitnah Commanded by Muhsin Abd al-Jalil