A flashback to 1982 liberation of 'Bride of Middle East' from Iraq
Yusef Jalali
Press TV, Khorramshahr
It is just another day in Iran's southwestern city of Khorramshahr, with the call to prayer resonating from the city's main mosque, Masjed Jame'. But 40 years ago, the mosque was witness to a historic day that changed the course of the Iraq-Iran war in the 1980s. It was the day when the city was recaptured from the Iraqi forces after 19 months.
War veteran Abdul Saheb still recalls what he refers to as the decisive day.
Khorramshahr was the first city that was captured by Iraq shortly after the onset of a war that took a marathon eight years only to end in a ceasefire with no gains for Iraq.
Then, Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein enjoyed full military support from the West, believing to capture Khorramshahr only in three hours.
But the strategic port city of Khorramshahr was finally captured by Iraq in October 1980.
After an eventful 576 days, the city was liberated in May 1982 during Operation Beit ol-Moqaddas, which forced Iraqis to retreat to the border.
Once known as the 'Bride of the Middle East', Khorramshahr, today, has turned into a symbol of resistance in Iran.
While some of the bullet-riddled walls are still kept untouched, everywhere else in the city, there is a sign that reminds passers by of the May 24th resistance.
The liberation of Khorramshahr went down in history as a turning point in the Iraq Iran war that changed the fate of the war and stopped the Iraqi forces from making further incursions into the Iranian soil.
That's why Iranians still remember the decisive moment to honor those who made it happen.
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