He Surprised Saddam’s Regime, the West... Terrified
Moukhtar Berto- Tehran
The Islamic Republic of Iran has scored too many achievements, on top of which the self-sufficiency in different fields, especially on the military level.
Iran owns today a salient deterrent ballistic missile force, about which enemies have now a thousand apprehensions. All this is owing to great men who have devoted themselves to realize the aspirations of the Iranian people, seeking to enjoy independence and leave the dependence on the West behind.
One of these men is martyr General Hassan Tahrani Moghaddam, Head of the Guards' Organization of Self-Sufficiency Jihad. He was the father of the Iranian ballistic missile industry. Today, we commemorate his martyrdom.
On October 12, 2012, General Moghaddam passed away in an explosion at Malard military site.
Subsequently, Saddam's bygone regime and the West fell short of finding an explanation to how Tehran got this deterrent weapon. At the time, neither Saddam nor the West knew that in Iran, too many young men had unwavering faith, determination, and reliance on God. General Moghaddam, whom the Leader of the Islamic Revolution His Eminence Imam Sayyed Ali Khamenei has described as the humble ascetic and the eminent expert, was just one of them.
Hassan Tahrani Moghaddam was born in South Tehran, on October 29, 1959. His father, Mahmoud Tahrani, was a humble tailor. His mother was keen on his religiousness since his tender age. He grew up at Sayyeda Zainab (pbuh) Mosque. At an early age, he joined the Islamic Revolution led by Imam Rouhollah Khomeini.
"My martyr brothers Hassan and Ali worked with the revolutionists. The day of the Islamic Revolution's victory, they managed to arrest one of the top commanders of the Shah's Regime," says Ahmed, General Moghaddam's brother.
A few months after the Revolution, General Hassan obtained a BA in mechanical engineering, then a PHD. He joined the Islamic Revolutionary Guards as soon the corps was founded. He also fought during Saddam's war on Iran. It is then when his unique devotion, bravery, faith, and unmatched intelligence featured high.
"Martyr Moghaddam was an exceptional and very well experienced personality, that was shaped during the period of the imposed war. In all his decisions, he relied on God," says Major General Mohammad Ali Jafari, Commander of Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps.
Martyr Moghaddam was at the forefront of mujahideens who defended Khorramshahr and broke the blockade on Abadan city imposed by Saddam's troops. It was not long until the Guards' Command perceived his genius in the field of war weaponry. It then selected him to supervise the development of arsenals. Bombs and shells he developed were a crucial factor in achieving victory in Tariq al-Qods Operation (Jerusalem Way Operation). This success pushed the Guards' Command to choose him at the head of the Revolution Guards' artillery, which trounced Saddam's troops during the Operation Fath-ol-Mobeen (Undeniable Victory.)
"The artillery was founded owing to the expertise and intelligence of martyr Moghaddam. During the war, it turned into an efficient and powerful weapon in all the military operations which the Revolutionary Guards staged in the battle fronts," says Major General Mostafa Izadi, Deputy Chief of Staff of Iran's Armed Forces.
When the regime of Saddam Hussein targeted the Iranian cities with US and soviet missiles, martyr Moghaddam founded the ballistic missile force in 1984, at the behest of the Guards' Command. That was an unprecedented step in Iran's military history.
"Martyr Hassan founded a land-to-land missile system, which developed in time and turned into a weapon which terrifies the enemies," says General Mohammad Tahrani Moghaddam, the martyr's brother.
During the war years and afterwards, martyr Moghaddam carried on his endeavors away from the limelight. He managed, alongside a group of distinct youngsters, to found Iran's ballistic missile industry, hence ensuring the Islamic Republic's self-sufficiency in this field. The martyr also had a major contribution to manufacturing Iranian missiles that can dispatch satellites into space. He is known as one of the key founders of the space industry in the Islamic Republic. He looked forward to making the missile which carried the first Iranian astronaut to space.
Despite sanctions tightened against the Islamic Republic since the victory of the revolution, he had in hands the best local techniques and expertise. He was able to develop scud missiles. A few years later, Iran astonished the world with highly developed missiles, such as Zelzal (earthquake), Fateh (conqueror), Shahab, Fajr (dawn), Qassed, Arash, Khalij Fars (Persian Gulf), Hoot (whale), Toofan, Noor, Mehrab (alter), Shalamcheh, Kowsar, Shaheen, Sejil (baked clay), space weapons, and tens of rockets and shells that frighten the enemies.
One week before his martyrdom, General Hassan Tahrani Moghaddam asked that the following be craved on his epitaph: "Here lies a person who sought the extinction of the Zionist entity." Today, this entity indeed fears to commit any folly, owing to the Iranian missiles, which General Hassan Tahrani Moghaddam pioneered.
The Speech of Imam Khamenei during Martyr Moghaddam's Commemoration
Ayatollah Imam Khamenei described Hassan Tahrani Moghaddam as the eminent expert and humble ascetic. "Hajj Hassan always kept his promise," he said.
In his speech following the martyrdom of General Moghaddam, Imam Khamenei said: "The bloody accident that occurred in a logistic site of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards and led to the martyrdom of a number of excellent cadres, on top of whom the big commander, the eminent expert and the humble ascetic General Hassan Moghaddam, was a bitter and sad event. Those assiduous individuals, who carried their souls on their shoulders, have cordially, determinedly, and tirelessly advanced towards risks and sacred defense."
"Martyrdom was certainly their noblest wish. Any country or society would regret the loss of such great men," he added.
"We thank God that the outcome of their efforts is now in the hands of the men of jihad and that the cadres of this institution are competent to carry on this bright path," he said.
Source:al-Ahed News, Translated and Edited by moqawama.org
