Operation Baghdad 1
 | This article may be expanded with text translated from the corresponding article in فارسی. (August 2025) Click [show] for important translation instructions.
|
| Baghdad Operation | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of Iran–Iraq War | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 Iraqi Air Force |
 Iranian Air Force | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Unknown |
Abbas Doran † Mahmoud Eskandari | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| 57 mm anti-aircraft gun, missile systems SA-2, SA-3, SA-6 and Roland missile |
| ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| Al-Dura Refinery bombed | One pilot killed, one captured | ||||||
Baghdad Operation was the name of an Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force mission during the Iran–Iraq War, conducted on 21 July 1982 over Baghdad, the capital of Iraq. During which two F-4E Phantoms aimed to demonstrate the insecurity of Baghdad’s airspace to prevent the hosting of the Non-Aligned Movement leaders’ summit in Baghdad. In this mission, Iranian pilots succeeded in bombing the Al-Dura Refinery with Mark 82 bombs. The aircraft flown by Mahmoud Eskandari and Nasser Bagheri was hit but managed to return to Iran. However, Colonel Abbas Doran’s aircraft was severely damaged after being struck by a Roland missile. His co-pilot, Mansour Kazemiyan, ejected from the aircraft, but Abbas Doran crashed in one of the squares near the Al-Rashid Hotel and was killed.[1][2]
Considering that Baghdad’s airspace was protected by radar-equipped 57 mm anti-aircraft guns and missile systems SA-2, SA-3, SA-6, and Roland missile, the risk of not returning from this flight was 85 to 90 percent.[1][2][3]
Background
Saddam Hussein, before the war and at the Non-Aligned Movement summit in Havana, secured Baghdad’s hosting of the next summit to project himself as a peace-seeking leader. He called Iranian pilots cowards, saying: "Not a single Iranian pilot dares to approach Baghdad’s skies to disrupt the summit."
While diplomatic efforts to change the venue of the Non-Aligned Movement summit were ongoing by Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and government, the Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force sought to carry out attacks on Baghdad to prove the city unsafe for holding the summit.[4]
Operation planning
The plan for this operation was drawn up on 20 July 1982 at Nojeh Air Base, with the presence of operations commander Alireza Yasini, Nojeh base commander Mahmoud Khezravi, and six pilots assigned to the mission: Abbas Doran, Mahmoud Eskandari, Nasser Bagheri Sheshdehi, Akbar Tavangarian, and Khosroshahi.[2]
Bagheri says that due to the political significance of the mission and to demonstrate the insecurity of Baghdad’s skies, the amount of damage inflicted on the enemy was not the main focus. Instead, the storage tanks of the Al-Dura refinery were chosen as the target because the resulting fire could have strong propaganda value.[1] According to the plan, the aircraft were to first approach from the south of Baghdad, then turn toward the city, strike the refinery located about four to five kilometers from the city, and then return to Iran by flying over the city.[2]
It was decided that Doran and Tavangarian’s aircraft would be the main strike aircraft, and Eskandari’s plane would serve as backup, to be used in case of any problem.[1]
Operation
At dawn on 21 July 1982, three pilot teams boarded three F-4E Phantoms. Tavangarian and Khosroshahi’s aircraft could not take off due to technical problems; therefore, Eskandari and Bagheri’s aircraft replaced it. Doran and Kazemiyan’s aircraft also had malfunctions in the INS heading and attitude systems. Nevertheless, given that it was daylight, Doran insisted on flying. Until near Kermanshah, Eskandari’s plane led the formation, then Doran’s aircraft took the lead.[1][2]
The two aircraft entered Iraq from south of Ilam and, although flying at a very low altitude of 10 to 15 meters, were detected by radar, and a SA-7 missile was launched at them. Due to the aircraft’s high speed, it missed and exploded in the air. After crossing the Baghdad–Basra highway, it was clear the Iraqis were alerted, as alarms were sounding. From the Baghdad–Basra highway bridge, Eskandari’s plane again took the lead, and the two aircraft turned toward the Al-Dura refinery.[2]
From the Baghdad–Basra highway bridge to Baghdad was 20 km, where three defensive firewalls each one kilometer wide were deployed. Since the aircraft were of United States origin, they could counter Soviet-made SAM missiles by jamming, preventing lock-on. However, anti-aircraft fire hit the right engine of Doran’s aircraft. Against the French-made Roland missiles, the Phantoms had no defense. After passing the firewalls, a Roland missile hit the rear fuel tank area of Doran’s aircraft from the right. The aircraft still managed to reach the refinery and drop its bombs. About 10 to 20 seconds later, the plane caught fire. Kazemiyan says: "I told martyr Doran, get ready, I want to eject you," to which he replied, "No. I already said I won’t eject; if you want to jump, do it yourself." Before Kazemiyan could eject himself, he was thrown from the aircraft—possibly ejected by Doran, or due to the seat’s rockets firing automatically from the fire.[2]
Kazemiyan lost consciousness after ejecting and woke up at around 8:30 a.m. One of his neck vertebrae was injured, vertebrae in his back and one rib over his heart were broken. The Iraqis told him about Abbas Doran: "He did not eject… he steered the aircraft toward the hotel where the Non-Aligned Summit was to be held."[2] Mansour Kazemiyan was taken to a hospital in Iraq, and an interview with him was broadcast live on Iraqi radio and television.[1] He was then interrogated for about 15 days and subsequently tortured for 45 days in the Mukhabarat. He claimed ignorance about the summit.[2]
Eskandari and Bagheri’s aircraft were also hit by multiple anti-aircraft rounds and a Roland missile.[2] An anti-aircraft round struck the front cockpit canopy, passed into the rear cockpit, and exploded there, wounding Bagheri. Nonetheless, they completed the bombing of the refinery and returned to Iran. Bagheri suffered bleeding in his neck and arm due to shrapnel wounds.[1]
Outcome
In mid-July 1982, the Organization of African Unity also announced that Baghdad was not a suitable venue for the Non-Aligned Movement summit. Later, Cuba declared that the summit would not be held in Baghdad. Iraq’s proposal to host the foreign ministers’ conference prior to the leaders’ summit was also rejected. Finally, in September 1982, Fidel Castro officially announced in a letter that the next summit would be held in New Delhi on 7 March 1983, with all member countries agreeing—marking a major political defeat for Saddam.[5][6][7][8][9]
Legacy
Due to his sacrifice during the operation, General Abbas Doran is celebrated as a hero in Iran.[10] Iraq returned Doran's remains (a leg bone) to Iran on 21 July 2002.[11][12]
Based on the story of Abbas Doran’s last days and the Baghdad Operation, two films were made: Crossing the Red Line (1995) and Pilot (1997), directed by Jamal Shoorjeh.[13][14][15] Jamal Shoorjeh, creator of the scene in which the aircraft crashes into the Non-Aligned Summit hotel, told Mashregh News: "The martyr’s plane actually crashed in one of Baghdad’s main squares, but in the film, we showed it as if martyr Abbas Doran crashed his plane into the hotel where the Non-Aligned Summit was to be held!"[16]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 ماجرای پرواز آسمانی «عباس دوران»/ تنها راه عملیات هوایی در بغداد
- ↑ 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 "یورش به دیوار آتشین". Archived from the original on 2015-07-25. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ "memories of Capt. Mansour Kazemiyan". Archived from the original on 2017-01-18. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ 6th Summit Conference of Heads of State or Government of the Non-Aligned Movement, page 96, item 309.
- ↑ "نقش شهید دوران در عدم برگزاری اجلاس سران جنبش عدم تعهد". Archived from the original on 2014-10-15. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ "نسخه آرشیو شده". Archived from the original on 2015-07-25. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ XV Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement, Sharm El Sheikh, 11–16 July 2009: Previous Summits[Usurped!]
- ↑ Morrison, Kenneth. "The Al Rasheed Hotel: 40 years of an iconic Baghdad landmark". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 2025-08-30.
- ↑ Dinkel, Jürgen (2018-11-19), "The Non-Aligned Movement in the 1980s", The Non-Aligned Movement: Genesis, Organization and Politics (1927-1992), Brill, pp. 227–252, ISBN 978-90-04-33613-1, retrieved 2025-08-30
- ↑ Morrison, Kenneth (2022). "Chapter 5". War Hotels. Irish Academic Press. p. 3. ISBN 9781785374029. Search this book on
- ↑ "قهرمان همه دوران؛ عباس دوران". ایسنا (in فارسی). 2022-07-21. Retrieved 2023-07-29.
- ↑ "زندگینامه: عباس دوران ( ۱۳۲۹ - ۱۳۶۱)". همشهری آنلاین (in فارسی). 2012-08-27. Retrieved 2023-07-29.
- ↑ عبور از خط سرخ Archived 2009-02-08 at the Wayback Machine (Iran Actor website)
- ↑ "فیلم عبور از خط سرخ | منظوم". Manzoom (in فارسی). Retrieved 2025-08-30.
- ↑ "خلبان ( ۱۳۷۶ )" [Pilot ( 1997 )]. irmdb.sourehcinema.com. Retrieved 2025-08-30.
- ↑ خبرگزاری مشرق http://www.mashreghnews.ir/fa/news/443507
This article "Operation Baghdad 1" is from Wikipedia. The list of its authors can be seen in its historical and/or the page Edithistory:Operation Baghdad 1. Articles copied from Draft Namespace on Wikipedia could be seen on the Draft Namespace of Wikipedia and not main one.
