ALWAGHT- Iran commemorates August 30 as the National Day of Fight Against Terrorism, paying tribute to top officials killed in a terror attack in 1981.
Today marks the 44th anniversary of the 1981 bombing that killed President Mohammad Ali Rajaee, Prime Minister Mohammad-Javad Bahonar, and six other senior Iranian officials. The attack, carried out by the Mojahedin-e Khalq (MKO) terror group, is commemorated annually in Iran as the National Day of Fight Against Terrorism, with the preceding days observed as “Government Week.”
On August 30, 1981, MKO operative Masoud Keshmiri infiltrated the Prime Minister’s office disguised as a security officer. He placed a briefcase filled with TNT under the meeting table, then slipped away before the bomb detonated. The powerful blast destroyed the building, killing eight people and injuring 23, with the remains of Rajaee and Bahonar burned beyond recognition.
Rajaee, a former teacher and parliamentarian, had been elected Iran’s second president just weeks earlier, while Bahonar, a scholar and lawmaker, had recently become prime minister and Secretary General of the Islamic Republican Party. Both leaders were key figures in shaping the post-revolution government. They, along with other victims, were later buried at Behesht-e Zahra cemetery in Tehran.
The August 30 attack followed a string of MKO bombings in 1981, including the Hafte Tir massacre that killed Judiciary Chief Ayatollah Beheshti and dozens of officials, as well as an earlier attempt on Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s life. Investigations suggested the MKO received foreign backing, and while Keshmiri fled Iran on a forged passport, many of his accomplices were captured and tried. His fate remains uncertain.
