Operation Mersad

Operation Mersad was the name given by the Iranian government, taken from the Persian word meaning 'ambush' was the last major military operation of the war, ending in a decisive victory for Iran. The operation involved a successful counterattack against a July 1988 military incursion from Iraq, by the bulk of the Iraqi army in the south west against a military force of about 7000 members of the Mujahadeen-e-Khalq (MEK). The MEK soldiers were armed, equipped and given air support by Iraq and other foreign states. Led by Lt. General Ali Sayad Shirazi, Operation Mersad began on 26 July 1988 and lasted only a few days, where the Iranian Armed Forces crushed the Iraqi Army in what was the last military operation of any significance of the Iran-Iraq War.

Both Iran and Iraq had accepted Resolution 598 on 20 July 1988. However, shortly thereafter Iraq decided to launch a new attack and wished to permanently occupy Khuzestan and western Iran, as well as to reach its goals from the beginning of the war. The Iraqi army attacked Khuzestan province, beginning with chemical weapons and air strikes, and once again pushed towards Khorramshahr. However, Iran had anticipated the attack, and used their remaining air force in conjunction with surface-to-air missiles to defeat the larger Iraqi air force. The Iranian forces then took the offensive on 25 July 1988 and re-obtained 600 square kilometres (230 sq mi) of Iraqi territory.