Mostafa Chamran

Guerilla training

In the 1960s, Chamran was a prominent member of the Freedom Movement of Iran (FMI), a pro-democratic, anti-Shah political organization led by Mehdi Bazargan.^[4][11] He belonged to the party's revolutionary bloc alongside Ebrahim Yazdi, Sadegh Ghotbzadeh and Ali Shariati, all of whom had studied at Western universities and were sympathetic to religious left-wing ideals.^[12]

Following the conclusion of his doctoral studies at Berkeley, Chamran went to Cuba to attend a military camp.^[13] In December 1963, he, Ghotbzadeh, and Yazdi traveled from the United States to Egypt, where they received training in guerilla warfare.^[14][15] They met with Egyptian authorities to propose establishing an anti-Shah organization in the country called SAMA, with Chamran chosen as its military head.^[12]

Upon Chamran's return to the United States in 1965, he founded a group called Red Shi'ism in San Jose, aimed at training far-left Islamist militants; his brother Mehdi was an early member.^[14] In 1968, he helped establish another anti-Shah and Islamist organization, the Muslim Students' Association of America (MSA), which was led by Yazdi.^[14] The MSA soon established branches in the United Kingdom and France.^[14]

Arab world

In 1971, Chamran left the United States for Lebanon^[14] to join the Palestine Liberation Organization and Amal Movement.^[13] He became a leading figure of the revolutionary Islamic movement in the Middle East, organizing and training guerrilla forces in Algeria, Egypt, and Syria. During Lebanese Civil War, he actively cooperated with Musa al-Sadr and became known as his "right-hand man".^[16][17][18]

Chamran, along with Sadegh Ghotbzadeh, was known as part of a clique called the “Syrian mafia” within the inner circle of Ruhollah Khomeini. There was a reported feud between this group and a Libya-friendly faction led by Mohammad Montazeri.^[19]

Political appointments

Following the Iranian Revolution, Chamran returned to Iran in February 1979 and was appointed Deputy Prime Minister for Revolutionary Affairs in the cabinet of Mehdi Bazargan.^[20][21] He was later appointed Minister of Defense,^[22] becoming the first civilian defense minister of the Islamic Republic.^[23] As a result of this position, Chamran led military action against a rebellion in Kurdistan.^[20]

In May 1980, Chamran was elected to the Majles (parliament) as a representative of Tehran.^[24] That same month, he was appointed by Khomeini to the Supreme Council of National Defense.^[25]

Iran-Iraq War

When the Iran–Iraq War began in September 1980, Chamran led an irregular warfare infantry unit called the "Irregular Warfare Headquarters".^[9] He was wounded in the leg during the Liberation of Susangerd.^[26]