Katie and the remote for life
It was saturday morning, and Katie got up late. She finished her breakfast and suddenly remembered that “The Amazing Journey” was on television She did not normally watch a lot of TV – she preferred to see 360 Degree animations on her mum’s crystal ball – but this programme was a favorite. It was a Japanese animation about a boy and girl who were making a journey through amazing valleys and mountains. On the way they met all sorts of magical creatures, witches and demons. Cute animals, including a kung-fu rabbit and a souped-up squirrel, helped them fight off dangers. It was very fast, very colorful, way-out, exciting, and funny.
She ran upstairs and hunted around for the remote-control TV zapper. Eventually she found it down the side of the sofa. She pressed the red On button – but oh no ! – the programme was almost over.
“Never mind,” thought Katie, “It’s one of those smart TVs that you can rewind.” It was just like a DVD. You pressed the reverse button on the remote and watched all the characters run backwards very fast. Once you found the place you wanted, you could press “play” and sit back and watch. It was like magic. But unlike most other things in the house, it wasn’t actually magic. It was technology.
After the programme was over, she held the zapper in her hand and thought, “This little magic wand is very clever, as far as it goes. … If only I could use it in real life… but hold on, perhaps I can.”
On Monday, Katie and her mum got in the car and headed off for school. Half way there, Katie’s mum remembered that she had promised to take Isis that day. She turned round and headed back to Isis’s house. Then they got stuck in a traffic jam. In short, Katie and Isis were both 15 minutes late for school. Registration was over when they got there, and the children were getting up and leaving for their first lesson.
Miss Vile said: “Katie, Isis, why are you both late?” Katie began to tell the story, but somehow, as she spoke, it all sounded like a made-up excuse. She could see that Miss Vile did not believe her. It was so unfair, because it was true. All the other pupils had already left for their first lesson and now they would be both late for that one as well, and get into trouble twice over.
“Thank you,” said Miss Vile, when Katie had finished explaining. “You will both report for lunch-time detention.”
“But Miss Vile,” said Isis, “It wasn’t even my fault.”
“Enough! Don’t answer back. And Katie, what is that you are holding in your pocket?”
But Katie did not reply. Suddenly Miss Vile started to talk very fast and very strangely. Her body made rapid jerky movements, a bit like a robot gone wrong. She started to move backwards to her desk, still talking gibberish. Isis’s eyes were popping out with amazement and Katie was sniggering.
All the rest of the form started to come backwards into the class and sit down at their desks. katie and Isis were the only ones acting normally. It was as if they were not part of this strange happening, just watching it like on TV.
“Quick, sit down at your desk,” said Katie. And Isis, who only knew that Katie’s magic powers must have something to do with this, sat down..
Then Miss Vile and everyone froze and they looked like those dummies you see in shop windows. Isis shivered. It was rather spooky. But a moment later they started behaving just like normal. Miss Vile took the register and Katie and Isis were signed in – just as if they had arrived on time.
Katie smirked from ear to ear, and Isis had to try ever so hard just so as not to giggle. “sshhh” whispered Katie, and Isis kept her lips absolutely sealed. It was not until break time that she was able to catch her friend alone in the corner of the playground and say:
“Wow Katie, what you did this morning was amazing… is there any point in asking what exactly what happened?” And Katie pulled out her magic gadget and said:
“I did it with this. It’s my remote for life. I can reverse or pause people – just like TV. But the only thing I really can’t do is fast-forward. That’s against the witch’s code.”
Isis knew that if there was one thing in the entire world that she wanted it was that remote.
“Oh please, Katie, can I try?” she begged.
“I’m sorry,” said Katie, “but I’m not supposed to let a non-witch use it. You see, it doesn’t just reverse people, it reverse’s time too. You have to be really careful about that sort of thing.”
“But can I just see?”
“Well… I suppose so. It’s just an ordinary TV remote you know. I made a few little improvements with some spells I learned last night.”
Isis took the plastic remote in her hand. It was true – it looked like nothing particularly special. She held it out and pointed it at some boys who were playing football.
“No, Isis, look don’t… give it back! “ pleaded Katie. But Isis laughed and said “Just one little try.” Her finger pressed pause, and the boys all froze. It looked like they had just decided to play statues or something. Isis ran towards them and kicked the ball into goal. then she turned round and pressed play. A boy called Ivan shouted GOAAAAAALLL!
Now Katie started to chase her friend. But Isis thought it was all the funniest joke ever and fled across the playground. In doing so she bumped smack into Mr. Phillpot…
“Hey lass, look where you are going!”
“Sorry Sir,”
She ran into the school and skidded down the corridor SMACK right into Mrs. Hepworth the head teacher. Now, everyone knew that it was against the rules to run inside the building – let alone to go bumping into teachers.
“Isis…..DETENTION ON FRIDAY!” said Mrs. Hepworth, more flustered than she had been for a long time.
“Sorry Miss…. er, hang on a moment… I just want to show you something… and she took out the remote and pointed it at the headteacher.
“Isis – what’s that about?” stuttered Mrs. Hepworth. Isis’s fingers fumbled on the buttons… for a moment she fast forwarded Mrs Hepworth and saw her snarl rather scarily “Give that to me young madam!” but then she fingered the right button and reversed the head teacher back down the corridor. It was a chance to run the whole scene again, only differently. Next, Isis pressed play and calmly walked passed her. Katie saw all this happen and was powerless to do anything about it.
“How dare you do that !” she almost screamed when she caught up with her in the class room. “Give that back to me.” She lurched for her remote, but Isis pulled her hand away.
“What’s all this – are you two fighting?” said a stern voice. It was Miss Vile, standing in the door. If they were caught fighting, they would have to go to the timeout room while the office called their parents.
“No Miss,” said Katie. It’s, er, just a game.”
“Well it had better be,” said Miss Vile and walked on down the corridor. They had been lucky. It was not like Miss Vile to let people get away with just a ticking off.
“Na -Na -Na-Na-Na! “ sung naughty Isis and in an instant Miss Vile was back at the door. That surely meant detention – or worse. But ZAP! Isis paused her.
“Oh Isis!” said Katie. “Will you please stop doing that? You’re not a witch. You’re not supposed to. It could all go horribly wrong.”
“In will return it in just a moment,” said Isis as she made MIss Vile walk backwards out of the room. Only then, she handed over the remote to her friend and said, “Sorry Katie, I just So wanted to have a try. I can see it could be a bit dangerous!”
“A BIT!” said Katie. “You’re an amateur. You don’t know what you’re doing. You haven’t studied the rules of relativity. Anything could happen.”
“Well I did say sorry.”
“Humph,” said Katie. She didn’t actually want to fall out with her friend over a silly prank. After all, what had happened had been quite funny.
“Look,” said Katie. “I’m putting it back in the inside pocket of my blazer, and it’s staying there. Not I, not you, not anyone is ever going to use it at school again. It’s too dangerous. Right, now are we friends?”
“Friends,” said Isis. “Truly, I’m sorry. “
And of course Katie really did mean to leave the remote in her pocket. There were several occasions when it was really tempting to take it out and use it – like when Trish accidentally-on-purpose bumped into her when she was carrying a tray at lunch time. Katie slipped over, landed on the ground, and pink blancmange splattered all over her shirt. It would have been tempting to play that one back and trip Trish over. But she didn’t. And then, in the afternoon, they had Katie’s least favorite lesson of all – PE. It was like a kind of aerobics class where the teacher played the most naff music and everyone had to jump up and down like they had ants in their pants. Quite frankly, it was just exhausting, and Katie would have loved to fast-forward the teacher so that the class could stand still and watch just her jump up and down at super-speed. But she didn’t.
After PE, it was always a rush to get changed in time for the next lesson. Katie hurried along to Geography, but Isis took her time. In fact, she was 15 minutes late for class. Luckily, Mr. Hobsborn especially liked Isis and didn’t put her in detention. He accepted her feeble excuse that she was late because she had to talk to the Art Teacher about something secret.. . Who would believe a tall tale like that thought Katie?
But as it turned out, Isis’s story was true. It was finally the best time of the day of all – going home time. Isis said:
“Katie. I need your remote. It’s for something really important. I promise.”
“Not on your nellie!” exclaimed Katie. “No Way!”
“But Katie, listen… look don’t worry .. I’ll explain, it’s a chance to do some good in this big bad world.”
And Isis told her what had happened. After PE, she had heard somebody crying in the next-door changing room. She had thought it was a child and so she went in to find out what it was about. But it wasn’t a child. It was Miss Gupta the super-nice Art Teacher. Isis, who was brilliant at getting people to open up, got the whole story. Class 4E had run riot in the art room. Jossinda had started a play paint fight with Josh. Soon everyone was throwing paint and water and some of the tables had been over turned. The headteacher and two deputies had rushed in and restored order. But now Mrs. Hepworth was furious with Miss Gupta She said she had no control over children, and that she had had her last chance, and would have to leave the school.
Katie and Isis both loved Miss Gupta. She was an amazing art teacher who often gave up her lunch time and breaks to help pupils and sort out their problems.
Isis felt that she could talk to Miss Gupta like she was a friend. This is what she said.
“Please don’t cry. You know my friend Katie? Sometimes some strange stuff happens when she’s around. But you’re our favourite teacher and we’re going to help you. So get ready for something VERY weird to happen – You WILL have another chance, and this time – put the whole class in detention as soon as Jossinda so much as flicks a bit of paint.”
When Katie had heard the story she felt ever so sorry for Miss Gupta, but she was firm:
“No Isis. You’re asking me to wind back the whole school’s afternoon by an hour and a half. That’s a massive thing to do. It’s just not on.”
“Oh please!” said Isis. “We don’t want Miss Gupta to get the sack do we! Look I’ll do it. I’ll take the responsibility.”
“No you won’t.” said Katie. “If anyone is going to do a major piece of magic like that, it had better be a witch.”
“Great ! So you will do it,” said Isis brightly
“Well maybe…” Katie glanced at her watch. “I do feel sorry for Miss Gupta…”
“FAB!” said Isis. “Let’s hurry.”
To do such a big piece of magic, Katie had to stand back from the school. The two girls ran out into the playground. A few boys were staying late after school to kick a football around. Most of the other kids were pouring out of the front of the school.
Katie firmly held the Zappa and pointed it at the building.
“I’ll be summoning up all my magical energy,” she said. “So you watch the school clock and tell me when it gets back to five to two. “
She pressed the reverse button and concentrated super hard. The hands of the clock were going backwards. The boys played football in reverse and then backed into the school. It took at least a couple of minutes to wind back the whole afternoon. Katie muttered her spell, making sure that the only people who would see that time was gong backwards were were herself, Isis, and Miss. Gupta. Everyone else would not have a clue. It would be like they were going through the afternoon for the first time.
“Now!” said Isis. And Katie stopped reversing at exactly at five to two. She pressed pause, and the two girls walked calmly passed all the frozen teachers and children to their lesson. Isis stuck her tongue out at the headteacher as she went past her. And then for a moment she got a fright when thought she saw her move… but it was just her imagination.
They went to their lesson. The nasty PE lesson. And Katie and Isis and all the other children had to jump up and down like lunatics again. it was SO exhausting. Katie thought her legs would drop off. But at the end of PE, things were looking good. Isis listened out for the sound of crying in the next changing room, and didn’t hear it.
“Brilliant,” she said. “She’s done it.”
And the gossip in the corridor confirmed that the whole of 4E were in detention for playing up Miss Gupta. Samantha said :
“Good for Miss Gupta. She’s come out fighting at last.”
Then they had to sit through the really boring geography lesson again. In fact, it was even more boring the second time around, but at least Katie now knew that the river Nile flows into the sea in Egypt, because she had heard it before. For the first time ever, she got all the answers right in a geography test.
It was the end of the school day for the second time. Katie and Isis were both totally tiered out.
“That was the most boring geography lesson EVER!” said Isis. “But it was worth it if we saved Miss Gupta.
They dragged themselves over to the art room. There they found a happy looking art teacher tidying up. She saw the two exhausted girls standing in the door.
“Thank you,” she said, “I really own you one.”
“That’s okay,” said Katie. “Just don’t ever tell anyone anything about it. Not even your boyfriend! “
“I promise,” said Miss Gupta.
As they headed for the school gate, Isis said:
“That was worth it. But doing the school afternoon twice was torture. It was worse than double detention.”
“I know,” said Katie. “Messing around with time is way too tiering – even for a witch like me.”
O little town of Bethlehem,
How still we see thee lie!
Above thy deep and dreamless sleep
The silent stars go by.
Yet in thy dark streets shineth
The everlasting Light;
The hopes and fears of all the years
Are met in thee to-night.
O morning stars, together
Proclaim the holy birth!
And praises sing to God the King,
And peace to men on earth.
For Christ is born of Mary
And gathered all above,
While mortals sleep the Angels keep
Their watch of wondering love.
How silently, how silently,
The wondrous gift is given;
So God imparts to human hearts
The blessings of His Heaven.
No ear may hear His coming,
But in this world of sin,
Where meek souls will receive Him still,
The dear Christ enters in.
O holy Child of Bethlehem,
Descend to us, we pray!
Cast out our sin and enter in,
Be born in us to-day.
We hear the Christmas angels,
The great glad tidings tell;
O come to us, abide with us,
Our Lord Emmanuel!
Iran-Iraq War (1980-1988)
The Iran-Iraq War permanently altered the course of Iraqi history. It strained Iraqi political and social life, and led to severe economic dislocations. Viewed from a historical perspective, the outbreak of hostilities in 1980 was, in part, just another phase of the ancient Persian-Arab conflict that had been fueled by twentieth-century border disputes. Many observers, however, believe that Saddam Hussein's decision to invade Iran was a personal miscalculation based on ambition and a sense of vulnerability. Saddam Hussein, despite having made significant strides in forging an Iraqi nation-state, feared that Iran's new revolutionary leadership would threaten Iraq's delicate SunniShia balance and would exploit Iraq's geostrategic vulnerabilities--Iraq's minimal access to the Persian Gulf, for example. In this respect, Saddam Hussein's decision to invade Iran has historical precedent; the ancient rulers of Mesopotamia, fearing internal strife and foreign conquest, also engaged in frequent battles with the peoples of the highlands.
The Iran-Iraq War was multifaceted and included religious schisms, border disputes, and political differences. Conflicts contributing to the outbreak of hostilities ranged from centuries-old Sunni-versus-Shia and Arab-versus-Persian religious and ethnic disputes, to a personal animosity between Saddam Hussein and Ayatollah Khomeini. Above all, Iraq launched the war in an effort to consolidate its rising power in the Arab world and to replace Iran as the dominant Persian Gulf state. Phebe Marr, a noted analyst of Iraqi affairs, stated that "the war was more immediately the result of poor political judgement and miscalculation on the part of Saddam Hussein," and "the decision to invade, taken at a moment of Iranian weakness, was Saddam's".
Iraq claimed territories inhabited by Arabs (the Southwestern oil-producing province of Iran called Khouzestan), as well as Iraq's right over Shatt el-Arab (Arvandroud). Iraq and Iran had engaged in border clashes for many years and had revived the dormant Shatt al Arab waterway dispute in 1979. Iraq claimed the 200-kilometer channel up to the Iranian shore as its territory, while Iran insisted that the thalweg--a line running down the middle of the waterway--negotiated last in 1975, was the official border. The Iraqis, especially the Baath leadership, regarded the 1975 treaty as merely a truce, not a definitive settlement.
The Iraqis also perceived revolutionary Iran's Islamic agenda as threatening to their pan-Arabism. Khomeini, bitter over his expulsion from Iraq in 1977 after fifteen years in An Najaf, vowed to avenge Shia victims of Baathist repression. Baghdad became more confident, however, as it watched the once invincible Imperial Iranian Army disintegrate, as most of its highest ranking officers were executed. In Khuzestan (Arabistan to the Iraqis), Iraqi intelligence officers incited riots over labor disputes, and in the Kurdish region, a new rebellion caused the Khomeini government severe troubles.
As the Baathists planned their military campaign, they had every reason to be confident. Not only did the Iranians lack cohesive leadership, but the Iranian armed forces, according to Iraqi intelligence estimates, also lacked spare parts for their American-made equipment. Baghdad, on the other hand, possessed fully equipped and trained forces. Morale was running high. Against Iran's armed forces, including the Pasdaran (Revolutionary Guard) troops, led by religious mullahs with little or no military experience, the Iraqis could muster twelve complete mechanized divisions, equipped with the latest Soviet materiel. With the Iraqi military buildup in the late 1970s, Saddam Hussein had assembled an army of 190,000 men, augmented by 2,200 tanks and 450 aircraft.
In addition, the area across the Shatt al Arab posed no major obstacles, particularly for an army equipped with Soviet river-crossing equipment. Iraqi commanders correctly assumed that crossing sites on the Khardeh and Karun rivers were lightly defended against their mechanized armor divisions; moreover, Iraqi intelligence sources reported that Iranian forces in Khuzestan, which had formerly included two divisions distributed among Ahvaz, Dezful, and Abadan, now consisted of only a number of ill-equipped battalion-sized formations. Tehran was further disadvantaged because the area was controlled by the Regional 1st Corps headquartered at Bakhtaran (formerly Kermanshah), whereas operational control was directed from the capital. In the year following the shah's overthrow, only a handful of company-sized tank units had been operative, and the rest of the armored equipment had been poorly maintained.
For Iraqi planners, the only uncertainty was the fighting ability of the Iranian air force, equipped with some of the most sophisticated American-made aircraft. Despite the execution of key air force commanders and pilots, the Iranian air force had displayed its might during local riots and demonstrations. The air force was also active in the wake of the failed United States attempt to rescue American hostages in April 1980. This show of force had impressed Iraqi decision makers to such an extent that they decided to launch a massive preemptive air strike on Iranian air bases in an effort similar to the one that Israel employed during the June 1967 Arab-Israeli War.
Iraqi Offensives, 1980-82
Despite the Iraqi government's concern, the eruption of the 1979 Islamic Revolution in Iran did not immediately destroy the Iraqi-Iranian rapprochement that had prevailed since the 1975 Algiers Agreement. As a sign of Iraq's desire to maintain good relations with the new government in Tehran, President Bakr sent a personal message to Khomeini offering "his best wishes for the friendly Iranian people on the occasion of the establishment of the Islamic Republic." In addition, as late as the end of August 1979, Iraqi authorities extended an invitation to Mehdi Bazargan, the first president of the Islamic Republic of Iran, to visit Iraq with the aim of improving bilateral relations. The fall of the moderate Bazargan government in late 1979, however, and the rise of Islamic militants preaching an expansionist foreign policy soured Iraqi-Iranian relations.
The principal events that touched off the rapid deterioration in relations occurred during the spring of 1980. In April the Iranian-supported Ad Dawah attempted to assassinate Iraqi foreign minister Tariq Aziz. Shortly after the failed grenade attack on Tariq Aziz, Ad Dawah was suspected of attempting to assassinate another Iraqi leader, Minister of Culture and Information Latif Nayyif Jasim. In response, the Iraqis immediately rounded up members and supporters of Ad Dawah and deported to Iran thousands of Shias of Iranian origin. In the summer of 1980, Saddam Hussein ordered the executions of presumed Ad Dawah leader Ayatollah Sayyid Muhammad Baqr as Sadr and his sister.
In September 1980, border skirmishes erupted in the central sector near Qasr-e Shirin, with an exchange of artillery fire by both sides. A few weeks later, Saddam Hussein officially abrogated the 1975 treaty between Iraq and Iran and announced that the Shatt al Arab was returning to Iraqi sovereignty. Iran rejected this action and hostilities escalated as the two sides exchanged bombing raids deep into each other's territory, beginning what was to be a protracted and extremely costly war.
Baghdad originally planned a quick victory over Tehran. Saddam expected the invasion of the in the Arabic-speaking, oil-rich area of Khuzistan to result in an Arab uprising against Khomeini's fundamentalist Islamic regime. This revolt did not materialize, however, and the Arab minority remained loyal to Tehran.
On September 22, 1980, formations of Iraqi MiG-23s and MiG21s attacked Iran's air bases at Mehrabad and Doshen-Tappen (both near Tehran), as well as Tabriz, Bakhtaran, Ahvaz, Dezful, Urmia (sometimes cited as Urumiyeh), Hamadan, Sanandaj, and Abadan. Their aim was to destroy the Iranian air force on the ground--a lesson learned from the Arab-Israeli June 1967 War. They succeeded in destroying runways and fuel and ammunition depots, but much of Iran's aircraft inventory was left intact. Iranian defenses were caught by surprise, but the Iraqi raids failed because Iranian jets were protected in specially strengthened hangars and because bombs designed to destroy runways did not totally incapacitate Iran's very large airfields. Within hours, Iranian F-4 Phantoms took off from the same bases, successfully attacked strategically important targets close to major Iraqi cities, and returned home with very few losses.
Simultaneously, six Iraqi army divisions entered Iran on three fronts in an initially successful surprise attack, where they drove as far as eight kilometers inland and occupied 1,000 square kilometers of Iranian territory.
As a diversionary move on the northern front, an Iraqi mechanized mountain infantry division overwhelmed the border garrison at Qasr-e Shirin, a border town in Bakhtaran (formerly known as Kermanshahan) Province, and occupied territory thirty kilometers eastward to the base of the Zagros Mountains. This area was strategically significant because the main Baghdad-Tehran highway traversed it.
On the central front, Iraqi forces captured Mehran, on the western plain of the Zagros Mountains in Ilam Province, and pushed eastward to the mountain base. Mehran occupied an important position on the major north-south road, close to the border on the Iranian side.
The main thrust of the attack was in the south, where five armored and mechanized divisions invaded Khuzestan on two axes, one crossing over the Shatt al Arab near Basra, which led to the siege and eventual occupation of Khorramshahr, and the second heading for Susangerd, which had Ahvaz, the major military base in Khuzestan, as its objective. Iraqi armored units easily crossed the Shatt al Arab waterway and entered the Iranian province of Khuzestan. Dehloran and several other towns were targeted and were rapidly occupied to prevent reinforcement from Bakhtaran and from Tehran. By mid-October, a full division advanced through Khuzestan headed for Khorramshahr and Abadan and the strategic oil fields nearby. Other divisions headed toward Ahvaz, the provincial capital and site of an air base. Supported by heavy artillery fire, the troops made a rapid and significant advance--almost eighty kilometers in the first few days. In the battle for Dezful in Khuzestan, where a major air base is located, the local Iranian army commander requested air support in order to avoid a defeat. President Bani Sadr, therefore, authorized the release from jail of many pilots, some of whom were suspected of still being loyal to the shah. With the increased use of the Iranian air force, the Iraqi progress was somewhat curtailed.
The last major Iraqi territorial gain took place in early November 1980. On November 3, Iraqi forces reached Abadan but were repulsed by a Pasdaran unit. Even though they surrounded Abadan on three sides and occupied a portion of the city, the Iraqis could not overcome the stiff resistance; sections of the city still under Iranian control were resupplied by boat at night. On November 10, Iraq captured Khorramshahr after a bloody house-to-house fight. The price of this victory was high for both sides, approximately 6,000 casualties for Iraq and even more for Iran.
Iraq's blitz-like assaults against scattered and demoralized Iranian forces led many observers to think that Baghdad would win the war within a matter of weeks. Indeed, Iraqi troops did capture the Shatt al Arab and did seize a forty-eight-kilometer- wide strip of Iranian territory.
Iran may have prevented a quick Iraqi victory by a rapid mobilization of volunteers and deployment of loyal Pasdaran forces to the front. Besides enlisting the Iranian pilots, the new revolutionary regime also recalled veterans of the old imperial army, although many experienced officers, most of whom had been trained in the United States, had been purged. Furthermore, the Pasdaran and Basij (what Khomeini called the "Army of Twenty Million" or People's Militia) recruited at least 100,000 volunteers. Approximately 200,000 soldiers were sent to the front by the end of November 1980. They were ideologically committed troops (some members even carried their own shrouds to the front in the expectation of martyrdom) that fought bravely despite inadequate armor support. For example, on November 7 commando units played a significant role, with the navy and air force, in an assault on Iraqi oil export terminals at Mina al Bakr and Al Faw. Iran hoped to diminish Iraq's financial resources by reducing its oil revenues. Iran also attacked the northern pipeline in the early days of the war and persuaded Syria to close the Iraqi pipeline that crossed its territory.
Iran's resistance at the outset of the Iraqi invasion was unexpectedly strong, but it was neither well organized nor equally successful on all fronts. Iraq easily advanced in the northern and central sections and crushed the Pasdaran's scattered resistance there. Iraqi troops, however, faced untiring resistance in Khuzestan. President Saddam Hussein of Iraq may have thought that the approximately 3 million Arabs of Khuzestan would join the Iraqis against Tehran. Instead, many allied with Iran's regular and irregular armed forces and fought in the battles at Dezful, Khorramshahr, and Abadan. Soon after capturing Khorramshahr, the Iraqi troops lost their initiative and began to dig in along their line of advance.
Tehran rejected a settlement offer and held the line against the militarily superior Iraqi force. It refused to accept defeat, and slowly began a series of counteroffensives in January 1981. Both the volunteers and the regular armed forces were eager to fight, the latter seeing an opportunity to regain prestige lost because of their association with the shah's regime.
Iran's first major counterattack failed, however, for political and military reasons. President Bani Sadr was engaged in a power struggle with key religious figures and eager to gain political support among the armed forces by direct involvement in military operations. Lacking military expertise, he initiated a premature attack by three regular armored regiments without the assistance of the Pasdaran units. He also failed to take into account that the ground near Susangerd, muddied by the preceding rainy season, would make resupply difficult. As a result of his tactical decision making, the Iranian forces were surrounded on three sides. In a long exchange of fire, many Iranian armored vehicles were destroyed or had to be abandoned because they were either stuck in the mud or needed minor repairs. Fortunately for Iran, however, the Iraqi forces failed to follow up with another attack.
Iran stopped Iraqi forces on the Karun River and, with limited military stocks, unveiled its "human wave" assaults, which used thousands of Basij (Popular Mobilization Army or People's Army) volunteers. After Bani Sadr was ousted as president and commander in chief, Iran gained its first major victory, when, as a result of Khomeini's initiative, the army and Pasdaran suppressed their rivalry and cooperated to force Baghdad to lift its long siege of Abadan in September 1981. Iranian forces also defeated Iraq in the Qasr-e Shirin area in December 1981 and January 1982. The Iraqi armed forces were hampered by their unwillingness to sustain a high casualty rate and therefore refused to initiate a new offensive.
Despite Iraqi success in causing major damage to exposed Iranian ammunition and fuel dumps in the early days of the war, the Iranian air force prevailed initially in the air war. One reason was that Iranian airplanes could carry two or three times more bombs or rockets than their Iraqi counterparts. Moreover, Iranian pilots demonstrated considerable expertise. For example, the Iranian air force attacked Baghdad and key Iraqi air bases as early as the first few weeks of the war, seeking to destroy supply and support systems. The attack on Iraq's oil field complex and air base at Al Walid, the base for T-22 and Il-28 bombers, was a well-coordinated assault. The targets were more than 800 kilometers from Iran's closest air base at Urumiyeh, so the F-4s had to refuel in midair for the mission. Iran's air force relied on F-4s and F-5s for assaults and a few F-14s for reconnaissance. Although Iran used its Maverick missiles effectively against ground targets, lack of airplane spare parts forced Iran to substitute helicopters for close air support. Helicopters served not only as gunships and troop carriers but also as emergency supply transports. In the mountainous area near Mehran, helicopters proved advantageous in finding and destroying targets and maneuvering against antiaircraft guns or man-portable missiles. During Operation Karbala Five and Operation Karbala Six, the Iranians reportedly engaged in large-scale helicopter-borne operations on the southern and central fronts, respectively. Chinooks and smaller Bell helicopters, such as the Bell 214A, were escorted by Sea Cobra choppers.
In confronting the Iraqi air defense, Iran soon discovered that a low-flying group of two, three, or four F-4s could hit targets almost anywhere in Iraq. Iranian pilots overcame Iraqi SA-2 and SA-3 antiaircraft missiles, using American tactics developed in Vietnam; they were less successful against Iraqi SA-6s. Iran's Western-made air defense system seemed more effective than Iraq's Soviet-made counterpart. Nevertheless, Iran experienced difficulty in operating and maintaining Hawk, Rapier, and Tigercat missiles and instead used antiaircraft guns and man-portable missiles.
Iraqi Retreats, 1982-84
The Iranian high command passed from regular military leaders to clergy in mid-1982.
In March 1982, Tehran launched its Operation Undeniable Victory, which marked a major turning point, as Iran penetrated Iraq's "impenetrable" lines, split Iraq's forces, and forced the Iraqis to retreat. Its forces broke the Iraqi line near Susangerd, separating Iraqi units in northern and southern Khuzestan. Within a week, they succeeded in destroying a large part of three Iraqi divisions. This operation, another combined effort of the army, Pasdaran, and Basij, was a turning point in the war because the strategic initiative shifted from Iraq to Iran.
In May 1982, Iranian units finally regained Khorramshahr, but with high casualties. After this victory, the Iranians maintained the pressure on the remaining Iraqi forces, and President Saddam Hussein announced that the Iraqi units would withdraw from Iranian territory. Saddam ordered a withdrawal to the international borders, believing Iran would agree to end the war. Iran did not accept this withdrawal as the end of the conflict, and continued the war into Iraq. In late June 1982, Baghdad stated its willingness to negotiate a settlement of the war and to withdraw its forces from Iran. Iran refused.
In July 1982 Iran launched Operation Ramadan on Iraqi territory, near Basra. Although Basra was within range of Iranian artillery, the clergy used "human-wave" attacks by the Pasdaran and Basij against the city's defenses, apparently waiting for a coup to topple Saddam Hussein. Tehran used Pasdaran forces and Basij volunteers in one of the biggest land battles since 1945. Ranging in age from only nine to more than fifty, these eager but relatively untrained soldiers swept over minefields and fortifications to clear safe paths for the tanks. All such assaults faced Iraqi artillery fire and received heavy casualties. The Iranians sustained an immmense number of casualties, but they enabled Iran to recover some territory before the Iraqis could repulse the bulk of the invading forces.
By the end of 1982, Iraq had been resupplied with new Soviet materiel, and the ground war entered a new phase. Iraq used newly acquired T-55 tanks and T-62 tanks, BM-21 Stalin Organ rocket launchers, and Mi-24 helicopter gunships to prepare a Soviet-type three-line defense, replete with obstacles, minefields, and fortified positions. The Combat Engineer Corps proved efficient in constructing bridges across water obstacles, in laying minefields, and in preparing new defense lines and fortifications.
Throughout 1983 both sides demonstrated their ability to absorb and to inflict severe losses. Iraq, in particular, proved adroit at constructing defensive strong points and flooding lowland areas to stymie the Iranian thrusts, hampering the advance of mechanized units. Both sides also experienced difficulties in effectively utilizing their armor. Rather than maneuver their armor, they tended to dig in tanks and use them as artillery pieces. Furthermore, both sides failed to master tank gunsights and fire controls, making themselves vulnerable to antitank weapons.
In 1983 Iran launched three major, but unsuccessful, humanwave offensives, with huge losses, along the frontier. On February 6, Tehran, using 200,000 "last reserve" Pasdaran troops, attacked along a 40-kilometer stretch near Al Amarah, about 200 kilometers southeast of Baghdad. Backed by air, armor, and artillery support, Iran's six-division thrust was strong enough to break through. In response, Baghdad used massive air attacks, with more than 200 sorties, many flown by attack helicopters. More than 6,000 Iranians were killed that day, while achieving only minute gains. In April 1983, the Mandali-Baghdad northcentral sector witnessed fierce fighting, as repeated Iranian attacks were stopped by Iraqi mechanized and infantry divisions. Casualties were very high, and by the end of 1983, an estimated 120,000 Iranians and 60,000 Iraqis had been killed. Despite these losses, in 1983 Iran held a distinct advantage in the attempt to wage and eventually to win the war of attrition.
Beginning in 1984, Baghdad's military goal changed from controlling Iranian territory to denying Tehran any major gain inside Iraq. Furthermore, Iraq tried to force Iran to the negotiating table by various means. First, President Saddam Hussein sought to increase the war's manpower and economic cost to Iran. For this purpose, Iraq purchased new weapons, mainly from the Soviet Union and France. Iraq also completed the construction of what came to be known as "killing zones" (which consisted primarily of artificially flooded areas near Basra) to stop Iranian units. In addition, according to Jane's Defence Weekly and other sources, Baghdad used chemical weapons against Iranian troop concentrations and launched attacks on many economic centers. Despite Iraqi determination to halt further Iranian progress, Iranian units in March 1984 captured parts of the Majnun Islands, whose oil fields had economic as well as strategic value.
Second, Iraq turned to diplomatic and political means. In April 1984, Saddam Hussein proposed to meet Khomeini personally in a neutral location to discuss peace negotiations. But Tehran rejected this offer and restated its refusal to negotiate with President Hussein.
Third, Iraq sought to involve the superpowers as a means of ending the war. The Iraqis believed this objective could be achieved by attacking Iranian shipping. Initially, Baghdad used borrowed French Super Etendard aircraft armed with Exocets. In 1984 Iraq returned these airplanes to France and purchased approximately thirty Mirage F-1 fighters equipped with Exocet missiles. Iraq launched a new series of attacks on shipping on February 1, 1984.
The War of Attrition, 1984-87
By 1984 it was reported that some 300,000 Iranian soldiers and 250,000 Iraqi troops had been killed, or wounded. Most foreign military analysts felt that neither Iraq nor Iran used its modern equipment efficiently. Frequently, sophisticated materiel was left unused, when a massive modern assault could have won the battle for either side. Tanks and armored vehicles were dug in and used as artillery pieces, instead of being maneuvered to lead or to support an assault. William O. Staudenmaeir, a seasoned military analyst, reported that "the land-computing sights on the Iraqi tanks [were] seldom used. This lower[ed] the accuracy of the T-62 tanks to World War II standards." In addition, both sides frequently abandoned heavy equipment in the battle zone because they lacked the skilled technical personnel needed to carry out minor repairs.
Analysts also assert that the two states' armies showed little coordination and that some units in the field have been left to fight largely on their own. In this protracted war of attrition, soldiers and officers alike failed to display initiative or professional expertise in combat. Difficult decisions, which should have had immediate attention, were referred by section commanders to the capitals for action. Except for the predictable bursts on important anniversaries, by the mid-1980s the war was stalemated.
In early 1984, Iran had begun Operation Dawn V, which was meant to split the Iraqi 3rd Army Corps and 4th Army Corps near Basra. In early 1984, an estimated 500,000 Pasdaran and Basij forces, using shallow boats or on foot, moved to within a few kilometers of the strategic Basra-Baghdad waterway. Between February 29 and March 1, in one of the largest battles of the war, the two armies clashed and inflicted more than 25,000 fatalities on each other. Without armored and air support of their own, the Iranians faced Iraqi tanks, mortars, and helicopter gunships. Within a few weeks, Tehran opened another front in the shallow lakes of the Hawizah Marshes, just east of Al Qurnah, in Iraq, near the confluence of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. Iraqi forces, using Soviet- and French-made helicopter gunships, inflicted heavy casualties on the five Iranian brigades (15,000 men) in this Battle of Majnun.
Lacking the equipment to open secure passages through Iraqi minefields, and having too few tanks, the Iranian command again resorted to the human-wave tactic. In March 1984, an East European journalist claimed that he "saw tens of thousands of children, roped together in groups of about twenty to prevent the faint-hearted from deserting, make such an attack." The Iranians made little, if any, progress despite these sacrifices. Perhaps as a result of this performance, Tehran, for the first time, used a regular army unit, the 92nd Armored Division, at the Battle of the Marshes a few weeks later.
Within a four-week period between February and March 1984, the Iraqis reportedly killed 40,000 Iranians and lost 9,000 of their own men, but even this was deemed an unacceptable ratio, and in February the Iraqi command ordered the use of chemical weapons. Despite repeated Iraqi denials, between May 1981 and March 1984, Iran charged Iraq with forty uses of chemical weapons. The year 1984 closed with part of the Majnun Islands and a few pockets of Iraqi territory in Iranian hands. Casualties notwithstanding, Tehran had maintained its military posture, while Baghdad was reevaluating its overall strategy.
The major development in 1985 was the increased targeting of population centers and industrial facilities by both combatants. In May Iraq began aircraft attacks, long-range artillery attacks, and surface-to-surface missile attacks on Tehran and on other major Iranian cities. Between August and November, Iraq raided Khark Island forty-four times in a futile attempt to destroy its installations. Iran responded with its own air raids and missile attacks on Baghdad and other Iraqi towns. In addition, Tehran systematized its periodic stop-and-search operations, which were conducted to verify the cargo contents of ships in the Persian Gulf and to seize war materiel destined for Iraq.
The Iraqi Air Force's first real strategic bombing campaign, the so-called war of the cities, aimed at breaking civilian morale and disrupting military targets. Iraq's two efforts early in 1985, from 14 March to 7 April and 25 May to 15 June, were reportedly very effective. Opposition from the Iranian Air Force was negligible to nonexistent, as the Iraqis hit air bases and military and industrial targets all over Iran (in Tabriz, Urmia, Rasht, Bakhteran, Hamadan, Tehran, Isfahan, Dezful, Ahvaz, Kharg, Bushehr, and Shiraz). Even Iraq's lumbering old Tu-16 bombers were getting through, presumably with MiG-25 and Mirage F-1 escorts, as the Iraqis hit targets as far away as Kashan, more than 360 miles from their own bases. Iran's official Kayhan daily confirmed this, reporting that Tehran was being bombed by "Tupolevs (Tu-16 Badger and Tu-22 Blinder bombers) flying at very high altitudes." The brunt of Iraq's bombing offensive, borne by nearly 600 smaller Iraqi combat planes, has fallen on Tehran in an effort to crush Iranian morale. the Iraqis boasted of 180-plane raids on the Iranian capital. Antiwar feeling in Tehran was at an all-time high, as the Iraqis hit the city an average of twice a day and, on two occasions, six times. Among the areas hit were the Bagh-e Saba Revolutionary Guard Barracks, Tehran's main power station, the Military Staff College, the Military Academy, the main army barracks, and the Abbas Abbad Army Base. Southern Tehran's locomotive works and the heavy industrial area near Javadieh were also hit, and even the three military airfields that were supposed to protect the city-Mehrabad, Jey, and Qual'eh Murgeh-were repeatedly attacked with impunity.
Iraq's air force and 'Scud' stikes at Iranian cities pushed the Islamic Republic to look for a comparable response. Iran began the Iran-Iraq War with no SSM capability but managed to import SS-1 'Scud Bs' (R-17Es) in 1985 from Libya and in 1986 from Syria. The Revolutionary Guard Corps, which took charge of the weapons, used them against Iraq between 1985 and 1988. Iran used 'Scud Bs' from Syria, Libya and possibly North Korea against major cities, including Baghdad and Basra. During this first war of the cities, Iran's strategic depth prevented Iraq's missiles from reaching major targets such as Tehran. By 1988, however, Iraq had developed its extended range 'Scud', the al-Hussein, and took Iran by surprise with its strikes on key urban conurbations. In the spring of 1988, Iraq launched up to 200 SSMs against Tehran, Qom and Isfahan. Although only 2000 people were killed in these attacks, they caused panic in the populace and hundreds of thousands fled the cities.
During the war, Iranian leaders frequently exaggerated their capabilities in the missile field. Although their 'Scud Bs' could hit Baghdad, these weapons lacked the accuracy or destructive power to do significant damage. In addition, Iran was unable to match Iraq's quantity of missiles. Iraq fired 361 'Scud Bs' at Iran from 1982 to 1988 and about 160 al-Hussein's at Tehran in early 1988. In contrast, Iran fired 117 'Scuds' throughout the war, including perhaps 60 fired at Baghdad.
The only major ground offensive, involving an estimated 60,000 Iranian troops, occurred in March 1985, near Basra; once again, the assault proved inconclusive except for heavy casualties. In 1986, however, Iraq suffered a major loss in the southern region. On February 9, Iran launched a successful surprise amphibious assault across the Shatt al Arab and captured the abandoned Iraqi oil port of Al Faw. The occupation of Al Faw, a logistical feat, involved 30,000 regular Iranian soldiers who rapidly entrenched themselves. Saddam Hussein vowed to eliminate the bridgehead "at all costs," and in April 1988 the Iraqis succeeded in regaining the Al Faw peninsula.
Late, in March 1986, the UN secretary general, Javier Perez de Cuellar, formally accused Iraq of using chemical weapons against Iran. Citing the report of four chemical warfare experts whom the UN had sent to Iran in February and March 1986, the secretary general called on Baghdad to end its violation of the 1925 Geneva Protocol on the use of chemical weapons. The UN report concluded that "Iraqi forces have used chemical warfare against Iranian forces"; the weapons used included both mustard gas and nerve gas. The report further stated that "the use of chemical weapons appear[ed] to be more extensive [in 1981] than in 1984." Iraq attempted to deny using chemicals, but the evidence, in the form of many badly burned casualties flown to European hospitals for treatment, was overwhelming. According to a British representative at the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva in July 1986, "Iraqi chemical warfare was responsible for about 10,000 casualties." In March 1988, Iraq was again charged with a major use of chemical warfare while retaking Halabjah, a Kurdish town in northeastern Iraq, near the Iranian border.
Unable in 1986, however, to dislodge the Iranians from Al Faw, the Iraqis went on the offensive; they captured the city of Mehran in May, only to lose it in July 1986. The rest of 1986 witnessed small hit-and-run attacks by both sides, while the Iranians massed almost 500,000 troops for another promised "final offensive," which did not occur. But the Iraqis, perhaps for the first time since the outbreak of hostilities, began a concerted air-strike campaign in July. Heavy attacks on Khark Island forced Iran to rely on makeshift installations farther south in the Gulf at Sirri Island and Larak Island. Thereupon, Iraqi jets, refueling in midair or using a Saudi military base, hit Sirri and Larak. The two belligerents also attacked 111 neutral ships in the Gulf in 1986.
Meanwhile, to help defend itself, Iraq had built impressive fortifications along the 1,200-kilometer war front. Iraq devoted particular attention to the southern city of Basra, where concrete-roofed bunkers, tank- and artillery-firing positions, minefields, and stretches of barbed wire, all shielded by an artificially flooded lake 30 kilometers long and 1,800 meters wide, were constructed. Most visitors to the area acknowledged Iraq's effective use of combat engineering to erect these barriers.
By late 1986, rumors of a final Iranian offensive against Basra proliferated. On 08 January 1987, Operation Karbala Five began, with Iranian units pushing westward between Fish Lake and the Shatt al Arab. This annual "final offensive" captured the town of Duayji and inflicted 20,000 casualties on Iraq, but at the cost of 65,000 Iranian casualties. In this intensive operation, Baghdad also lost forty-five airplanes. Attempting to capture Basra, Tehran launched several attacks, some of them well-disguised diversion assaults such as Operation Karbala Six and Operation Karbala Seven. Iran finally aborted Operation Karbala Five on 26 February 1987. Although the Iranian push came close to breaking Iraq's last line of defense east of Basra, Tehran was unable to score the decisive breakthrough required to win outright victory, or even to secure relative gains over Iraq.
In late May 1987, just when the war seemed to have reached a complete stalemate on the southern front, reports from Iran indicated that the conflict was intensifying on Iraq's northern front. This assault, Operation Karbala Ten, was a joint effort by Iranian units and Iraqi Kurdish rebels. They surrounded the garrison at Mawat, endangering Iraq's oil fields near Kirkuk and the northern oil pipeline to Turkey.
Believing it could win the war merely by holding the line and inflicting unacceptable losses on the attacking Iranians, Iraq initially adopted a static defensive strategy. This was successful in repelling successive Iranian offensives until 1986 and 1987, when the Al-Faw peninsula was lost and Iranian troops reached the gates of Al-Basrah. Embarrassed by the loss of the peninsula and concerned by the threat to his second largest city, Saddam ordered a change in strategy. From a defensive posture, in which the only offensive operations were counterattacks to relieve forces under pressure or to exploit failed Iranian assaults, the Iraqis adopted an offensive strategy. More decision-making authority was delegated to senior military commanders. The change also indicated a maturing of Iraqi military capabilities and an improvement in the armed forces' effectiveness. The success of this new strategy, plus the attendant change in doctrine and procedures, virtually eliminated Iranian military capabilities.
As the war continued, Iran was increasingly short of spare parts for damaged airplanes and had lost a large number of airplanes in combat. As a result, by late 1987 Iran had become less able to mount an effective defense against the resupplied Iraqi air force, let alone stage aerial counterattacks.
Coordinates: 32°N 53°E / 32°N 53°E
| Islamic Republic of Iran
جمهوری اسلامی ایران
Jomhuri-ye Eslāmi-ye Irān |
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| Motto: استقلال. آزادی. جمهوری اسلامی Independence, Freedom, Islamic Republic |
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| Anthem: جمهوری اسلامی ایران National Anthem of the Islamic Republic of Iran |
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.svg) |
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| Capital (and largest city) |
Tehran 35°41′N 51°25′E / 35.683°N 51.417°E |
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| Official languages | Persian | |||||
| Spoken languages | Persian, Azerbaijani, Kurdish, Lori, Gilaki, Mazandarani, Balochi, Arabic, Turkmen[1] | |||||
| Demonym | Iranian | |||||
| Government | Unitary state, Islamic republic | |||||
| - | Supreme Leader | Ali Khamenei | ||||
| - | President | Mahmoud Ahmadinejad | ||||
| - | First Vice President | Mohammad-Reza Rahimi | ||||
| - | Speaker of the Parliament | Ali Larijani | ||||
| - | Chief Justice | Sadeq Larijani | ||||
| Legislature | Islamic Consultative Assembly | |||||
| Unification[2] | ||||||
| - | Median Empire | 625 BCE | ||||
| - | Achaemenid Empire | 550 BCE | ||||
| - | Safavid Empire | 1501[3] | ||||
| - | Islamic Republic | 24 October 1979 | ||||
| - | Current constitution | |||||
| Area | ||||||
| - | Total | 1,648,195 km2 (18th) 636,372 sq mi |
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| - | Water (%) | 0.7 | ||||
| Population | ||||||
| - | 2012 census | 75,149,669[4] (17th) | ||||
| - | Density | 48/km2 (162rd) 124/sq mi |
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| GDP (PPP) | 2011 estimate | |||||
| - | Total | $990.219 billion[5] | ||||
| - | Per capita | $13,053[5] | ||||
| GDP (nominal) | 2011 estimate | |||||
| - | Total | $482.445 billion[5] | ||||
| - | Per capita | $6,359[5] | ||||
| Gini (2008) | 38[6] (medium) | |||||
| HDI (2011) |  0.707[7] (high) (88th) |
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| Currency | Rial (﷼) (IRR) |
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| Time zone | IRST (UTC+3:30) | |||||
| - | Summer (DST) | IRDT (UTC+4:30) | ||||
| Drives on the | right | |||||
| Calling code | 98 | |||||
| ISO 3166 code | IR | |||||
| Internet TLD | .ir, ایران. | |||||
| 1. | Bookrags.com | |||||
| 2. | Iranchamber.com | |||||
| 3. | Statistical Center of Iran. "جمعيت و متوسط رشد سالانه" (in Persian). http://www.sci.org.ir/content/userfiles/_sci/sci/SEL/f02/2.1.html. Retrieved 13 February 2009.[dead link][dead link] | |||||
| 4. | CIA Factbook | |||||
Iran (
i/ɪˈrɑːn/[8] or /aɪˈræn/;[9] Persian: ایران [ʔiˈɾɒn] (
listen)), officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (Persian: جمهوری اسلامی ایران, Jomhuri-ye Eslāmi-ye Irān), is a country in Western Asia.[10][11][12] The name "Iran", which in Persian means "Land of the Aryans", has been in native use since the Sassanian era. It came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia (pron.: /ˈpɜrʒə/ or /ˈpɜrʃə/).[9][13] Both "Persia" and "Iran" are used interchangeably in cultural contexts; however, "Iran" is the name used officially in political contexts.[14][15]
The 18th-largest country in the world in terms of area at 1,648,195 km2 (636,372 sq mi), Iran has a population of around 75 million.[10][16] It is a country of particular geopolitical significance owing to its location in three spheres of Asia (West, Central, and South). Iran is bordered on the north by Armenia, Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan. As Iran is a littoral state of the Caspian Sea, which is an inland sea, Kazakhstan and Russia are also Iran's direct neighbors to the north. Iran is bordered on the east by Afghanistan and Pakistan, on the south by the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman, on the west by Iraq and on the northwest by Turkey. Tehran is the capital, the country's largest city and the political, cultural, commercial and industrial center of the nation. Iran is a regional power,[17][18] and holds an important position in international energy security and world economy as a result of its large reserves of petroleum and natural gas. Iran has the second largest proven natural gas reserves in the world and the fourth largest proven petroleum reserves.[19]
Iran is home to one of the world's oldest civilizations.[20] The first dynasty in Iran formed during the Elamite kingdom in 2800 BC. The Iranian Medes unified Iran into an empire in 625 BC.[2] They were succeeded by the Iranian Achaemenid Empire, the Hellenic Seleucid Empire and two subsequent Iranian empires, the Parthians and the Sassanids, before the Muslim conquest in 651 AD. Iranian post-Islamic dynasties and empires expanded the Persian language and culture throughout the Iranian plateau. Early Iranian dynasties which re-asserted Iranian independence included the Tahirids, Saffarids, Samanids and Buyids.
The blossoming of Persian literature, philosophy, medicine, astronomy, mathematics and art became major elements of Muslim civilization. Iranian identity continued despite foreign rule in the ensuing centuries[21] and Persian culture was adopted also by the Ghaznavid,[22] Seljuk,[23][24] Ilkhanid[25] and Timurid[26] rulers. The emergence in 1501 of the Safavid dynasty,[3] which promoted Twelver Shia Islam[27] as the official religion of their empire, marked one of the most important turning points in Iranian and Muslim history.[28] The Persian Constitutional Revolution established the nation's first parliament in 1906, within a constitutional monarchy. Following a coup d'état instigated by the UK and US in 1953, Iran gradually became a more autocratic country. Growing dissent with foreign influence culminated during the Iranian Revolution which led to establishment of an Islamic republic on 1 April 1979.[16][29]
Iran is a founding member of the UN, NAM, OIC and OPEC. The political system of Iran, based on the 1979 constitution, comprises several intricately connected governing bodies. The highest state authority is the Supreme Leader. Shia Islam is the official religion and Persian is the official language.[30]
مشکلات سلامتی
به تصاوير زير خوب دقت کنيد و معني کلمات تيره را حدس بزنيد و بعد در پایین صفحه معنی آنها را ببینید.
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He has a sore throat. His throat hurts. He has a cough. |
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She hurt her back. She has a backache. Her back is sore. |
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He has a headache. His head hurts. |
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She hurt her toe. Her toe hurts. |
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She has cramps. |  |
He hurt his finger. He has a hurt finger. His finger hurts. |
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He has a bad cold. His nose is stuffy. He has a runnynose. |
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He has astomachache. His stomach hurts. |
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He has a fever. His temperature is up. His fever is up. |
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He has a bad cut. His arm is cut. |
معنی لغات
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پاورپوینت های آموزش زبان انگلیسی سال دوم راهنمایی
( تهیه شده توسط خانم آذری نیا دبیر زبان انگلیسی میاندوآب)
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درس ششم |
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درس دوم |
درس هفتم |
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درس سوم |
درس هشتم |
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درس چهارم |
درس نهم |
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درس پنجم |
درس دهم |
پاورپوینت های آموزش زبان انگلیسی سال دوم راهنمایی
( تهیه شده توسط خانم آذری نیا دبیر زبان انگلیسی میاندوآب)
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درس اول |
درس ششم |
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درس دوم |
درس هفتم |
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درس سوم |
درس هشتم |
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درس چهارم |
درس نهم |
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درس پنجم |
درس دهم |
Victor Company of Japan, Ltd , usually referred to as JVC, is a Japanese international consumer and professional electronics corporation based in Yokohama, Japan
Bayerische Motoren Werke AG (BMW; English: Bavarian Motor Works) is a German automobile, motorcycle and engine manufacturing company founded in 1917
Sony Mobile Communications AB (formerly Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications AB) is a multinational mobile phone manufacturing company headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, and a wholly owned subsidiary of Sony Corporation
LG Corporation is a South Korean chaebol (conglomerate). It is the second-largest company of its kind in South Korea,
Seiko Epson Corporation , commonly known as Epson, is a Japanese electronics company and one of the world's largest manufacturers of computer printers, information and imaging related equipment
BRAVIA is an in-house brand owned by Sony which produces high-definition LCD televisions, projection TVs and front projectors, home cinemas and the "BRAVIA Home Theatre" range for its parent company Sony KK
دانش آموزان عزیز مدارس استان لرستان در این مطلب جواب سوالات زبان انگلیسی المپیاد گذاشته شده است.
سوالات زیر از سوال 51 یا همان سوال 1 زبان گذاشته می شود.
سوال 51:گزینه ی 1
سوال 52:گزینه ی 4
سوال 53:گزینه ی 1
سوال 54:گزینه ی 4
سوال 55: گزینه ی 2
سوال 56: گزینه ی 3
سوال 57: گزینه ی 3
سوال 58:گزینه ی 4
سوال 59: گزینه ی2
سوال 60: گزینه ی 3
فیلم مستند زبان انگلیسی برای علاقه مندان به یادگیری زبان.
برای دانلود بر روی عکس زیر کلیک کنید.
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ریاضیات =mathematics |
اعداد صحیح =integers |
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اعداد صحیح مثبت =positive integers |
اعداد صحیح منفی =negative integers |
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اعداد فرد =odd numbers |
اعداد زوج =even numbers |
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صورت کسر =numerator |
مخرج کسر =denominator |
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اعمال ریاضی =math operations |
اضافه کردن =add |
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تفریق کردن =subtract |
ضرب کردن =multiply |
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تقسیم کردن =divide |
حاصل جمع =sum |
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حاصل تفریق =difference |
حاصل ضرب =product |
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حاصل تقسیم =quotient |
مساله ریاضی =a math problem |
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مسائل لغوی =word problem |
متغیر =variable |
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معادله =equation |
حل.راه حل =solution |
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نمودار.گراف =graph |
جبر =algebra |
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هندسه =geometry |
مثلثات =trigonometry |
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حساب =calculus |
پاره خط =line segment |
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نقطه پایان =endpoint |
خط راست =straight line |
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A boy drew two parallel white lines on the black board…
پسرکی دو خط سفید و موازی روی تخته سیاه کشید...
"We can have the best life together…" The first line said the second.
خط اولی به دومی گفت:"ما میتوانیم با هم زندگی خوبی داشته باشیم."
The second line's hearth trembled and said frightening:" the best life?!!!"
خط دوم قلبش تپید و لرزان گفت:"بهترین زندگی؟!!!
At that time the teacher shouted loudly: "two parallel lines never get to each other" and the students repeated…
در همان زمان معلم بلند فریاد زد:"دو خط موازی هیچگاه به هم نمیرسند" و بچه ها نیز تکرار کردند...
Two parallel lines never get two each other unless one of them breaks itself to get to the other…
دو خط موازی هیچگاه به هم نمیرسند مگر اینکه یکی از آنها برای رسیدن به دیگری خود را بشکند...
actually gave him enough strength to reach the first branch of the tree.
The next day, after eating some more dung, he reached the second branch.
Finally after a week, there he was proudly perched at the top of the tree
"Well, why don't you nibble on some of my droppings?" replied the bull.
"They're packed with nutrients."
از نظر گاندی هفت موردی که بدون هفت مورد دیگر خطرناک هستند:
1-ثروت، بدون زحمت
2-لذت، بدون وجدان
3-دانش، بدون شخصیت
4-تجارت، بدون اخلاق
5-علم، بدون انسانیت
6-عبادت، بدون ایثار
7-سیاست، بدون شرافت
این هفت مورد را گاندی تنها چند روز پیش از مرگش بر روی یک تکه کاغذ نوشت و به نوه‌اش داد.
A certain man planted a rose and wanted it faithfully and before it blossomed, he examined it. He saw the bud that would soon blossom, but noticed thorns upon the stem and he thought,: How can any beautiful flower come from a plant burdened with so many sharp thorns?
مرد محققی گیاه رزی را کاشت ودائما به آن آب داد و قبل از شکوفه کردن ،به بررسی آن پرداخت. او دید که بزودی جوانه گل، شکوفه می دهد، اما متوجه خارهایی روی ساقه گل شد.با خود اندیشید: از گیاهی آزاردهنده با خارهای تیز، چطور گلی به این زیبایی می روید؟
Sadness by this thought, he neglected to water the rose, and just before it was ready to bloom…it died.
از این فکرها ناراحت شد و از آب دادن به گل غفلت کرد و درست قبل از اینکه گیاه گلی بدهد،پزمرده شد و مرد.
So it is with many people .within every soul there is a rose .the God-like qualities planted in us at birth, grow amid the thorns of our faults .many of us look at ourselves and see only the thorns, the defects
بدینسان گل با خیلی ها است..درون هر روحی ،گل رزی وجود دارد.ارزش های الهی(خوبی ها) با نفس کشیدن در درون ما در بین خارهای اشتباهات رشد کردند.خیلی از ما انسانها به خودمان نگاه می کنیم و تنها به دنبال اشتباهاتمان هستیم
We despair, thinking that nothing good can possibly come from us. We neglect to water the good within us, and eventually it dies. We never realize our potential
با این تفکر که هیچ کار خوبی از ما بر نمی آید، ناامید می شویم. ما خوبیهای درونمان را نادیده می گیریم و سرانجام آن می میرد.ما هرگز نیروهای بالقوه مان را کشف نمی کنیم
Some people do not see the rose within themselves; someone else must show it to them. One of the greatest gifts a person can posses is to be able to reach past the thorns of another, and find the rose within them
برخی ها ، گل رزی درونشان نمی یابند. شخص دیگری باید به آنها نشان دهد. یکی از بزرگترین نعمتهایی که یک شخص می تواند دارا باشد این است که بتواند خارها(اشتباهات) دیگران را نادیده بگیرد و گل رز(خوبی) درون آنها را پیدا کند
این یکی از ویژگیهای عشق است…که شخصی را نگاه کند ،اشتباهات او را بداند و آن شخص را به زندگی اش راه دهد. پس به دیگران کمک کنید تا درک کنند که می توانند بر اشتباهاتشان فائق آیند.اگر ما گل درونشان را به آنها نشان دهیم ،آنها خارهایشان را می شکنند.تنها پس از آن است که آنها می توانند بارها و بارها گل دهند
My mom only had one eye. I hated her... she was such an embarrassment.
مادر من فقط یك چشم داشت . من از اون متنفر بودم ... اون همیشه مایه خجالت من بود
She cooked for students & teachers to support the family
اون برای امرار معاش خانواده برای معلم ها و بچه مدرسه ای ها غذا می پخت
There was this one day during elementary school where my mom came to say hello
یك روز اومده بود دم در مدرسه كه به من سلام كنه و منو با خود به خونه ببره
I was so embarrassed. How could she do this to me
خیلی خجالت كشیدم . آخه اون چطور تونست این كار رو با من بكنه ؟
I ignored her, threw her a hateful look and ran out
به روی خودم نیاوردم ، فقط با تنفر بهش یه نگاه كردم و فوراً از اونجا دور شدم
The next day at school one of my classmates said, "EEEE, your mom only has one eye!"
روز بعد یكی از همكلاسی ها منو مسخره كرد و گفت هووو .. مامان تو فقط یك چشم داره
I wanted to bury myself. I also wanted my mom to just disappear
فقط دلم میخواست یك جوری خودم رو گم و گور كنم. كاش زمین دهن وا میكرد و منو ... كاش مادرم یه جوری گم و گور میشد...
So I confronted her that day and said, " If you're only gonna make me a laughing stock, why don't you just die?!!!"
روز بعد بهش گفتم اگه واقعاً میخوای منو شاد و خوشحال كنی چرا نمی میری؟!
My mom did not respond...
اون هیچ جوابی نداد....
I didn't even stop to think for a second about what I had said, because I was full of anger
حتی یك لحظه هم راجع به حرفی كه زدم فكر نكردم، چون خیلی عصبانی بودم.
I was oblivious to her feelings
احساسات اون برای من هیچ اهمیتی نداشت
I wanted out of that house, and have nothing to do with her
دلم میخواست از اون خونه برم و دیگه هیچ كاری با اون نداشته باشم
So I studied real hard, got a chance to go to Singapore to study
سخت درس خوندم و موفق شدم برای ادامه تحصیل به سنگاپور برم
Then, I got married. I bought a house of my own. I had kids of my own
اونجا ازدواج كردم، واسه خودم خونه خریدم، زن و بچه و زندگی...
I was happy with my life, my kids and the comforts
از زندگی، بچه ها و آسایشی كه داشتم خوشحال بودم
Then one day, my mother came to visit me
تا اینكه یه روز مادرم اومد به دیدن من
She hadn't seen me in years and she didn't even meet her grandchildren
اون سالها منو ندیده بود و همینطور نوه ها شو
When she stood by the door, my children laughed at her, and I yelled at her for coming over uninvited
وقتی ایستاده بود دم در بچه ها به اون خندیدند و من سرش داد كشیدم كه چرا خودش رو دعوت كرده كه بیاد اینجا، اونم بی خبر
I screamed at her, "How dare you come to my house and scare my children!" GET OUT OF HERE! NOW!!!"
سرش داد زدم: چطور جرات كردی بیای به خونه من و بجه ها رو بترسونی؟!
گم شو از اینجا! همین حالا
And to this, my mother quietly answered, "Oh, I'm so sorry. I may have gotten the wrong address," and she disappeared out of sight
اون به آرامی جواب داد: " اوه خیلی معذرت میخوام مثل اینكه آدرس رو عوضی اومدم" و بعد فورا! رفت و از نظر ناپدید شد.
One day, a letter regarding a school reunion came to my house in Singapore
یك روز یك دعوت نامه اومد در خونه من درسنگاپور برای شركت در جشن تجدید دیدار دانش آموزان مدرسه
So I lied to my wife that I was going on a business trip
ولی من به همسرم به دروغ گفتم كه به یك سفر كاری میرم .
After the reunion, I went to the old shack just out of curiosity
بعد از مراسم ، رفتم به اون كلبه قدیمی خودمون؛ البته فقط از روی كنجكاوی.
My neighbors said that she is died.
همسایه ها گفتن كه اون مرده ...
I did not shed a single tear.
ولی من حتی یك قطره اشك هم نریختم
They handed me a letter that she had wanted me to have.
اونا یك نامه به من دادند كه اون ازشون خواسته بود كه به من بدن
"My dearest son, I think of you all the time. I'm sorry that I came to Singapore and scared your children.
... ای عزیزترین پسر من، من همیشه به فكر تو بوده ام، منو ببخش كه به خونت تو سنگاپور اومدم و بچه هاتو ترسوندم،
I was so glad when I heard you were coming for the reunion.
خیلی خوشحال شدم وقتی شنیدم داری میای اینجا
But I may not be able to even get out of bed to see you.
ولی من ممكنه كه نتونم از جام بلند شم كه بیام تو رو ببینم
I'm sorry that I was a constant embarrassment to you when you were growing up.
میشدی از اینكه دائم باعث خجالت تو شدم خیلی متاسفم وقتی داشتی بزرگ
You see........when you were very little, you got into an accident, and lost your eye.
آخه میدونی ... وقتی تو خیلی كوچیك بودی تو یه تصادف یك چشمت رو از دست دادی
As a mother, I couldn't stand watching you having to grow up with one eye.
به عنوان یك مادر نمی تونستم تحمل كنم و ببینم كه تو داری بزرگ میشی با یك چشم
So I gave you mine.
رو دادم به تو بنابراین چشم خودم
I was so proud of my son who was seeing a whole new world for me, in my place, with that eye.
كه پسرم میتونست با اون چشم به جای من دنیای جدید رو بطور كامل ببینه برای من افتخار بود
With my love to you,
با همه عشق و علاقه من به تو
MOM
مادر
I LOVE YOU
دوستت دارم
Shab-e Yaldā or Shab-e Chelleh is an Iranian festival originally celebrated on the Northern Hemisphere’s longest night of the year, that is, on the eve of the Winter Solstice.
The Islamic Revolution, 1978-79
The chain of events that ended in February 1979 with the overthrow of the Pahlavi regime and the foundation of the Islamic Republic began with the death in Najaf on October 23, 1977 of Hajj Sayyid Mustafa Khomeini, unexpectedly and under mysterious circumstances. This death was widely attributed to the Iranian security police, SAVAK, and protest meetings took place in Qum, Tehran, Yazd, Mashhad, Shiraz, and Tabriz.
The Health Benefits of Fasting
Will Carroll
There has been much contention in the scientific field about whether or not fasting is beneficial to one's health. Fasting is an integral part of many of the major religions including Islam, Judaism and Christianity. Many are dubious as to whether the physiological effects are as beneficial as the spiritual promoted by these religions. There is a significant community of alternative healers who believe that fasting can do
تبادل
لینک هوشمند
