IRP headquarters bombing kills Beheshti and other officials

An ICRC operation returned 25 seriously wounded Iranian prisoners of war to Tehran airport. The return provided an early humanitarian route home during continuing combat.

A large protest against efforts to remove Bani-Sadr led to clashes and arrests in Tehran. Executions and repression followed, widening the internal crisis while Iran remained at war with Iraq.

Mostafa Chamran, a former defense minister and leader of irregular forces, was killed near Dehlavieh. His death became a prominent part of Iranian remembrance of the war’s first year.

Khomeini dismissed Bani-Sadr from the presidency following the Majlis vote. Iran’s early wartime president lost office as clerical leaders consolidated their control over the political system.

A bomb concealed in a tape recorder wounded Ali Khamenei during a mosque appearance. The attack injured a senior revolutionary figure months before he became Iran’s wartime president.

A CIA assessment judged that Iraq sought to use the Israeli reactor raid to weaken Syrian and Libyan support for Iran. The document examined regional realignment during the ongoing war.

A British parliamentary answer recorded £85.7 million in petroleum-related imports from Iran in 1980. Oil commerce continued during the year that Iraq invaded Iran.

Mohammad Ali Rajai won the election held after Bani-Sadr’s removal. The presidency changed hands while Iran continued fighting Iraq and faced political violence at home.

Dean Fischer said Washington was unaware of Israeli shipments to Iran. He restated restrictions on U.S.-built arms after reports linked an Argentine cargo-plane crash to military supplies.

Ousted president Bani-Sadr escaped Iran aboard a military aircraft and received asylum in France. His flight moved a major strand of Iranian political opposition into exile while the war continued.