Ministry of Interior :: Holy Defence free online Encyclopedia

Ministry of Interior

فارسی

Written by: Seyyed Muhammad-Sajjadi Hazaveh Translated by: Hadi Qorbanyar
44 Views

During the Iran– Iraq War, the Ministry of Interior of the Islamic Republic of Iran was a key member of the Supreme Council for War Support, carrying out a wide range of responsibilities.

The Interior Ministry (Vezarat-e Dakheleh) was established by order of Nasser al-Din Shah in 1841. Because its duties were not clearly defined at the time, the minister would at times be responsible for taxation affairs, at other times for the treasury, and occasionally for the Dar al-Insha (state chancery).⁠[1] After the Constitutional Revolution, the telegraph service and the police were also placed under the authority of the Interior Ministry.⁠[2] During the reign of Reza Shah, matters relating to tourism, elections, food supply, citizenship, and urban affairs were assigned to the ministry,⁠[3] and its name was subsequently changed to the Ministry of Interior (Vezarat-e Keshvar).⁠[4] During the Muhammad-Reza Shah period, the Gendarmerie and the Shahrbani (city police) were also placed under its authority.⁠[5]

The general governance of the country’ s internal affairs falls under the responsibility of the Ministry of Interior. Its main duties include organizing elections, maintaining internal security, managing law-enforcement forces, safeguarding borders, supervising Governors‑general, and managing crises caused by natural disasters, among other tasks.

Before the victory of the Islamic Revolution, Abbas Qareh-Baghi, the last minister of interior of the Pahlavi regime, played a key role in the massacre of protesters in Tehran on September 8, 1978.⁠[6] After the events of September 8 and as public protests against the Pahlavi regime intensified, the Ministry of Interior staff went on strike on October 21.⁠[7] They said they would hold only elections meant to ask the public about the country’ s future political system.⁠[8]

Following the victory of the Islamic Revolution, the Ministry of Interior took steps to coordinate the Gendarmerie and Shahrbani with the Islamic Revolution Committees in maintaining order and organizing several key national votes: the referendum on the Islamic Republic in March 1979, the election of the Assembly of Experts for the Constitution in August 1979, and the referendum on the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran in December 1979. The National Mobilization (Basij-e Melli) was also established in April 1980 as an organization affiliated with the Ministry of Interior.⁠[9]

With the outbreak of the Iran– Iraq War, the National Security Headquarters was formed at the Ministry of Interior under the leadership of Ayatollah Muhammad-Reza Mahdavi Kani. Representatives from the Gendarmerie, Shahrbani, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), the Army, the Islamic Revolution Committees, and the Basij took part in it to ensure that all responses to enemy aggression would be coordinated, and no one would act on their own.⁠[10]

After the dismissal of President Abolhassan Banisadr, governments were responsible mainly for support and logistical matters.⁠[11] The Ministry of Interior, as a key member of the Supreme Council for War Support, carried out the following responsibilities:

1-Maintaining security and confronting terrorist groups: Separatist movements, the armed campaigns led by Munafiqeen, and other militant groups pushed the Ministry of Interior to focus mainly on its most important task— maintaining internal security. This could only be possible with the help of the Shahrbani, the Gendarmerie, the IRGC, and the Revolutionary Committees.⁠[12] The Iran-Iraq War also added new responsibilities, including maintaining order in war-affected cities, protecting the property and homes left behind by evacuated residents, helping the wounded, and transferring civilians to safer areas.

2-Distribution of essential goods and supplies: The war was largely supported by volunteer forces. If people on the home front faced hunger or shortages, it could create serious problems for the country.⁠[13] For this reason, on September 27, 1980, the government opened the National Economic Mobilization Headquarters, with the Ministry of Interior as one of its members. Considering the country was at a war, the headquarters introduced rationing of essential goods and the distribution of coupons.⁠[14] Similar headquarters were formed in the provinces, led by the Governors-general and operating under authority delegated from the central headquarters.⁠[15] Governors‑general also supervised the distribution and price control of goods and services.⁠[16] In addition to their political responsibilities as representatives of the government, Governors-general, county governors, and district administrators also carried the responsibilities of the ministries of commerce and agriculture. Since the Ministry of Commerce did not have offices in most cities, its duties were handled by the local county governors.⁠[17]

3-Using the capacities of the ministry and its affiliated offices in the war: A Provincial War Affairs Coordination Headquarters was established under the supervision of Governors-general to coordinate war-support activities, provide military training, and mobilize employees, and all institutions in the province were required to cooperate with it. As the war continued, all personnel and facilities of the Ministry of Interior and its affiliated institutions were placed on full alert in support of the war effort. The ministry set up a headquarters on the southern front where a large number of personnel from municipalities across the country were organized and worked on building logistical roads in the war zones. All municipalities and technical offices remained in close contact with the Ministry of Interior’ s war headquarters, and the ministry’ s War Affairs Deputy Office was stationed at the Khatam al-Anbiya (pbuh) Headquarters.⁠[18]

In addition, all urban services in Al-Faw were assigned to the Municipality of Tehran.⁠[19] Meanwhile, 42 active Gendarmerie units took part in both regular and irregular operations and in maintaining defensive lines.⁠[20] Volunteer Shahrbani forces served one-year missions within the Isar Brigade,⁠[21] and members of the Islamic Revolution Committees participated in the war through the Musa ibn Jafar (as) Brigade, the Qavamin Brigade, and later the Ruhollah Division. They were under the joint operational control of the Army and the IRGC.⁠[22]

4-Organizing war migrants: With the outbreak of the war, more than 1.5 million people were forced to leave their homes. The prime minister requested the Governors‑general to mobilize their resources to accommodate the displaced, and war migrants were settled across different provinces based on the available capacities.⁠[23] This forced migration led to population growth in host cities and shortages of facilities and services.⁠[24] Therefore, the Foundation for War-Affected People was established as an organization affiliated with the Ministry of Interior.⁠[25]

5-Reconstruction and building of shelters: Following a cabinet decision in May 1982, the Minister of Interior was appointed head of the Central Headquarters for the Reconstruction and Renovation of War-Damaged Areas.⁠[26] As Iraqi attacks on cities intensified, the Ministry of Interior asked municipalities to build shelters in public places. The Municipality of Tehran alone constructed shelters in more than 1,085 schools.⁠[27] People also worked on building private shelters during the war.⁠[28] During the Iran-Iraq War, the Ministry of Interior’ s Shelter Affairs Committee oversaw all shelter evaluations.⁠[29]

The Ministry of Interior was originally located in the current Tehran Municipality building on Behesht Street. However, after the bombing of the Iraqi Ministry of Interior building and due to concerns about possible retaliation, the ministry was moved to its present building on Fatemi Street, which before the Revolution, belonged to the Rastakhiz Party and had been under the control of the municipality.⁠[30]

In total, 228 personnel of the Ministry of Interior were martyred: 129 on the warfronts, 37 in the bombing of residential areas, 44 in terrorist attacks, 16 in clashes with anti-revolutionary groups, one while defending the shrine of Lady Zaynab (sa), and one in a helicopter crash in Qazvin. Among those who were martyred during the war are Abolhassan Aal-Eshaq, commander of the Tabriz IRGC and Development Deputy at the Ilam Governor‑general’ s Office; Mahdi Bakeri, commander of the 31st Ashura Division and mayor of Urmia; Hamid Salimi, Deputy Commander of the 31st Ashura Division and Political Deputy of the Ilam Governor‑general’ s Office; Asghar Dabbaghian, Development Deputy at the Hormozgan Governor‑general’ s Office; Muhammad-Reza Qolivand, County Governor of Kangavar; and Majid Haddad-Aadel, Acting Governor‑general of Kermanshah. Also, Ali-Muhammad Majidi, Development Adviser to the Minister of Interior, and Habibollah Maleki, County Governor of Iranshahr, were among those martyred in the bombing of the Islamic Republican Party headquarters.⁠[31] Ali Ansari, Governor‑general of Gilan,⁠[32] and Gholam-Ali Nikkhah, Deputy Governor‑general of Azerbaijan,⁠[33] were also assassinated and martyred by Munafiqeen members.

Currently, 7,000 individuals from the community of war veterans and families of the martyrs are employed by the Ministry of Interior. This group includes 1,345 family members of martyrs, 473 former prisoners of war, 2,022 wounded veterans, and 2,988 former frontline combatants. In total, they make up 40 percent of the ministry’ s personnel.⁠[34]

References

[1]. Sadatnejad, Seyyedeh Fatemeh va Digaran, Barrasi-ye Ravand-e Taghyeer-e Nahad-e Vezarat va Ijad-e Vezaratkhanehha-ye Jadid dar Jaryan-e Enqelab-e Mashrooteh-ye Iran (Examining the Process of Changes in the Institution of Ministry and the Establishment of New Ministries during the Iranian Constitutional Revolution), Majalleh-ye Elmi va Pazhooheshi-ye Tarikh-e Iran, Vol. 13, No. 1, Bahar-Tabestan 1399, p. 125.
[2]. Ibid., p. 136.
[3]. Majalleh-ye Rasmi-ye Vezarat-e Adliyeh (The Official Journal of the Ministry of Justice), Vol. 11, No. 2656, 11 Azar 1316, p. 1.
[4]. Ibid., No. 2934, 13 Aban 1317, p. 1.
[5]. Daftar-e Adabiyat-e Enqelab-e Eslami, Daerat al-Maaref-e Enqelab-e Eslami (Encyclopedia of the Islamic Revolution), Vol. 1, Tehran, Entesharat-e Sooreh Mehr, 1389, p. 100.
[6]. Nasiri Tayebi, Mansoor, Akharin Arteshbod – Abbas Qareh-Baghi be Revayat-e Asnad (The Last Army General – Abbas Qareh-Baghi According to Documents), Tehran, Markaz-e Asnad-e Enqelab-e Eslami, 1386, Pp. 49– 50.
[7]. Nejati, Gholamreza, Tarikh-e Siasi-ye Bist-o-Panj Saleh-ye Iran (Az Koodeta ta Enqelab) (Political History of Twenty-Five Years of Iran: From the Coup to the Revolution), Vol. 2, Tehran, Rasa, 9th ed., p. 502.
[8]. Rooznameh-ye Keyhan (Keyhan Newspaper), No. 10616, 28/10/1357, p. 8.
[9]. Rooznameh-ye Rasmi-ye Jomhoori-ye Eslami-ye Iran (The Official Newspaper of the Islamic Republic of Iran), No. 10280, 24/03/1359, p. 5 (Marja-e Tasvib: Shoray-e Enqelab-e Jomhoori-ye Eslami-ye Iran); Sait-e Markaz-e Pazhooheshha-ye Majles-e Shoray-e Eslami, Sazman-e Basij-e Melli (The National Mobilization Organization), Mosavab-e 10/02/1359.
[10]. Hendiani, Abdollah, Amniyat va Naqsh-e Farmandehan-e Entezami dar Shoraha-ye Taamin (Security and the Role of Police Commanders in Security Councils), Tehran, Moavenat-e Tarbiyat va Amoozesh-e NAJA, 1392, Pp. 64– 68.
[11]. Alaei, Hussain, Barrasi-ye Naqsh-e Dowlat-e Jomhoori-ye Eslami-ye Iran dar Jang-e Tahmili-ye Araq Alayh-e Iran (Examining the Role of the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran in the Iran-Iraq War), Faslnameh-ye Motaleat-e Beynolmelali, No. 4 (Serial 64), bahar 1399, p. 134.
[12]. Rooznameh-ye Keyhan (Keyhan Newspaper), No. 11441, 03/09/1360, p. 2.
[13]. Alaei, Hussain, Ibid., p. 136.
[14]. Raei Golujeh, Sajjad, Dowlat-e Rajaei va Jang-e Iran va Araq (The Rajaei Government and the Iran– Iraq War), Faslnameh-ye Negin-e Iran, No. 2, Paeez 1381, p. 69.
[15]. Rooznameh-ye Rasmi-ye Jomhoori-ye Eslami-ye Iran, Mosavvabeh-ye Shomareh-ye 69148 Heyat‑e Vaziran‑e Dowlat‑e Jomhoori‑ye Eslami‑ye Iran, Tarkib va Sharh-e Vazayef-e Setad-e Basij-e Eqtesadi-ye Keshvar va Sait-e Markaz-e Pajooheshha-ye Majles-e Shoraye Eslami (Composition and Duties of the National Economic Mobilization Headquarters and the Website of the Islamic Consultative Assembly Research Center of the Islamic Republic of Iran), No. 697, 1360/09/21.
[16]. Rooznameh-ye Rasmi-ye Jomhoori-ye Eslami-ye Iran, Mosavvabeh-ye Shomareh-ye 7076 Heyat‑e Vaziran‑e Dowlat‑e Jomhoori‑ye Eslami‑ye Iran, Nahve-ye Faaliyat-e Setadha-ye Basij-e Eqtesadi (Operational Procedures of the Economic Mobilization Committees), 06/03/1365, No. 38.
[17]. Lotfollahzadegan, Ali-Reza, Roozshomar-e Jang-e Iran va Araq – Nokhostin Amalyat-e Bozorg dar Shomal-e Gharb: Valfajr 4 (Chronology of the Iran– Iraq War – The First Major Operation in the Northwest: Valfajr 4), Vol. 28, Tehran, Markaz-e Asnad va Tahqiqat-e Defa Muqaddas-e Sepah-e Pasdaran-e Enqelab-e Eslami, 1397, p. 605.
[18]. Haji-Khodavardi-Khan, Mahdi, Roozshomar-e Jang-e Iran va Araq – Tadavom-e Estrateji-ye Defa Mutaharek-e Araq (Eshghal-e Mehran) (Chronology of the Iran– Iraq War – Continuation of Iraq’ s Mobile Defense Strategy: Occupation of Mehran), Vol. 42, Part 1, Tehran, Markaz-e Asnad va Tahqiqat-e Defa Muqaddas, p. 166.
[19]. Lotfollahzadegan, Ali-Reza, Roozshomar-e Jang-e Iran va Araq – Tasvib-e Qatnameh 598: Zaminehha-ye Siasi va Nezami (Chronology of the Iran– Iraq War – Adoption of Resolution 598: Political and Military Contexts), Vol. 49, Tehran, Markaz-e Asnad va Tahqiqat-e Defa Muqaddas, 1387, p. 349.
[20]. Rafiei, Hassan-Reza, Nim-Negahi bar Hozoor-e Salahshoran-e Zhandarmeri dar Hasht Sal Defa Muqaddas (A Brief Look at the Presence of the Gendarmerie Warriors in the Eight Years of Sacred Defense), Faslnameh-ye Elmi-e Motaleat-e Defa Muqaddas, Vol. 7, No. 1 (Serial 25), Bahar 1400, p. 92.
[21]. Mahnameh-ye Kanoon-e Bazneshastegan-e Niroo-ye Entezami (Kanoon-e Bazneshastegan-e Niroo-ye Entezami Monthly), Year 9, No. 64, Aban– Azar 1400, p. 4.
[22]. Torabi, Yoosef va Seyyed Ehsan Rahmani, Komiteh-ye Enqelab-e Eslami: Tajrobehei dar Sepehr-e Police-e Jameeh-gara va Mardomi (Tehran 1357– 1362) (The Islamic Revolution Committee: An Experience in Community-Oriented Policing- Tehran 1978-1983), Faslnameh-ye Pazhooheshha-ye Danesh-e Entezami, Vol. 9, No. 3, 1386, p. 126.
[23]. Raei Golujeh, Sajjad, Ibid., Pp. 69– 70.
[24]. Rahbar, Abbasali va Digaran, Daramadi bar Rabeteh-ye Siasat va Zendegi-ye Roozmareh dar Iran – Nemooneh-Pazhoohi-ye Jang-e Shahrha (An Introduction to the Relationship between Politics and Everyday Life in Iran: A Case Study of the War of Cities), Faslnameh-ye Pazhooheshha-ye Rahbordi-ye Siasat, No. 55, Tabestan 1397, p. 83.
[25]. Rooznameh-ye Jomhoori-ye Eslami (Jomhoori-ye Eslami Newspaper), No. 527, 16/01/1360, p. 1; Sait-e Markaz-e Pazhooheshha-ye Majles-e Shoray-e Eslami, Qanoon-e Bonyad-e Omoor-e Jangzadegan (Law of the Foundation for War‑Afflicted Affairs).
[26]. Tasvibnameh-ye Eblaghi No. 5758 (Communicated Resolution No. 5758), 02/03/1361, Heyat-e Vaziran.
[27]. Lotfollahzadegan, Ali-Reza, Ibid., p. 349.
[28]. Ansari, Mahdi, Roozshomar-e Jang-e Iran va Araq – Jang-e Mahdood-e Iran va Amrika dar Khalij-e Fars (Chronology of the Iran– Iraq War – Limited War between Iran and the United States in the Persian Gulf), Vol. 51, Tehran, Markaz-e Asnad va Tahqiqat-e Defa Muqaddas, 1387, Pp. 365– 366.
[29]. Khanehzad Yazdi, Majid va Homayoon Rahmani, Barrasi-ye Panahgahha-ye Doran-e Defa Muqaddas 1 (Motaleeh-ye Moredi: Yeki az Panahgahha-ye Sharq-e Shahr-e Tehran) (Study of Shelters during the Sacred Defense 1– Case Study: A Shelter in Eastern Tehran), Faslnameh-ye Elmi– Tarviji-e Motaleat-e Defa Muqaddas, No. 15, Paeez 1397, p. 36.
[30]. Mirdar, Morteza, Khaterat-e Hojatoleslam va Al-Moslemin Ali-Akbar Nateq-Noori (Memoirs of Hojatoleslam Ali-Akbar Nateq-Noori), Vol. 2, Tehran, Markaz-e Asnad-e Enqelab-e Eslami, 3rd ed., 1392, p. 35.
[31]. Yavand Abbasi, Gholamreza, Aflakian-e Keshvar – Yadman-e Shuhada (The Heavenly Ones of the Country – Memorial of the Martyrs), Vezarat-e Keshvar va Ostandariha-ye Tabeeh, Sabz Rayyan Gostar, 1394, Pp. 14, 167.
[32]. Rooznameh-ye Keyhan (Keyhan Newspaper), No. 11326, 15/04/1360, p. 1; Khabargozari-ye Tasnim, Tanha Ostandar-e Shahid-e Keshvar Kist? (Who Is the Only Martyred Governor-General of the Country?).
[33]. Rooznameh-ye Jomhoori-ye Eslami (Jomhoori-ye Eslami Newspaper), No. 1068, 14/11/1361, p. 1; Khabargozari-ye Defa Press, Moaven-e Ostandari ke Teror Shod (The Deputy Governor-General Who Was Assassinated), 12 Bahman 1395.
[34]. Paygah-e Etelaresani-ye Vezarat-e Keshvar (The Ministry of Interior Website), News Code 78399, 1 Azar 1383.

Send Feedback & Corrections