Golestan Province, in northern Iran, participated in the Sacred Defense by dispatching more than 33,000 combatants and sacrificing 3,700 martyrs.

Golestan Province is bordered to the north by Turkmenistan, to the south by Semnan Province, to the east by South Khorasan Province, and to the west by Mazandaran Province and the Caspian Sea. Until 1376 SH (1997), Golestan was part of Mazandaran Province; it became an independent province in that year.

Golestan has 14 counties— Azadshahr, Aq Qala, Gorgan, Gonbad-e Kavus, Bandar-e Torkaman, Gomishan, Ramian, Kordkuy, Bandar-e Gaz, Aliabad-e Katul, Galikesh, Kalaleh, Maraveh Tappeh, and Minudasht— 27 districts, 33 cities, 60 rural districts, and 1,049 villages. According to the 1395 SH (2016) census, the province has a population of 1,868,000. Gorgan is the provincial capital and its largest and most populous county. Shiites constitute the majority, while 40 percent of the population are Sunni Turkmen. Of Golestan' s area, 1,126,000 hectares are rangeland and 430,000 hectares are forest.⁠[1]

With the beginning of the imposed war, the people of Golestan also took part in defending the country.

Army forces in Golestan Province participated at the front as the 30th Gorgan Division. In Shahrivar 1360 SH (September 1981), the battalions stationed in Gorgan, Gonbad, and Sari were separated from the 21st Hamzeh Division (Army) under the designation of the 30th Gorgan Brigade and became an independent brigade. The 30th Gorgan Brigade took part in the liberation of Khorramshahr during its first deployment. In Ordibehesht and Khordad 1361 (May and June 1982), the 188th and 190th Battalions of the 30th Gorgan Brigade were deployed on the left flank during Operation Beit-ol-Moqaddas. In Operation Muslim ibn Aqil (Mehr 1361/October 1982), the 805th Battalion of the 30th Gorgan Brigade was present in Somar and subsequently undertook its defense. After Somar, the 30th Brigade conducted defensive operations from Marivan until the end of 1364 SH (1986). It was upgraded to a division in late Ordibehesht 1363 (May 1984).⁠[2]

In 1366 SH (1987), the 30th Gorgan Division undertook the defense of Baneh and, in Farvardin 1367 (March– April 1988), participated in Operation Beit-ol-Moqaddas 5 in the Panjwin area of Iraq. During the Sacred Defense, 1,061 members of the 30th Gorgan Division were martyred.⁠[3]

In the summer of 1361 SH (1982), barracks belonging to the 30th Gorgan and Sari Division were assigned to hold Iraqi prisoners of war; by the end of the war, their number had reached approximately 6,000.⁠[4] On 18‌^th Mehr 1363 SH (10 October 1984), during a visit by International Red Cross personnel to the Iraqi prisoners' camp in Gorgan, a confrontation occurred between two groups of prisoners. Some weapons fell into the hands of prisoners who intended to escape, but they were stopped by guards' gunfire; 15 prisoners were killed and 70 wounded, while 3 guards were also martyred.⁠[5]

During the Sacred Defense, the forces of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and the Basij of Golestan, together with those of Mazandaran Province and this brigade from Gilan, participated at the front as part of the 25th Karbala Brigade (Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps).⁠[6] The brigade was formed in 1360 SH (1981) under the command of Morteza Ghorbani.⁠[7]

The Karbala Brigade participated in Operation Tariq al-Quds with 9 battalions⁠[8], in Operation Fath al-Mobin with 17 battalions⁠[9], and in Operation Beit-ol-Moqaddas with 7 battalions.⁠[10] The 25th Karbala Brigade was upgraded to the 10th Division in 1362 SH (1983)⁠[11] and participated in Operations Valfajr 8 and Karbala 5.⁠[12]

During the 1360s SH (1980s), Mazandaran Province had three independent Construction Jihad organizations: Mazandaran, Gorgan, and Gonbad.⁠[13] The Construction Jihad organizations of Gorgan and Gonbad became active from the first days of the imposed war by establishing war-support headquarters and collecting public donations, dispatching forces and machinery⁠[14]; from 1 Aban 1359 SH (23 October 1980), they were stationed in Chouaibdeh, Abadan, where they built a 6-kilometer road.⁠[15]

As the imposed war continued, engineering work on the islands of the Persian Gulf, particularly Al-Rak Island, was entrusted to the Gorgan Construction Jihad. Building embankments, a missile site, and fortifications were among its activities on the island.

The reconstruction of the Deyreh area of Islamabad-e Gharb and the Salas Babajani area in Kermanshah Province was also among the activities of the Gorgan Construction Jihad during the Sacred Defense. From the beginning of 1365 SH (1986), its engineering units were upgraded to the 25th Imam Sajjad Combat Engineering Battalion and participated in Operations Karbala 1, Karbala 6, and Valfajr 10. A total of 7,906 members of the Golestan Construction Jihad participated in the Sacred Defense; 63 were martyred and 507 became disabled veterans.⁠[16]

The Gorgan Red Crescent Society also established a “ Front Aid” unit during the imposed war and provided the war-affected region with physicians, nurses, and relief workers.⁠[17]Golestan Province, by dispatching 2,550 people to war zones, was among the four provinces most successful in dispatching forces; 8 of these individuals were martyred and 65 were wounded.⁠[18]

The headquarters for collecting and directing public donations was established in the counties of Golestan in the winter of 1363 SH (1984),⁠[19] and the Gorgan Red Crescent cooperated with this headquarters.⁠[20]

During the imposed war, 33,000 combatants from Golestan Province were present in operational areas. Of these, 3,700 were martyred; 600 of the martyrs were farmers, 531 were students, 400 were workers, 300 were members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, 200 were army personnel, and 100 were government employees.

The locations where martyrs from Golestan Province were killed were recorded in 77 war zones. The highest numbers were recorded at Shalamcheh, with nearly 400 martyrs; Marivan, with 250; Faw in Iraq, with 200; and Zaid Border Post in Iraq, with 200. During the Sacred Defense, 12,000 combatants from Golestan became disabled veterans and 1,179 became former prisoners of war.⁠[21]