May 2, 1982: The Heroic Stand of PMOI Women
On this fateful day, Tehran bore witness to widespread clashes that swept from east to west and reached into the heart of the city. At 2 PM, the Revolutionary Guards launched their assault, raining fire upon several houses where People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI) members sought refuge.
The epicenter of the conflict lay in a house nestled within the Kamraniyeh district. Here, Mohammad Zabeti, a senior PMOI commander, stood his ground. Among the PMOI members in this house, a band of heroic women—Nosrat Ramazani, Sussan Mirzaei, Pari Yousefi, Zakieh Mohaddes, Fatemeh (Taji) Mahdavi Kermani, and Aghdas Taghavi—fiercely resisted the onslaught from the Revolutionary Guards and other forces.
Simultaneously, on Sattarkhan Street, Fereshteh Az’hadi, Mahin Ebrahimi, Masoumeh Mir-Mohammad, and Iran Bazargan fought valiantly alongside fellow PMOI members against the relentless tide of the Revolutionary Guards.
In Narmak, an eastern corner of Tehran, another house sheltered PMOI members. Amidst the chaos, only one young woman remained—a resolute Khadijeh Masih. She stood her ground, single-handedly defying the Guards’ assault. They mistook her for part of a larger group and sent reinforcements, but when the dust settled, only Khadijeh Masih’s lifeless, bullet-riddled body remained.
In a different part of Tehran, the home of PMOI member Mahin Khiabani faced attack. Mahin, sister to the martyred commander Mousa Khiabani and a prominent PMOI figure, courageously resisted. Tragically, an RPG strike claimed her life.
May 2, 1982, etched a golden chapter in Iran’s history of resistance—a day when PMOI women stood unwavering against an inhumane and misogynistic dictatorship, fighting for the liberation of their people.
May 9, 1982: A Legacy of Unyielding Resistance and Sacrifice
On May 9, 1982, the streets of Tehran witnessed an unmatched chapter of unwavering resistance.
A safehouse of the People’s Mojahedin, belonging to PMOI Commander Fazel Maslahati, a director in the organization’s social section, came under fierce attack. Among his brave comrades targeted in the assault were the heroic PMOI women Mehri Khanbani, Zahra Tabatabaei, and Fatemeh Abolhassani.
On the very same day, during a fierce street clash, several PMOI fighters, including the courageous Maryam Shafaei, stood valiantly against the brutal onslaught of the regime’s guards and ultimately laid down their lives on the altar of freedom.
The Epic Stand of Three Heroic Women in East Tehran
At dawn on May 9, 1982, heavily armed guards of the regime surrounded a People’s Mojahedin (PMOI/MEK) safehouse in Tehranpars, opening indiscriminate fire without warning.
They had learned from previous unequal battles that a Mojahed will fight to the last breath, yielding nothing to the enemy except a lifeless body.
Inside the safehouse stood the courageous commander, Akram Khorasani, alongside combatant Behrouz Asadollah-Zadeh, and two young heroines, Fa’ezeh Bahari Javan and Na’emeh Omranian.
When the first volley shattered the windows, Behrouz shouted defiantly, “A Mojahed never surrenders!” before falling heroically under enemy fire.
Commander Akram immediately took tactical control. Directing Fa’ezeh and Na’emeh to take cover, she waited for the precise moment. Believing the defenders were dead, some thirty guards rushed the door. Within fifteen seconds, they suffered devastating casualties, their commander frantically screaming over the radio for ambulances and reinforcements.
Using this critical window, Commander Akram executed a brilliant maneuver, slipping past the paralyzed guards and vanishing into the alleys with a parting smile of loyalty to the gathered local crowds.
Thus began the most epic phase of resistance by the two young heroines, Fa’ezeh and Na’emeh. Cornered and desperate, the regime’s forces brought in fresh reinforcements and unleashed RPGs, setting parts of the building ablaze. Yet, using Akram’s tactics, the two women repeatedly lured the enemy into fatal traps during lulls in the firing.
After five hours of fierce combat, the frustrated voice of the guard commander echoed over the radio, begging his men to stop wasting rockets. When the smoke finally cleared, the onlookers who had watched in awe expected to find a large platoon. Instead, they stood in stunned silence as the guards carried out only the bodies of these two brave women.
