Twenty years ago and after the Iran-Iraq cease-fire in 1988, Rajavi dispatched thousands of his warriors on ”Operation Eternal Light” across the border …It was a total military failure and a proven suicide operation excluding the leader …The operation Eternal Light was the result of the search for an outlet out of an inevitable cul-de-sac rather than to be a strategic necessity.
I went to Turkey legally. Before my departure I could watch the organization’s program on their TV channel, in Bushehr. In Turkey I called the organization’s linker and asked for joining them. I could reach Iraq that June. After staying in Bagdad for a few days I arrived in Karkuk where I received military training for Chelcheragh Operation and then Eternal Light Operation. Following the operations I returned to camp Ashraf.
The failure of the operation Eternal Light (Forough Javidan) initiated challenges against Rajavi’s egocentric decision-making that led many forces of the organization to their death. Most of his critics believe that the operation was in no way correspondent with the organization’s line of strategy and that, Rajavi’s uncertain analysis of the post cease-fire situation compelled him ..
The ideological revolution, in fact, legitimized Rajavi’s perpetual hegemony that was deep rooted in the organization’ structure and which was invisibly practiced by its first charismatic leader Hanifnejad. Tinctured with sacredness, the pillars of hegemony would be stabilized and ended any further wrangling. The main core of Mojahedin’s ideological revolution was to solve the issue of leadership. It could put an end to a problem known to be the Achilles’ heel in most contemporary revolutions and movements
This operation, called by the MKO”Forough-e Javidan”(Eternal Light) and called”Mersad”(Ambsuh) by Iranian leaders, was the largest armed move by an iranian opposition group …Iranian military commanders say they withdrew intentionally in order to blow back later with stronger force.According to the officials, Revolutionary Guard and Basij forces started their final operation on July 27, when the MKO/PMOI was only 40 kilometers from the city of Kermansha. MKO forces were crushed heavily.