The MKO was calculating on civil unrest against the regime and public support for their cause. An army of about 15,000 Aniranian forces equipped with weapons and logistics supplied by Iraq and other enemies of Iran started their invasion of Iran from west. This proved again that MKO and their European allies did not have a clue about Iranian psychology as Iranians quickly entered the battle position and started the Mersad Operation on July, 28, 1988 with the code:Ya Ali.
Happy with their initial success, the Aniranian army moved towards Kermanshah with dreams of capturing Tehran. They were unaware that this was a tactical move to get them all inside a trap. 34 km west of Bakhtaran, a rain of fire descended upon the enemy destroying most of their armored vehicles including 120 tanks. In this operation 4800 of enemy mercenaries were killed while others fled towards Iraq.
The MKO leader Masood Rajavi had entered Iraq on June, 7, 1986 and was greeted by top level Iraqi officials. One week later, he met with Saddam Hussein. After this meeting, MKO transformed from a guerilla group into an army on June, 20, 1986, then money poured in from the Zionist regime and their network of state sponsored terrorism in Europe.The following winter, MKO’s Ashraf Camp was based 80 km from Baghdad, 150 km from the Iranian border. From this camp, several attacks were conducted against the Iranian troops. MKO also helped Saddam Hussein in torturing Iranian POWs, spying and gathering intelligence.Iran accepted the UNSC resolution on July, 18, 1988 while Iraq hesitated until August, 18th. Meanwhile, Rajavi persuaded Saddam for a final attack and started their unsuccessful operation on July, 25.