Nader Mahdavi () or Hossein Basria () was an

Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), also known as the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, is a multi-service primary branch of the Islamic Republic of Iran Armed Forces, Iranian Armed Forces. It was officially established by Ruhollah Khom ...

naval commander who fought against United States naval forces and cruisers on 24 July 1987.

Short biography

Hossein Basria was born on 4 June 1963 in Nokar village,

Dashti County Dashti County () is in Bushehr province, Iran. Its capital is the city of Khvormuj. History The village of Shonbeh was converted to a city in 2009, and the village of Baduleh rose to city status in 2012. Demographics Language and rel ...

Bushehr Province Bushehr Province () is one of the 31 Provinces of Iran, provinces of Iran. It is in the south of the country, with a long coastline on the Persian Gulf. Its capital is the city of Bushehr. The province was made a part of Regions of Iran, Re ...

. When he was in high school, economic issues and his political activities made him leave school and he started working in his father's store. After the

Iranian revolution The Iranian Revolution (, ), also known as the 1979 Revolution, or the Islamic Revolution of 1979 (, ) was a series of events that culminated in the overthrow of the Pahlavi dynasty in 1979. The revolution led to the replacement of the Impe ...

, he joined the

Basij The Basij (, lit. ''The Mobilization'') or Sâzmân-e Basij-e Mostaz'afin (, lit. ''Organization for Mobilization of the Oppressed''), is a paramilitary volunteer militia within the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and one of its five ...

group. When Iran-Iraq war started, he wanted to go to battlefields but he was underage and was prevented from entering the war. On 20 April 1981, he was employed in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). He married Sakineh Jokar in 1982.

First battle with United States

At the end of the

Iran–Iraq War The Iran–Iraq War, also known as the First Gulf War, was an armed conflict between Iran and Iraq that lasted from September 1980 to August 1988. Active hostilities began with the Iraqi invasion of Iran and lasted for nearly eight years, unti ...

, the

Persian Gulf The Persian Gulf, sometimes called the Arabian Gulf, is a Mediterranean seas, mediterranean sea in West Asia. The body of water is an extension of the Arabian Sea and the larger Indian Ocean located between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula.Un ...

was an unsafe place for

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

ians, because Iraqi forces could easily bomb Iranian ships and

oil platform An oil platform (also called an oil rig, offshore platform, oil production platform, etc.) is a large structure with facilities to extract and process petroleum and natural gas that lie in rock formations beneath the seabed. Many oil platforms w ...

s. Also,

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

naval forces protected Kuwaiti ships in the

and the

Strait of Hormuz The Strait of Hormuz ( ''Tangeh-ye Hormoz'' , ''Maḍīq Hurmuz'') is a strait between the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman. It provides the only sea passage from the Persian Gulf to the open ocean and is one of the world's most strategica ...

. Commanders of the

informed

Ruhollah Khomeini Ruhollah Musavi Khomeini (17 May 1900 or 24 September 19023 June 1989) was an Iranian revolutionary, politician, political theorist, and religious leader. He was the founder of the Islamic Republic of Iran and the main leader of the Iranian ...

, leader of Iran, about American

cruiser A cruiser is a type of warship. Modern cruisers are generally the largest ships in a fleet after aircraft carriers and amphibious assault ships, and can usually perform several operational roles from search-and-destroy to ocean escort to sea ...

s in the Persian Gulf. Khomeini said, "If it was me, i would attack them". For this reason, Nader Mahdavi prepared his forces for operations against American cruisers. Nader Mahdavi's mission was preventing ''Bridgeton''s movement. On 24 July 1987, three U.S. warships escorted the

Kuwait Kuwait, officially the State of Kuwait, is a country in West Asia and the geopolitical region known as the Middle East. It is situated in the northern edge of the Arabian Peninsula at the head of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to Iraq–Kuwait ...

i oil tanker ''al-Rekkah'' into the Persian Gulf. By mutual agreement, ''Al-Rekkah'' had been renamed ''Bridgeton'' and sailed under U.S. flag. USS ''Crommelin'', USS ''Fox'', and USS ''Kidd''. Thirteen miles west of Iran's

Farsi Island Farsi Island () is a tiny, barren Iranian island (Bushehr province) in the Persian Gulf. There is an IRGC Navy base on this island. The island has an area of about and is restricted from the public. The center of Farsi Island is located at lati ...

in the Persian Gulf, the tanker hit an underwater mine, denting its hull but leaving it seaworthy. For the rest of the journey, the warships sailed in the tanker's wake.

Death

On 8 October 1987, Mahdavi and his soldiers went to Persian Gulf for patrolling and they took one

Stinger missile The FIM-92 Stinger is an American man-portable air-defense system (MANPADS) that operates as an infrared homing surface-to-air missile (SAM). It can be adapted to fire from a wide variety of ground vehicles, and from helicopters and drones as th ...

. Near Farsi, an American helicopter attacked them in the night and the Stinger automatic system activated and shot it down. After a 20-minute battle, Mahdavi was arrested by American forces. Six days after his death, his body was sent to Iran from

Oman Oman, officially the Sultanate of Oman, is a country located on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in West Asia and the Middle East. It shares land borders with Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen. Oman’s coastline ...

. Iranian state media outlets said his hands and feet were tied very tightly and his chest was pierced with long iron nails, suggesting he was tortured aboard the ; no independent sources have confirmed this.

In popular culture

Films

* ''Encounter With Devil'' () is documentary film that narrates the war between Iran and United States in Persian Gulf. There are some episodes in the film that show Nader Mahdavi's interview of that time.

Books

* ''Nader, My Brother Hossein'' () are Nader Mahdavi's brother's memories about him as recorded by Seyyid Ghasim Yahosseini. The book, published by Fatehan Publication Company, is first book about Mahdavi. * A second was ''Behind the Wave Stronghold'' (). The narrators Hassan Sharifi and Seyyid Ghasim Yahosseini recorded their memories about Nader. In 2009, the book was published by Fatehan Publication Company in 3,000 copies. * ''Once Again, Nader'' () is a biography of Nader Mahdavi by Seyyid Ghasim Yahosseini. The book was published by Fatehan Publication Company in 2015.

Postage stamp

* On 8 April 2015, Nader Mahdavi's postage stamp was released in Bushehr Province.

References

External links

Encounter With Devil 1

Encounter With Devil 2
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mahdavi, Nader Iranian military personnel killed in the Iran–Iraq War Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps officers 1963 births 1987 deaths