Hafte tir bombing

Hafte Tir bombing
Martyrs of 7th Tir on stamp
Location	Tehran, Iran
Coordinates	31°15′17″N 29°59′37″E / 31.254825°N 29.993677°E / 31.254825; 29.993677
Date	28 June 1981 20:20 local time (UTC+3)
Target	IRP leaders
Attack type	Suicide bombing
Deaths	72
Suspected perpetrator	People's Mujahedin of Iran

On 28 June 1981 (the 7th of Tir 1360 (Hafte Tir – هفت تیر) in the Iranian calendar), a powerful bomb went off at the headquarters of the Iran Islamic Republic Party (IRP) in Tehran, while a meeting of party leaders was in progress. Seventy-three leading officials of the Islamic Republic were killed, including Chief Justice Ayatollah Mohammad Beheshti (who was the second-most powerful figure in the revolution after Ayatollah Khomeini at the time). The People's Mujahedin of Iran or Mujahideen al-Khalq is thought to have been responsible for the attack.

Following the Iranian revolution, the newly established theocratic government of Ayatollah Khomeini in Iran consolidated its power by eliminating opposition to their rule, including the Islamic socialist organisation known as People's Mujahedin of Iran (also PMOI or MEK). Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini attacked the PMOI as elteqati (eclectic), contaminated with Gharbzadegi ("the Western plague"), and as monafeqin (hypocrites) and kafer (unbelievers). In retaliation, in February 1980 concentrated attacks by hezbollahi began in the meeting places, bookstores, newsstands of the Mujahideen. Hundreds of PMOI supporters and members were killed from 1979 to 1981, and some 3,000 were arrested. Ultimately, the organization called for a massive demonstration under the banner of Islam on June 20, 1981 to protest Iran's new leadership which was also attacked.

On 28 June 1981 the Hafte tir bombing occurred killing the chief justice and party secretary Ayatollah Mohammad Beheshti, four cabinet ministers (Health, transport, telecommunications and energy ministers), twenty-seven members of the Majlis, including Mohammad Montazeri, and several other government officials.