Like the Americans with their cursed drones.
The last was that Hamid could do nothing to stop his troops from receiving Vahid’s message.
Well, let him try to stop us within sight of victory, Hamid thought savagely. After every obstacle my men have overcome, the prattling of some cleric isn’t going to stop us now!
“Brave soldiers of Iran, this is Grand Ayatollah Sayyid Vahid Turani. As provided in our Constitution, I have been elected Supreme Leader by the Assembly of Experts. I am sorry to tell you that you have been betrayed by the men who sent you to attack our Saudi brothers, including the criminal Reza Fagheh, who among others were executed in Tehran this morning.”
These words went through Hamid like a lightning bolt. Vahid would not lie about a fact so easily checked. If Reza, who had authorized this entire operation, was dead… There was no way home.
Well, so be it, he thought grimly. I never expected to make it home anyway.
But I’m still going to do what I came here to do. End the House of Saud.
Vahid’s voice now came into Hamid’s focus again.
“…have fought with courage, but in an illegal and cursed cause. Besides your tanks, the criminals have also used nuclear and chemical weapons against Saudi civilians. Our nation will have to pay a heavy price for these crimes.
But you can end your part in them, and even do more than that. You can atone for the crimes you have committed, and stand blameless in Paradise for the evils you did unknowingly at other’s command.
You must turn your weapons on your brothers, and stop the criminals from achieving their illegal and cursed goals.
I am now speaking to you through a drone flying high overhead. That same drone can see all of you, down to the unit numbers on the sides of your tanks.
What you do now will be recorded and examined in judgment.
Not of you, because no matter what you do now, you will never live to return to Iran. No, the judgment will be of your family. Because if you are so evil that you do not repent after hearing my words now, surely your family is not fit to live among us.
Now, I will stop speaking. It is time for all of you to earn your place in Paradise.”
Hamid frantically mashed on his handset’s transmit button. “Men, this is a Saudi trick! Don’t let a voice on the radio turn you against your brothers. We all know who the real enemy is, and he’s defenseless before us! Let me lead you to victory!”
Nearly thirty seconds passed of complete silence, including within Hamid’s own tank, where none of his men said a word.
Shells from three different tanks hit Hamid’s Zulfiqar-3 tank at nearly the same moment, killing everyone inside instantly. The fierce battle that followed lasted only minutes, since at the combatants’ range missing was almost impossible. The only real question was who decided to fire first.
Hesitation meant death, but those quickest to fire often lived only seconds longer as others made their decision.
There was no way to know who fired because of Vahid’s words, or simply in self-defense. In the end, it didn’t matter.
When Ali’s tanks came upon the scene later that day they met no resistance. Every tank and APC in Hamid’s force was either destroyed or, as in the case of the Armata, too badly damaged to move. Only a dozen Iranian soldiers were found alive, nearly all wounded, except for one sitting in a daze next to his tank.
Ali did as he had been ordered with all survivors, which was to transfer all of them to the same prison run by the Interior Ministry where the Qataris had been sent. Ali was never told but assumed, correctly, that they were all executed.
In fact, Vahid’s threat to the families of the men in Hamid Mazdaki’s force had been a bluff on two counts. First, the American President had made it clear he would never agree to provide Vahid with an audio feed for that purpose, or video surveillance to help him carry it out. Vahid had explained, and then promised, that no harm would come to the families of the Iranians fighting in Saudi Arabia before the Americans agreed to broadcast his message.
Probably more important was that Vahid would have never carried out the threat, even if he’d had the opportunity. Indeed making the threat, and particularly doing it with enough menace in his voice to make it convincing, had nauseated him to the point that he was nearly unable to complete the broadcast. Only knowledge of the bloodshed and misery that would have followed an Iranian assault on downtown Riyadh had forced him to swallow his bile and finish the revolting message. That, and the fact that Reza Fagheh would have never hesitated to carry out such a threat, if he had been allowed to live.
Chapter Thirty One
Grand Ayatollah Sayyid Vahid Turani looked out at the massed television cameras, and thought about the millions of Iranians who would be watching him on every channel. Not to mention the millions more who were likely to be following his every word in other countries. There was nothing like responsibility for the first use of nuclear weapons against a live target since World War II to get people's attention, he thought bitterly. The man behind one of the cameras held up his right hand and silently began folding back first his thumb, and then the rest of his fingers one at a time.
Somehow, Vahid found the primitive countdown in the face of the assembled technology before him comforting. When the man's last finger was folded, small red lights winked on in the front of all the cameras.
Vahid had assumed his sternest expression for the start of his address. "My fellow citizens, I am here tonight to inform you of a terrible crime that has been committed against our brother Muslim nation of Saudi Arabia, and to tell you of many changes happening as we speak to ensure such an outrage never takes place again.
The nuclear and chemical weapons used against the Saudis by the criminals who have now been executed were the only ones we had. We will permanently stop and dismantle our nuclear and chemical programs in all their forms including power production, and invite United Nations inspectors to verify compliance. These inspectors will have full and unrestricted access to all Iranian territory, including military bases, without exception and with no need for prior notice.
Though only the criminals we have executed knew of this cowardly plot, the Iranian government nevertheless takes full responsibility for their actions, and stands ready to provide full compensation to their victims.
The criminals took advantage of a military structure that was too complex to be effectively controlled. Steps are underway to restore the central government's control of all Iranian armed forces."
Indeed, the Pasdaran and Basij leadership was being arrested nationwide, in a move so swift that there was little resistance. Some would be discharged.
Some would eventually be integrated into the regular Iranian military, as would all of their equipment.
Some would be executed.
Now Vahid's expression softened and became more thoughtful. "For many years, we have sent our treasure abroad while Iranians at home were going hungry. That stops tonight.
I am announcing the end of our military and financial support for all governments, militias and organizations outside Iran, including but not limited to those in Yemen, Syria, Iraq, and Lebanon.
Iran's military will only conduct operations within Iran and Iranian territorial waters and airspace as defined by international law. In particular, we pledge not to interfere with the free transit of vessels through the Straits of Hormuz."
Now Vahid didn't look merely stern, he looked threatening. "Do not mistake our restraint for weakness. Any weapons launched at us, including under the guise of 'justified retaliation' will be met with twice the firepower used against us. We accept responsibility. We do not accept the death of Iranians who had no role in the criminal attack against a fellow Muslim nation."