June 20 marked the 36th martyrdom anniversary of professor-commander Mostafa Chamran, the first Iranian defense minister after the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Born in 1932, Chamran was a member of parliament, as well as the commander of paramilitary volunteers during the Iraq–Iran War (1980-1988 ). Chamran left his academic career as a scientist and professor at the University of California, Berkeley in order to help Islamic movements in Palestine, Lebanon and Egypt. He was also instrumental in the struggles leading to the victory of the Islamic Revolution in Iran. Chamran died on June 20 1981 after being hit by shrapnel shells in Dehlavieh, a region in Iran’s southern Khuzestan Province during the 1980-1988 Iraqi imposed war on Iran.