Beirut street to be named after Iranian commander

A ceremony is to be held in Beirut on Wednesday in which one of the main streets in the Lebanese capital will be named after a former Iranian defense minister and senior commander, Mostafa Chamran.

A source in Iran’s cultural center in Beirut said that Beirut municipality will name a major street in the city after the Iranian politician to commemorate his endeavors in Iran and Lebanon, according to English language paper Iran Daily.
A bust of Martyr Chamran, built in cooperation with Tehran Municipality, will also be installed on the same street, the source added.

The street’s new name and signs will be unveiled in a ceremony to be attended by Iranian and Lebanese officials. Iran’s Ambassador in Beirut Mohammad Fathali, a district mayor, and representatives from Amal Movement and the Lebanese Hezbollah Resistance Movement will speak at the ceremony before the bust is unveiled.

Born in 1932, Chamran served as the first Iranian defense minister after the 1979 Islamic Revolution. He was also a member of parliament, as well as the commander of paramilitary volunteers during the 1980-88 Iraqi imposed war on Iran.

Chamran left his academic career as a scientist and professor at the University of California, Berkeley 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 was killed on June 20 1981 after being hit by shrapnel shells in Dehlavieh, a region in Iran’s southwestern Khuzestan province.

British writer Nick Robinson published a biography of Chamran in 2013. Titled ‘22: Not a New Lifestyle for Those who Thirst for Humanity’, the book explores Chamran’s life in 33 short stories.