used legal ruses to delay the executions, and when Iraq invaded, most were freed on the promise of a return to active duty. 144 participants were however executed, and in the following months 2,000–4,000 military personnel dismissed. An assassination attempt was made on Shapour Bakhtiar in Paris on 18 July, and on 22 July Ali Akbar Tabatabaei, the former Iranian press attache in the US, was assassinated in Bethesda, Maryland. References Conflicts in 1980 1980 in Iran History of the Islamic Republic of Iran Iran Iran–Iraq relations Aftermath of the Iranian Revolution Coup d'état attempts in Asia Military coups in Iran Islamic Republic of Iran Army Militant opposition to the Islamic Republic of Iran July 1980 events in Asia