The Hoveyzeh Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) had been paralyzed, and we had to think of a solution. After consulting with one another, it was decided that Qasem should go to Seyyed Hamid Elm-ol-Hoda—who held a position in the Susangerd Construction Jihad—and seek instructions through him. Qasem went to Ahvaz, attended the Maghrib and Isha prayers at the Jazayeri Mosque in Ahvaz, where he met Seyyed Hamid and gave him a report on the chaotic situation of the Hoveyzeh IRGC. Seyyed Hamid immediately took Qasem to Seyyed Hossein Elm-ol-Hoda and introduced them to each other. This was the first encounter between the youth of Hoveyzeh and Seyyed Hossein. Seyyed Hossein had told Qasem: - Come tomorrow so we can go together to see Brother Shamkhani. At that time, Seyyed Hossein Elm-ol-Hoda was the officer in charge of troop dispatch and a member of the Khuzestan IRGC Command Council. Since the years before the Islamic Revolution and during the struggle against the Taghut regime, Seyyed Hossein had maintained a close relationship with Brother Ali Shamkhani, the commander of the Khuzestan Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. The headquarters of the Ahvaz IRGC was located at the 'Golf' base. The very next day, Qasem Neisi and Seyyed Hossein went to meet Brother Shamkhani.
Qasem later recounted to me, saying: - When we reached Golf, I stayed in the waiting room while Hossein went alone to Ali Shamkhani and spoke with him. It was later that I understood why Seyyed Hossein went by himself to see the IRGC commander in Khuzestan. Hossein could foresee the near future of the war in and around Hoveyzeh and did not want to stay in Ahvaz. He wanted to get himself to Hoveyzeh. After the martyrdom of friends like Reza Pirzad and Asghar Gandomkar, he could no longer remain in Ahvaz. He wanted, by any means possible, to draw closer to Susangerd and Hoveyzeh. My arrival provided him with the best opportunity to reach the destination he had been plotting for. The two of them spoke privately for about half an hour. When Hossein came out of the room, he was smiling. It became clear that he had succeeded in securing Mr. Shamkhani's consent and was chosen as the commander of the Hoveyzeh IRGC. Later, I learned that Shamkhani had initially strongly opposed this appointment, but Seyyed Hossein somehow managed to persuade him to let him become the commander of the Hoveyzeh IRGC. Thus, following the martyrdom of Asghar Gandomkar, Seyyed Hossein Elm-ol-Hoda became the second commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in Hoveyzeh.
Source: Book "Report to the Soil of Hoveyzeh; Memoirs of General Younis Sharifi"; Soureh Mehr Publications