View source for Iran–Iraq War

{{Short description|1980–1988 war in West Asia}}
{{very long|words=26,000|date=April 2024}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2024}}
{{Use British English|date = November 2020}}
{{Infobox military conflict
| conflict          = Iran–Iraq War
| partof            = the [[Cold War]], [[aftermath of the Iranian Revolution|aftermath]] of the [[Iranian Revolution]], [[Iraqi–Kurdish conflict]], [[Iran–Saudi Arabia proxy conflict|Iran–Saudi]] and [[Assadist–Saddamist conflict|Iraq–Syria proxy conflicts]]
| image             = {{multiple image|border=infobox|perrow=2/2/2|total_width=300px
| image1 = Children_In_iraq-iran_war4_(cropped).jpg
| alt1 = 
| image2 = Chemical weapon1.jpg
| alt2 =
| image3 = USS Stark edit.jpg
| alt3 =
| image4 = Mersad.jpg
| alt4 =
| image5 = Khorramshahr POWs crop.jpg
| alt5 =
| image6 = 152_mm_howitzer_D-20_belong_to_Military_of_Iran.jpg
}}
| image_size        = 
| caption           = '''Top-left to bottom-right''': {{flatlist|
* An Iranian [[child soldier]] on the frontlines
* An Iranian soldier in a trench wearing a gas mask to guard against [[Iraqi chemical attacks against Iran|Iraqi chemical attacks]]
* The {{USS|Stark}} listing to port after [[USS Stark incident|being struck]] by an Iraqi [[Exocet]] missile
* Burned-out vehicles in the aftermath of [[Operation Mersad]]
* Iraqi prisoners of war after the [[Liberation of Khorramshahr|recapture of Khorramshahr]] by Iranian forces
* The [[152 mm gun-howitzer D-20]] being used by the Iranian Army
}}
| date              = [[Iraqi invasion of Iran|22 September 1980]] – 20 August 1988<br />({{Age in years, months, weeks and days|month1=09|day1=22|year1=1980|month2=08|day2=20|year2=1988}})
| place             = {{flatlist|
*[[Iran]]
*[[Ba'athist Iraq|Iraq]]{{efn|Also: [[1983–1988 Kuwait terror attacks]], [[1981 Iraqi embassy bombing in Beirut]], [[Lebanon hostage crisis]], [[1983 Beirut barracks bombings]] and [[1985–86 Paris attacks]].}}}}
| territory         = ''[[Status quo ante bellum]]''{{efn|After the war concluded, Iraq continued to maintain control over the entire Shatt al-Arab and other Iranian territories it had occupied along the border, covering an area of 9,600&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup>. It was not until 16 August 1990 that Iraq agreed to return these occupied territories to Iran and to divide sovereignty over the Shatt al-Arab. This restored the border to the terms established by the [[1975 Algiers Agreement]].<ref>{{Cite book|last=Malovany|first=Pesach|title=Wars of Modern Babylon: A History of the Iraqi Army from 1921 to 2003|publisher=[[University Press of Kentucky]]|year=2017|isbn=9780813169453|pages=443}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last=Coll|first=Steve|date=15 August 1990|title=Saddam offers to conclude full peace with Iran|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1990/08/16/saddam-offers-to-conclude-full-peace-with-iran/6b87c9d2-e36f-454e-a103-09c112c6f546/|access-date=8 June 2024|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|archive-date=9 June 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230609225730/https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1990/08/16/saddam-offers-to-conclude-full-peace-with-iran/6b87c9d2-e36f-454e-a103-09c112c6f546/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Britannica Iran–Iraq War"/>}}
| result            = Inconclusive{{efn|Iraq claimed victory following a [[Tawakalna ala Allah Operations|successful 1988 counter-offensive]] aimed at expelling Iranian forces from Iraq which compelled Iran to submit to a ceasefire the same year, and also due to the country becoming the dominant power in the Middle East as a result of the conflict. Iran also claimed victory for expelling Iraqi forces from Iran following 1982 offensives, despite failing in its later-goal to overthrow the Iraqi government and also despite suffering higher military and economic losses than Iraq.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Mylroie|first=Laurie|date=1989|title=Iraq's Changing Role in the Persian Gulf|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/45316185|journal=Current History|volume=88|issue=535|pages=89–99|doi=10.1525/curh.1989.88.535.89|jstor=45316185|s2cid=249695060|issn=0011-3530|access-date=21 July 2023|archive-date=21 July 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230721140817/https://www.jstor.org/stable/45316185|url-status=live|url-access=subscription}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=26 September 2015|title=The 'beauty' and the horror of the Iran–Iraq war|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-34353349|access-date=21 July 2023|publisher=[[BBC News]]|language=en-GB|archive-date=14 June 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180614110703/https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-34353349|url-status=live}}</ref>}}
| combatant1        = {{flag|Iran}}
| combatant2        = {{flagcountry|Ba'athist Iraq}}
| commander1        = {{plainlist|
* {{flagicon|Iran}} [[Ruhollah Khomeini]]
* {{flagicon|Iran}} [[Akbar Rafsanjani]]
* {{flagicon|Iran}} [[Ali Khamenei]]
* {{flagicon|Iran}} [[Mir-Hossein Mousavi]]}}
| commander2        = {{plainlist|
* {{flagicon|Ba'athist Iraq}} [[Saddam Hussein]]
* {{flagicon|Ba'athist Iraq}} [[Adnan Khayr Allah]]
* {{flagicon|Ba'athist Iraq}} [[Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri]]
* {{flagicon|Ba'athist Iraq}} [[Tariq Aziz]]}}
| units1            = See [[Order of battle during the Iran–Iraq War|order of battle]]
| units2            = See [[Order of battle during the Iran–Iraq War|order of battle]]
| strength1         = '''Start of war:'''<ref name="Pollack, p. 186">Pollack, p.&nbsp;186.</ref><ref name=Razeoux>{{cite book|last1=Razoux|first1=Pierre|title=The Iran–Iraq War|date=2015|publisher=[[Harvard University Press]]|isbn=978-0674915718|pages=515, 540|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FGsuCwAAQBAJ|access-date=29 January 2023|archive-date=17 February 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230217025950/https://books.google.com/books?id=FGsuCwAAQBAJ|url-status=live}}</ref>
<br />110,000–215,000 soldiers
{{Collapsible list
|title = More:
|1,700–2,100 tanks,<ref>Farrokh, Kaveh, 305 (2011)</ref><ref>Pollack, p.&nbsp;187.</ref>
<br />(500–1,150 operable)
<br />1,000–1,900 armoured vehicles,
<br />(1,300 operable)
<br />300–1,100 artillery pieces,<ref>Farrokh, Kaveh, 304 (2011)</ref>
<br />421–485 fighter-bombers,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.imgrumweb.com/post/BoD6JDhArG3|title=The state of the air combat readiness of Iran ... • corporal_historian_23|access-date=9 December 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181002102353/https://www.imgrumweb.com/post/BoD6JDhArG3|archive-date=2 October 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref>
<br />(200–205 fully operational)
<br />750–835 helicopters
<br />(240 fully operational)
<br />
<br />'''In 1982:'''
<br />350,000 soldiers,
<br />700 tanks,
<br />2,700 armoured vehicles,
<br />400 artillery pieces,
<br />350 aircraft,
<br />700 helicopters
<br />
<br />'''In 1988:'''<ref>Pollack, p.&nbsp;232.</ref><ref>Cordesman, Anthony H. ''The Lessons of Modern War: The Iran–Iraq War.'' Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 1990. Chapter 10: "In fact, Iraq had captured so much equipment that it was able to put on an incredible show on the outskirts of Baghdad. Rather than include all of Iraq's gains, it included the equipment that could either be used immediately or be easily reconditioned. Iraqi sources claimed that since March, Iraq had captured a total of 1,298 tanks, 155 armored infantry fighting vehicles, 512 heavy artillery weapons, 6,196 mortars, 5,550 recoilless rifles and light guns, 8,050 rocket propelled grenades, 60,694 rifles, 322 pistols, 6,156 telecommunications devices, 501 items of heavy engineering equipment, 454 trucks, 1,600 light vehicles and trailers, 16,863 items of chemical defense gear, and 16,863 caskets... After its recent defeats, Iran was virtually defenseless in the south. It was down to less than 200 tanks."</ref><ref name=Razeoux/>
<br />600,000–850,000 soldiers,
<br />1,500+ tanks,{{NoteTag|Pollack gives the figure as 1,000 for fully operational tanks in April of 1988. Cordesman gives the figure as 1,500+ operational tanks in March 1988 (1,298 were captured by the Iraqis by July 1988, 200 were still in the hands of the Iranians, and an unknown number were destroyed), with an unknown number in workshops.}}
<br />800–1,400 armoured vehicles,
<br />600–900 heavy artillery pieces,
<br />60–80 fighter-bombers,
<br />70–90 helicopters
----
KDP: 45,000 [[Peshmerga]] (1986–88)<ref name=Razeoux2>{{cite book|last1=Razoux|first1=Pierre|title=The Iran–Iraq War|date=2015|publisher=[[Harvard University Press]]|isbn=978-0674915718|pages=543–544|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FGsuCwAAQBAJ|access-date=29 January 2023|archive-date=17 February 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230217025950/https://books.google.com/books?id=FGsuCwAAQBAJ|url-status=live}}</ref><br />PUK: 12,000 Peshmerga (1986–88)<ref name=Razeoux2/>
}}
| strength2         = '''Start of war:'''<ref name="Pollack, p. 186"/><ref name=Razeoux/>
<br />200,000–210,000 soldiers
{{Collapsible list
|title = More:
|1,750–2,800 tanks,
<br />2,350–4,000 APCs,
<br />1,350–1,400 artillery pieces,
<br /> 295–380 fighter-bombers,
<br /> 300–350 helicopters
<br />
<br />'''In 1982:'''
<br />175,000 soldiers,
<br />1,200 tanks,
<br />2,300 armoured vehicles,
<br />400 artillery pieces,
<br />450 aircraft,
<br /> 180 helicopters
<br />
<br />'''In 1988:'''
<br />800,000–1,500,000 soldiers,<ref name="Pollack, p. 3">Pollack, p.&nbsp;3.</ref><ref name=Razeoux/>
<br />3,400–5,000 tanks,
<br />4,500–10,000 APCs,
<br />2,300–12,000 artillery pieces,
<br />360–900 fighter-bombers,
<br />140–1,000 helicopters
----
KDPI: 30,000 Peshmerga (1980–83)<ref name=Razeoux2/><br />MEK: 15,000 fighters (1981–83, 87–88)<ref name=Razeoux2/>
}}
| casualties1       = '''Military dead:'''
<br />200,000–600,000{{NoteTag|Estimates of Iranian casualties during the Iran–Iraq War vary.<ref name="hiro205" /><ref name="Rajaee1997">{{cite book|last=Rajaee|first=Farhang|title=Iranian Perspectives on the Iran–Iraq War|publisher=University Press of Florida|location=Gainesville|year=1997|page=2|isbn=978-0-8130-1476-0|oclc=492125659}}</ref><ref name="Mikaberidze2011" /><ref>Hammond Atlas of the 20th Century (1999), pp.&nbsp;134–135.</ref><ref name="Dunnigan 1991">Dunnigan, A Quick and Dirty Guide to War (1991)</ref><ref name="Twentieth Century World History 1997">Dictionary of Twentieth Century World History, by Jan Palmowski (Oxford, 1997)</ref><ref name="ReferenceA">Clodfelter, Micheal, Warfare and Armed Conflict: A Statistical Reference to Casualty and Other Figures, 1618–1991</ref><ref name="Chirot, Daniel 1994">Chirot, Daniel: Modern Tyrants : the power and prevalence of evil in our age (1994)</ref><ref>"B&J": Jacob Bercovitch and Richard Jackson, ''International Conflict : A Chronological Encyclopedia of Conflicts and Their Management 1945–1995'' (1997), p.&nbsp;195.</ref>}}
<br />
{{Collapsible list
| title = More:
| 123,220–160,000 [[killed in action|KIA]],
<br /> 60,711 [[missing in action|MIA]]<ref name="hiro205">{{cite book|last=Hiro|first=Dilip|author-link=Dilip Hiro|title=The Longest War: The Iran–Iraq Military Conflict|publisher=Routledge|location=New York|year=1991|page=[https://archive.org/details/longestwariranir00hiro/page/205 205]|isbn=978-0-415-90406-3|oclc=22347651|url=https://archive.org/details/longestwariranir00hiro/page/205}}</ref><ref name="Abrahamian2008">{{cite book|last=Abrahamian|first=Ervand|author-link=Ervand Abrahamian|title=A History of Modern Iran|publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]]|location=Cambridge; New York|year=2008|pages=171–175, 212|isbn=978-0511984402|oclc=171111098}}</ref>
<br /> (Iranian claim)
<br /> 800,000 killed
<br /> (Iraqi claim)<ref name="hiro205" />
<br />
<br /> 320,000–500,000 [[Wounded in action|WIA]]<ref name="Mikaberidze2011">{{cite book|last=Mikaberidze|first=Alexander|title=Conflict and Conquest in the Islamic World: A Historical Encyclopedia|publisher=[[ABC-CLIO]]|location=Santa Barbara, CA|year=2011|page=418|isbn=978-1-59884-336-1|oclc=775759780}}</ref><ref name="PotterSick2006">{{cite book|last1=Potter|first1=Lawrence G.|last2=Sick|first2=Gary|title=Iran, Iraq and the Legacies of War|publisher=[[Palgrave Macmillan]]|location=Basingstoke|year=2006|page=8|isbn=978-1-4039-7609-3|oclc=70230312}}</ref><ref name="Zargar2012">{{cite journal|last1=Zargar|first1=Moosa|last2=Araghizadeh|first2=Hassan|last3=Soroush|first3=Mohammad Reza|last4=Khaji|first4=Ali|title=Iranian casualties during the eight years of Iraq–Iran conflict|journal=Revista de Saúde Pública|volume=41|issue=6|publisher=Faculdade de Higiene e Saúde Pública da Universidade de São Paulo|location=São Paulo|date=December 2012|pages=1065–1066|issn=0034-8910|doi=10.1590/S0034-89102007000600025|pmid=18066475|oclc=4645489824|doi-access=free}}</ref>
<br />40,000–42,875 [[Prisoner of war|POW]]<ref name="PotterSick2006" /><ref name="Zargar2012" />
<br />11,000–16,000 [[civilian casualties|civilian dead]]<ref name="hiro205" /><ref name="Abrahamian2008" />
<br />
<br /> '''Economic loss:'''
<br /> $627&nbsp;billion<ref name="Rajaee1997" /><ref name="hiro251">{{cite book|last=Hiro|first=Dilip|author-link=Dilip Hiro|title=The Longest War: The Iran–Iraq Military Conflict|publisher=Routledge|location=New York|year=1991|page=[https://archive.org/details/longestwariranir00hiro/page/251 251]|isbn=978-0-415-90406-3|oclc=22347651|url=https://archive.org/details/longestwariranir00hiro/page/251}}</ref>
}}
| casualties2       = '''Military dead:''' <br />
105,000–500,000{{NoteTag|Estimates of Iraqi casualties during the Iran–Iraq War vary.<ref name="PotterSick2006" /><ref name="hiro251" /><ref name="hawaii.edu">{{cite web|url=http://www.hawaii.edu/powerkills/SOD.TAB14.1C.GIF|title=Centi-Kilo Murdering States: Estimates, Sources, and Calculations|work=Power Kills|publisher=University of Hawai'i|last=Rumel|first=Rudolph|access-date=26 March 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171011172148/http://www.hawaii.edu/powerkills/SOD.TAB14.1C.GIF|archive-date=11 October 2017|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Karsh2002" /><ref name="KochLong1997">{{cite book|last1=Koch|first1=Christian|last2=Long|first2=David E.|title=Gulf Security in the Twenty-First Century|publisher=Emirates Center for Strategic Studies and Research|location=Abu Dhabi|year=1997|page=29|isbn=978-1-86064-316-3|oclc=39035954}}</ref><ref name="remembrance">{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/sep/23/iran-iraq-war-anniversary|title=Iran and Iraq remember war that cost more than a million lives|first=Ian|last=Black|newspaper=The Guardian|date=23 September 2010|access-date=14 December 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170102173349/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/sep/23/iran-iraq-war-anniversary|archive-date=2 January 2017|url-status=live}}</ref>}} <br />
{{Collapsible list
| title = More:
|400,000 [[Wounded in action|WIA]]<ref name="Karsh2002">{{cite book|last=Karsh|first=Efraim|author-link=Efraim Karsh|title=The Iran–Iraq War, 1980–1988|publisher=Osprey Publishing|location=Oxford, England|year=2002|page=89|isbn=978-1-84176-371-2|oclc=48783766}}</ref>
<br /> 70,000 [[Prisoner of war|POW]]<ref name="Mikaberidze2011" /><ref name="Karsh2002" />
<br />
<br />'''Economic loss:'''
<br />$561&nbsp;billion<ref name="Rajaee1997" /><ref name="hiro251" />
}}
| casualties3       = '''Civilian dead:''' 100,000+{{NoteTag|The total 100,000+ civilians killed during the war does not include 50,000–200,000 Kurdish civilians killed in the [[Anfal campaign]].<ref name="hawaii.edu-D">{{cite web|url=http://www.hawaii.edu/powerkills/SOD.TAB15.1D.GIF|title=Lesser Murdering States, Quasi-States, and Groups: Estimates, Sources, and Calculations|work=Power Kills|publisher=University of Hawai'i|last=Rumel|first=Rudolph|access-date=16 May 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121004213140/http://www.hawaii.edu/powerkills/SOD.TAB15.1D.GIF|archive-date=4 October 2012|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="hang">{{cite news|newspaper=[[Tampa Bay Times]]|url=http://www.sptimes.com/2007/06/25/Worldandnation/Iraq_to_hang__Chemica.shtml|title=Iraq to hang 'Chemical Ali'|last=Sinan|first=Omar|agency=Associated Press|date=25 June 2007|access-date=9 February 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151017073732/http://www.sptimes.com/2007/06/25/Worldandnation/Iraq_to_hang__Chemica.shtml|archive-date=17 October 2015|url-status=live}}</ref> }}<br> '''Total dead:'''<br>450,000{{sfn|Pfetsch|Rohloff|2013|p=154}}–500,000<ref name="Britannica Iran–Iraq War"/>
| notes             = 
| campaignbox       = {{Campaignbox Iran–Iraq War}} {{Campaignbox Persian Gulf Wars}}{{Campaignbox Iran–Saudi Arabia proxy conflict}}
| combatant1a       = {{flagicon image|Former Flag of KDP.svg}} [[Kurdistan Democratic Party|KDP]]<br />{{flagicon image|Flag of PUK.svg}} [[Patriotic Union of Kurdistan|PUK]]<br />{{flagicon image|Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq (ISCI, SIIC; SCIRI) Infobox Flag.png}} [[Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq|ISCI]]<br />{{flagicon image|Islamic Dawa Party Flag.svg}} [[Islamic Dawa Party]]<br />{{flag|Hezbollah}}<ref>{{cite web|url=http://memri.org/bin/latestnews.cgi?ID=IA44808|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090211103949/http://memri.org/bin/latestnews.cgi?ID=IA44808|archive-date=11 February 2009|title=The Iranian Roots of Hizbullah|author=Nimrod Raphaeli|date=11 February 2009|website=MEMRI}}</ref><br />[[Shia Islam|Shia]] volunteers{{efn|from:
* {{nowrap|{{flagicon|Democratic Republic of Afghanistan}} [[Democratic Republic of Afghanistan|Afghanistan]]<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.tehrantimes.com/news/428282/Memoires-of-Afghan-volunteers-in-Iran-Iraq-war-published|title=Memoires of Afghan volunteers in Iran–Iraq war published (tehrantimes.com)|date=7 October 2018|access-date=3 February 2021|archive-date=17 June 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210617061212/https://www.tehrantimes.com/news/428282/Memoires-of-Afghan-volunteers-in-Iran-Iraq-war-published|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.tehrantimes.com/news/455870/Mohsen-the-Japanese-chronicles-life-of-Afghan-volunteer-fighter|title='Mohsen, the Japanese' chronicles life of Afghan volunteer fighter in Iran–Iraq war (tehrantimes.com)|date=16 December 2020|access-date=3 February 2021|archive-date=7 February 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210207165205/https://www.tehrantimes.com/news/455870/Mohsen-the-Japanese-chronicles-life-of-Afghan-volunteer-fighter|url-status=live}}</ref>}}
** [[Abuzar Brigade]]
* {{flagicon|Iraq|1963}} [[Iraq]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://s3.amazonaws.com/berkley-center/200918WastnidgeIransShiaDiplomacyReligiousIdentityForeignPolicyIslamicRepublic.pdf|title=Iran's Shia Diplomacy: Religious and Foreign Policy in the Islamic Republic|access-date=30 August 2023|archive-date=6 July 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230706200748/https://s3.amazonaws.com/berkley-center/200918WastnidgeIransShiaDiplomacyReligiousIdentityForeignPolicyIslamicRepublic.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>
** {{flagicon image|}} [[Badr Organization]]
* {{nowrap|{{flag|Lebanon}}<ref>{{cite book|last1=Shaery-Eisenlohr|first1=Roschanack|title=Shi'ite Lebanon: Transnational Religion and the Making of National Identities|date=2011|publisher=Columbia University Press|isbn=9780231144278|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vrpRagljvA4C|access-date=21 March 2023|archive-date=27 April 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230427070936/https://books.google.com/books?id=vrpRagljvA4C|url-status=live}}</ref>}}
** {{flag|Hezbollah|size=23px}}
* {{nowrap|{{flag|Pakistan}}<ref>Williamson Murray, Kevin M. Woods (2014): ''The Iran–Iraq War. A Military and Strategic History.'' Cambridge University Press. {{ISBN|978-1-107-06229-0}} p. 223</ref>}}
** {{flagicon image|Tehreek-e-Jafaria Official logo.svg}} [[Tehreek-e-Jafaria (Pakistan)]]
** {{flagicon image|Flag of the Sipah-i Muhammad.svg}} [[Sipah-e-Muhammad Pakistan]]
* {{flag|Kuwait}}<ref name="MCUP">{{Cite web|url=https://muse.jhu.edu/article/795830/pdf|title=Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (Project Muse)|access-date=30 August 2023|archive-date=9 July 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220709043606/https://muse.jhu.edu/article/795830/pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>
* {{Flagcountry|Bahrain}}<ref name="MCUP"/>
* {{flag|India}}<ref name="MCUP"/>
}}
| combatant2a       = {{flagicon image|Flag of Khuzestan.svg}} [[Democratic Revolutionary Front for the Liberation of Arabistan|DRFLA]]<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0yYdBQAAQBAJ&q=Liberation+of+Arabistan+iran+iraq+war&pg=PA20|title=The Iran–Iraq War|first=Rob|last=Johnson|date=2010|publisher=Palgrave Macmillan|isbn=978-1137267788}}{{Dead link|date=January 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WVBCBAAAQBAJ&q=Liberation+of+Arabistan+iran+iraq+war&pg=PA93|title=The Iran–Iraq War: A Military and Strategic History|first1=Williamson|last1=Murray|first2=Kevin M.|last2=Woods|year=2014|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-1107062290}}</ref><br />{{flagicon image|Flag of the People's Mujahedin of Iran.svg}} [[People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran|MEK]]<br />{{flagicon image|NCRI National Council of Resistance of Iran Lion & Sun Flag.jpg}} [[National Council of Resistance of Iran|NCRI]]<br/>{{flagicon image|Flag of Partiya Demokrat a Kurdistana Îranê.png}} [[Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan|PDKI]]<ref>{{cite book|last=Entessar|first=Nader|title=Kurdish Politics in the Middle East|publisher=[[Lexington Books]]|location=Lanham|page=48|year=2010|isbn=9780739140390|oclc=430736528|quote=Throughout much of the 1980s, the KDPI received aid from the Ba'thi regime of Saddam Hussein, but Ghassemlou broke with Baghdad in 1988 after Iraq used chemical weapons against Kurds in Halabja and then forced Kurdish villagers to...}}</ref><br />[[Salvation Force]]<ref name=":6">{{Cite conference|last=van Bruinessen|first=Martin|author-link=Martin van Bruinessen|date=15 August 1986|title=The Naqshbandi Order as a Vehicle of Political Protest among the Kurds (With Some Comparative Notes on Indonesia)|url=https://www.academia.edu/10965366|conference=New Approaches in Islamic Studies|location=Jakarta|publisher=[[Indonesian Institute of Sciences]]|pages=1–3|via=Academia.edu|access-date=19 July 2023|archive-date=16 August 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230816190924/https://www.academia.edu/10965366|url-status=live}}</ref><br />[[Arabs|Arab]] volunteers{{efn|from:<ref name="auto">{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1982/10/04/world/sudanese-brigades-could-provide-key-aid-for-iraq-military-analysis.html|title=Sudanese Brigades Could Provide Key Aid for Iraq; Military Analysis|newspaper=The New York Times|date=4 October 1982|access-date=8 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191208094106/https://www.nytimes.com/1982/10/04/world/sudanese-brigades-could-provide-key-aid-for-iraq-military-analysis.html|archive-date=8 December 2019|url-status=live|last1=Middleton|first1=Drew}}</ref><ref name="auto1">{{Cite journal|url=https://www.csmonitor.com/1982/0205/020559.html|title=Iraq–Iran war becoming Arab-Persian war? (The Christian Science Monitor)|journal=The Christian Science Monitor|date=5 February 1982|access-date=8 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191208094106/https://www.csmonitor.com/1982/0205/020559.html|archive-date=8 December 2019|url-status=live}}</ref>
* {{flag|Egypt|1972}}<ref name="auto"/>
* {{nowrap|{{flag|Jordan}}<ref>{{Cite journal|url=https://www.csmonitor.com/1982/0211/021106.html|title=Jordan's call for volunteers to fight Iran misfires (The Christian Science Monitor)|journal=The Christian Science Monitor|date=11 February 1982|access-date=8 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191208094041/https://www.csmonitor.com/1982/0211/021106.html|archive-date=8 December 2019|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Schenker">{{cite book|url=https://www.washingtoninstitute.org/uploads/Documents/pubs/DancingwithSaddam.pdf.pdf|title=Dancing with Saddam: The Strategic Tango of Jordanian–Iraqi Relations|publisher=[[The Washington Institute for Near East Policy]] / [[Lexington Books]]|last=Schenker|first=David Kenneth|year=2003|isbn=0-7391-0649-X|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170123153530/https://www.washingtoninstitute.org/uploads/Documents/pubs/DancingwithSaddam.pdf.pdf|archive-date=23 January 2017}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1982/01/29/jordanian-unit-going-to-aid-iraq-6-hussein-will-join-volunteer-force-fighting-iranians/a6b7099c-3c36-4152-9411-6b0620038463/|title=Jordanian Unit Going To Aid Iraq 6 Hussein Will Join Volunteer Force Fighting Iranians (The Washington Post)|newspaper=The Washington Post|access-date=8 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191208094156/https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1982/01/29/jordanian-unit-going-to-aid-iraq-6-hussein-will-join-volunteer-force-fighting-iranians/a6b7099c-3c36-4152-9411-6b0620038463/|archive-date=8 December 2019|url-status=live}}</ref>}}
* {{flag|Morocco}}<ref name="auto1"/><ref name="auto"/>
* {{flag|North Yemen}}<ref>''Dictionary of modern Arab history'', Kegan Paul International 1998. {{ISBN|978-0710305053}} p.&nbsp;196.</ref>
* {{flag|Sudan}}<ref name="web.archive.org">{{Cite web|url=https://www.wilsoncenter.org/sites/default/files/Iran-IraqWar_Part1_0.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160911220456if_/https://www.wilsoncenter.org/sites/default/files/Iran-IraqWar_Part1_0.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-date=2016-09-11|title=Iran–Iraq War Timeline. Part 1}}</ref><ref>Berridge, W.J. "Civil Uprisings in Modern Sudan: The 'Khartoum Springs' of 1964 and 1985", p.&nbsp;136. Bloomsbury Academic, 2015 {{ISBN?}}</ref>
* {{flag|Tunisia|1959}}<ref name="auto"/>
}}
}}
The '''Iran–Iraq War''' was an armed conflict between [[Iran]] and [[Ba'athist Iraq|Iraq]] that lasted from September 1980 to August 1988. Active hostilities began with the [[Iraqi invasion of Iran]] and lasted for nearly eight years, until the acceptance of [[United Nations Security Council Resolution 598]] by both sides. Iraq's primary rationale for the attack against Iran cited the need to prevent [[Ruhollah Khomeini]]—who had spearheaded the [[Iranian revolution]] in 1979—from [[The policy of exporting the Islamic Revolution|exporting the new Iranian ideology]] to Iraq. There were also fears among the Iraqi leadership of [[Saddam Hussein]] that Iran, a theocratic state with a population predominantly composed of [[Shia Muslims]], would exploit [[Sectarian violence in Iraq|sectarian tensions in Iraq]] by rallying Iraq's Shia majority against the [[Ba'ath Party (Iraqi-dominated faction)|Baʽathist government]], which was officially secular but dominated by [[Sunni Islam|Sunni Muslims]]. Iraq also wished to replace Iran as the power player in the [[Persian Gulf]], which was not seen as an achievable objective prior to the Islamic Revolution because of [[Pahlavi Iran]]'s economic and military superiority as well as its close relationships with the [[Iran–United States relations|United States]] and [[Iran–Israel relations|Israel]].

The Iran–Iraq War followed a long-running history of [[Shatt al-Arab dispute|territorial border disputes between the two states]], as a result of which Iraq planned to retake the eastern bank of the [[Shatt al-Arab]] that it had ceded to Iran in the [[1975 Algiers Agreement]]. Iraqi support for [[Arab separatism in Khuzestan|Arab separatists in Iran]] increased following the outbreak of hostilities; Saddam disputedly [[#Khuzestan|may have wished to annex]] Iran's Arab-majority [[Khuzestan province]].

While the Iraqi leadership had hoped to take advantage of [[Aftermath of the Iranian Revolution|Iran's post-revolutionary chaos]] and expected a decisive victory in the face of a severely weakened Iran, the Iraqi military only made progress for three months, and by December 1980, the Iraqi invasion had stalled. The Iranian military began to gain momentum against the Iraqis and regained all lost territory by June 1982. After pushing Iraqi forces back to the pre-war border lines, Iran rejected [[United Nations Security Council Resolution 514]] and launched an invasion of Iraq. The subsequent Iranian offensive within Iraqi territory lasted for five years, with Iraq taking back the initiative in mid-1988 and subsequently launching a series of major counter-offensives that ultimately led to the conclusion of the war in a stalemate.

The eight years of war-exhaustion, economic devastation, decreased morale, military stalemate, inaction by the international community towards the [[Iraq and weapons of mass destruction#Iran–Iraq War|use of weapons of mass destruction by Iraqi forces on Iranian soldiers and civilians]], as well as increasing [[Iran–United States relations|Iran–United States military tensions]] all culminated in Iran's acceptance of a ceasefire brokered by the [[United Nations Security Council]]. In total, around 500,000 people were killed during the Iran–Iraq War, with Iran bearing the larger share of the casualties, excluding the tens of thousands of civilians killed in the concurrent [[Anfal campaign]] that targeted [[Iraqi Kurdistan]]. The end of the conflict resulted in neither reparations nor border changes, and the combined financial losses suffered by both combatants is believed to have exceeded {{Currency|1 trillion|USD|passthrough=yes}}.<ref name="Riedel">{{cite book|last=Riedel|first=Bruce|title=Becoming Enemies: U.S.–Iran Relations and the Iran–Iraq War, 1979–1988|publisher=[[Rowman & Littlefield]] Publishers|year=2012|isbn=978-1-4422-0830-8|page=ix|chapter=Foreword|quote=The Iran–Iraq War was devastating—one of the largest and longest conventional interstate wars since the [[Korean War|Korean conflict]] ended in 1953. A half million lives were lost, perhaps another million were injured, and the economic cost was over a trillion dollars.&nbsp;... the battle lines at the end of the war were almost exactly where they were at the beginning of hostilities. It was also the only war in modern times in which chemical weapons were used on a massive scale.&nbsp;... The Iranians call the war the 'imposed war' because they believe the United States imposed it on them and orchestrated the global 'tilt' toward Iraq in the war.|author-link=Bruce Riedel}}</ref> There were a number of proxy forces operating for both countries: Iraq and the pro-Iraqi Arab separatist militias in Iran were most notably supported by the [[National Council of Resistance of Iran]]; whereas Iran re-established an alliance with the [[Kurds in Iraq|Iraqi Kurds]], being primarily supported by the [[Kurdistan Democratic Party]] and the [[Patriotic Union of Kurdistan]]. During the conflict, Iraq received an abundance of financial, political, and logistical aid from the United States, the [[United Kingdom]], the [[Soviet Union]], [[France]], [[Italy]], [[Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia|Yugoslavia]], and the overwhelming majority of [[Arab world|Arab countries]]. While Iran was comparatively isolated, it received a significant amount of aid from [[Ba'athist Syria|Syria]], [[History of Libya under Muammar Gaddafi|Libya]], [[North Korea]], [[China]], [[South Yemen]], [[Cuba]], and [[Israeli support for Iran during the Iran–Iraq war|Israel]].

The conflict has been compared to [[World War I]] in terms of the tactics used by both sides, including large-scale [[trench warfare]] with barbed wire stretched across fortified defensive lines, manned machine-gun posts, [[bayonet charge]]s, Iranian [[human wave attack]]s, Iraq's extensive use of [[chemical weapon]]s, and deliberate attacks on civilian targets. The discourses on martyrdom formulated in the Iranian Shia Islamic context led to the widespread usage of human wave attacks and thus had a lasting impact on the dynamics of the conflict.<ref>Gölz, [https://www.academia.edu/39134486/Gölz_Martyrdom_and_Masculinity_in_Warring_Iran_The_Karbala_Paradigm_the_Heroic_and_the_Personal_Dimensions_of_War_Behemoth_12_no_1_2019_35_51 "Martyrdom and Masculinity in Warring Iran. The Karbala Paradigm, the Heroic, and the Personal Dimensions of War."] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190517122543/https://www.academia.edu/39134486/G%C3%B6lz_Martyrdom_and_Masculinity_in_Warring_Iran_The_Karbala_Paradigm_the_Heroic_and_the_Personal_Dimensions_of_War._Behemoth_12_no._1_2019_35_51 |date=17 May 2019 }}, Behemoth 12, no. 1 (2019): 35–51, 35.</ref>

{{TOC limit|limit=3}}

==Background==
===Iran–Iraq relations===
{{Main|Iran–Iraq relations|Shatt al-Arab dispute}}

[[File:1975 Algiers Agreement.jpg|thumb|A meeting of [[Mohammad Reza Pahlavi]], [[Houari Boumédiène]], and [[Saddam Hussein]] (left to right) during the Algiers Agreement in 1975]]
In April 1969, Iran abrogated the 1937 treaty over the [[Shatt al-Arab]] and Iranian ships stopped paying tolls to Iraq when they used the Shatt al-Arab.<ref>Karsh, Efraim ''The Iran–Iraq War 1980–1988'', London: Osprey, 2002 pp. 7–8</ref> The Shah argued that the 1937 treaty was unfair to Iran because almost all river borders around the world ran along the ''[[thalweg]]'', and because most of the ships that used the Shatt al-Arab were Iranian.<ref>Bulloch, John and Morris, Harvey ''The Gulf War'', London: Methuen, 1989 p. 37.</ref> Iraq threatened war over the Iranian move, but on 24 April 1969, an Iranian tanker escorted by Iranian warships ([[Joint Operation Arvand]]) sailed down the Shatt al-Arab, and Iraq—being the militarily weaker state—did nothing.<ref name="Karsh, Efraim page 8">Karsh, Efraim ''The Iran–Iraq War 1980–1988'', London: Osprey, 2002 p. 8</ref> The Iranian abrogation of the 1937 treaty marked the beginning of a period of acute Iraqi–Iranian tension that would see [[1974–75 Shatt al-Arab conflict|significant bloodshed]] and was to last until the [[1975 Algiers Agreement|Algiers Agreement of 1975]].<ref name="Karsh, Efraim page 8"/>

The relationship between the governments of Iran and Iraq briefly improved in 1978, when Iranian agents in Iraq discovered plans for a pro-Soviet ''coup d'état'' against Iraq's government. When informed of this plot, Saddam ordered the execution of dozens of his army's officers, and in a sign of reconciliation, expelled from Iraq [[Ruhollah Khomeini]], an exiled leader of clerical opposition to the Shah.<ref name="Farrokh 03" /><ref name=iranchamber-iraniraqwar>{{cite web|url=http://www.iranchamber.com/history/iran_iraq_war/iran_iraq_war1.php|title=Iran–Iraq War 1980–1988|work=History of Iran|publisher=Iran Chamber Society|access-date=29 June 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171011172148/http://www.iranchamber.com/history/iran_iraq_war/iran_iraq_war1.php|archive-date=11 October 2017|url-status=live}}</ref>

===After the Iranian Revolution===
{{See also|Iranian Revolution|Consolidation of the Iranian Revolution|Iran hostage crisis|Iranian Embassy siege|Iraqi invasion of Iran}}

Tensions between Iraq and Iran were fuelled by Iran's Islamic revolution and its appearance of being a [[Pan-Islamism|Pan-Islamic]] force, in contrast to Iraq's [[Arab nationalism]].<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Asadzade|first1=Peyman|title=War and Religion: The Iran−Iraq War|journal=Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Politics|date=2019|doi=10.1093/acrefore/9780190228637.013.812|isbn=978-0190228637|url=https://oxfordre.com/politics/view/10.1093/acrefore/9780190228637.001.0001/acrefore-9780190228637-e-812|access-date=21 April 2020|archive-date=23 October 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201023123429/https://oxfordre.com/politics/view/10.1093/acrefore/9780190228637.001.0001/acrefore-9780190228637-e-812|url-status=live|url-access=subscription}}</ref> Despite Iraq's goal of regaining the [[Shatt al-Arab]]{{NoteTag|Called ''Arvand Rood'' ({{lang|fa|اروندرود}}) in Iran and ''Shatt al-Arab'' ({{lang|ar|شط العرب}}) in Iraq|name=waterway}}, the Iraqi government initially seemed to welcome the [[Iranian revolution]], which overthrew Shah [[Mohammad Reza Pahlavi]], who was seen as a common enemy.<ref name=efraimkarsh /> There were frequent clashes along the Iran–Iraq border throughout 1980, with Iraq publicly complaining of at least 544 incidents and Iran citing at least 797 violations of its border and airspace.<ref name="Cambridge University Press">{{cite book|last1=Murray|first1=Williamson|last2=Woods|first2=Kevin M.|title=The Iran–Iraq War, A Military and Strategic History|chapter=A context of 'bitterness and anger'|publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]]|year=2014|isbn=978-1107062290|pages=58–59 (e-book, page numbers approximate)}}</ref>

[[File:Portrait of Ruhollah Khomeini.jpg|thumb|255x255px|[[Ruhollah Khomeini]] rose to power after the [[Iranian revolution]].]]
[[Ayatollah]] Ruhollah Khomeini called on Iraqis to overthrow the Ba'ath government, which was received with considerable anger in Baghdad.<ref name=efraimkarsh /> On 17 July 1979, despite Khomeini's call, Saddam gave a speech praising the Iranian Revolution and called for an Iraqi–Iranian friendship based on non-interference in each other's internal affairs.<ref name=efraimkarsh /> When Khomeini rejected Saddam's overture by calling for Islamic revolution in Iraq,<ref name="Farrokh 03" /> Saddam was alarmed.<ref name=efraimkarsh /> Iran's new Islamic administration was regarded in [[Baghdad]] as an irrational, existential threat to the Ba'ath government, especially because the Ba'ath party, having a secular nature, discriminated against and posed a threat to the fundamentalist [[Shia]] movement in Iraq, whose clerics were Iran's allies within Iraq and whom Khomeini saw as oppressed.<ref name=efraimkarsh />

On 1 April 1980, the [[Islamic Dawa Party]], an Iraqi Islamist group with supportive ties to Iran, attempted to assassinate [[Tariq Aziz]], a high ranking Ba'athist and Iraq's deputy prime minister, in retaliation for a 30 March decree declaring "membership of Dawa [to be] a capital offense".<ref>{{cite book|last1=Murray|first1=Williamson|last2=Woods|first2=Kevin M.|title=The Iran–Iraq War, A Military and Strategic History|chapter=A context of 'bitterness and anger'|publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]]|year=2014|isbn=978-1107062290|pages=57–58 (e-book, page numbers approximate)}}</ref> The attempt failed and instead killed several civilians.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/Iraq/Story/0,2763,943280,00.html|title=Christian outsider in Saddam's inner circle|work=The Guardian|location=London, UK|access-date=24 December 2007|first=Brian|last=Whitaker|date=25 April 2003}}</ref> This failed assassination plot, carried out by an Iran-backed group, formed a part of Iraq's [[casus belli]] for the invasion of Iran.<ref name=gsick03>{{cite journal|last=Sick|first=Gary|title=Iran: Confronting terrorism|journal=The Washington Quarterly|year=2003|volume=26|issue=4|pages=83–98|doi=10.1162/016366003322387127|s2cid=153688389}}</ref> Iraq's immediate response was to order the [[Muhammad Baqir al-Sadr#Execution|execution]] of [[Muhammad Baqir al-Sadr]], an Iraqi Shi'ite cleric seen as the public face of the Dawa movement, along with al-Sadr's sister.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Murray|first1=Williamson|last2=Woods|first2=Kevin M.|title=The Iran–Iraq War, A Military and Strategic History|chapter=A context of 'bitterness and anger'|publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]]|year=2014|isbn=978-1107062290|pages=57–58, 145–146 (e-book, page numbers approximate)}}</ref> On 30 April, Iraq organised [[Iranian Embassy siege|an attack on the Iranian embassy in London]].<ref name="Cambridge University Press"/>

Saddam's primary interest in war may have also stemmed from his desire to right the supposed "wrong" of the [[Algiers Agreement (1975)|Algiers Agreement]], in addition to finally achieving his desire of becoming the regional superpower.<ref name="Farrokh 03" /><ref>{{cite book|last1=Murray|first1=Williamson|last2=Woods|first2=Kevin M.|title=The Iran–Iraq War, A Military and Strategic History|chapter=A context of 'bitterness and anger'|publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]]|year=2014|isbn=978-1107062290|pages=61–62 (e-book, page numbers approximate)|quote=Certainly Saddam believed that the oil-rich areas of Arabistan (Khuzestan) were within his reach, a goal his intelligence services seemed delighted to further.}}</ref> Saddam's goal was to supplant [[Egypt]] as the "leader of the Arab world" and to achieve [[hegemony]] over the Persian Gulf.<ref name="Brittanica Saddam Hussein">{{cite web|title=Britannica Online Encyclopedia: Saddam Hussein|url=https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/277539/Saddam-Hussein/284496/Presidency|access-date=28 October 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150503191210/https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/277539/Saddam-Hussein/284496/Presidency|archive-date=3 May 2015|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author-link=Kanan Makiya|last=Makiya|first=Kanan|title=Republic of Fear: The Politics of Modern Iraq|edition=Updated|url=https://archive.org/details/republicoffearpo00maki|url-access=registration|publisher=[[University of California Press]]|year=1998|isbn=978-0520921245|page=273}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Motin|first=Dylan|title=Territorial Expansion and Great Power Behavior During the Cold War: A Theory of Armed Emergence|year=2025|publisher=Routledge|location=London|isbn=978-1041029687|pages=104–106}}</ref> He saw Iran's increased weakness due to revolution, sanctions, and international isolation.<ref name=AggrPolitics>{{cite book|title=The Iran–Iraq War: The Politics of Aggression|year=1993|publisher=University Press of Florida|location=Gainesville|isbn=978-0-8130-1177-6|editor=Rajaee, Farhang}}</ref> Saddam had invested heavily in Iraq's military since his defeat against Iran in 1975, buying large amounts of weaponry from the Soviet Union and France. Between 1973 and 1980 alone, Iraq purchased an estimated 1,600 tanks and [[Armoured personnel carrier|APC]]s and over 200 Soviet-made aircraft.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Murray|first1=Williamson|last2=Woods|first2=Kevin M.|title=The Iran–Iraq War, A Military and Strategic History|chapter=The opponents|publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]]|year=2014|isbn=978-1107062290|pages=71–73 (e-book, page numbers approximate)}}</ref>

By 1980, Iraq possessed 242,000 soldiers, second only to [[Egypt]] in the Arab world,<ref>{{cite book|author-link=Kanan Makiya|last=Makiya|first=Kanan|title=Republic of Fear: The Politics of Modern Iraq|edition=Updated|url=https://archive.org/details/republicoffearpo00maki|url-access=registration|publisher=[[University of California Press]]|year=1998|isbn=978-0520921245|pages=33–34}}</ref> 2,350 tanks<ref>{{cite book|last1=Murray|first1=Williamson|last2=Woods|first2=Kevin M.|title=The Iran–Iraq War, A Military and Strategic History|chapter=The opponents|publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]]|year=2014|isbn=978-1107062290|pages=77–79 (e-book, page numbers approximate)}}</ref> and 340 combat aircraft.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Murray|first1=Williamson|last2=Woods|first2=Kevin M.|title=The Iran–Iraq War, A Military and Strategic History|chapter=The opponents|publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]]|year=2014|isbn=978-1107062290|pages=79–80 (e-book, page numbers approximate)}}</ref> Watching the disintegration of the powerful Iranian army that frustrated him in 1974–1975, he saw an opportunity to attack, using the threat of Islamic Revolution as a pretext.<ref name="Fürtig">{{cite journal|title=Den Spieß umgedreht: iranische Gegenoffensive im Ersten Golfkrieg|trans-title=Turning of the Tables: the Iranian counter-offensive during the first Gulf War|first=Henner|last=Fürtig|language=de|journal=[[Damals]]|issue=5|year=2012|pages=10–13}}</ref><ref name="Murray and Woods pp. 104-106">{{cite book|last1=Murray|first1=Williamson|last2=Woods|first2=Kevin M.|title=The Iran–Iraq War, A Military and Strategic History|chapter=1980: The Iraqi invasion begins|publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]]|year=2014|isbn=978-1107062290|pages=104–106 (e-book, page numbers approximate)|quote=While the evidence now available suggests the skirmishes were more a convenient excuse for war, questions still remain.}}</ref> Iraqi [[Directorate of General Military Intelligence|military intelligence]] reported in July 1980 that despite Iran's bellicose rhetoric, "it is clear that, at present, Iran has no power to launch wide offensive operations against Iraq, or to defend on a large scale."<ref>{{cite book|last1=Murray|first1=Williamson|last2=Woods|first2=Kevin M.|title=The Iran–Iraq War, A Military and Strategic History|chapter=A context of 'bitterness and anger'|publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]]|year=2014|isbn=978-1107062290|pages=59–61, 63 (e-book, page numbers approximate)}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|author-link=Hal Brands|last=Brands|first=Hal|url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/14682745.2011.564612|title=Saddam Hussein, the United States, and the invasion of Iran: was there a green light?|journal=[[Cold War History (journal)|Cold War History]]|volume=12|issue=2|year=2012|publisher=[[Routledge]]|page=334|doi=10.1080/14682745.2011.564612|s2cid=154354622|access-date=15 February 2022|archive-date=15 February 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220215093258/https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/14682745.2011.564612|url-status=live|issn=1468-2745|url-access=subscription}}</ref> Days before the Iraqi invasion and in the midst of rapidly escalating cross-border skirmishes, Iraqi military intelligence again reiterated on 14 September that "the enemy deployment organization does not indicate hostile intentions and appears to be taking on a more defensive mode".<ref>{{cite book|last1=Murray|first1=Williamson|last2=Woods|first2=Kevin M.|title=The Iran–Iraq War, A Military and Strategic History|chapter=1980: The Iraqi invasion begins|publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]]|year=2014|isbn=978-1107062290|pages=103–106 (e-book, page numbers approximate)}}</ref>

Some scholars writing prior to the opening of formerly classified Iraqi archives, such as Alistair Finlan, argued that Saddam was drawn into a conflict with Iran due to the border clashes and Iranian meddling in Iraqi domestic affairs. Finlan stated in 2003 that the Iraqi invasion was meant to be a limited operation in order to send a political message to the Iranians to keep out of Iraqi domestic affairs,<ref>{{cite book|last1=Finlan|first1=Alistair|title=Essential Histories – The Gulf War 1991|date=2003|publisher=Routledge|location=New York|isbn=0-203-57971-2|page=1}}</ref> whereas Kevin M. Woods and Williamson Murray stated in 2014 that the balance of evidence suggests Saddam was seeking "a convenient excuse for war" in 1980.<ref name="Murray and Woods pp. 104-106"/>

On 8 March 1980, Iran announced it was withdrawing its ambassador from Iraq, downgraded its diplomatic ties to the [[charge d'affaires]] level, and demanded that Iraq do the same.<ref name=efraimkarsh /> The following day, Iraq declared Iran's ambassador [[persona non grata]], and demanded his withdrawal from Iraq by 15 March.<ref name=cia80>{{cite report|url=http://www.foia.cia.gov/docs/DOC_0001251999/DOC_0001251999.pdf|title=National Intelligence Daily|publisher=Central Intelligence Agency|date=10 March 1980|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101105212626/http://www.foia.cia.gov/docs/DOC_0001251999/DOC_0001251999.pdf|archive-date=5 November 2010}}</ref>

===Iranian military preparations===

In Iran, severe officer purges, including numerous executions ordered by [[Sadegh Khalkhali]], the new [[Islamic Revolutionary Court|Revolutionary Court]] judge, and shortages of spare parts for Iran's American and British-made equipment had crippled Iran's once-mighty [[military of Iran|military]]. Between February and September 1979, Iran's government executed 85 senior generals and forced all [[Major general|major-generals]] and most [[Brigadier general|brigadier-generals]] into early retirement.<ref name=efraimkarsh />

[[File:Abulhassan Banisadr iran iraq war.jpg|thumb|Iranian President [[Abolhassan Banisadr]], who was also commander-in-chief, inspecting a Jeep-mounted [[M40 recoilless rifle|106mm recoilless anti-tank gun]]]]

By September 1980, the revolutionary government had purged some 12,000 officers of all levels from the army. These purges drastically reduced the Iranian military's operational capacities.<ref name="efraimkarsh" />

On the eve of the revolution in 1978, international experts in military science had deemed Iran's armed forces the world's fifth most powerful.<ref name="farmanfarmaian11">{{cite news|url=http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2011/02/201121393446561799.html|publisher=Al Jazeera|title=What makes a revolution succeed?|date=14 February 2011|last=Farmanfarmaian|first=Roxane|access-date=1 October 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121105001633/http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2011/02/201121393446561799.html|archive-date=5 November 2012|url-status=live}}</ref> However, by the eve of war with Iraq, the recently formidable Iranian army was in many crucial ways a shell of its former self, having been badly weakened by losses in experienced personnel. The desertion rate had reached 60%, the officer corps was devastated and its most highly skilled soldiers and aviators had been exiled, imprisoned, or executed. When the invasion occurred, many pilots and officers were released from prison, or had their executions commuted to combat the Iraqis. Throughout the war, Iran never managed to fully recover from this [[brain drain|flight of human capital]].<ref name="parstimes">{{cite web|url=http://www.parstimes.com/history/national_security.html|title=National Security|work=Pars Times|access-date=8 September 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130515172515/http://www.parstimes.com/history/national_security.html|archive-date=15 May 2013|url-status=live}}</ref>

Many junior officers were promoted to generals, resulting in the army being more integrated as a part of the regime by the war's end.<ref name="parstimes" /> Meanwhile, a new [[paramilitary]] organisation gained prominence in Iran, the [[Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps]].<ref name="Ottolenghi 2011">{{cite web|last=Ottolenghi|first=Emanuelle|title=The Pasdaran: Inside Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps|url=http://www.defenddemocracy.org/media-hit/the-pasdaran-inside-irans-islamic-revolutionary-guard-corps/|date=3 September 2011|publisher=Foundation for Defense of Democracies|access-date=13 October 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120625224142/http://www.defenddemocracy.org/media-hit/the-pasdaran-inside-irans-islamic-revolutionary-guard-corps|archive-date=25 June 2012|url-status=live}}</ref> Created to protect the new regime and serve as a counterbalance to the army, the ''Revolutionary Guards''{{efn| Also known in Iran as the ''Sepah-e-Pasdaran''}} (IRGC) had been trained to act only as a militia and struggled to adapt as needed following the Iraqi invasion, initially refusing to fight alongside the regular army, resulting in many defeats. It was not until 1982 that the two groups began carrying out combined operations.<ref name="pollack04">{{cite book|last=Pollack|first=Kenneth M.|title=Arabs at War: Military Effectiveness, 1948–1991|year=2004|publisher=University of Nebraska Press|location=Lincoln|isbn=978-0-8032-8783-9|chapter=Iraq}}</ref>

An additional paramilitary militia was founded in response to the invasion, the "Army of 20 Million", commonly known as the [[Basij]].<ref name="Alfoneh 2010">{{cite web|last=Alfoneh|first=Ali|title=The Basij Resistance Force|url=http://iranprimer.usip.org/resource/basij-resistance-force|work=The Iran Primer|date=6 October 2010|publisher=United States Institute of Peace|access-date=13 October 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130120132917/http://iranprimer.usip.org/resource/basij-resistance-force|archive-date=20 January 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref> The Basij were poorly armed and had members as young as 12 and as old as 70. They often acted in conjunction with the Revolutionary Guard, launching so-called [[human wave attack]]s and other campaigns against the Iraqis.<ref name="Alfoneh 2010" /> They were subordinate to the Revolutionary Guard, and they made up most of the manpower that was used in the Revolutionary Guard's attacks.<ref name="Farrokh 03" />

Stephen Pelletiere wrote in his 1992 book ''The Iran–Iraq War: Chaos in a Vacuum'':

{{blockquote|The human wave has been largely misconstrued both by the popular media in the West and by many scholars. The Iranians did not merely assemble masses of individuals, point them at the enemy, and order a charge. The waves were made up of the 22-man squads mentioned above [in response to Khomeini's call for the people to come to Iran's defence, each mosque organised 22 volunteers into a squad]. Each squad was assigned a specific objective. In battle, they would surge forward to accomplish their missions, and thus gave the impression of a human wave pouring against enemy lines.<ref>''The Iran–Iraq War: Chaos in a Vacuum''. Stephen C. Pelletiere{{ISBN missing|date=September 2024}}</ref>{{page needed|date=September 2024}}}}

Despite neglect by the new regime, at the outset of the conflict, Iran still had at least 1,000 operational tanks and several hundred functional aircraft and could [[cannibalization (parts)|cannibalise]] equipment to procure spare parts.{{efn| A resort that became increasingly necessary as the war continued. Though Iran could and did acquire weapons from multiple foreign manufacturers; the pre-revolution arsenal was composed overwhelmingly of US made weaponry, meaning obtaining additional spare parts was not an option.}}<ref name="pollack04" /> Continuous sanctions greatly limited Iran from acquiring many additional heavy weapons, including tanks and aircraft.<ref name="parstimes" />

===Iraqi military preparations===
[[File:Locator map Iran Khuzestan Province.png|thumb|The location of [[Khuzestan province]] in Iran, which Iraq planned to annex]]

In addition, the area around the [[Shatt al-Arab]] posed no obstacle for Iraqi river-crossing equipment. Iraq correctly deduced that Iran's defences at the crossing points around the [[Karkheh River|Karkheh]] and [[Karoun]] Rivers were undermanned and that the rivers could be easily crossed. Iraqi intelligence was also informed that the Iranian forces in [[Khuzestan province]], which consisted of two divisions prior to the revolution, now only consisted of several ill-equipped and under-strength [[battalion]]s with only a handful of operational [[company (military unit)|company]]-sized tank units.<ref name="iranchamber-iraniraqwar" />

The only qualms the Iraqis had were over the [[Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force]] (formerly the [[Imperial Iranian Air Force]]). Despite the purge of several key pilots and commanders, as well as the lack of spare parts, the air force showed its power during local uprisings and rebellions. They were also active after the failed U.S. attempt to rescue [[Iran hostage crisis|its hostages]], [[Operation Eagle Claw]]. Based on these observations, Iraq's leaders decided to carry out a surprise [[airstrike]] against the Iranian air force's infrastructure prior to the main invasion.<ref name=iranchamber-iraniraqwar />

=== Khuzestan ===
It is widely accepted among scholars that Iraq sought to annex,<ref>{{cite book|last1=Murray|first1=Williamson|title=The Iran–Iraq War, A Military and Strategic History|last2=Woods|first2=Kevin M.|publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]]|year=2014|isbn=9781107062290|pages=61–62 (e-book, page numbers approximate)|chapter=A context of 'bitterness and anger'|quote=Certainly Saddam believed that the oil-rich areas of Arabistan (Khuzestan) were within his reach, a goal his intelligence services seemed delighted to further.}}</ref> or at least to establish [[suzerainty]] over,<ref name="Britannica Iran–Iraq War">{{cite encyclopedia|title=Iran–Iraq War|encyclopedia=[[Encyclopædia Britannica]]|url=https://www.britannica.com/event/Iran-Iraq-War|access-date=2021-09-02|archive-date=30 August 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210830211148/https://www.britannica.com/event/Iran-Iraq-War|url-status=live}}</ref> Iran's [[Khuzestan province]], but Saddam Hussein publicly denied this in November 1980.<ref>Ariane M. Tabatabai, ''No Conquest, No Defeat: Iran's National Security Strategy'', Oxford University Press, 2020, p. 198. {{ISBN?}}</ref>

===Border conflicts leading up to the war===
{{Main|Iraqi invasion of Iran#Border conflicts}}

[[File:Shatt al arab.png|thumb|The [[Shatt al-Arab]] on the [[Iran–Iraq border]]]]

On 10 September 1980, Iraq forcibly reclaimed territories in Zain al-Qaws and Saif Saad that it had been promised under the terms of the [[1975 Algiers Agreement]] but that Iran had never handed over, leading to both Iran and Iraq voiding the treaty, on 14 September and 17 September, respectively. As a result, the only outstanding border dispute between Iran and Iraq at the time of the Iraqi invasion of 22 September was the question of whether Iranian ships would fly Iraqi flags and pay Iraq navigation fees for a stretch of the Shatt al-Arab river spanning several miles.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Murray|first1=Williamson|last2=Woods|first2=Kevin M.|title=The Iran–Iraq War, A Military and Strategic History|chapter=A context of 'bitterness and anger'|publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]]|year=2014|isbn=978-1107062290|pages=62–63 (e-book, page numbers approximate)|quote=On 7 September 1980, Iraq accused Iran of shelling Iraqi villages in the territories of Zain al-Qaws and Saif Saad on 4 September 1980. Iraq demanded that the Iranian forces in those territories evacuate and return the villages to Iraq. Tehran gave no reply. Iraqi forces then moved to 'liberate' the villages, and on 10 September announced that its forces had done so in a short, sharp military engagement.&nbsp;... On 14 September 1980, Iran announced it would no longer abide by the 1975 Algiers Agreement. Given the scene that was set, it was no surprise that on 17 September, five days before the invasion, Iraq declared the accords null and void.&nbsp;... On 22 September, Iraqi units crossed the frontier.}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author-link=Kanan Makiya|last=Makiya|first=Kanan|title=Republic of Fear: The Politics of Modern Iraq|edition=Updated|url=https://archive.org/details/republicoffearpo00maki|url-access=registration|publisher=[[University of California Press]]|year=1998|isbn=978-0520921245|page=270|quote=There remains the issue of sovereignty over Shatt al-Arab.&nbsp;... Granted that this might have been a genuine motive for abrogating the 1975 treaty, and reclaiming title to the whole Shatt, what was the point of the invasion on September 22? Iraq had taken back by unilateral action on September 10 the only strips of territory it still claimed under the treaty. There was no longer any 'territory' as such on the other side to conquer. The Ba'th had already followed the Shah's example of 1971 when he unilaterally took over the three islands in the Gulf.}}</ref>

==Course of the war==
{{overly detailed|section|date=June 2024}}

=== 1980: Iraqi invasion ===
{{Main|Iraqi invasion of Iran}}
{{Further information|22 September 1980 Iraqi airstrike on Iran|Operation Kaman 99|Operation Scorch Sword|Operation Sultan 10}}
[[File:Iran Iraq War Start Attack on Tehran Airport 1980-09-22.jpg|thumb|Explosion in [[Mehrabad International Airport|Mehrabad Air Base]] in [[Tehran]] after Iraqi forces attacked Tehran on 22 September 1980]]
[[File:Destroyed Douglas C-47 of IIAF.jpg|thumb|Destroyed Iranian [[Douglas C-47 Skytrain|C-47 Skytrain]]|right]]

Iraq launched a full-scale invasion of Iran on 22 September 1980. The [[Iraqi Air Force]] launched surprise air strikes on ten Iranian airfields with the objective of destroying the [[Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force|Iranian Air Force]].<ref name=efraimkarsh>{{cite book|title=The Iran–Iraq War: 1980–1988|pages=1–8, 12–16, 19–82|author=Karsh, Efraim|publisher=Osprey Publishing|year=2002|isbn=978-1-84176-371-2}}</ref> The attack failed to cripple the Iranian Air Force: while it damaged some of Iran's airbase infrastructure, it did not destroy a significant number of aircraft. The Iraqi Air Force was only able to strike in depth with a few [[MiG-23BN]], [[Tu-22]], and [[Su-20]] aircraft,<ref name=cordesman90>{{cite book|isbn=978-0-8133-0955-2|title=The Lessons of Modern War: Volume;– The Iran–Iraq Conflict|first1=Anthony H.|last1=Cordesman|first2=Abraham|last2=Wagner|year=1990|page=444 567 [https://archive.org/details/lessonsofmodernw02cord/page/102 102]|publisher=Westview Press|url=https://archive.org/details/lessonsofmodernw02cord/page/102}}</ref> and Iran had built [[hardened aircraft shelter]]s where most of its combat aircraft were stored.

The next day, Iraq launched a ground invasion, mounting three simultaneous attacks along a {{convert|644|km|mi|abbr=on}} front. Saddam hoped an attack on Iran would cause such a blow to Iran's prestige that it would lead to the new government's downfall, or at least end Iran's calls for his overthrow.<ref name=efraimkarsh />

Of Iraq's six divisions that invaded by ground, four were sent to [[Khuzestan province|Khuzestan]], which was located near the border's southern end, to cut off the Shatt al-Arab{{NoteTag|name=waterway}} from the rest of Iran and to establish a territorial security zone.<ref name=efraimkarsh />{{rp|22}} The other two divisions invaded across the northern and central part of the border to prevent an Iranian counter-attack.<ref name=efraimkarsh /> Two of the four Iraqi divisions, one [[mechanised infantry|mechanised]] and one armoured, operated near the southern end and besieged the strategically important port cities of [[Siege of Abadan|Abadan]] and [[Battle of Khorramshahr (1980)|Khorramshahr]].<ref name=efraimkarsh />{{rp|22}}

The two armoured divisions secured the territory bounded by the cities of [[Khorramshahr]], [[Ahvaz]], [[Susangerd]], and [[Musian]].<ref name=efraimkarsh />{{rp|22}} On the central front, the Iraqis occupied [[Mehran, Ilam|Mehran]], advanced towards the foothills of the [[Zagros Mountains]], and were able to block the traditional Tehran–Baghdad invasion route by securing territory forward of [[Qasr-e Shirin]], Iran.<ref name=efraimkarsh />{{rp|23}} On the northern front, the Iraqis attempted to establish a strong defensive position opposite [[Suleimaniya]] to protect the Iraqi [[Kirkuk–Ceyhan Oil Pipeline|Kirkuk oil complex]].<ref name=efraimkarsh />{{rp|23}} Iraqi hopes of an uprising by the [[Arabs of Khuzestan]] failed to materialise, as most of the Arabs remained loyal to Iran.<ref name=efraimkarsh />

Patrick Brogan described the Iraqi troops advancing into Iran in 1980 as "badly led and lacking in offensive spirit".<ref name=brogan89 />{{rp|261|date=November 2012}} The first known [[Iraqi chemical attacks against Iran|chemical weapons attack by Iraq]] on Iran probably took place during the fighting around Susangerd.<ref name=iranchamber-chemicalwarfare>{{cite web|url=http://www.iranchamber.com/history/articles/chemical_warfare_iran_iraq_war.php|title=Chemical Warfare in the Iran–Iraq War 1980–1988|work=History of Iran|first1=Julian Perry|last1=Robinson|last2=Goldbat|first2=Jozef|publisher=Iran Chamber Society|date=May 1984|access-date=1 November 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160101040325/http://www.iranchamber.com/history/articles/chemical_warfare_iran_iraq_war.php|archive-date=1 January 2016|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Adnan Khayr Allah]] served as Iraqi Minister of Defence throughout the Iran–Iraq War, and was appointed Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, second only to Saddam Hussein.<ref name="Dictionary p135">{{cite book|last1=Ghareeb|first1=Edmund A.|title=Historical Dictionary of Iraq|last2=Dougherty|first2=Beth|publisher=Scarecrow Press|year=2004|isbn=0-8108-4330-7|location=Lanham, Maryland|page=135}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|author=Georges Malbrunot|date=16 October 2007|title=Majid: 'Saddam is no longer the lion I knew'|newspaper=Le Figaro}}</ref> In this position, he played a crucial role in rebuilding and modernising the Iraqi military.<ref name="Dictionary p135" />

[[File:Irani F-14 Tomcats carrying AIM-54 Phoenixs.jpg|thumb|Iranian [[Grumman F-14 Tomcat|F-14A Tomcats]] equipped with [[AIM-54 Phoenix|AIM-54A]], [[AIM-7 Sparrow|AIM-7]] and [[AIM-9 Sidewinder|AIM-9]] missiles]]
Though the Iraqi air invasion surprised the Iranians, their air force retaliated the day after with a large-scale attack against Iraqi air bases and infrastructure in [[Operation Kaman 99]]. Groups of [[F-4 Phantom]] and [[F-5 Tiger]] fighter jets attacked targets throughout Iraq, such as oil facilities, dams, [[petrochemical plant]]s, and oil refineries, and included [[Mosul Air Base|Mosul Airbase]], Baghdad, and the [[Kirkuk]] oil refinery.{{citation needed|date=November 2025}} Iraq was taken by surprise at the strength of the retaliation, which inflicted heavy losses and economic disruption, but Iraqi air defences also inflicted heavy losses.{{Citation needed|date=July 2025}}

[[Iranian Army Aviation]]'s [[AH-1 Cobra]] helicopter gunships began attacking the advancing Iraqi divisions, along with [[F-4 Phantoms]] armed with [[AGM-65 Maverick]] missiles;<ref name="Farrokh 03" /> they destroyed numerous armoured vehicles and impeded the Iraqi advance, though not completely halting it.<ref name=cooper03_206>{{cite web|url=http://www.acig.org/artman/publish/article_206.shtml|last1=Cooper|first1=Thomas|last2=Bishop|first2=Farzad|title=Persian Gulf War: Iraqi Invasion of Iran, September 1980|date=9 September 2003|work=Arabian Peninsula and Persian Gulf Database|publisher=Air Combat Information Group|access-date=9 September 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140221222156/http://www.acig.org/artman/publish/article_206.shtml|archive-date=21 February 2014|url-status=usurped}}</ref><ref name="Modern Warfare">{{cite video|title=Modern Warfare: Iran–Iraq War|medium=film documentary}}</ref> Meanwhile, Iraqi air attacks on Iran were repelled by Iran's [[F-14A Tomcat]] interceptor fighter jets, using [[AIM-54A Phoenix]] missiles, which downed a dozen of Iraq's Soviet-built fighters in the first two days of battle.<ref name=cooper03_206 />{{Dubious|date=July 2013}}

The Iranian regular military, police forces, volunteer Basij, and Revolutionary Guards all conducted their operations separately; thus, the Iraqi invading forces did not face coordinated resistance.<ref name=efraimkarsh /> However, on 24 September, the Iranian Navy attacked [[Basra]], Iraq, destroying two oil terminals near the Iraqi port of [[Al-Faw]], which reduced Iraq's ability to export oil.<ref name=efraimkarsh /> The Iranian ground forces, primarily consisting of the Revolutionary Guard, retreated to the cities, where they set up defences against the invaders.<ref name=wilson07 />

On 30 September, Iran's air force launched [[Operation Scorch Sword]], striking and badly damaging the nearly-complete [[Osirak Nuclear Reactor]] near Baghdad.<ref name=efraimkarsh /> By 1 October, Baghdad had been subjected to eight air attacks.<ref name=efraimkarsh />{{rp|29}} In response, Iraq launched aerial strikes against Iranian targets.<ref name=efraimkarsh /><ref name=cooper03_206 />

The mountainous border between Iran and Iraq made a deep ground invasion almost impossible,<ref name=eckolm11>{{cite journal|last=Eckholm|first=Leif|title=Invading Iran: Lessons From Iraq|journal=Policy Review|volume=168|date=1 August 2011|url=http://www.hoover.org/publications/policy-review/article/87231|quote=Invading forces would need to be prepared for a deeply embedded and enduring insurgency, due to extreme challenges presented by terrain, and resolve...|publisher=Stanford University Hoover Institution|access-date=1 October 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130508163142/http://www.hoover.org/publications/policy-review/article/87231|archive-date=8 May 2013|url-status=live}}</ref> and air strikes were used instead. The invasion's first waves were a series of air strikes targeted at Iranian airfields. Iraq also attempted to bomb Tehran, Iran's capital and command centre, into submission.<ref name=efraimkarsh /><ref name=cordesman90 />

=== First Battle of Khorramshahr ===
{{Main|Battle of Khorramshahr (1980)}}
[[File:Battle of khorramshahr 2.jpg|thumb|Resistance of the outnumbered and outgunned Iranians in [[Battle of Khorramshahr (1980)|Khorramshahr]] slowed the Iraqis for a month.]]
On 22 September, a prolonged battle began in the city of Khorramshahr, eventually leaving around 7,000 dead on each side.<ref name=efraimkarsh /> Reflecting the bloody nature of the struggle, Iranians came to call Khorramshahr "City of Blood".<ref name=efraimkarsh />

The battle began with Iraqi air raids against key points and mechanised divisions advancing on the city in a crescent-like formation. They were slowed by Iranian air attacks and Revolutionary Guard troops with [[recoilless rifle]]s, [[rocket-propelled grenade]]s, and [[Molotov cocktail]]s. The Iranians flooded the marsh areas around the city, forcing the Iraqis to traverse through narrow strips of land. Iraqi tanks launched attacks with no infantry support, and many tanks were lost to Iranian anti-tank teams.<ref name=wilson07 />

By 30 September, the Iraqis had managed to clear the Iranians from the outskirts of the city. The next day, the Iraqis launched infantry and armoured attacks into the city. After heavy [[house-to-house fighting]], the Iraqis were repelled. On 14 October, the Iraqis launched a second offensive. The Iranians initiated a controlled withdrawal from the city, street by street.<ref name=wilson07 /> By 24 October, most of the city was captured, and the Iranians evacuated across the Karun River. Some [[partisan (military)|partisans]] remained, and fighting continued until 10 November.

=== Iraqi advance stalls ===
{{Main|Siege of Abadan|Operation Morvarid}}[[File:Siege of Abadan, Iran–Iraq War.webm|thumb|thumbtime=337|Fighting during the [[Siege of Abadan]]|left]]

Though Khorramshahr was captured, the battle had delayed the Iraqis enough to allow the large-scale deployment of the Iranian military.<ref name=efraimkarsh /> In November, Saddam ordered his forces to advance towards [[Dezful]] and [[Ahvaz]], and lay siege to both cities. However, the Iraqi offensive had been badly damaged by Iranian militias and air power. Iran's air force had destroyed Iraq's army [[supply depot]]s and fuel supplies, and was strangling Iraq through an aerial siege.<ref name="cooper03_206" />

Iran's supplies had not been exhausted, despite sanctions, and the military often [[cannibalization (parts)|cannibalised]] spare parts from other equipment and began searching for parts on the [[black market]]. On 28 November, Iran launched [[Operation Morvarid]] (Pearl), a combined air and sea attack which destroyed 80% of Iraq's navy and all of its [[radar]] sites in the southern portion of the country. When Iraq [[Siege of Abadan|laid siege to Abadan]], it could not blockade the port or prevent seaborne resupply.<ref name=Abdoleinen-Ghazaleh />

Iraq's [[strategic reserve]]s had been depleted, preventing major offensives until nearly the end of the war. On 7 December, Hussein announced that Iraq was going on the defensive.<ref name=efraimkarsh /> By the end of 1980, Iraq had destroyed about 500 Western-built Iranian tanks and captured 100 others.<ref>Tucker, A.R. (May 1988). "Armored warfare in the Gulf". ''Armed Forces'', p. 226.</ref><ref>"Irano–Irakskii konflikt. Istoricheskii ocherk." Niyazmatov. J.A. – M.: Nauka, 1989.</ref>

===1981: Stalemate===
For the next eight months, both sides were on a defensive footing, with the exception of the [[Battle of Dezful]], as the Iranians needed more time to reorganise their forces after the damage inflicted by the purge of 1979–80. During this period, fighting consisted mainly of artillery duels and raids.<ref name=efraimkarsh /> Iraq had mobilised 21 divisions for the invasion, while Iran countered with only 13 regular army divisions and one [[brigade]]. Of the regular divisions, only seven were deployed to the border. The war bogged down into World War I-style [[trench warfare]] with updated weaponry. Due to the power of anti-tank weapons such as the [[RPG-7]], armoured manoeuvre by the Iraqis was very costly, and they consequently entrenched their tanks into static positions.<ref name="Farrokh 03" /><ref name=pollack04 />

Iraq also began firing [[Scud]] missiles into [[Dezful]] and [[Ahvaz]], and used [[terror bombing]] to bring the war to the Iranian civilian population.<ref name=Abdoleinen-Ghazaleh>{{cite journal|url=http://smallwarsjournal.com/jrnl/art/ghazalah%E2%80%99s-phased-analysis-of-combat-operations-part-two-of-three|title=Egyptian Field Marshal Abdul-Halim Abu Ghazalah on the Combat Tactics and Strategy of the Iran–Iraq War|series=Ghazalah's Phased Analysis of Combat Operations|first1=Youssef|last1=Aboul-Enein|first2=Andrew|last2=Bertrand|first3=Dorothy|last3=Corley|date=12 April 2012|journal=Small Wars Journal|publisher=Small Wars Foundation|access-date=6 October 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160101040325/http://smallwarsjournal.com/jrnl/art/ghazalah%E2%80%99s-phased-analysis-of-combat-operations-part-two-of-three|archive-date=1 January 2016|url-status=live}}</ref> Iran launched dozens of "human wave assaults".

====Battle of Dezful====
{{Main|Battle of Dezful}}

[[File:Banisadr iran iraq war 2.jpg|thumb|Iranian president [[Abolhassan Banisadr|Abulhassan Banisadr]] during a visit to the frontlines]]

On 5 January 1981, Iran had reorganised its forces enough to launch a large-scale offensive, [[Operation Nasr]] (Victory).<ref name=wilson07 /><ref name=dennis09>{{cite book|last=Dennis|first=Simon Dunstan|title=The Six Day War, 1967: Jordan and Syria|year=2009|publisher=Osprey Publishing|location=Oxford|isbn=978-1-84603-364-3|edition=1st|page=22}}</ref><ref name="Jafari 2011">{{cite web|last=Jafari|first=Mojtaba|title=Nasr Offensive Operation|url=http://www.tebyan.net/newindex.aspx?pid=188315|date=26 July 2019|access-date=13 October 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140715001111/http://www.tebyan.net/newindex.aspx?pid=188315|archive-date=15 July 2014|url-status=live}}</ref> The Iranians launched their major armoured offensive from [[Dezful]] in the direction of [[Susangerd]], consisting of tank brigades from the 16th ''Qazvin'', 77th ''Khorasan'', and [[92nd Armored Division (Iran)|92nd Khuzestan Armoured Division]]s,<ref name="Jafari 2011" /> and broke through Iraqi lines.<ref name=efraimkarsh />{{rp|32}} However, the Iranian tanks had raced through Iraqi lines with unguarded flanks and without infantry support;<ref name="Farrokh 03" /> as a result, they were cut off by Iraqi tanks.<ref name=efraimkarsh />

In the ensuing Battle of Dezful, the Iranian armoured divisions were nearly wiped out in one of the biggest tank battles of the war.<ref name=efraimkarsh /> When the Iranian tanks tried to manoeuvre, they became stuck in the mud of the marshes, and many tanks were abandoned.<ref name=wilson07 /> The Iraqis lost 45 [[T-55]] and [[T-62]] tanks, while the Iranians lost 100–200 [[Chieftain tank|Chieftain]] and [[M60 Patton|M-60]] tanks. Reporters counted roughly 150 destroyed or deserted Iranian tanks, and also 40 Iraqi tanks.<ref name=efraimkarsh /> 141 Iranians were killed during the battle.<ref name="Jafari 2011" />

The battle had been ordered by Iranian president [[Abulhassan Banisadr]], who was hoping that a victory might shore up his deteriorating political position; instead, the failure hastened his fall.<ref name=efraimkarsh />{{rp|71}} Many of Iran's problems took place because of political infighting between Banisadr, who supported the regular army, and the hardliners, who supported the IRGC. Once he was [[impeached]] and the competition ended, the performance of the Iranian military improved.
 
The Islamic Republic government in Iran was further distracted by internal fighting between the regime and the [[Mujahedin e-Khalq]] (MEK) on the streets of Iran's major cities in June 1981 and again in September.<ref name=brogan89 />{{rp|250–251|date=November 2012}} In 1983, the MEK started an alliance with Iraq following a meeting between MEK leader [[Massoud Rajavi]] and Iraqi Deputy Prime minister [[Tariq Aziz]].<ref>{{cite book|first=Shaul|last=Shay|title=The Axis of Evil: Iran, Hizballah, and the Palestinian Terror|date=October 1994|publisher=Routledge|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uLo6DwAAQBAJ&q=1983+Tariq+Aziz+massoud+rajavi&pg=PT239|isbn=978-0765802552|quote="The organizations' ties with Iraq (mainly Rajavi's meeting with Tariq Aziz in January 1983) were exploited to demonstrate the organizations betrayal due to its willingness to join forces with Iran's enemies on the outside."}}</ref>{{sfn|Piazza|1994|p=16|ps=: "At the beginning of January of 1983, Rajavi held a highly publicised meeting with then Deputy Prime Minister of Iraq Tarqi Aziz, which culminated in the signing of a peace communique on January 9 of that year. Rajavi, acting as the chairman of the NCR, co-outlined a peace plan with Aziz based on an agreement of mutual recognition of borders as defined by the 1975 Algiers Treaty."}}<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1983/01/10/world/iraqi-visits-iranian-leftist-in-paris.html|title=Iraqi Visits Iranian Leftist in Paris|newspaper=The New York Times|date=10 January 1983|quote=The Deputy Prime Minister of Iraq and the exiled leader of an Iranian leftist group met for four hours today and said afterward that the war between their countries should brought to an end. The conversations between Deputy Prime Minister Tareq Aziz of Iraq and Massoud Rajavi, leader of the People's Mujahedeen, an organization that includes a guerrilla wing active in Iran, were described by Mr. Rajavi as the first of their kind. He said the exchange of views had been "an important political turning point on the regional level and for the world in relation to the Iran–Iraq War"|access-date=30 December 2021|archive-date=16 August 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210816021516/https://www.nytimes.com/1983/01/10/world/iraqi-visits-iranian-leftist-in-paris.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|first=Shaul|last=Shay|title=The Axis of Evil: Iran, Hizballah, and the Palestinian Terror|date=1994|publisher=Routledge|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uLo6DwAAQBAJ&q=1983+Tariq+Aziz+massoud+rajavi&pg=PT239|isbn=978-0765802552|quote="Despite the mortal blow inflicted on the organization, the Iranian regime continued to regard the Mujahidin as a real threat, and therefore continued to persecute its followers and damage their public image. The organizations' ties with Iraq (mainly Rajavi's meeting with Tariq Aziz in January 1983) were exploited to demonstrate the organizations betrayal due to its willingness to join forces with Iran's enemies on the outside."}}</ref>

In 1984, Banisadr left the coalition because of a dispute with [[Massoud Rajavi|Rajavi]], who moved from [[Paris]] to Iraq in 1986 and set up a base on the Iranian border.{{NoteTag|[[Massoud Rajavi]]}} The Battle of Dezful became a critical battle in Iranian military thinking. Less emphasis was placed on the Army with its conventional tactics, and more emphasis was placed on the Revolutionary Guard with its unconventional tactics.<ref name="wilson07" /><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.csmonitor.com/1981/0120/012038.html/(page)/2|title=Iran–Iraq War bogs down in rain, conflicting claims|newspaper=The Christian Science Monitor|access-date=5 October 2013|date=20 January 1981|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131231002127/http://www.csmonitor.com/1981/0120/012038.html/(page)/2|archive-date=31 December 2013|url-status=live}}</ref>

====Attack on H3====
[[File:Operation H3 map.png|thumb|upright=1|The [[H-3 airstrike|surprise attack on H-3 airbase]] is considered to be one of the most sophisticated air operations of the war.|right]]

The Iraqi Air Force, badly damaged by the Iranians, was moved to the [[H-3 Air Base]] in western Iraq, near the [[Jordan]]ian border and away from Iran. However, on 3 April 1981, the Iranian air force used eight F-4 Phantom fighter bombers, four F-14 Tomcats, three [[Boeing 707]] refuelling tankers, and one [[Boeing 747]] command plane to launch a surprise [[attack on H3]], destroying 27–50 Iraqi fighter jets and bombers.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://iiaf.net/stories/warstories/s1.html|title=Assault on Al-Wallid|website=Imperial Iraniasn Air Force|access-date=9 September 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171011172153/http://iiaf.net/stories/warstories/s1.html|archive-date=11 October 2017|url-status=live}}</ref>

Despite the successful attack (in addition to other air attacks), the Iranian Air Force was forced to cancel its successful 180-day air offensive and abandoned their attempted control of Iraqi [[airspace]]. They had been seriously weakened by sanctions and pre-war purges and further damaged by a fresh purge after the [[Abolhassan Banisadr#Impeachment|impeachment crisis of President Banisadr]].<ref name="csis 5">{{cite web|last=Cordesman|first=Anthony|title=Lessons of Modern Warfare: The Iran Iraq War Chapter V|url=http://csis.org/files/media/csis/pubs/9005lessonsiraniraqii-chap05.pdf|access-date=4 May 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090911152946/http://csis.org/files/media/csis/pubs/9005lessonsiraniraqii-chap05.pdf|archive-date=11 September 2009|url-status=live}}</ref> The Iranian Air Force could not survive further attrition, and decided to limit their losses, abandoning efforts to control Iraqi [[airspace]]. The Iranian air force would henceforth fight on the defensive, trying to deter the Iraqis rather than engaging them. While throughout 1981–1982 the Iraqi air force would remain weak, within the next few years they would rearm and expand again, and begin to regain the strategic initiative.<ref name="Cooper Blinders">{{cite web|last=Cooper|first=Tom|title=Bombed by Blinders Part 1|url=http://www.acig.info/CMS/?option=com_content&task=view&id=247&Itemid=47|access-date=20 April 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170630000305/http://www.acig.info/CMS/?option=com_content&task=view&id=247&Itemid=47|archive-date=30 June 2017|url-status=live}}</ref>

====Introduction of human wave attacks====
The Iranians suffered from a shortage of heavy weapons,<ref name=pollack04 />{{rp|225|date=November 2012}} but had numerous volunteers, so they began using [[human wave attack]]s against the Iraqis. Typically, an Iranian assault would commence with poorly trained Basij who would launch the primary human wave assaults to swamp the weakest portions of the Iraqi lines en masse (on some occasions even bodily clearing minefields).<ref name=pollack04 /><ref name=moin>[https://books.google.com/books?id=b2OL9IEXaAgC&q=martyrdom+iraq Khomeini: life of the Ayatollah] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924090001/https://books.google.com/books?id=b2OL9IEXaAgC&printsec=frontcover&dq=moin+khomeini&hl=en&src=bmrr&ei=xilNTreuMOLj0QHz5ID_Bg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CCoQ6AEwAA#v=snippet&q=martyrdom%20iraq&f=false |date=24 September 2015 }} By Baqer Moin</ref> This would be followed up by the more experienced Revolutionary Guard infantry, who would breach the weakened Iraqi lines,<ref name=pollack04 /><ref name=wilson07 /> and followed up by the regular army using mechanised forces, who would manoeuvre through the breach and attempt to encircle and defeat the enemy.<ref name=pollack04 /><ref name=wilson07 />

[[File:Iranian soldier holding IV bag during Iran-Iraq war.jpeg|thumb|209x209px|A wounded Iranian soldier holding an [[Intravenous therapy|IV bag]]]]

According to [[historian]] Stephen C. Pelletiere, the idea of Iranian "human wave attacks" was a misconception.<ref name=Pelletiere /> Instead, the Iranian tactics consisted of using groups of 22-man infantry [[squads]], which moved forward to attack specific objectives. As the squads surged forward to execute their missions, that gave the impression of a "human wave attack". Nevertheless, the idea of "human wave attacks" remained virtually [[synonymous]] with any large-scale infantry frontal assault Iran carried out.<ref name=Pelletiere>{{cite book|last=Pelletiere|first=Stephen|title=The Iran–Iraq War: Chaos in a Vacuum|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=V_-MKu4k6QAC&q=Iran+did+not+use+human+wave+attacks&pg=PA40|isbn=978-0275938437|year=1992|publisher=Abc-Clio}}</ref> Large numbers of troops would be used, aimed at overwhelming the Iraqi lines (usually the weakest portion, typically manned by the [[Iraqi Popular Army]]), regardless of losses.<ref name=pollack04 />

According to the former Iraqi general [[Ra'ad al-Hamdani]], the Iranian human wave charges consisted of armed "civilians" who carried most of their necessary equipment themselves into battle and often lacked [[command and control]] and [[logistics]].<ref name="Woods 2010">{{cite web|last=Woods|first=Kevin|title=Saddam's Generals: A Perspective of the Iran–Iraq War|url=http://www.ndu.edu/inss/docuploaded/saddams-generals.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130403150153/http://www.ndu.edu/inss/docuploaded/saddams-generals.pdf|archive-date=3 April 2013}}</ref> Operations were often carried out during the night and deception operations, infiltrations, and manoeuvres became more common.<ref name=Abdoleinen-Ghazaleh /> Infiltrating forces would be reinforced to maintain momentum, all forces would be concentrated onto a newly discovered weak point, and human wave attacks were used to facilitate breakthroughs.<ref name="Woods 2010" />

Human wave attacks, while extremely bloody (tens of thousands of troops died in the process),<ref name="moin" /> when used in combination with infiltration and surprise, caused major Iraqi defeats. As the Iraqis would dig in their tanks and infantry into static, entrenched positions, the Iranians would manage to break through the lines and encircle entire divisions.<ref name=pollack04 /> Merely the fact that the Iranian forces used [[maneuver warfare|manoeuvre warfare]] by their light infantry against static Iraqi defenses was often the decisive factor in battle.<ref name=wilson07 /> However, lack of coordination between the Iranian Army and IRGC and shortages of heavy weaponry played a detrimental role, often with most of the infantry not being supported by artillery and armour.<ref name=pollack04 /><ref name=wilson07 />

====Operation Eighth-Imam====
After the Iraqi offensive stalled in March 1981, there was little change in the front other than Iran retaking the high ground above [[Susangerd]] in May. By late 1981, Iran returned to the offensive and launched [[Operation Samen-ol-A'emeh]]&nbsp;(The Eighth Imam),<ref name=biontino88>{{cite book|title=Iran Yearbook|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VRoYAQAAMAAJ|page=125|publisher=Moini-Biontino|year=1988|isbn=978-3927073005|lccn=sn89044105}}</ref> ending the Iraqi [[Siege of Abadan]] on 27–29 September 1981.<ref name=efraimkarsh />{{rp|9}} The Iranians used a combined force of regular artillery with small groups of armour, supported by Pasdaran (IRGC) and Basij infantry.<ref name="csis 5" /> On 15 October, after lifting the siege, a large Iranian convoy was ambushed by Iraqi tanks, and during the ensuing tank battle Iran lost 20 [[Chieftain tank|Chieftains]] and other armoured vehicles and withdrew from the previously gained territory.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://apps.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a241169.pdf|title=Tactical Evolution in the Iraqi Army: The Abadan Island And Fish Lake Campaigns of the Iran-Ipaq War|access-date=2014-08-18|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131203034017/http://www.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a241169.pdf|archive-date=3 December 2013|url-status=live}}</ref>

====Operation Tariq al-Quds====
On 29 November 1981, Iran began [[Operation Tariq al-Quds]] with three army brigades and seven Revolutionary Guard brigades. The Iraqis failed to properly patrol their occupied areas, and the Iranians constructed a {{convert|14|km|m mi|abbr=on}} road through the unguarded sand dunes, launching their attack from the Iraqi rear.<ref name=wilson07 /> The town of [[Bostan, Iran|Bostan]] was retaken from Iraqi divisions by 7 December.<ref name=efraimkarsh />{{rp|10}} By this time the Iraqi Army was experiencing serious morale problems, compounded by the fact that Operation Tariq al-Quds marked the first use of Iranian "human wave" tactics, where the Revolutionary Guard [[light infantry]] repeatedly charged at Iraqi positions, oftentimes without the support of armour or air power. The fall of Bostan exacerbated the Iraqis' logistical problems, forcing them to use a roundabout route from Ahvaz to the south to resupply their troops. 6,000 Iranians and over 2,000 Iraqis were killed in the operation.<ref name=efraimkarsh />

===1982: Iraqi retreat, Iranian offensive===
[[File:Iranian Northrop F-5 during Iran-Iraq war.jpg|thumb|Iranian [[Northrop F-5]] aircraft during the war|right]]

The Iraqis, realising that the Iranians were planning to attack, decided to preempt them with Operation al-Fawz al-'Azim (Supreme Success)<ref name=firestone08>{{cite book|last=Firestone|first=Reuven|title=Who are the real chosen people?: The Meaning of Chosenness in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam|year=2008|publisher=SkyLight Paths Publishing|location=Woodstock, VT|isbn=978-1-59473-248-5|page=143|edition=2008 hardcover}}</ref> on 19 March. Using a large number of tanks, helicopters, and fighter jets, they attacked the Iranian buildup around the Roghabiyeh pass. Though Saddam and his generals assumed they had succeeded, in reality the Iranian forces remained fully intact.<ref name="Farrokh 03" /> The Iranians had concentrated much of their forces by bringing them directly from the cities and towns throughout Iran via trains, buses, and private cars. The concentration of forces did not resemble a traditional military buildup, and although the Iraqis detected a population buildup near the front, they failed to realise that this was an attacking force.<ref name="Woods 2010" /> As a result, Saddam's army was unprepared for the Iranian offensives to come.<ref name="Farrokh 03" />

====Operation Fath ol-Mobin====
Iran's next major offensive, led by Colonel [[Ali Sayad Shirazi]], was [[Operation Fath ol-Mobin]]. On 22 March 1982, Iran launched an attack which took the Iraqi forces by surprise: using [[Chinook helicopter]]s, they landed behind Iraqi lines, silenced their artillery, and captured an Iraqi headquarters.<ref name="Farrokh 03" />

The Revolutionary Guard and regular army followed up by surrounding the Iraqi [[9th Armoured Division (Iraq)|9th]] and [[10th Division (Iraq)|10th Armoured]] and [[1st Division (Iraq)|1st Mechanised Divisions]] that had camped close to the Iranian town of [[Shush, Iran|Shush]]. The Iraqi 12th Armoured Division counterattacked, breaking the encirclement and rescuing the surrounded divisions. Iraqi tanks came under attack by 95 Iranian F-4 Phantom and F-5 Tiger fighter jets, destroying much of the division.<ref name="Farrokh Wall Street Journal">{{cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/2011/05/31/idUS180865+31-May-2011+PRN20110531|work=Reuters|title=Iran at war|date=31 May 2012|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140808231300/https://www.reuters.com/article/2011/05/31/idUS180865%2B31-May-2011%2BPRN20110531|archive-date=8 August 2014}} cited in {{cite web|url=http://www.kavehfarrokh.com/books/iran-at-war-1500-1988/|title=Review: Wall Street Journal and Reuters|first=Kaveh|last=Farrokh|work=Dr. Kaveh Farrokh |access-date=25 November 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180816123246/http://kavehfarrokh.com/books/iran-at-war-1500-1988/|archive-date=16 August 2018|url-status=live}}</ref>

Operation Fath ol-Mobin was an Iranian victory; Iraqi forces were driven away from Shush, Dezful and Ahvaz. The Iranian armed forces destroyed 320–400 Iraqi tanks and armoured vehicles in a costly success. In just the first day of the battle, the Iranians lost 196 tanks.<ref name="Farrokh 03" /> By this time, most of the Khuzestan province had been recaptured.<ref name=efraimkarsh />

====Operation Beit ol-Moqaddas====
[[File:Me, Iraqi war tank.jpg|thumb|Iraqi [[T-62]] tank wreckage in Khuzestan province, Iran]]

In preparation for [[Operation Beit ol-Moqaddas]], the Iranians had launched numerous air raids against Iraqi air bases, destroying 47 jets (including Iraq's brand new [[Mirage F-1]] fighter jets from France) and gaining air superiority and the ability to monitor Iraqi troop movements.<ref name="Farrokh 03" />

On 29 April, Iran launched the offensive. 70,000 Revolutionary Guard and Basij members struck on several axes—Bostan, Susangerd, the west bank of the Karun River, and Ahvaz. Basij human wave attacks were followed up by the regular army and Revolutionary Guard support along with tanks and helicopters.<ref name="Farrokh 03" /> Under heavy Iranian pressure, the Iraqi forces retreated. By 12 May, Iran had driven out all Iraqi forces from the Susangerd area.<ref name=efraimkarsh />{{rp|36}} The Iranians captured several thousand Iraqi troops and a large number of tanks.<ref name="Farrokh 03" />

The Iraqis retreated to the Karun River, with only Khorramshahr and a few outlying areas remaining in their possession.<ref name=pollack04 /> Saddam ordered 70,000 troops to be placed around the city of Khorramshahr. The Iraqis created a hastily constructed defence line around the city and outlying areas.<ref name="Farrokh 03" /> To discourage airborne commando landings, the Iraqis also placed metal spikes and destroyed cars in areas likely to be used as troop landing zones. Saddam Hussein even visited Khorramshahr in a dramatic gesture, swearing that the city would never be relinquished.<ref name="Farrokh 03" /> However, Khorramshahr's only resupply point was across the Shatt al-Arab{{NoteTag|name=waterway}}, and the Iranian air force began bombing the supply bridges to the city, while their artillery zeroed in on the besieged garrison.

=====Second Battle of Khorramshahr=====
{{Main|Battle of Khorramshahr (1982)}}
[[File:Capture in Khorramshahr.jpg|thumb|right|Iraqi soldiers surrendering after the [[Battle of Khorramshahr (1982)|Liberation of Khorramshahr]]]]
In the early morning hours of 23 May 1982, the Iranians began the drive towards Khorramshahr across the [[Karun River]].<ref name=efraimkarsh /> This part of Operation Beit ol-Moqaddas was spearheaded by the 77th Khorasan division with tanks along with the Revolutionary Guard and Basij. The Iranians hit the Iraqis with destructive air strikes and massive artillery barrages, crossed the Karun River, captured [[bridgehead]]s, and launched human wave attacks towards the city. Saddam's defensive barricade collapsed;<ref name="Farrokh 03" /> in less than 48 hours of fighting, the city fell and 19,000 Iraqis surrendered to the Iranians. A total of 10,000 Iraqis were killed or wounded in Khorramshahr, while the Iranians suffered 30,000 casualties.<ref>{{cite book|last=Keegan|first=John|title=The Iraq war|year=2004|publisher=Knopf|location=New York|isbn=978-1-4000-4199-2|author-link=John Keegan|url=https://archive.org/details/iraqwar00keeg}}</ref> During the whole of Operation Beit ol-Moqaddas, 33,000 Iraqi soldiers were captured by the Iranians.<ref name="Farrokh 03" />

====State of Iraqi armed forces====
{{Multiple image
| align             = left
| image1            = 
| width1            = 200
| alt1              = 
| caption1          = Iraqi [[Dassault Mirage F1#Iraq|Mirage F1EQ]] pilots prior to a mission into Iran.
| image2            = 
| width2            = 215
| alt2              = 
| caption2          = Iranian pilots and a [[Northrop F-5]] Freedom Fighter before a mission into Iraq.
| footer            = 
}}

The fighting had battered the Iraqi military: its strength fell from 210,000 to 150,000 troops; over 20,000 Iraqi soldiers were killed and over 30,000 captured; two out of four active armoured divisions and at least three mechanised divisions fell to less than a brigade's strength; and the Iranians had captured over 450 tanks and armoured personnel carriers.<ref name=cooper03_214>{{cite web|url=http://www.acig.org/artman/publish/article_214.shtml|author=Thomas Cooper and Farzad Bishop|title=Fire in the Hills: Iranian and Iraqi Battles of Autumn 1982|date=9 September 2003|work=Arabian Peninsula & Persian Gulf Database|publisher=Air Combat Information Group|access-date=17 September 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140822073723/http://www.acig.org/artman/publish/article_214.shtml|archive-date=22 August 2014|url-status=usurped}}</ref>

The Iraqi Air Force was also left in poor shape: after losing up to 55 aircraft since early December 1981, they had only 100 intact [[fighter-bomber]]s and [[interceptor aircraft|interceptors]]. A defector who flew his [[MiG-21]] to [[Syria]] in June 1982 revealed that the Iraqi Air Force had only three squadrons of fighter-bombers capable of mounting operations into Iran. The Iraqi Army Air Corps was in slightly better shape, and could still operate more than 70 helicopters.<ref name="cooper03_214" /> Despite this, the Iraqis still held 3,000 tanks, while Iran held 1,000.<ref name="Farrokh 03" />

At this point, Saddam believed that his army was too demoralised and damaged to hold onto Khuzestan and major swathes of Iranian territory, and withdrew his remaining forces, redeploying them in defence along the border.<ref name=efraimkarsh /> However, his troops continued to occupy some key Iranian border areas of Iran, including the disputed territories that prompted his invasion, notably the Shatt al-Arab waterway.<ref name="Farrokh 03" /><ref name=Viewpoints>{{cite web|title=Viewpoints of the Iranian political and military elites|url=http://en.merc.ir/default.aspx?tabid=98&ArticleId=272|access-date=10 June 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303213700/http://en.merc.ir/default.aspx?tabid=98&ArticleId=272|archive-date=3 March 2016|url-status=live}}</ref> In response to their failures against the Iranians in Khorramshahr, Saddam ordered the executions of Generals [[Juwad Shitnah]] and Salah al-Qadhi and Colonels Masa and al-Jalil.<ref name="Woods 2010" /> At least a dozen other high-ranking officers were also executed during this time.<ref name="csis 5" /> This became an increasingly common punishment for those who failed him in battle.<ref name="Woods 2010" />

===Early international response===
In April 1982, the rival [[Ba'athist]] regime in [[Syria]], one of the few nations that supported Iran, closed the [[Kirkuk–Baniyas pipeline]] that had allowed Iraqi oil to reach tankers on the Mediterranean, reducing the Iraqi budget by $5&nbsp;billion per month.<ref name=efraimkarsh /> Journalist Patrick Brogan wrote, "It appeared for a while that Iraq would be strangled economically before it was defeated militarily."<ref name=brogan89>{{cite book|last=Brogan|first=Patrick|title=World Conflicts: A Comprehensive Guide to World Strife Since 1945|year=1989|publisher=Bloomsbury|location=London|isbn=0-7475-0260-9}}</ref>{{rp|260|date=November 2012}} Syria's closure of the Kirkuk–Baniyas pipeline left Iraq with the pipeline to [[Turkey]] as the only means of exporting oil, along with transporting oil by tanker truck to the [[port of Aqaba]] in Jordan.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Murray|first1=Williamson|last2=Woods|first2=Kevin M.|title=The Iran–Iraq War, A Military and Strategic History|chapter=1983–1984: A war of attrition|publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]]|year=2014|isbn=978-1107062290|pages=252–253 (e-book, page numbers approximate)}}</ref>

The Turkish pipeline had a capacity of only {{convert|500000|oilbbl/d|m3/d}}, which was insufficient to pay for the war.<ref name=bulloch89>{{cite book|last1=Bulloch|first1=John|last2=Morris|first2=Harvey|title=The Gulf War: Its Origins, History and Consequences|year=1989|publisher=Methuen|location=London|isbn=978-0-413-61370-7|edition=1st published|url=https://archive.org/details/gulfwaritsorigin00bull}}</ref>{{rp|160|date=November 2012}} Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and the other Gulf states saved Iraq from bankruptcy<ref name=efraimkarsh /> by providing it with $37–60&nbsp;billion in loans.<ref name=brogan89 /><ref name="ISGfunding" /><ref>{{Citation|title=The Iran–Iraq War (1980–1988)|date=2019|url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/threats-and-alliances-in-the-middle-east/iraniraq-war-19801988/1855A877B8E863D2DD733A09F7A9EBA2|work=Threats and Alliances in the Middle East: Saudi and Syrian Policies in a Turbulent Region|pages=54–91|editor-last=Darwich|editor-first=May|access-date=2023-11-14|place=Cambridge|publisher=Cambridge University Press|doi=10.1017/9781108656689.004|isbn=978-1-108-49362-8|url-access=subscription}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=The Gulf War, 1991|url=https://history.state.gov/milestones/1989-1992/gulf-war|access-date=14 November 2023|archive-date=8 November 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161108074144/https://history.state.gov/milestones/1989-1992/gulf-war|url-status=live}}</ref>{{rp|263|date=November 2012}}{{clarify|date=October 2012|reason=Each or total?}} Though Iraq had previously been hostile towards other Gulf states, "the threat of Persian fundamentalism was far more feared."<ref name=bulloch89 />{{rp|162–163|date=November 2012}}<ref name=brogan89 />{{rp|263|date=November 2012}} They were especially inclined to fear Iranian victory after Ayatollah Khomeini declared monarchies to be illegitimate and an un-Islamic form of government.<ref name=efraimkarsh /> Khomeini's statement was widely received as a call to overthrow the Gulf monarchies.<ref name=efraimkarsh /> Journalists John Bulloch and Harvey Morris wrote:

<blockquote>The virulent Iranian campaign, which at its peak seemed to be making the overthrow of the Saudi regime a war aim on a par with the defeat of Iraq, did have an effect on the Kingdom [of Saudi Arabia], but not the one the Iranians wanted: instead of becoming more conciliatory, the Saudis became tougher, more self-confident, and less prone to seek compromise.<ref name=bulloch89 />{{rp|163|date=November 2012}}</blockquote>

Saudi Arabia was said to provide Iraq with $1&nbsp;billion per month starting in mid-1982.<ref name=bulloch89 />{{rp|160|date=November 2012}}

Iraq began receiving support from the United States and Western Europe. Saddam was given diplomatic, monetary, and military support by the United States, including massive loans, political influence, and intelligence on Iranian deployments gathered by American spy satellites.<ref name="iranchamber-armingiraq" /> By relying heavily on American satellite footage and radar planes to detect and counter Iranian troop movements.<ref name=williams02>{{cite thesis|url=https://apps.dtic.mil/sti/pdfs/ADA405987.pdf|last=Williams|first=Scott|publisher=Naval Postgraduate School|location=Monterey, CA|date=June 2002|title=The Battle of al-Khafji|degree=Master's|access-date=21 September 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130413142907/http://www.dtic.mil/cgi-bin/GetTRDoc?AD=ADA405987|archive-date=13 April 2013|url-status=live}}</ref>

With Iranian success on the battlefield, the United States increased its support of the Iraqi government, supplying intelligence, economic aid, and [[dual-use technology|dual-use]] equipment and vehicles, as well as normalising relations (which had been broken during the 1967 [[Six-Day War]]).<ref name=iranchamber-armingiraq /> In March 1982, president [[Ronald Reagan]] signed National Security Study Memorandum (NSSM) 4-82—seeking "a review of U.S. policy toward the Middle East"—and in June Reagan signed a National Security Decision Directive (NSDD) co-written by NSC official [[Howard Teicher]], which determined: "The United States could not afford to allow Iraq to lose the war to Iran",<ref name="Yaphe">{{cite book|last=Yaphe|first=Judith|title=The Iran–Iraq War: New International Perspectives|chapter=Changing American Perspectives on the Iran–Iraq war|publisher=[[Routledge]]|year=2013|isbn=9780415685245}}</ref><ref name="nsarchiv">Battle, Joyce. [http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB82/index.htm Shaking Hands with Saddam Hussein: The U.S. Tilts toward Iraq, 1980–1983 ] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120204034420/http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB82/index.htm |date=2012-02-04 }}, ''National Security Archive Electronic Briefing Book No. 82''. George Washington University National Security Archive, 25 February 2003.</ref> and that the United States "would do whatever was necessary to prevent Iraq from losing".<ref>{{cite journal|title=Declaration of Howard Teicher|journal=Case No. 93-241-CR-HIGHSMITH|publisher=United States District Court: Southern District Florida|date=31 January 1995|url=http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB82/iraq61.pdf|access-date=4 April 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120526041432/http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB82/iraq61.pdf|archive-date=26 May 2012|url-status=live}} [http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article1413.htm . Plain text version] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130423034232/http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article1413.htm |date=23 April 2013 }}</ref>

In 1982, Reagan removed Iraq from the list of countries "supporting terrorism" and sold weapons such as [[howitzer]]s to Iraq via Jordan.<ref name="iranchamber-armingiraq" /> France sold Iraq millions of dollars' worth of weapons, including [[Gazelle helicopters]], Mirage F-1 fighters, and [[Exocet]] missiles. Both the United States and [[West Germany]] sold Iraq dual-use pesticides and poisons that would be used to create [[chemical weapon]]s.<ref name="iranchamber-armingiraq" />

Iran lacked funds for comparable purchases. They counted on China, [[North Korea]], [[Libya]], [[Ba'athist Syria|Syria]], and Japan for supplying anything from weapons and munitions to logistical and engineering equipment.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://armstrade.sipri.org/armstrade/page/values.php|title=Importer/Exporter TIV Tables|website=armstrade.sipri.org|access-date=13 April 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151125105813/http://armstrade.sipri.org/armstrade/page/values.php|archive-date=25 November 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref>

====Ceasefire proposal====
On 20 June 1982, Saddam announced that he wanted to [[sue for peace]] and proposed an immediate ceasefire and withdrawal from Iranian territory within two weeks.<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/1982/06/10/world/iraq-vows-to-quit-iran-fight-israel.html Iraq Vows to Quit Iran, Fight Israel] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181116212956/https://www.nytimes.com/1982/06/10/world/iraq-vows-to-quit-iran-fight-israel.html |date=16 November 2018 }} AP 10 June 1982</ref> Khomeini responded by saying the war would not end until a new government was installed in Iraq and reparations paid.<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/1982/06/22/world/iran-says-iraqis-withdrawal-won-t-end-war.html Iran Says Iraqis' Withdrawal Won't End War ] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171023202305/http://www.nytimes.com/1982/06/22/world/iran-says-iraqis-withdrawal-won-t-end-war.html |date=23 October 2017}} New York Times 22 June 1982</ref> He proclaimed that Iran would invade Iraq and would not stop until the Ba'ath regime was replaced by an [[Islamic republic]].<ref name=efraimkarsh /><ref name=Viewpoints /> Iran supported a [[government in exile]] for Iraq, the [[Supreme Council of the Islamic Revolution in Iraq]], led by exiled Iraqi cleric [[Mohammad Baqer al-Hakim]], which was dedicated to overthrowing the Ba'ath party. They recruited POWs, dissidents, exiles, and Shias to join the [[Badr Organization|Badr Brigade]], the military wing of the organisation.<ref name="Farrokh 03" />

The decision to invade Iraq was taken after much debate within the Iranian government.<ref name=efraimkarsh /> One faction, comprising Prime Minister [[Mir-Hossein Mousavi]], Foreign Minister [[Ali Akbar Velayati]], President [[Ali Khamenei]],<ref name="mearsheimer02">{{cite web|last1=Mearsheimer|first1=John J.|last2=Walt|first2=Stephen M.|date=12 November 2002|title=Can Saddam Be Contained? History Says Yes|url=http://belfercenter.ksg.harvard.edu/publication/3114/can_saddam_be_contained_history_says_yes.html|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080118033437/http://belfercenter.ksg.harvard.edu/publication/3114/can_saddam_be_contained_history_says_yes.html|archive-date=18 January 2008|work=International Security|publisher=Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs}}</ref> Army Chief of Staff General Ali Sayad Shirazi as well as Major General Qasem-Ali Zahirnejad, wanted to accept the ceasefire, as most of Iranian soil had been recaptured.<ref name=efraimkarsh /> In particular, General Shirazi and Zahirnejad were both opposed to the invasion of Iraq on logistical grounds, and stated they would consider resigning if "unqualified people continued to meddle with the conduct of the war".<ref name=efraimkarsh />{{rp|38}} Of the opposing view was a hardline faction led by the clerics on the [[Supreme National Security Council|Supreme Defence Council]], whose leader was the politically powerful speaker of the ''[[Majlis of Iran|Majlis]]'', [[Akbar Rafsanjani]].<ref name=efraimkarsh />

Iran also hoped that its attacks would ignite a revolt against Saddam's rule by the Shia and Kurdish population of Iraq, possibly resulting in his downfall. It was successful in doing so with the Kurdish population, but not the Shia.<ref name="Farrokh 03" /> Iran had captured large quantities of Iraqi equipment, enough to create several tank battalions, Iran once again had 1,000 tanks, and also managed to clandestinely procure spare parts as well, including those pertaining to the F-14 Tomcat.<ref name=pollack04 /><ref>{{Citation|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1985-07-16-mn-6838-story.html|title=Navy Theft Ring Linked to Iran Undetected for Years|work=Los Angeles Times|date=1985-07-16|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221223012608/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1985-07-16-mn-6838-story.html|archive-date=2022-12-23}}</ref>

At a cabinet meeting in Baghdad, [[Minister of Health (Iraq)|Minister of Health]] Riyadh Ibrahim Hussein suggested that Saddam could step down temporarily as a way of easing Iran towards a ceasefire, and then afterwards would come back to power. Saddam, annoyed, asked if anyone else in the Cabinet agreed with the Health Minister's idea. When no one raised their hand in support, he escorted Riyadh Hussein to the next room, closed the door, and shot him with his pistol.<ref name=bulloch89 />{{rp|147|date=November 2012}}

===Iran invades Iraq and Iraqi tactics in response===

[[File:An Iraqi notice for Propaganda against Iranian forces.jpg|thumbnail|An admonitory declaration issued from the Iraqi government in order to warn Iranian troops in the Iran–Iraq War. The statement says: "Hey Iranians! No one has been downtrodden in the country where [[Ali]] ibn Abi Ṭālib, [[Husayn ibn Ali]] and [[Abbas ibn Ali]] are buried. Iraq has undoubtedly been an honourable country. All refugees are precious. Anyone who wants to live in exile can choose Iraq freely. We, the Sons of Iraq, have been ambushing foreign aggressors. The enemies who plan to assault Iraq will be disfavoured by God in this world and the hereafter. Be careful of attacking Iraq and Ali ibn Abi Ṭālib! If you surrender, you might be in peace."]]

For the most part, Iraq remained on the defensive for the next five years, unable and unwilling to launch any major offensives, while Iran launched more than 70 offensives. Iraq's strategy changed from holding territory in Iran to denying Iran any major gains in Iraq, as well as holding onto disputed territories along the border.<ref name=iranchamber-iraniraqwar /> Saddam began a policy of [[total war]], gearing most of his country towards defending against Iran. By 1988, Iraq was spending 40–75% of its GDP on military equipment.<ref name=cordesman99-praeger>{{cite book|last=Cordesman|first=Anthony H.|title=Iraq and the War of Sanctions: Conventional Threats and Weapons of Mass Destruction|year=1999|publisher=Praeger|location=Westport, Connecticut|isbn=0-275-96528-7|edition=1st published|url=https://archive.org/details/iraqwarofsanctio00cord}}</ref> Saddam had also more than doubled the size of the Iraqi army, from 200,000 soldiers (12 divisions and three independent brigades) to 500,000 (23 divisions and nine brigades).<ref name=efraimkarsh /> Iraq also began launching air raids against Iranian border cities, greatly increasing the practice by 1984.<ref name=iranchamber-iraniraqwar />{{rp|2|date=November 2012}}

By the end of 1982, Iraq had been resupplied with new Soviet and Chinese [[materiel]], and the ground war entered a new phase. Iraq used newly acquired T-55, T-62 and T-72 tanks, as well as Chinese copies, [[BM 21|BM-21]] truck-mounted rocket launchers, and [[Mil Mi-24|Mi-24]] helicopter gunships to prepare a Soviet-type three-line defence, replete with obstacles such as barbed wire, minefields, fortified positions and bunkers. The Combat Engineer Corps built bridges across water obstacles, laid minefields, erected earthen revetments, dug trenches, built machine gun nests, and prepared new defence lines and fortifications.<ref name=iranchamber-iraniraqwar />{{rp|2|date=November 2012}}

Iraq began to focus on using [[defence in depth]] to defeat the Iranians through sheer size.<ref name=pollack04 /> Large Iranian human-wave attacks would overrun Iraq's forward entrenched infantry defences, forcing Iraqi retreats, but their [[static defence]]s would bleed the Iranians and channel them into certain directions, drawing them into traps or pockets. Iraqi air and artillery attacks would then pin the Iranians down and expose them to counterattacks by tanks and mechanised infantry.<ref name=williams02 />

Sometimes, the Iraqis would launch "probing attacks" into the Iranian lines to provoke rapid responses. While Iranian human wave attacks were successful against the dug-in Iraqi forces in Khuzestan, they had trouble breaking through Iraq's defence in depth lines.<ref name="Farrokh 03" /> Iraq had a logistical advantage in their defence: the front was located near the main Iraqi bases and arms depots, allowing their army to be efficiently supplied.<ref name=brogan89 />{{rp|260, 265|date=November 2012}} By contrast, the front in Iran was a considerable distance away from the main Iranian bases and arms depots, and as such, Iranian troops and supplies had to travel through mountain ranges before arriving at the front.<ref name=brogan89 />{{rp|260|date=November 2012}}

Iran's military power was weakened once again by large purges in 1982, resulting from another supposedly attempted coup.<ref name="Dunn 1998" />

====Operation Ramadan (First Battle of Basra)====

The Iranian generals wanted to launch an all-out attack on Baghdad and seize it while the Iranian army's supplies allowed for such an offensive. This was rejected as being impracticable<ref name=Viewpoints /> and the decision was made to capture one area of Iraq after the other, with the hope that this would force Iraq to withdraw from disputed border territories and begin negotiations to end the war.<ref name=Viewpoints />

On 13 July 1982, Iran began attacking southern Iraq, near Basra.<ref name=efraimkarsh /> Called [[Operation Ramadan]], the assault involved over 180,000 men from both sides, and was one of the largest land battles since [[World War II]].<ref name=iranchamber-iraniraqwar />{{rp|3|date=November 2012}} Iranian strategy dictated that they launch their primary attack on the weakest point of the Iraqi lines. However, the Iraqis were informed of Iran's battle plans and moved all of their forces to the area the Iranians planned to attack.<ref name="cooper03_214" /> The Iraqis were equipped with [[tear gas]] to use against the enemy, which was the first major use of chemical warfare during the conflict, throwing an entire attacking division into chaos.<ref name="Dunn 1998" />

[[File:Children In iraq-iran war4.jpg|thumb|95,000 Iranian child soldiers were casualties during the Iran–Iraq War, mostly between the ages of 16 and 17, with a few younger.<ref name=jupp88>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1988/12/19/opinion/l-child-soldier-treaty-has-wide-support-697888.html?src=pm|title=Child-Soldier Treaty Has Wide Support|newspaper=The New York Times|date=19 December 1988|last=Jupp|first=Michael|access-date=9 February 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180915101716/https://www.nytimes.com/1988/12/19/opinion/l-child-soldier-treaty-has-wide-support-697888.html?src=pm|archive-date=15 September 2018|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.csmonitor.com/1985/0807/opas.html|title=Giving one's life to the cause of Islam and Iran. Guarding the revolution's Islamic standards|newspaper=The Christian Science Monitor|access-date=5 October 2013|date=7 August 1985|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131007043821/http://www.csmonitor.com/1985/0807/opas.html|archive-date=7 October 2013|url-status=live}}</ref>]]

Over 100,000 Revolutionary Guards and Basij volunteer forces charged towards the Iraqi lines. The Iraqi troops had entrenched themselves in formidable defences and had set up a network of bunkers and artillery positions. The Basij used human waves, and were even used to bodily clear the Iraqi minefields and allow the Revolutionary Guards to advance.<ref name=efraimkarsh /> Combatants came so close to one another that Iranians were able to board Iraqi tanks and throw grenades inside the hulls. By the eighth day, the Iranians had gained {{convert|16|km|mi|abbr=on}} inside Iraq and had taken several causeways. Iran's Revolutionary Guards also used the T-55 tanks they had captured in earlier battles.<ref name=pollack04 />

The attacks came to a halt and the Iranians turned to defensive measures. Seeing this, Iraq used their [[Mi-25]] helicopters, along with [[Gazelle helicopter]]s armed with [[Euromissile HOT]], against columns of Iranian mechanised infantry and tanks. These "hunter-killer" teams of helicopters, which had been formed with the help of [[East Germany|East German]] advisors, proved very costly for the Iranians. Aerial dogfights occurred between Iraqi MiGs and Iranian F-4 Phantoms.<ref name="Dunn 1998">{{cite web|last=Dunn|first=Brian|title=The First Gulf War|url=http://thedignifiedrant.blogspot.com/2009/06/first-gulf-war-iran-and-iraq-at-war-in.html|date=3 June 2009|access-date=23 November 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181116024632/http://thedignifiedrant.blogspot.com/2009/06/first-gulf-war-iran-and-iraq-at-war-in.html|archive-date=16 November 2018|url-status=live}}</ref>

On 16 July, Iran tried again further north and managed to push the Iraqis back. Only {{convert|13|km|mi|abbr=on}} from Basra, the poorly equipped Iranian forces were surrounded on three sides by Iraqis with heavy weaponry. Some were captured, while many were killed. Only a last-minute attack by Iranian AH-1 Cobra helicopters stopped the Iraqis from [[rout]]ing the Iranians.<ref name="cooper03_214" /> Three more similar attacks occurred around the Khorramshahr-Baghdad road area towards the end of the month, but none were significantly successful.<ref name=pollack04 />

Iraq had concentrated three armoured divisions, the 3rd, 9th, and 10th, as a counter-attack force to attack any penetrations. They were successful in defeating the Iranian breakthroughs, but suffered heavy losses. The 9th Armoured Division in particular had to be disbanded, and was never reformed. The total casualty toll had grown to include 80,000 soldiers and civilians. 400 Iranian tanks and armoured vehicles were destroyed or abandoned, while Iraq lost at least 370 tanks.<ref>O'Ballance, E. (1988). ''The Gulf War''. Brassey's. p. 95 {{ISBN?}}</ref><ref>Zabih, S. (1988). ''The Iranian Military in Revolution and War''. New York: Routledge. p. 181 {{ISBN?}}</ref>

====Final operations of 1982====

After Iran's failure in Operation Ramadan, they carried out only a few smaller attacks. Iran launched two limited offensives aimed at reclaiming the Sumar Hills and isolating the Iraqi pocket at [[Naft shahr]] at the international border, both of which were part of the disputed territories still under Iraqi occupation. They then aimed to capture the Iraqi border town of [[Mandali, Iraq|Mandali]].<ref name=cooper03_214 /> They planned to take the Iraqis by surprise using Basij militiamen, army helicopters, and some armoured forces, then stretch their defences and possibly break through them to open a road to Baghdad for future exploitation.<ref name=cooper03_214 />

During [[Operation Muslim ibn Aqil]] (1–7 October),{{NoteTag|''[[Muslim ibn Aqil]]'' referring to the Muslim figure.}} Iran recovered {{convert|150|km2|sqmi|abbr=on}} of disputed territory straddling the international border and reached the outskirts of Mandali before being stopped by Iraqi helicopter and armoured attacks.<ref name=Abdoleinen-Ghazaleh /><ref name=cooper03_214 /> During [[Operation Muharram]] (1–21 November),{{NoteTag|''[[Muharram]]'' referring to the first month of the [[Islamic calendar]], during which the operation took place.<ref name="naficy12">{{cite book|title=A Social History of Iranian Cinema The Globalizing Era, 1984–2010|year=2012|publisher=Duke University Press|isbn=978-0-8223-4878-8|page=11|first=Hamid|last=Naficy}}</ref>}} the Iranians captured part of the [[Bayat, Razavi Khorasan|Bayat oilfield]] with the help of their fighter jets and helicopters, destroying 105 Iraqi tanks, 70 [[Armoured personnel carrier|APCs]], and 7 planes with few losses. They nearly breached the Iraqi lines but failed to capture Mandali after the Iraqis sent reinforcements, including brand new [[T-72]] tanks, which possessed armour that could not be pierced from the front by Iranian [[TOW missile]]s.<ref name=cooper03_214 /> The Iranian advance was also impeded by heavy rains. 3,500 Iraqis and an unknown number of Iranians died, with only minor gains for Iran.<ref name=cooper03_214 />

===1983–84: Stalemate and war of attrition===

[[File:Map of the frontlines in the Iran-Iraq War.jpg|thumb|The furthest ground gains made by both sides during the war]]

After the failure of the 1982 summer offensives, Iran believed that a major effort along the entire breadth of the front would yield victory. In 1983, the Iranians launched five major assaults along the front. None achieved substantial success, as the Iranians staged more massive "human wave" attacks.<ref name=efraimkarsh /> By this time, it was estimated that no more than 70 Iranian fighter aircraft were still operational at any given time. Iran had its own helicopter repair facilities, left over from before the revolution, and often used helicopters for close air support.<ref name=cooper03_214 /><ref name="aboulenein12_dawn3" />

Iranian fighter pilots had superior training compared to their Iraqi counterparts, as most had received training from US officers before the [[Iranian revolution|1979 revolution]],<ref>{{cite book|title=The Role of Airpower in the Iran–Iraq War|last=Bergquist|first=Ronald E.|publisher=Air University Press|year=1988|isbn=978-1-234-87718-7|location=Alabama|page=56}}</ref> and continued to dominate in combat.<ref>{{cite book|last=Razoux|first=Pierre|title=The Iran–Iraq War|year=2015|publisher=The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press|location=Cambridge, MA|isbn=978-0-674-08863-4|pages=568–572}}</ref> However, aircraft shortages, the size of defended territory/airspace, and American intelligence supplied to Iraq allowed the Iraqis to exploit gaps in Iranian airspace. Iraqi air campaigns met little opposition, striking over half of Iran, as the Iraqis were able to gain air superiority towards the end of the war.<ref>{{Cite journal|url=https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/iran/1988-06-01/iran-iraq-war-military-analysis|title=The Iran–Iraq War: A Military Analysis|journal=Foreign Affairs|date=28 January 2009|access-date=16 March 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181128193219/https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/iran/1988-06-01/iran-iraq-war-military-analysis|archive-date=28 November 2018|url-status=live|last1=Segal|first1=David|volume=66|issue=Summer 1988}}</ref>

====Operation Before the Dawn====
In [[Operation Before the Dawn]], launched 6 February 1983, the Iranians shifted focus from the southern to the central and northern sectors. Employing 200,000 "last reserve" Revolutionary Guardsmen, Iran attacked along a {{convert|40|km|mi|abbr=on}} stretch near [[Al Amarah|al-Amarah, Iraq]], about {{convert|200|km|mi|abbr=on}} southeast of Baghdad, in an attempt to reach the highways connecting northern and southern Iraq. The attack was stalled by {{convert|60|km|mi|abbr=on}} of hilly escarpments, forests, and river torrents blanketing the way to al-Amarah, but the Iraqis could not force the Iranians back. Iran directed artillery on Basra, Al Amarah, and [[Mandali, Iraq|Mandali]].<ref name="aboulenein12_dawn3" />

The Iranians suffered a large number of casualties clearing minefields and breaching Iraqi [[anti-tank mine]]s, which Iraqi engineers were unable to replace. After this battle, Iran reduced its use of human wave attacks, though they still remained a key tactic as the war went on.<ref name=aboulenein12_dawn3 />

Further Iranian attacks were mounted in the Mandali–Baghdad north-central sector in April 1983, but were repelled by Iraqi mechanised and infantry divisions. Casualties were high, and by the end of 1983, an estimated 120,000 Iranians and 60,000 Iraqis had been killed. Iran held the advantage in the [[war of attrition]]. In 1983, Iran had an estimated population of 43.6 million to Iraq's 14.8 million, and the discrepancy continued to grow throughout the war.<ref name=iranchamber-iraniraqwar />

====Dawn Operations====
From early 1983–1984, Iran launched a series of four ''Valfajr'' (Dawn) Operations, that eventually numbered to 10. During [[Operation Dawn (1983)|Operation Dawn-1]], in early February 1983, 50,000 Iranian forces attacked westward from Dezful and were confronted by 55,000 Iraqi forces. The Iranian objective was to cut off the road from Basra to Baghdad in the central sector. The Iraqis carried out 150 air sorties against the Iranians, and even bombed Dezful, Ahvaz, and Khorramshahr in retribution. The Iraqi counterattack was broken up by Iran's 92nd Armoured Division.<ref name="aboulenein12_dawn3" />

[[File:These photograph was taken in 1984 by the Iraqis at Salahedin camp, near Takrit, Iraq.jpg|thumbnail|Iranian [[Prisoner of war|POWs]] in 1983 near [[Tikrit]], Iraq]]

During [[Operation Dawn 2|Operation Dawn-2]], the Iranians directed insurgency operations by [[proxy war|proxy]] in April 1983 by supporting the Kurds in the north. With Kurdish support, the Iranians attacked on 23 July 1983, capturing the Iraqi town of Haj Omran and maintaining it against an Iraqi poison gas counteroffensive.{{citation needed|date=June 2020}} This operation incited Iraq to later conduct indiscriminate chemical attacks against the Kurds.<ref name="aboulenein12_dawn3" /> The Iranians attempted to further exploit activities in the north on 30 July 1983, during [[Operation Dawn-3]]. Iran saw an opportunity to sweep away Iraqi forces controlling the roads between the Iranian mountain border towns of Mehran, [[Dehloran]] and [[Elam]]. Iraq launched airstrikes, and equipped attack helicopters with chemical [[warhead]]s. While ineffective, it demonstrated both the Iraqi general staff's and Saddam's increasing interest in using chemical weapons. In the end, 17,000 had been killed on both sides,{{clarify|date=November 2012|reason=Total or on each side?}} with no gain for either country.<ref name="aboulenein12_dawn3" />

The focus of [[Operation Dawn-4]] in September 1983 was the northern sector in Iranian Kurdistan. Three Iranian regular divisions, the Revolutionary Guard, and [[Kurdistan Democratic Party]] (KDP) elements amassed in [[Marivan]] and [[Sardasht, West Azerbaijan|Sardasht]] in a move to threaten the major Iraqi city [[Suleimaniyah]]. Iran's strategy was to press Kurdish tribes to occupy the Banjuin Valley, which was within {{convert|45|km|mi|abbr=on}} of Suleimaniyah and {{convert|140|km|mi|abbr=on}} from the oilfields of [[Kirkuk]]. To stem the tide, Iraq deployed [[Mi-8]] attack helicopters equipped with chemical weapons and executed 120 sorties against the Iranian force, which stopped them {{convert|15|km|mi|abbr=on}} into Iraqi territory.<ref name="aboulenein12_dawn3" />

5,000 Iranians and 2,500 Iraqis died.<ref name="aboulenein12_dawn3" /> Iran gained {{convert|110|km2|sqmi|abbr=on}} of its territory back in the north, gained {{convert|15|km2|sqmi|abbr=on}} of Iraqi land, and captured 1,800 Iraqi prisoners while Iraq abandoned large quantities of valuable weapons and war [[materiel]] in the field. Iraq responded to these losses by firing a series of SCUD-B missiles into the cities of Dezful, [[Masjid Soleiman]], and [[Behbehan]]. Iran's use of artillery against Basra while the battles in the north raged created multiple fronts, which effectively confused and wore down Iraq.<ref name="aboulenein12_dawn3" />

====Iran's change in tactics====
Previously, the Iranians had outnumbered the Iraqis on the battlefield, but Iraq expanded their [[military draft]], pursuing a policy of total war, and by 1984, the armies were equal in size. By 1986, Iraq had twice as many soldiers as Iran. By 1988, Iraq had 1&nbsp;million soldiers, giving it the fourth largest army in the world. Some of its equipment, such as tanks, outnumbered Iran's by at least five to one. Iranian commanders, however, remained more tactically skilled.<ref name=pollack04 />

After the Dawn Operations, Iran attempted to change tactics. In the face of increasing Iraqi defence in depth, as well as increased [[armament]]s and manpower, Iran could no longer rely on simple human wave attacks.<ref name=wilson07>{{cite magazine|url=http://fmso.leavenworth.army.mil/documents/PF-Iran-Iraq.pdf|title=The Evolution of Iranian Warfighting During the Iran–Iraq War: When Dismounted Light Infantry Made the Difference|last=Wilson|first=Ben|date=July–August 2007|publisher=U.S. Army: Foreign Military Studies Office|magazine=Infantry|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131029201227/http://fmso.leavenworth.army.mil/documents/PF-Iran-Iraq.pdf|archive-date=29 October 2013}}</ref> Iranian offensives became more complex and involved extensive manoeuvre warfare using primarily light infantry. Iran launched frequent, and sometimes smaller offensives to slowly gain ground and deplete the Iraqis through attrition.<ref name=wilson07 /> They wanted to drive Iraq into economic failure by wasting money on weapons and war mobilisation, and to deplete their smaller population by bleeding them dry, in addition to creating an anti-government [[insurgency]]. They were successful in Kurdistan, but not southern Iraq.<ref name="Farrokh 03" /><ref name=wilson07 /><ref name="Dunn 1998" />

Iran supported their attacks with heavy weaponry when possible and with better planning, although the brunt of the battles still fell to the infantry. The Army and Revolutionary Guards worked together better as their tactics improved.<ref name="Farrokh 03" /> Human wave attacks became less frequent, although were still used. To negate the Iraqi advantage of defence in depth, static positions, and heavy firepower, Iran began to concentrate on areas where the Iraqis could not use their heavy weaponry, such as marshes, valleys, and mountains, and frequently using infiltration tactics.<ref name="Woods 2010" />

Iran began training troops in infiltration, patrolling, night-fighting, marsh warfare, and mountain warfare.<ref name=wilson07 /> They began training thousands of Revolutionary Guard [[commandos]] in [[amphibious warfare]],<ref name=csis8>{{cite book|chapter-url=http://csis.org/files/media/csis/pubs/9005lessonsiraniraqii-chap08.pdf|publisher=[[Center for Strategic and International Studies]]|title=The Lessons of Modern War&nbsp;– Volume II: Iran–Iraq War|chapter=Phase Five: New Iranian Efforts at "Final Offensives", 1986–1887|access-date=21 September 2012|archive-date=7 June 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130607125439/http://csis.org/files/media/csis/pubs/9005lessonsiraniraqii-chap08.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref> as southern Iraq is marshy and filled with wetlands. Iran used [[speedboats]] to cross the marshes and rivers in southern Iraq and landed troops on the opposing banks, where they would dig and set up [[pontoon bridge]]s across the rivers and wetlands to allow heavy troops and supplies to cross. Iran also learned to integrate foreign guerrilla units as part of their military operations. On the northern front, Iran began working heavily with the Peshmerga. Iranian military advisors organised the Kurds into raiding parties of 12 guerrillas, which would attack Iraqi command posts, troop formations, infrastructure (including roads and supply lines), and government buildings. The oil refineries of Kirkuk became a favourite target, and were often hit by homemade Peshmerga rockets.<ref name=wilson07 />

====Battle of the Marshes====
{{Main|Battle of the Marshes|Operation Dawn 5|Operation Dawn 6|Operation Kheibar}}

[[File:Murdered Iraqi POW 2.jpg|thumb|upright=1|An Iraqi POW who was shot by Iranian troops after they conquered the Iraqi Majnoon oil field in October 1984]]

By 1984, the Iranian ground forces were reorganised well enough for the Revolutionary Guard to start [[Operation Kheibar]],<ref name=aboulenein12_dawn3 /><ref name=cooper03_205 /> which lasted from 24 February to 19 March.<ref name=bulloch89 />{{rp|171|date=November 2012}} On 15 February 1984, the Iranians began launching attacks against the central section of the front, where the Second Iraqi Army Corps was deployed: 250,000 Iraqis faced 250,000 Iranians.<ref name=efraimkarsh /> The goal of this new major offensive was the capture of Basra-Baghdad Highway, cutting off Basra from Baghdad and setting the stage for an eventual attack upon the city. The Iraqi high command had assumed that the [[marshlands]] above Basra were natural barriers to attack, and had not reinforced them. The marshes negated Iraq's advantage in armour, and absorbed artillery rounds and bombs.<ref name="Farrokh 03" /> Prior to the attack, Iranian [[commandos]] on helicopters had landed behind Iraqi lines and destroyed Iraqi artillery. Iran launched two preliminary attacks prior to the main offensive, [[Operation Dawn 5]] and [[Operation Dawn 6|Dawn 6]].<ref name="aboulenein12_dawn3" />

[[Operation Kheibar]] began on 24 February with Iranian infantrymen crossing the [[Hawizeh Marshes]] using motorboats and transport helicopters in an [[amphibious assault]].<ref name="Farrokh 03" /> The Iranians attacked the vital oil-producing [[Majnoon Island]] by landing troops via helicopters onto the islands and severing communication between Amareh and Basra.<ref name=cooper03_205>{{cite web|url=http://www.acig.org/artman/publish/article_205.shtml|author=Thomas Coper and Farzad Bishop|title=Persian Gulf War, 1980–1988: The Mother of All Build-Ups|date=9 September 2003|work=Arabian Peninsula and Persian Gulf Database|publisher=Air Combat Information Group|access-date=9 September 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131115022800/http://www.acig.org/artman/publish/article_205.shtml|archive-date=15 November 2013|url-status=usurped}}</ref> They then continued the attack towards [[al-Qurnah|Qurna]].<ref name="Farrokh 03" /> By 27 February, they had captured the island, but suffered catastrophic helicopter losses to the [[Iraqi Air Force|IrAF]]. On that day, a massive array of Iranian helicopters transporting Pasdaran troops were intercepted by Iraqi combat aircraft ([[Mikoyan|MiGs]], Mirages and Sukhois). In what was essentially an aerial slaughter, Iraqi jets shot down 49 of the 50 Iranian helicopters.<ref name="Farrokh 03" /> At times, fighting took place in waters over {{convert|2|m|ft|abbr=on}} deep. Iraq ran live [[electrical cables]] through the water, electrocuting numerous Iranian troops and then displaying their corpses on state television.<ref name="aboulenein12_dawn3" />

By 29 February, the Iranians had reached the outskirts of Qurna and were closing in on the [[Highway 8 (Iraq)|Baghdad–Basra highway]].<ref name="Farrokh 03" /> They had broken out of the marshes and returned to open terrain, where they were confronted by Iraqi artillery, tanks, air power, and [[mustard gas]]. 1,200 Iranian soldiers were killed in the counter-attack. The Iranians retreated back to the marshes, though they still held onto them along with Majnoon Island.<ref name="Farrokh 03" /><ref name=efraimkarsh />{{rp|44}}

[[File:152 mm howitzer D-20 belong to Military of Iran.jpg|thumb|Iranians firing a 152mm D-20 howitzer]]
The Battle of the Marshes saw an Iraqi defence that had been under continuous strain since 15 February. They were relieved by their use of chemical weapons and [[Defence in depth|defence-in-depth]], where they layered defensive lines: even if the Iranians broke through the first line, they were usually unable to break through the second due to exhaustion and heavy losses.<ref name=bulloch89 />{{rp|171|date=November 2012}} They largely relied on [[Mi-24]] Hind to "hunt" the Iranians in the marshes.<ref name="Farrokh 03" /> At least 20,000 Iranians were killed in the marsh battles.<ref name="aboulenein12_dawn3" /> Iran used the marshes as a springboard for future attacks/infiltrations.<ref name="Farrokh 03" />

Four years into the war, the human cost to Iran had been 170,000 combat fatalities and 340,000 wounded. Iraqi combat fatalities were estimated at 80,000 with 150,000 wounded.<ref name="Farrokh 03" />

{{anchor|1984: 'Tanker War' in Persian Gulf|Persian Gulf tanker war}}
===''Tanker war'' and the ''war of the cities''===

Unable to launch successful ground attacks against Iran, Iraq used their now expanded air force to carry out [[strategic bombing]] against Iranian shipping, economic targets, and cities in order to damage Iran's economy and morale.<ref name="Farrokh 03" /><ref name="Cordesman VII" /> Iraq also wanted to provoke Iran into doing something that would cause the [[superpower]]s to be directly involved in the conflict on the Iraqi side.<ref name=iranchamber-iraniraqwar />

====Attacks on shipping====
{{Main|Tanker war}}
{{Further|Operation Earnest Will|Operation Prime Chance}}

[[File:USS Hawes (FFG-53), USS William H. Standley (CG-32) and USS Guadalcanal (LPH-7) escort tanker Gas King in the Persian Gullf on 21 October 1987 (LPH-7) (6432283).jpg|thumb|[[Operation Earnest Will]]: Tanker convoy No. 12 under [[United States Navy|US Navy]] escort (21 October 1987)]]

The so-called ''tanker war'' started when Iraq attacked the oil terminal and oil tankers at [[Kharg Island]] in early 1984. Iraq's aim in attacking Iranian shipping was to provoke the Iranians to retaliate with extreme measures, such as closing the [[Strait of Hormuz]] to all maritime traffic, thereby bringing American intervention; the United States had threatened several times to intervene if the Strait of Hormuz were closed. As a result, the Iranians limited their retaliatory attacks to Iraqi shipping, leaving the strait open to general passage.<ref name=efraimkarsh />

Iraq declared that all ships going to or from Iranian ports in the northern zone of the Persian Gulf were subject to attack. They used F-1 Mirage, Super Etendard, Mig-23, Su-20/22, and Super Frelon helicopters armed with [[Exocet]] anti-ship missiles as well as Soviet-made air-to-surface missiles to enforce their threats. Iraq repeatedly bombed Iran's main oil export facility on Kharg Island, causing increasingly heavy damage. As a first response to these attacks, Iran attacked a Kuwaiti tanker carrying Iraqi oil near [[Bahrain]] on 13 May 1984, as well as a Saudi tanker in Saudi waters on 16 May.<ref name=efraimkarsh />

Because Iraq had become landlocked during the course of the war, they had to rely on their Arab allies, primarily Kuwait, to transport their oil. Iran attacked tankers carrying Iraqi oil from Kuwait, later attacking tankers from any Persian Gulf state supporting Iraq. Attacks on ships of noncombatant nations in the Persian Gulf sharply increased thereafter, with both nations attacking oil tankers and merchant ships of neutral nations in an effort to deprive their opponent of trade. The Iranian attacks against Saudi shipping led to Saudi F-15s shooting down a pair of F-4 Phantom II fighters on [[Action of 5 June 1984|5 June 1984]].<ref name=efraimkarsh />

The air and small-boat attacks did little damage to Persian Gulf state economies, and Iran moved its shipping port to [[Larak Island]] in the Strait of Hormuz.<ref name="Dugdale2002">{{cite web|first=T.D.P.|last=Dugdale-Pointon|date=27 October 2002|title=Tanker War 1984–1988|url=http://www.historyofwar.org/articles/wars_tanker.html|access-date=17 January 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100124124829/http://www.historyofwar.org/articles/wars_tanker.html|archive-date=24 January 2010|url-status=live}}</ref>

The Iranian Navy imposed a naval blockade of Iraq, using its British-built [[frigate]]s to stop and inspect any ships thought to be trading with Iraq. They operated with virtual impunity, as Iraqi pilots had little training in hitting naval targets. Some Iranian warships attacked tankers with ship-to-ship missiles, while others used their radars to guide land-based [[anti-ship missile]]s to their targets.<ref>{{cite video|title=Wars in Peace: Iran–Iraq War|medium=film documentary|year=1995|series=Wars in Peace|url=https://archive.org/details/warsinpeace-iraniraqwar|access-date=14 November 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160401031702/https://archive.org/details/warsinpeace-iraniraqwar|archive-date=1 April 2016|url-status=live}}</ref> Iran began to rely on its new [[IRGC Navy|Revolutionary Guard's navy]], which used [[Boghammar]] speedboats fitted with rocket launchers and heavy machine guns. These speedboats would launch surprise attacks against tankers and cause substantial damage. Iran also used F-4 Phantom II fighters and helicopters to launch [[AGM-65 Maverick|Maverick missiles]] and unguided rockets at tankers.<ref name="Farrokh 03" />

A [[United States Navy|U.S. Navy]] ship, {{USS|Stark|FFG-31|2}}, was struck on 17 May 1987 by two Exocet anti-ship missiles fired from an Iraqi [[F-1 Mirage]] plane.<ref>{{cite report|url=http://www.jag.navy.mil/library/investigations/USS%20STARK%20BASIC.pdf|date=3 September 1987|title=Formal Investigation into the Circumstances Surrounding the Attack on the USS Stark (FFG 31) on 17 May 1987|publisher=U.S. Navy Judge Advocate General's Corps|series=JAG Manual Investigations|access-date=13 July 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110501033851/http://www.jag.navy.mil/library/investigations/USS%20STARK%20BASIC.pdf|archive-date=1 May 2011|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Pokrant|first=Marvin|title=Desert Storm at Sea: What the Navy Really Did|year=1999|publisher=Greenwood Press|location=Westport, CT|isbn=978-0-313-31024-9|page=[https://archive.org/details/desertstormatsea00pokr/page/43 43]|url=https://archive.org/details/desertstormatsea00pokr/page/43}}</ref> The missiles had been fired at about the time the plane was given a routine radio warning by ''Stark''.<ref name=kelley07>{{cite thesis|title=Better Lucky Than Good: Operation Earnest Will as Gunboat Diplomacy|last=Kelley|first=Stephen Andrew|date=June 2007|location=Monterrey, CA|publisher=[[Naval Postgraduate School]]|url=https://archive.org/details/betterluckythgoo109453463/page/n1|degree=Master's|hdl=10945/3463|hdl-access=free}}</ref> The frigate did not detect the missiles with radar, and warning was given by the lookout only moments before they struck.<ref name="DoD_report">{{cite report|title=Formal Investigation into the Circumstances Surrounding the Attack of the USS Stark in 1987|url=http://www.dod.mil/pubs/foi/operation_and_plans/USS_Liberty_Pueblo_Stark/65rev.pdf|publisher=Office of the Secretary of Defense and Joint Staff|series=OSD/JS FOIA Library|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130210220555/http://www.dod.mil/pubs/foi/operation_and_plans/USS_Liberty_Pueblo_Stark/65rev.pdf|archive-date=10 February 2013}}</ref> Both missiles hit the ship, and one exploded in crew quarters, killing 37 sailors and wounding 21.<ref name="DoD_report" />

[[Lloyd's of London]], a British insurance market, estimated that the tanker war damaged 546 commercial vessels and killed about 430 civilian sailors. The largest portion of the attacks was directed by Iraq against vessels in Iranian waters, with the Iraqis launching three times as many attacks as the Iranians.<ref name=iranchamber-iraniraqwar />{{rp|3|date=November 2012}} But Iranian speedboat attacks on Kuwaiti shipping led Kuwait to formally petition foreign powers on 1 November 1986 to protect its shipping. The Soviet Union agreed to charter tankers starting in 1987, and the United States Navy offered to provide protection for foreign tankers reflagged and [[flag of convenience|flying the U.S. flag]] starting 7 March 1987 in [[Operation Earnest Will]].<ref name=efraimkarsh /><ref name=kelley07 /> Neutral tankers shipping to Iran were not protected by Earnest Will, resulting in reduced foreign tanker traffic to Iran, since they risked Iraqi air attack. Iran accused the United States of helping Iraq.<ref name="Farrokh 03" /><ref name=iranchamber-armingiraq /><ref name=iranchamber-iraniraqwar />

During the course of the war, Iran attacked two Soviet merchant ships.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://reference.allrefer.com/country-guide-study/iran/iran172.html|title=Iran: Gradual Superpower Involvement|publisher=AllRefer|access-date=2 August 2011|work=Country Study & Guide|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110628195103/http://reference.allrefer.com/country-guide-study/iran/iran172.html|archive-date=28 June 2011|url-status=dead}}</ref>

''[[Seawise Giant]]'', the largest ship ever built, was struck by Iraqi Exocet missiles as it was carrying Iranian crude oil out of the Persian Gulf.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.relevantsearchscotland.co.uk/ships/jahre.html|title=Seawise Giant|last=Ross|first=William|access-date=2 August 2011|work=Relevant Search Scotland|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110809115952/http://www.relevantsearchscotland.co.uk/ships/jahre.html|archive-date=9 August 2011|url-status=dead}}</ref>

====Attacks on cities====
{{Main|War of the cities}}

Meanwhile, Iraq's air force also began carrying out [[strategic bombing]] raids against Iranian cities. While Iraq had launched numerous attacks with aircraft and [[missiles]] against border cities from the beginning of the war and sporadic raids on Iran's main cities, this was the first systematic strategic bombing that Iraq carried out during the war. This would become known as the ''war of the cities''. With the help of the USSR and the west, Iraq's air force had been rebuilt and expanded.<ref name="Cooper Blinders" /> Meanwhile, Iran, due to sanctions and lack of spare parts, had heavily curtailed its air force operations. Iraq used [[Tu-22]] Blinder and [[Tu-16]] Badger [[strategic bombers]] to carry out long-range high-speed raids on Iranian cities, including Tehran. Fighter-bombers such as the [[MiG-25|MiG-25 Foxbat]] and [[Su-22]] Fitter were used against smaller or shorter range targets, as well as [[Escort fighter|escorting]] the strategic bombers.<ref name="Cooper Blinders" /> Civilian and industrial targets were hit by the raids,<ref>{{Cite book|last=Tucker|first=Spencer C.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=U05OvsOPeKMC&q=Most+of+the+Iraqi+air+raids+were+intercepted+by+the+Iranian+fighter+jets+and+air+defense&pg=PA674|title=The Encyclopedia of Middle East Wars: The United States in the Persian Gulf, Afghanistan, and Iraq Conflicts [5 volumes]: The United States in the Persian Gulf, Afghanistan, and Iraq Conflicts|date=2010|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=978-1-85109-948-1}}</ref> and each successful raid inflicted economic damage from regular strategic bombing.<ref name="Cooper Blinders" />

In response, the Iranians deployed their F-4 Phantoms to combat the Iraqis, and eventually they deployed F-14s as well. By 1986, Iran also expanded their [[air defence]] network heavily to relieve the pressure on the air force. By later in the war, Iraqi air attacks were used only on fewer, more important targets.<ref name="Cooper Blinders 2">{{cite web|last=Cooper|first=Tom|title=Bombed By Blinders Part 2|url=http://www.acig.info/CMS/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=249&Itemid=47|access-date=30 April 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120822013317/http://www.acig.info/CMS/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=249&Itemid=47|archive-date=22 August 2012|url-status=live}}</ref> Starting in 1987, Saddam also ordered several chemical attacks on civilian targets in Iran, such as the town of [[Sardasht, West Azerbaijan|Sardasht]].<ref name="Daraghai LA Times" />

[[File:War of the Cities map.png|thumb|A map indicating the attacks on civilian areas of Iran, Iraq, and [[Kuwait]] that were targeted during the [[war of the cities]] ]]

Iran also launched several retaliatory air raids on Iraq, while primarily shelling border cities such as Basra. Iran also bought some [[Scud]] missiles from [[Libya]], and launched them against Baghdad. These too inflicted damage upon Iraq.<ref name="Farrokh 03" />

On 7 February 1984, during the first war of the cities, Saddam ordered his air force to attack eleven Iranian cities;<ref name=efraimkarsh /> bombardments ceased on 22 February 1984. It was estimated that 1,200 Iranian civilians were killed during the raids in February alone.<ref name="Farrokh 03" />

====Strategic situation in 1984====
By 1984, Iran's losses were estimated to be 300,000 soldiers, while Iraq's losses were estimated to be 150,000.<ref name=iranchamber-iraniraqwar />{{rp|2|date=November 2012}} Foreign analysts agreed that both Iran and Iraq failed to use their modern equipment properly, and both sides failed to carry out modern military assaults that could win the war. Both sides also abandoned equipment in the battlefield because their technicians were unable to carry out repairs. Iran and Iraq showed little internal coordination on the battlefield, and in many cases units were left to fight on their own. As a result, by the end of 1984, the war was a stalemate.<ref name=iranchamber-iraniraqwar />{{rp|2|date=November 2012}}<ref name=Rubin>{{cite book|last=Rubin|first=Barry|title=Conflict and Insurgency in the Middle East|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GFdz4AfyH5MC&q=Iran+capture+Mehran+October+1984&pg=PA57|isbn=978-0203881873|year=2009|publisher=Taylor & Francis}}</ref> One limited offensive Iran launched (Dawn 7) took place from 18 to 25 October 1984, when they recaptured the Iranian city of [[Mehran, Ilam|Mehran]], which had been occupied by the Iraqis from the beginning of the war.<ref name=efraimkarsh /><ref name="Dunn 1998" />

===1985–86 Iraqi offensives===
By 1985, Iraqi armed forces were receiving financial support from Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and other Persian Gulf states, and were making substantial arms purchases from the Soviet Union, China, and France. For the first time since early 1980, Saddam launched new offensives.

On 6 January 1986, the Iraqis launched an offensive attempting to retake Majnoon Island. They were quickly bogged down into a stalemate against 200,000 Iranian infantrymen, reinforced by amphibious divisions.<ref name=aboulenein12_dawn3>{{cite journal|url=http://smallwarsjournal.com/jrnl/art/the-%22dawn-of-victory%22-campaigns-to-the-%22final-push%22-part-three-of-three|title=The 'Dawn of Victory' campaigns to the 'Final Push': Part Three of Three|first1=Youssef|last1=Aboul-Enein|first2=Andrew|last2=Bertrand|first3=Dorothy|last3=Corley|date=23 April 2012|journal=Small Wars Journal|publisher=Small Wars Foundation}}{{Dead link|date=July 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> However, they managed to gain a foothold in the southern part of the island.<ref name=cordesman90 />

Iraq also carried out another ''war of the cities'' between 12 and 14 March, hitting up to 158 targets in over 30 towns and cities, including Tehran. Iran responded by launching 14 Scud missiles for the first time, purchased from [[Libya]]. More Iraqi air attacks were carried out in August, resulting in hundreds of additional civilian casualties. Iraqi attacks against both Iranian and neutral oil tankers in Iranian waters continued, with Iraq carrying out 150 airstrikes using French-bought [[Super Etendard]] and Mirage F-1 jets as well as Super Frelon helicopters, armed with [[Exocet]] missiles.<ref name="Cordesman VII">{{cite web|last=Cordesman|first=Anthony|title=The Lessons of Modern War Vol II|date=May 1990|url=https://www.csis.org/analysis/lessons-modern-war-volume-ii-iran-iraq-war-–-chapter-7-phase-four-stalemate-and-war|access-date=10 March 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130705010234/https://csis.org/publication/lessons-modern-war-volume-ii-iran-iraq-war-%E2%80%93-chapter-7-phase-four-stalemate-and-war-attr|archive-date=5 July 2013|url-status=live}}</ref>

====Operation Badr====

[[File:Wafiq Al-Samarrai.JPG|thumb|Iraqi commanders discussing strategies on the battlefront, 1986]]

The Iraqis attacked again on 28 January 1985; they were defeated, and the Iranians retaliated on 11 March with a major offensive directed against the Baghdad-Basra highway (one of the year's few major offensives), codenamed [[Operation Badr (1985)|Operation Badr]] after the [[Battle of Badr]], Muhammad's first military victory in Mecca.<ref name=efraimkarsh /><ref name=wright89>{{cite book|last=Wright|first=Robin|title=In the name of God: The Khomeini decade|year=1989|publisher=Simon and Schuster|location=New York|isbn=978-0-671-67235-5|pages=[https://archive.org/details/innameofgodkhome00wrig/page/126 126, 133]|url=https://archive.org/details/innameofgodkhome00wrig/page/126}}</ref> Ayatollah Khomeini urged Iranians on, declaring:

<blockquote>It is our belief that Saddam wishes to return Islam to blasphemy and polytheism...if America becomes victorious...and grants victory to Saddam, Islam will receive such a blow that it will not be able to raise its head for a long time...The issue is one of Islam versus blasphemy, and not of Iran versus Iraq.<ref>A speech on 4 April 1985 by Ruhollah Khomeini in Persian quoted in {{cite book|last=Brumberg|first=Daniel|title=Reinventing Khomeini: The Struggle for Reform in Iran|year=2001|publisher=University of Chicago Press|location=Chicago|isbn=978-0-226-07758-1|pages=132–134}}</ref></blockquote>

This operation was similar to Operation Kheibar, though it invoked more planning. Iran used 100,000 men, with 60,000 more in reserve. They assessed the marshy terrain, plotted points where they could land tanks, and constructed pontoon bridges across the marshes. The Basij forces were also equipped with [[anti-tank weapons]].<ref name="aboulenein12_dawn3" />

The ferocity of the Iranian offensive broke through the Iraqi lines. The Revolutionary Guard, with the support of tanks and artillery, broke through north of Qurna on 14 March. That same night 3,000 Iranians reached and crossed the [[Tigris River]] using pontoon bridges and captured part of the [[Highway 6 (Iraq)|Baghdad–Basra Highway 6]], which they had failed to achieve in Operations Dawn 5 and 6.<ref name="Farrokh 03" />

Saddam responded by launching chemical attacks against the Iranian positions along the highway and by initiating the aforementioned second ''war of the cities'', with an air and missile campaign against twenty to thirty Iranian population centres, including Tehran.<ref name=efraimkarsh /> Under [[Sultan Hashim Ahmad al-Tai|General Sultan Hashim Ahmad al-Tai]] and [[General Jamal Zanoun]] (both considered to be among Iraq's most skilled commanders), the Iraqis launched air attacks against the Iranian positions and pinned them down. They then launched a pincer attack using mechanised infantry and heavy artillery.<ref name="Farrokh 03" /> Chemical weapons were used, and the Iraqis also flooded Iranian trenches with specially constructed pipes delivering water from the Tigris.

The Iranians retreated back to the [[Hoveyzeh]] marshes while being attacked by helicopters,<ref name="Farrokh 03" /> and the highway was recaptured by the Iraqis. Operation Badr resulted in 10,000–12,000 Iraqi casualties and 15,000 Iranian ones.<ref name=efraimkarsh />

===Iranian counteroffensives===

[[File:President Ali Khamenei in Iran-Iraq War.jpg|thumb|Iranian President [[Ali Khamenei]] on the battlefront during the war]]

The failure of the human wave attacks in earlier years had prompted Iran to develop a better working relationship between the Army and the Revolutionary Guard<ref name=efraimkarsh /> and to mould the Revolutionary Guard units into a more conventional fighting force. To combat Iraq's use of chemical weapons, Iran began producing an [[antidote]].<ref name=aboulenein12_dawn3 /> They also created and fielded their own homemade drones, the [[Mohajer 1]]'s, fitted with six RPG-7's to launch attacks. They were primarily used in observation, being used for up to 700 [[sortie]]s.<ref name=mashregnews>{{cite news|script-title=fa:نگاهی به نقش ناشناخته "تلاش" و "مهاجر" در کربلای 5 و والفجر 8|language=fa|trans-title=Looking at the unrecognised role of (the drones) 'effort' and 'immigrant' in Dawn Operations 5 and 8|url=http://www.mashreghnews.ir/fa/news/69193|date=2 October 2011|newspaper=Mashregnews|access-date=9 October 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151023134107/http://www.mashreghnews.ir/fa/news/69193|archive-date=23 October 2015|url-status=live}}</ref>

For the rest of 1986, and until the spring of 1988, the Iranian Air Force's efficiency in [[air defence]] increased, with weapons being repaired or replaced and new tactical methods being used. For example, the Iranians would loosely integrate their [[SAM Sites]] and [[interceptors]] to create "killing fields" in which dozens of Iraqi planes were lost, which was reported in the West as the Iranian Air Force using F-14s as "mini-[[airborne early warning and control|AWACs]]". The Iraqi Air Force reacted by increasing the sophistication of its equipment, incorporating modern [[electronic countermeasure]] pods, decoys such as [[chaff (countermeasure)|chaff]] and [[flare]], and [[anti-radiation missile]]s.<ref name=cooper03_205 />

Due to the heavy losses in the last war of the cities, Iraq reduced their use of aerial attacks on Iranian cities. Instead, they launched Scud missiles, which the Iranians could not stop. Since the range of the Scud missile was too short to reach Tehran, they converted them to [[Al-Husayn (missile)|al-Husayn missiles]] with the help of East German engineers, cutting up their Scuds into three chunks and attaching them together. Iran responded to these attacks by using their own Scud missiles.<ref name=mashregnews />

Compounding the extensive foreign help to Iraq, Iranian attacks were severely hampered by their shortages of weaponry, particularly heavy weapons as large amounts had been lost during the war. Iran still managed to maintain 1,000 tanks, often by capturing Iraqi ones and additional artillery, but many needed repairs to be operational. By this time Iran managed to procure spare parts from various sources, helping them to restore some weapons. They secretly imported some weapons, such as [[RBS-70]] anti-aircraft [[MANPADS]].<ref name="Farrokh 03" /> In an exception to the United States' support for Iraq, in exchange for Iran using its influence to help free western hostages in [[Lebanon]], the United States secretly sold Iran some limited supplies. In Akbar Rafsanjani's postwar interview, he stated that during the period when Iran was succeeding, for a short time the United States supported Iran, then shortly after began helping Iraq again.<ref name=Viewpoints /> Iran managed to get some advanced weapons, such as anti-tank [[TOW missile]]s, which worked better than [[rocket-propelled grenade]]s. Iran later [[reverse-engineered]] and produced those weapons themselves.<ref name="Farrokh 03" /><ref name="Cordesman VII" /> All of these almost certainly helped increase the effectiveness of Iran, although it did not reduce the human cost of their attacks.<ref name="Farrokh 03" /><ref name="Cordesman VII" />

====First Battle of al-Faw====
{{Main|First Battle of al-Faw|Operation Dawn 8}}

[[File:Operation dawn 8 map.svg|thumb|[[First Battle of al-Faw|Operation Dawn 8]] during which Iran captured the [[Al-Faw peninsula|Faw Peninsula]]]]

On the night of 10–11 February 1986, the Iranians launched Operation Dawn 8,<ref name=Pollack_217>{{cite book|last=Pollack|first=Kenneth M.|title=The Arabs at War: Military Effectiveness, 1948–1991|year=2002|publisher=University of Nebraska Press|location=Lincoln|isbn=0-8032-3733-2|page=217}}</ref> in which 30,000 men in five Army divisions and from the Revolutionary Guard and Basij advanced in a two-pronged offensive to capture the [[al-Faw peninsula]] in southern Iraq, the only area touching the [[Persian Gulf]].<ref name=efraimkarsh /> The capture of Al Faw and Umm Qasr was a major goal for Iran.<ref name=Viewpoints /> Iran began with an unsuccessful feint attack against Basra.<ref name=efraimkarsh /><ref name=csis8 />

Meanwhile, an amphibious strike force landed at the foot of the peninsula. The resistance, consisting of several thousand poorly trained soldiers of the [[Iraqi Popular Army]], fled or were defeated, and the Iranian forces set up pontoon bridges crossing the Shatt al-Arab{{NoteTag|name=waterway}}, allowing 30,000 soldiers to cross in a short period of time.<ref name=csis8 /> They drove north along the peninsula almost unopposed, capturing it after only 24 hours of fighting.<ref name=efraimkarsh /><ref name=bulloch89 />{{rp|240|date=November 2012}}<ref name=pollack04 /> Afterwards they dug in and set up defences.<ref name=pollack04 />

The sudden capture of al-Faw shocked the Iraqis, since they had thought it impossible for the Iranians to cross the Shatt al-Arab. On 12 February 1986, the Iraqis began a counter-offensive to retake al-Faw, which failed after a week of heavy fighting.<ref name=efraimkarsh /><ref name=pollack04 /> On 24 February 1986, Saddam sent one of his best commanders, General [[Maher Abd al-Rashid]], and the [[Republican Guard (Iraq)|Republican Guard]] to begin a new offensive to recapture al-Faw. A new round of heavy fighting took place. Their attempts again ended in failure, costing them many tanks and aircraft.<ref name=efraimkarsh /> Their 15th mechanised division was almost completely wiped out.<ref name="Farrokh 03" /> The capture of al-Faw and the failure of the Iraqi counter-offensives were blows to the Ba'ath regime's prestige, and led the Gulf countries to fear that Iran might win the war.<ref name=efraimkarsh /> Kuwait in particular felt menaced with Iranian troops only {{convert|16|km|mi|abbr=on}} away, and increased its support of Iraq accordingly.<ref name=bulloch89 />{{rp|241|date=November 2012}}

In March 1986, the Iranians tried to follow up their success by attempting to take [[Umm Qasr]], which would have completely severed Iraq from the Gulf and placed Iranian troops on the border with Kuwait.<ref name=efraimkarsh /><ref name=Viewpoints /> The offensive failed due to Iranian armour shortages. By this time, 17,000 Iraqis and 30,000 Iranians were casualties.<ref name=efraimkarsh /> The First Battle of al-Faw ended in March, but indecisive heavy combat operations lasted on the peninsula into 1988. The battle bogged down into a World War I-style [[stalemate]] in the marshes of the peninsula.<ref name="Woods 2010" />

====Battle of Mehran====
{{Main|Battle of Mehran (1986)}}
Immediately after the Iranian capture of al-Faw, Saddam declared a new offensive against Iran, designed to drive deep into the state. The Iranian border city of [[Mehran, Ilam|Mehran]], on the foot of the Zagros Mountains, was selected as the first target. On 15–19 May, Iraqi Army's Second Corps, supported by helicopter gunships, attacked and captured the city. Saddam then offered to exchange Mehran for al-Faw. The Iranians rejected the offer. Iraq then continued the attack, attempting to push deeper into Iran. Iraq's attack was quickly warded off by Iranian AH-1 Cobra helicopters with [[BGM-71 TOW|TOW]] missiles, which destroyed numerous Iraqi tanks and vehicles.<ref name="Farrokh 03" />{{page needed|date=September 2020}}

The Iranians built up their forces on the heights surrounding Mehran. On 30 June, using mountain warfare tactics, they launched their attack, recapturing the city by 3 July. Saddam ordered the Republican Guard to retake the city on 4 July, but their attack was ineffective. Iraqi losses were heavy enough to allow the Iranians to also capture territory inside Iraq, and depleted the Iraqi military enough to prevent them from launching a major offensive for the next two years. Iraq's defeats at al-Faw and at Mehran were severe blows to its prestige, but Western powers, including the US, became more determined to prevent an Iraqi loss.<ref name="Farrokh 03" />{{page needed|date=September 2020}}

====Situation at the end of 1986====

Through the eyes of international observers, Iran was prevailing in the war by the end of 1986. In the northern front, the Iranians began launching attacks toward the city of [[Suleimaniya]] with the help of Kurdish fighters, taking the Iraqis by surprise. They came within {{convert|16|km|mi|abbr=on}} of the city before being stopped by chemical and army attacks. Iran's army had also reached the Meimak Hills, only {{convert|113|km|mi|abbr=on}} from Baghdad.<ref name=csis8 /> Iraq managed to contain Iran's offensives in the south, but was under serious pressure, as the Iranians were slowly overwhelming them.

Iraq retaliated by initiating another ''war of the cities''. In one attack, Tehran's main oil refinery was hit, and in another instance, Iraq damaged Iran's Assadabad satellite dish, disrupting Iranian overseas telephone and [[telex]] service for almost two weeks.<ref name=csis8 /> Civilian areas were also hit, resulting in many casualties. Iraq continued to attack oil tankers via air.<ref name="Farrokh 03" /> Iran responded by launching Scud missiles and air attacks at Iraqi targets.

Iraq continued to attack Kharg Island and the oil tankers and facilities as well. Iran created a tanker [[public transport|shuttle]] service of 20 tankers to move oil from Kharg to Larak Island, escorted by Iranian fighter jets. Once moved to Larak, the oil would be moved to oceangoing tankers, most of which were neutral.<ref name="Cordesman IX" /> They also rebuilt the oil terminals damaged by Iraqi air raids and moved shipping to Larak Island, while attacking foreign tankers that carried Iraqi oil, as Iran had blocked Iraq's access to the open sea with the capture of al-Faw. By now, they almost always used the armed speedboats of the [[Navy of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps|IRGC navy]], and attacked many tankers.<ref name="Farrokh 03" />

The tanker war escalated drastically, with attacks nearly doubling in 1986, the majority carried out by Iraq. Iraq obtained permission to cross Saudi territory to attack Larak Island, although the distance made attacks less frequent there. The escalating tanker war in the Gulf became an ever-increasing concern to foreign powers, especially the United States.<ref name="Cordesman IX" />

In April 1986, Ayatollah Khomeini issued a [[fatwa]] declaring that the war must be won by March 1987. The Iranians increased recruitment efforts, obtaining 650,000 volunteers. The animosity between the Army and the Revolutionary Guard arose again, with the Army wanting to use more refined, limited military attacks, while the Revolutionary Guard wanted to carry out major offensives.<ref name=aboulenein12_dawn3 /> Iran, confident in its successes, began planning their largest offensives of the war, which they called their "final offensives".<ref name=aboulenein12_dawn3 />

====Iraq's dynamic defence strategy====
Faced with their recent defeats in al-Faw and Mehran, Iraq appeared to be losing the war. Iraq's generals, angered by Saddam's interference, threatened a full-scale mutiny against the Ba'ath Party unless they were allowed to conduct operations freely. In one of the few times during his career, Saddam gave in to the demands of his generals.<ref name=pollack04 />{{page needed|date=September 2020}} Up to this point, Iraqi strategy was to ride out Iranian attacks. However, the defeat at al-Faw led Saddam to declare the war to be ''Al-Defa al-Mutaharakha'' (The Dynamic Defence),<ref name="Farrokh 03" />{{page needed|date=September 2020}} and announcing that all civilians had to take part in the war effort.

The government tried to integrate the Shias into the war effort by recruiting many as part of the Ba'ath Party. In an attempt to counterbalance the religious fervour of the Iranians and gain support from the devout masses, the regime also began to promote religion and, on the surface, [[Islamisation]], despite the fact that Iraq was run by a secular regime. Scenes of Saddam praying and making pilgrimages to shrines became common on state-run television. While Iraqi morale had been low throughout the war, the attack on al-Faw raised patriotic fervour, as the Iraqis feared invasion.<ref name=pollack04 />{{page needed|date=September 2020}}

Saddam also recruited volunteers from other Arab countries into the Republican Guard, and received much technical support from foreign nations as well. While Iraqi military power had been depleted in recent battles, through heavy foreign purchases and support, they were able to expand their military to much larger proportions by 1988.<ref name="Farrokh 03" />{{page needed|date=September 2020}}

At the same time, Saddam ordered the [[al-Anfal Campaign|al-Anfal campaign]] in an attempt to crush the Kurdish resistance, who were now allied with Iran. The result was the deaths of several hundred thousand Iraqi Kurds, and the destruction of villages, towns, and cities.<ref>{{cite journal|author=Rubin, Michael|title=Are Kurds a pariah minority?|journal=Social Research|date=Spring 2003|volume=70|issue=1|pages=295–330|publisher=The New School|series=Pariah Minorities|doi=10.1353/sor.2003.0028|jstor=40971614|s2cid=141846747}}</ref>

Iraq began to try to perfect its manoeuvre tactics. The Iraqis began to prioritise the professionalisation of their military. Prior to 1986, the [[conscription]]-based Iraqi regular army and the volunteer-based Iraqi Popular Army conducted the bulk of the operations in the war, to little effect. The Republican Guard, formerly an elite [[praetorian guard]], was expanded as a volunteer army and filled with Iraq's best generals. Loyalty to the state was no longer a primary requisite for joining. After the war, due to Saddam's paranoia, the former duties of the Republican Guard were transferred to a new unit, the [[Special Republican Guard]]. Full-scale war games against hypothetical Iranian positions were carried out in the western Iraqi desert against mock targets. They were repeated over the course of a full year until the forces involved fully memorised their attacks. Iraq built its military massively, eventually possessing the 4th largest in the world, in order to overwhelm the Iranians through sheer size.<ref name=pollack04 />{{page needed|date=September 2020}}

===1987–88: Renewed Iranian Offensives===

[[File:Mersad.jpg|thumb|Burned-out vehicles shown in the aftermath of [[Operation Mersad]]{{citation needed|date=December 2022}}]]

Meanwhile, Iran continued to attack as the Iraqis were planning their strike. In 1987 the Iranians renewed a series of major human wave offensives in both northern and southern Iraq. The Iraqis had elaborately fortified Basra with 5 defensive rings, exploiting natural waterways such as the Shatt-al-Arab and artificial ones, such as ''Fish Lake'' and the Jasim River, along with earth barriers. Fish Lake was a massive lake filled with mines, underwater barbed wire, [[electrode]]s and sensors. Behind each waterway and defensive line was radar-guided artillery, [[ground attack aircraft]] and helicopters, all capable of firing poison gas or conventional munitions.<ref name="Farrokh 03" />

The Iranian strategy was to penetrate the Iraqi defences and encircle Basra, isolating the city and the Al-Faw peninsula.<ref name=csis8 /> Iran's plan was for three assaults: a diversionary attack near Basra, the main offensive and another diversionary attack using Iranian tanks in the north to divert Iraqi heavy armour from Basra.<ref name="Farrokh 03" /> For these battles, the Iranian military had grown by recruiting many new Basij and Pasdaran volunteers.<ref name=csis8 /> Total Iranian strength reached 150,000–200,000.<ref name=pollack04 />

==== Operation Karbala-4 ====
{{Main|Operation Karbala-4}}

On 25 December 1986, Iran launched [[Operation Karbala-4]] (''Karbala'' referring to [[Husayn ibn Ali]]'s [[Battle of Karbala]]).<ref name=silverstein10>{{cite book|isbn=978-0-19-160934-3|title=Islamic History: A Very Short Introduction|last=Silverstein|first=Adam J.|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2012|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OKOAkshBSIQC}}</ref> According to Iraqi General Ra'ad al-Hamdani, this was a diversionary attack.<ref name="Woods 2010" /> The Iranians launched an amphibious assault against the Iraqi island of Umm al-Rassas in the Shatt-Al-Arab river, parallel to Khoramshahr. They then set up a pontoon bridge and continued the attack, eventually capturing the island in a costly success but failing to advance further. The Iranians had 60,000 casualties, while the Iraqis 9,500.<ref name="aboulenein12_dawn3" /> The Iraqi commanders exaggerated Iranian losses to Saddam, and it was assumed that the main Iranian attack on Basra had been fully defeated and that it would take the Iranians six months to recover. When the main Iranian attack, Operation Karbala 5, began, many Iraqis were on leave.<ref name="Woods 2010" />

====Karbala-5 (Sixth Battle of Basra)====
{{Main|Siege of Basra}}

The [[Siege of Basra]], code-named Operation Karbala-5 ({{langx|fa|عملیات کربلای ۵}}), was an offensive operation carried out by [[Iran]] in an effort to capture the [[Iraq]]i port city of [[Basra]] in early 1987. This battle, known for its extensive casualties and ferocious conditions, was the biggest battle of the war and proved to be the beginning of the end of the Iran–Iraq War.<ref>Pollack, Kenneth M. (2004). "Iraq". Arabs at War: Military Effectiveness, 1948–1991. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press. {{ISBN|978-0803287839}}.</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.fatehan.ir/page.aspx?pid=224|title=fatehan.ir|access-date=26 September 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171024223009/http://www.fatehan.ir/page.aspx?pid=224|archive-date=24 October 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref> While Iranian forces crossed the border and captured the eastern section of Basra Governorate, the operation ended in a stalemate.

====Karbala-6====
{{Main|Operation Karbala-6}}

At the same time as Operation Karbala 5, Iran launched [[Operation Karbala-6]] against the Iraqis in Qasr-e Shirin in central Iran to prevent the Iraqis from rapidly transferring units down to defend against the Karbala-5 attack. The attack was carried out by Basij infantry and the Revolutionary Guard's 31st ''[[Day of Ashura|Ashura]]'' and the Army's 77th ''Khorasan'' armoured divisions. The Basij attacked the Iraqi lines, forcing the Iraqi infantry to retreat. An Iraqi armoured counter-attack surrounded the Basij in a pincer movement. The Iranian tank divisions attacked, breaking the encirclement. The Iranian attack was stopped by mass Iraqi chemical weapons attacks.<ref name=iraniraqwar.com>{{cite web|title=Iran–Iraq war|url=http://iraniraqwar.com/about.html|access-date=13 October 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120923205409/http://iraniraqwar.com/about.html|archive-date=23 September 2012|url-status=usurped}}</ref>

===Iranian war-weariness===
Operation Karbala-5 was a severe blow to Iran's military and morale.<ref name="Dunn 1998" /> To foreign observers, it appeared that Iran was continuing to strengthen. By 1988, Iran had become self-sufficient in many areas, such as anti-tank TOW missiles, Scud ballistic missiles ([[Shahab-1]]), [[Silkworm (missile)|Silkworm]] anti-ship missiles, [[Oghab]] tactical rockets, and producing spare parts for their weaponry. Iran had improved its air defences with smuggled surface to air missiles.<ref name="Farrokh 03" /> Iran was even producing UAV's and the [[Pilatus PC-7]] propeller aircraft for observation.<ref name="Farrokh 03" /> Iran doubled their stocks of artillery, and was self-sufficient in the manufacture of ammunition and small arms.<ref name=csis10 />

While it was not obvious to foreign observers, the Iranian public had become increasingly war-weary and disillusioned with the fighting, and relatively few volunteers joined the fight in 1987–88. Because the Iranian war effort relied on popular mobilisation, their military strength actually declined, and Iran was unable to launch any major offensives after Karbala-5. As a result, for the first time since 1982, the momentum of the fighting shifted towards the regular army, whose reliance on conscription made the war even less popular. Many Iranians began to try to escape the conflict. As early as May 1985, [[anti-war demonstration]]s took place in 74 cities throughout Iran, which were crushed by the regime, resulting in some protesters being shot and killed.<ref name=spokane85>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1345&dat=19850510&id=FloaAAAAIBAJ&pg=7018,2528377|title=Anti-war protests reported in Iran|newspaper=Spokane Chronicle|agency=Associated Press|date=10 May 1985|access-date=20 June 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150903232542/https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1345&dat=19850510&id=FloaAAAAIBAJ&sjid=XScEAAAAIBAJ&pg=7018,2528377|archive-date=3 September 2015|url-status=live}}</ref>

The leadership acknowledged that the war was a stalemate, and began to plan accordingly.<ref name=pollack04 /> No more "final offensives" were planned.<ref name="Farrokh 03" /> The head of the Supreme Defence Council Akbar Rafsanjani announced during a news conference the end of human wave attacks.<ref name="Sciolino New York Times">{{cite news|author-link=Elaine Sciolino|last=Sciolino|first=Elaine|title=Human Wave raid loses Iran's favor|newspaper=The New York Times|date=5 July 1987|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1987/07/05/world/human-wave-raid-losses-iran-s-favor.html|access-date=9 February 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171106110937/http://www.nytimes.com/1987/07/05/world/human-wave-raid-losses-iran-s-favor.html|archive-date=6 November 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Mohsen Rezaee]], head of the IRGC, announced that Iran would focus exclusively on limited attacks and infiltrations, while arming and supporting opposition groups inside of Iraq.<ref name=csis8 />

On the Iranian home front, sanctions, declining oil prices, and Iraqi attacks on Iranian oil facilities and shipping took a heavy toll on the economy. While the attacks themselves were not as destructive as some analysts believed, the U.S.-led [[Operation Earnest Will]], which protected Iraqi and allied oil tankers, but not Iranian ones, led many neutral countries to stop trading with Iran because of rising [[insurance]] and fear of air attack.<ref name="Farrokh 03" /><ref name=iranchamber-armingiraq /><ref name=iranchamber-iraniraqwar /> Iranian oil and non-oil exports fell by 55%, inflation reached 50% by 1987, and [[unemployment rate|unemployment]] skyrocketed.<ref name="Farrokh 03" /> At the same time, Iraq was experiencing crushing debt and shortages of workers, encouraging its leadership to try to end the war quickly.<ref name="Dunn 1998" />

====Strategic situation in late 1987====
{{Main|Operation Nimble Archer}}

[[File:Adnan Khairallah Army.jpg|thumb|[[Adnan Khairallah]], Iraqi Defence Minister, meeting with Iraqi soldiers during the war]]

By the end of 1987, Iraq possessed 5,550 tanks, outnumbering the Iranians six to one, and 900 fighter aircraft, outnumbering the Iranians ten to one.<ref name="Farrokh 03" /> After Operation Karbala-5, Iraq only had 100 qualified fighter pilots remaining. Therefore, Iraq began to invest in recruiting foreign pilots from countries such as [[Belgium]], [[South Africa]], [[Pakistan]], [[East Germany]] and the [[Soviet Union]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://kavehfarrokh.com/military-history-1900-present/western-pakistani-and-egyptian-pilots-flying-iraqi-combat-aircraft-during-iran-iraq-war/|title=Kaveh Farrokh {{pipe}} Western, Pakistani and Egyptian pilots flying Iraqi Combat Aircraft during the Iran–Iraq War|work=Dr. Kaveh Farrokh |access-date=29 September 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181116001004/https://kavehfarrokh.com/military-history-1900-present/western-pakistani-and-egyptian-pilots-flying-iraqi-combat-aircraft-during-iran-iraq-war/|archive-date=16 November 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> They replenished their manpower by integrating volunteers from other Arab countries into their army. Iraq also became self-sufficient in chemical weapons and some conventional ones and received much equipment from abroad. Foreign support helped Iraq bypass its economic troubles and massive debt to continue the war and increase the size of its military.<ref name="Farrokh 03" />

While the southern and central fronts were at a stalemate, Iran began to focus on carrying out offensives in northern Iraq with the help of the Peshmerga (Kurdish [[insurgent]]s). The Iranians used a combination of semi-guerrilla and infiltration tactics in the Kurdish mountains with the Peshmerga. During [[Operation Karbala-9]] in early April, Iran captured territory near Suleimaniya, provoking a severe poison gas counter-attack. During [[Operation Karbala-10]], Iran attacked near the same area, capturing more territory. During Operation Nasr-4, the Iranians surrounded the city of Suleimaniya and, with the help of the Peshmerga, infiltrated over 140&nbsp;km into Iraq and raided and threatened to capture the oil-rich city of [[Kirkuk]] and other northern oilfields.<ref name="Dunn 1998" />

=== Air and tanker war ===

With the stalemate on land, the air/tanker war began to play an increasingly major role in the conflict.<ref name="Cordesman IX">{{cite web|last=Cordesman|first=Anthony|title=Lessons of Modern War: The Iran–Iraq War|url=http://csis.org/files/media/csis/pubs/9005lessonsiraniraqii-chap09.pdf|access-date=28 May 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140104083713/http://csis.org/files/media/csis/pubs/9005lessonsiraniraqii-chap09.pdf|archive-date=4 January 2014|url-status=live}}</ref> The Iranian air force had become very small, with only 20 F-4 Phantoms, 20 F-5 Tigers, and 15 F-14 Tomcats in operation, although Iran managed to restore some damaged planes to service. The Iranian Air Force, despite its once sophisticated equipment, lacked enough equipment and personnel to sustain the war of attrition that had developed, and was unable to lead an outright onslaught against Iraq.<ref name=cooper03_205 />

The Iraqi Air Force, had originally lacked modern equipment and experienced pilots, but after pleas from Iraqi military leaders, Saddam decreased political influence on everyday operations and left the fighting to his combatants. The Soviets began delivering more advanced aircraft and weapons to Iraq, while the French improved training for flight crews and technical personnel and continually introduced new methods for countering Iranian weapons and tactics.<ref name=cooper03_205 /> Iranian ground air defences still shot down many Iraqi aircraft.<ref name="Farrokh 03" /><ref name=cooper03_205 />

The main Iraqi air effort had shifted to the destruction of Iranian war-fighting capability, primarily Persian Gulf oil fields, tankers, and Kharg Island, and starting in late 1986, the Iraqi Air Force began a comprehensive campaign against Iranian economic infrastructure. By late 1987, the Iraqi Air Force could count on direct American support for conducting long-range operations against Iranian infrastructural targets and oil installations deep in the Persian Gulf. U.S. Navy ships tracked and reported movements of Iranian shipping and defences. In the massive Iraqi air strike against Kharg Island, flown on 18 March 1988, the Iraqis destroyed two [[supertankers]] but lost five aircraft to Iranian F-14 Tomcats, including two [[Tupolev Tu-22]]Bs and one [[Mikoyan MiG-25]]RB.<ref name=cooper03_205 />

[[File:Small Boats of Iran in Taker war 3.JPG|thumb|[[Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy|IRGC navy]] speedboats using [[swarming (military)|swarm tactics]]]]

The attacks on oil tankers continued. Both Iran and Iraq carried out frequent attacks during the first four months of the year. Iran was effectively waging a naval guerilla war with its IRGC navy speedboats, while Iraq attacked with its aircraft. In 1987, Kuwait asked to reflag its tankers to the U.S. flag. They did so in March, and the U.S. Navy began [[Operation Earnest Will]] to escort the tankers. The result of Earnest Will would be that, while oil tankers shipping Iraqi/Kuwaiti oil were protected, Iranian tankers and neutral tankers shipping to Iran would be unprotected, inflicting losses on Iran and undermining its trade with foreign countries, damaging Iran's economy further.<ref name="Cordesman IX" />

Iran deployed Silkworm missiles to attack ships, but only a few were actually fired. Both the United States and Iran jockeyed for influence in the Gulf. To discourage the United States from escorting tankers, Iran secretly [[mine (naval)|mined]] some areas. The United States began to escort the reflagged tankers, but one was damaged by a mine while under escort. While being a public-relations victory for Iran, the United States increased its reflagging efforts. While Iran mined the Persian Gulf, their speedboat attacks were reduced, primarily attacking unflagged tankers shipping in the area.<ref name="Cordesman IX" />

On 24 September, [[United States Navy SEALs|US Navy SEALS]] captured the Iranian mine-laying ship ''[[Iran Ajr]]'', a diplomatic disaster for the already isolated Iranians. Iran had previously sought to maintain at least a pretense of [[plausible deniability]] regarding its use of mines, but the Navy SEALS captured and photographed extensive evidence of ''Iran Ajr''{{'}}s mine-laying activities.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Murray|first1=Williamson|last2=Woods|first2=Kevin M.|title=The Iran–Iraq War, A Military and Strategic History|chapter=1987–1988: An end in sight?|publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]]|year=2014|isbn=978-1107062290|pages=318–320 (e-book, page numbers approximate)}}</ref> On 8 October, the U.S. Navy destroyed four Iranian speedboats, and in response to Iranian Silkworm missile attacks on Kuwaiti oil tankers, launched [[Operation Nimble Archer]], destroying two Iranian oil rigs in the Persian Gulf.<ref name="Farrokh 03" /> During November and December, the Iraqi air force launched a bid to destroy all Iranian airbases in Khuzestan and the remaining Iranian air force. Iran managed to shoot down 30 Iraqi fighters with fighter jets, anti-aircraft guns, and missiles, allowing the Iranian air force to survive to the end of the war.<ref name="Farrokh 03" />

On 28 June, Iraqi [[fighter bombers]] attacked the Iranian town of [[Sardasht, West Azerbaijan|Sardasht]] near the border, using chemical [[mustard gas]] bombs. While many towns and cities had been bombed before, and troops attacked with gas, this was the first time that the Iraqis had attacked a civilian area with poison gas.<ref name="Mohammadi 2006">{{cite web|last=Mohammadi|first=Karim|title=The Forgotten Victims of the Iran–Iraq War|url=http://www.payvand.com/news/06/nov/1322.html|access-date=16 April 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171011172047/http://www.payvand.com/news/06/nov/1322.html|archive-date=11 October 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> One quarter of the town's then population of 20,000 was burned and stricken, and 113 were killed immediately, with many more dying and suffering health effects over following decades.<ref name="Daraghai LA Times">{{cite web|last=Daraghai|first=Borzou|title=1987 Chemical Strike Still Haunts Iran|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2007-mar-19-fg-sardasht19-story.html|work=Los Angeles Times|date=19 March 2007|access-date=16 April 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151015235323/http://articles.latimes.com/2007/mar/19/world/fg-sardasht19|archive-date=15 October 2015|url-status=live}}</ref>

===1988: Final Iraqi offensives===
{{Main|Operation Praying Mantis|Iran Air Flight 655}}
By 1988, with massive equipment imports and reduced Iranian volunteers, Iraq was ready to launch major offensives against Iran.<ref name=pollack04 /> In February 1988, Saddam began the fifth and most deadly ''war of the cities''.<ref name=efraimkarsh /> Over the next two months, Iraq launched over 200 al-Husayn missiles at 37 Iranian cities.<ref name=efraimkarsh /><ref name="csis10" /> Saddam also threatened to use chemical weapons in his missiles, which caused 30% of Tehran's population to leave the city.<ref name=efraimkarsh /> Iran retaliated, launching at least 104 missiles against Iraq in 1988 and shelling Basra.<ref name=aboulenein12_dawn3 /><ref name=csis10>{{cite book|chapter-url=http://csis.org/files/media/csis/pubs/9005lessonsiraniraqii-chap10.pdf|publisher=Center for Strategic and International Studies|title=The Lessons of Modern War – Volume II: Iran–Iraq War|chapter=The Combination of Iraqi offensives and Western intervention force Iran to accept a cease-fire: September 1987 to March 1989|access-date=6 October 2012|archive-date=7 June 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130607155707/http://csis.org/files/media/csis/pubs/9005lessonsiraniraqii-chap10.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref> This event was nicknamed the "Scud Duel" in the foreign media.<ref name="Farrokh 03" /> In all, Iraq launched 520 Scuds and al-Husseins against Iran and Iran fired 177 in return.<ref name="AggrPolitics" /> The Iranian attacks were too few in number to deter Iraq from launching their attacks.<ref name=csis10 /> Iraq also increased their airstrikes against Kharg Island and Iranian oil tankers. With their tankers protected by U.S. warships, they could operate with virtual impunity.<ref name="Farrokh 03" /><ref name="Cordesman IX" /> In addition, the West supplied Iraq's air force with [[laser-guided]] [[smart bombs]], allowing them to attack economic targets while evading anti-aircraft defences. These attacks began to have a major toll on the Iranian economy and morale and caused many casualties.<ref name="Farrokh 03" /><ref name=Viewpoints /><ref name="Cordesman IX" />

====Iran's Kurdistan Operations====

[[File:Chemical weapon1.jpg|thumb|right|An Iranian soldier wearing a gas mask during the war]]

In March 1988, the Iranians carried out Operations [[Operation Dawn 10|Dawn 10]], [[Operation Beit ol-Moqaddas 2|Beit ol-Moqaddas 2]], and [[Operation Zafar 7|Zafar 7]] in [[Iraqi Kurdistan]] with the aim of capturing the city of [[Suleimaniya]] and the [[Darbandikhan Dam]] and the power plant at [[Lake Dukan]], which supplied Iraq with much of its electricity and water.<ref name=brogan89 />{{rp|264|date=November 2012}} Iran hoped that the capture of these areas would bring more favourable terms to the ceasefire agreement.<ref name=Viewpoints /> This infiltration offensive was carried out in conjunction with the [[Peshmerga]]. Iranian airborne commandos landed behind the Iraqi lines and Iranian helicopters hit Iraqi tanks with TOW missiles. The Iraqis were taken by surprise, and Iranian F-5E Tiger fighter jets even damaged the Kirkuk oil refinery.<ref name="Farrokh 03" /> Iraq executed multiple officers for these failures in March–April 1988, including Colonel Jafar Sadeq. Infiltrating the Kurdish mountains, Iran captured the town of Halabja and began to fan out across the province.<ref name="Woods 2010" />

Though the Iranians advanced to within sight of Dukan and captured around {{convert|1040|km2|sqmi|abbr=on}} and 4,000 Iraqis, the offensive failed due to the Iraqi use of chemical warfare.<ref name=brogan89 />{{rp|264|date=November 2012}} The Iraqis launched the deadliest chemical weapons attacks of the war. The Republican Guard launched 700 chemical shells, while the other artillery divisions launched 200–300 chemical shells each, unleashing a chemical cloud over the Iranians, killing or wounding 60% of them, the blow was felt particularly by the Iranian 84th infantry division and 55th paratrooper division. The Iraqi special forces then stopped the remains of the Iranian force.<ref name="Woods 2010" /> In retaliation for Kurdish collaboration with the Iranians, Iraq launched a [[Halabja massacre|massive poison gas attack]] against Kurdish civilians in [[Halabja]], recently taken by the Iranians, killing thousands of civilians. Iran airlifted foreign journalists to the ruined city, and the images of the dead were shown throughout the world, but Western mistrust of Iran and collaboration with Iraq led them to also blame Iran for the attack.<ref name="bbc_onthisday">{{cite news|url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/march/16/newsid_4304000/4304853.stm|title=1988: Thousands die in Halabja gas attack|work=On This Day|publisher=BBC|access-date=9 September 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180210230111/http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/march/16/newsid_4304000/4304853.stm|archive-date=10 February 2018|url-status=live}}</ref>

====Second Battle of al-Faw====

On 17 April 1988, Iraq launched [[Second Battle of al-Faw|Operation Ramadan Mubarak]] (Blessed [[Ramadan]]), a surprise attack against the 15,000 Basij troops on the al-Faw peninsula.<ref name=pollack04 /> The attack was preceded by Iraqi diversionary attacks in northern Iraq, with a massive artillery and air barrage of Iranian front lines. Key areas, such as supply lines, command posts, and ammunition depots, were hit by a storm of [[mustard gas]] and [[nerve gas]], as well as by conventional explosives. Helicopters landed Iraqi commandos behind Iranian lines on al-Faw while the main Iraqi force made a frontal assault. Within 48 hours, all of the Iranian forces had been killed or cleared from the al-Faw Peninsula.<ref name=pollack04 /> The day was celebrated in Iraq as Faw Liberation Day throughout Saddam's rule. The Iraqis had planned the offensive well. Prior to the attack, the Iraqi soldiers gave themselves poison gas antidotes to shield themselves from the effect of the saturation of gas. The heavy and well executed use of chemical weapons was the decisive factor in the victory.<ref name="Tyler New York Times">{{cite news|last=Tyler|first=Patrick|title=Officers Say US Aided Iraq in war despite use of gas|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2002/08/18/world/officers-say-us-aided-iraq-in-war-despite-use-of-gas.html?pagewanted=all&src=pm|newspaper=The New York Times|date=18 August 2002|access-date=9 February 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180120190328/http://www.nytimes.com/2002/08/18/world/officers-say-us-aided-iraq-in-war-despite-use-of-gas.html?pagewanted=all&src=pm|archive-date=20 January 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> Iraqi losses were relatively light, especially compared to Iran's casualties.<ref name="Woods 2010" /> [[Ra'ad al-Hamdani]] later recounted that the recapture of al-Faw marked "the highest point of experience and expertise that the Iraqi Army reached."<ref>{{cite book|last1=Murray|first1=Williamson|last2=Woods|first2=Kevin M.|title=The Iran–Iraq War, A Military and Strategic History|chapter=1987–1988: An end in sight?|publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]]|year=2014|isbn=978-1107062290|pages=334–335 (e-book, page numbers approximate)}}</ref> The Iranians eventually managed to halt the Iraqi drive as they pushed towards Khuzestan.<ref name="Farrokh 03" />

To the shock of the Iranians, rather than breaking off the offensive, the Iraqis kept up their drive, and a new force attacked the Iranian positions around Basra.<ref name=efraimkarsh /> Following this, the Iraqis launched a sustained drive to clear the Iranians out of all of southern Iraq.<ref name=brogan89 />{{rp|264|date=November 2012}} One of the most successful Iraqi tactics was the "one-two punch" attack using chemical weapons. Using artillery, they would saturate the Iranian front line with rapidly dispersing [[cyanide]] and nerve gas, while longer-lasting mustard gas was launched via fighter-bombers and rockets against the Iranian rear, creating a "chemical wall" that blocked reinforcement.<ref name="Farrokh 03" />

====Operation Praying Mantis====

[[File:Bild-Prayingmantis5sahand.jpg|thumb|The Iranian frigate [[IRIS Sahand (1969)|IS ''Sahand'']] burns after being hit by 20 U.S. air launched missiles and bombs, killing a third of the crew, April 1988<ref name=Crist>{{cite book|last=Crist|first=David|title=The Twilight War: The secret history of America's thirty-year conflict with Iran|year=2012|publisher=Penguin Press|location=New York|isbn=978-1-59420-341-1|page=434 (Photo plates)}}</ref>]]

The same day as Iraq's attack on al-Faw peninsula, the United States Navy launched [[Operation Praying Mantis]] in retaliation against Iran for damaging a warship with a mine. Iran lost [[oil platform]]s, [[destroyer]]s, and frigates in this battle, which ended only when President Reagan decided that the Iranian navy had been damaged enough. In spite of this, the [[Navy of the Army of the Guardians of the Islamic Revolution|Revolutionary Guard Navy]] continued their speedboat attacks against oil tankers.<ref name=pollack04 /> The defeats at al-Faw and in the Persian Gulf nudged Iranian leadership towards quitting the war, especially when facing the prospect of fighting the Americans.<ref name=pollack04 />

====Iranian counteroffensive====
Faced with such losses, Khomeini appointed Rafsanjani as the [[Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces]], though he had in actuality occupied that position for months.<ref name="csis10" /> Rafsanjani ordered a last desperate counter-attack into Iraq, which was launched 13 June 1988. The Iranians infiltrated through the Iraqi trenches and moved {{convert|10|km|mi|abbr=on}} into Iraq and managed to strike Saddam's [[Radwaniyah Palace|presidential palace]] in Baghdad using fighter aircraft.<ref name="Farrokh 03" /> After three days of fighting, the decimated Iranians were driven back to their original positions again as the Iraqis launched 650 helicopter and 300 aircraft sorties.<ref name="csis10" />

====Operation Forty Stars====

On 18 June 1988, the [[People's Mujahedin of Iran]] (MEK) conducted a military operation known as [[Operation Forty Stars]] ({{Langx|fa|عملیات چلچراغ}}).<ref name="Piazza">{{harvnb|Piazza|1994}}: "On June 19, 1988, the NLA launched its offensive entitled Chetel Setareh or "40 Stars" in which twenty-two organised brigades of Mojahedin recaptured the city of Mehran, which the regime had wrested from Iraqi control after the Mojahedin had set up its "provisional government" there. The Mojahedin claimed that absolutely no Iraqi soldiers participated in this operation, and Iraqi Culture and Information Minister, Latif Nusayyif Jasim, later denied that Iraq had deployed air units to help the NLA or had used chemical weapons to drive the Islamic Republic's troops from Mehran."</ref> In four days, the People's Mujahedin of Iran wiped out a [[Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps|Pasdaran]] division, seizing [[Mehran, Ilam|Mehran]] and building a bridgehead twelve miles into Iran.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Razoux|first1=Pierre|title=The Iran–Iraq War|date=2015|publisher=Harvard University Press|isbn=9780674915718|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FGsuCwAAQBAJ&q=nlai+iran+iraq&pg=PT464|access-date=5 January 2024|archive-date=25 November 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231125174652/https://books.google.com/books?id=FGsuCwAAQBAJ&q=nlai%20iran%20iraq&pg=PT464|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="csis10" /> According to the MEK, Iraqi soldiers did not participate in the operation. Baghdad also said it was not involved in the battle.<ref name="Piazza" />

====Tawakalna ala Allah operations====
On 25 May 1988, Iraq launched the first of five [[Tawakalna ala Allah Operations]],<ref name="Woods 2010" /> consisting of one of the largest artillery barrages in history, coupled with chemical weapons. The marshes had been dried by drought, allowing the Iraqis to use tanks to bypass Iranian field fortifications, expelling the Iranians from the border town of [[Shalamcheh]] after less than 10 hours of combat.<ref name=efraimkarsh />{{rp|11}}<ref name=brogan89 />{{rp|265|date=November 2012}}<ref name="csis10" />

[[File:TBO-4-POVs-17061988.jpg|thumb|Iranian soldiers captured during Iraq's 1988 offensives]]

On 25 June, Iraq launched the second Tawakal ala Allah operation against the Iranians on Majnoon Island. Iraqi commandos used [[amphibious craft]] to block the Iranian rear,<ref name="Farrokh 03" /> then used hundreds of tanks with massed conventional and chemical artillery barrages to recapture the island after 8 hours of combat.<ref name="Woods 2010" /><ref name="csis10" /> Saddam appeared live on Iraqi television to "lead" the charge against the Iranians.<ref name="csis10" /> The majority of the Iranian defenders were killed during the quick assault. The final two Tawakal ala Allah operations took place near al-Amarah and Khaneqan.<ref name="Woods 2010" /> By 12 July, the Iraqis had captured the city of [[Dehloran]], {{convert|30|km|mi|abbr=on}} inside Iran, along with 2,500 troops and much armour and materiel, which took four days to transport to Iraq. These losses included more than 570 of the 1,000 remaining Iranian tanks, over 430 armoured vehicles, 45 self-propelled artillery, 300 towed artillery pieces, and 320 antiaircraft guns. These figures only included what Iraq could actually put to use; total amount of captured materiel was higher. Since March, the Iraqis claimed to have captured 1,298 tanks, 155 infantry fighting vehicles, 512 heavy artillery pieces, 6,196 mortars, 5,550 recoilless rifles and light guns, 8,050-man-portable rocket launchers, 60,694 rifles, 322 pistols, 454 trucks, and 1,600 light vehicles.<ref name="csis10" /> The Iraqis withdrew from Dehloran soon after, claiming that they had "no desire to conquer Iranian territory". Historian [[Kaveh Farrokh]] considered this to be Iran's greatest military disaster during the war. Stephen Pelletier, a Journalist, Middle East expert, and author, noted that "Tawakal ala Allah ... resulted in the absolute destruction of Iran's military machine."<ref name="Farrokh 03" />

During the 1988 battles, the Iranians put up little resistance, having been worn out by nearly eight years of war.<ref name=brogan89 />{{rp|253|date=November 2012}} They lost large amounts of equipment.<ref name="Farrokh 03" /> On 2 July, Iran belatedly set up a joint central command which unified the Revolutionary Guard, Army, and Kurdish rebels, and dispelled the rivalry between the Army and the Revolutionary Guard. However, this came too late and, following the capture of 570 of their operable tanks and the destruction of hundreds more, Iran was believed to have fewer than 200 remaining operable tanks on the southern front, against thousands of Iraqi ones.<ref name="csis10" /> The only area where the Iranians were not suffering major defeats was in Kurdistan.<ref name="Dunn 1998" />

===Iran accepts the ceasefire===
{{main|Peace efforts during the Iran–Iraq War}}
Saddam sent a warning to Khomeini in mid-1988, threatening to launch a new and powerful full-scale invasion and attack Iranian cities with [[weapons of mass destruction]]. Shortly afterwards, Iraqi aircraft bombed the Iranian town of [[Oshnavieh]] with poison gas, immediately killing and wounding over 2,000 civilians. The fear of an all-out chemical attack against Iran's largely unprotected civilian population weighed heavily on the Iranian leadership, and they realised that the [[international community]] had no intention of restraining Iraq.<ref name="books.google.com">{{cite book|title=Iran's strategic intentions and capabilities|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dsxlDvyDjNAC&pg=PA211|publisher=Diane Publishing|isbn=978-1-4289-9255-9|page=211}}</ref> The lives of the civilian population of Iran were becoming very disrupted, with a third of the urban population evacuating major cities in fear of the seemingly imminent chemical war. Meanwhile, Iraqi conventional bombs and missiles continuously hit towns and cities, destroying vital civilian and military infrastructure, and increasing the death toll. Iran replied with missile and air attacks, but not sufficiently to deter the Iraqis.<ref name=csis10 />

[[File:USS Vincennes launching SM-2MR in 1987.jpg|thumb|upright=.71|''[[USS Vincennes (CG-49)|USS Vincennes]]'' in 1987 a year before it shot down [[Iran Air Flight 655]]]]

With the threat of a new and even more powerful invasion, Commander-in-Chief [[Rafsanjani]] ordered the Iranians to retreat from Haj Omran, Kurdistan on 14 July.<ref name="csis10" /><ref name="dodds09">{{cite journal|title=The Iran–Iraq War: Unattainable Objectives|last1=Dodds|first1=Joanna|last2=Wilson|first2=Ben|date=6 June 2009|journal=Middle East Review of International Affairs|volume=13|url=http://www.gloria-center.org/2009/06/dodds-wilson-2009-06-06/|issue=2|access-date=17 January 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141006121230/http://www.gloria-center.org/2009/06/dodds-wilson-2009-06-06/|archive-date=6 October 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref> The Iranians did not publicly describe this as a retreat, instead calling it a "temporary withdrawal".<ref name=dodds09 /> By July, Iran's army inside Iraq had largely disintegrated.<ref name="Farrokh 03" /> Iraq put up a massive display of captured Iranian weapons in Baghdad, claiming they captured 1,298 tanks, 5,550 recoilless rifles, and thousands of other weapons.<ref name="csis10" /> However, Iraq had taken heavy losses as well, and the battles were very costly.<ref name="Woods 2010" />

In July 1988, Iraqi aircraft dropped bombs on the Iranian Kurdish village of Zardan. Dozens of villages, such as [[Sardasht, West Azerbaijan|Sardasht]],<!--Chemical bombing of Sardasht was June 1987.--> and some larger towns, such as [[Marivan]], [[Baneh]] and [[Saqqez]],<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.cbw-events.org.uk/EXIQ84Q1.PDF|title=Archived copy|access-date=28 October 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160810111132/http://cbw-events.org.uk/EXIQ84Q1.PDF|archive-date=10 August 2016|url-status=live}}</ref> were once again attacked with poison gas, resulting in even heavier civilian casualties.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1988/04/02/world/iran-reports-new-iraqi-gas-raids-and-says-cities-may-be-hit-next.html|title=Iran Reports New Iraqi Gas Raids; And Says Cities May be Hit Next|website=The New York Times|date=2 April 1988|access-date=5 October 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131007060612/http://www.nytimes.com/1988/04/02/world/iran-reports-new-iraqi-gas-raids-and-says-cities-may-be-hit-next.html|archive-date=7 October 2013|url-status=live}}</ref> On 3 July 1988, the USS ''Vincennes'' shot down [[Iran Air Flight 655]], killing 290 passengers and crew. The lack of international sympathy disturbed the Iranian leadership, and they came to the conclusion that the United States was on the verge of waging a full-scale war against them, and that Iraq was on the verge of unleashing its entire chemical arsenal upon their cities.<ref name="books.google.com" />

At this point, elements of the Iranian leadership, led by Rafsanjani (who had initially pushed for the extension of the war), persuaded Khomeini to accept a ceasefire.<ref name=efraimkarsh /> They stated that in order to win the war, Iran's military budget would have to be increased eightfold and the war would last until 1993.<ref name="csis10" /> On 20 July 1988, Iran accepted Resolution 598, showing its willingness to accept a ceasefire.<ref name=efraimkarsh />{{rp|11}} A statement from Khomeini was read out in a radio address, and he expressed deep displeasure and reluctance about accepting the ceasefire,

<blockquote>Happy are those who have departed through martyrdom. Happy are those who have lost their lives in this convoy of light. Unhappy am I that I still survive and have drunk the poisoned chalice...<ref name=efraimkarsh /><ref name=bulloch89 />{{rp|1|date=November 2012}}</blockquote>

The news of the end of the war was greeted with celebration in Baghdad, with people dancing in the streets; in Tehran, however, the end of the war was greeted with a somber mood.<ref name=bulloch89 />{{rp|1|date=November 2012}}

====Operation Mersad and end of the war====
[[Operation Mersad]] ({{lang|fa|مرصاد}} "ambush") was the last big military operation of the war. Both Iran and Iraq had accepted Resolution 598, but despite the ceasefire, after seeing Iraqi victories in the previous months, [[People's Mujahedin of Iran|Mujahadeen-e-Khalq]] (MEK) decided to launch an attack of its own and wished to advance all the way to Tehran. Saddam and the Iraqi high command decided on a two-pronged offensive across the border into central Iran and Iranian Kurdistan.<ref name="Farrokh 03" /> Shortly after Iran accepted the ceasefire, the MEK army began its offensive, attacking into Ilam province under cover of Iraqi air power. In the north, Iraq also launched an attack into Iraqi Kurdistan, which was blunted by the Iranians.<ref name="Farrokh 03" />

On 26 July 1988, the MEK started their campaign in central Iran, Operation Forough Javidan (Eternal Light), with the support of the Iraqi army. The Iranians had withdrawn their remaining soldiers to Khuzestan in fear of a new Iraqi invasion attempt, allowing the Mujahedeen to advance rapidly towards [[Kermanshah]], seizing [[Qasr-e Shirin]], [[Sarpol-e Zahab]], [[Kerend-e Gharb]], and [[Eslamabad-e Gharb|Islamabad-e-Gharb]]. The MEK expected the Iranian population to rise up and support their advance; the uprising never materialised but they reached {{convert|145|km|mi|abbr=on}} deep into Iran. In response, the Iranian military launched its counter-attack, [[Operation Mersad]], under Lieutenant General [[Ali Sayyad Shirazi]]. Iranian [[paratroopers]] landed behind the MEK lines while the Iranian Air Force and helicopters launched an air attack, destroying much of the enemy columns.<ref name="Farrokh 03" /> The Iranians defeated the MEK in the city of [[Kerend-e Gharb]] on 29 July 1988.<ref name="csis10" /> On 31 July, Iran drove the MEK out of Qasr-e-Shirin and Sarpol Zahab, though MEK claimed to have "voluntarily withdrawn" from the towns.<ref name="Farrokh 03" /><ref name="csis10" /> Iran estimated that 4,500 MEK were killed, while 400 Iranian soldiers died.<ref name="tebyan05">{{cite web|url=http://www.tebyan.net/newindex.aspx?pid=27220|title=Mersad operation|date=27 July 2005|publisher=Tebyan|work=Special Edition}}{{Dead link|date=June 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

[[File:Mujahedin was killed in Operation Mersad by Pasdaran in Kermanshah.jpg|thumb|left|[[People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran|MEK]] soldiers killed in Operation Mersad, 1988]]

The last notable combat actions of the war took place on 3 August 1988, in the Persian Gulf when the Iranian navy fired on a [[cargo ship|freighter]] and Iraq launched chemical attacks on Iranian civilians, killing an unknown number of them and wounding 2,300.<ref name="csis10" /> Iraq came under international pressure to curtail further offensives. Resolution 598 became effective on 8 August 1988, ending all combat operations between the two countries.<ref name="dodds09" /> By 20 August 1988, peace with Iran was restored.<ref name="dodds09" /> [[UN peacekeepers]] belonging to the [[UNIIMOG]] mission took the field, remaining on the Iran–Iraq border until 1991. The majority of Western analysts believe that the war had no winners while some believed that Iraq emerged as the victor of the war, based on Iraq's overwhelming successes between April and July 1988.<ref name="Farrokh 03" /> While the war was now over, Iraq spent the rest of August and early September clearing the Kurdish resistance. Using 60,000 troops along with helicopter gunships, chemical weapons (poison gas), and mass executions, Iraq hit 15 villages, killing rebels and civilians, and forced tens of thousands of Kurds to relocate to [[concentration camp|settlements]].<ref name="csis10" /> Many Kurdish civilians fled to Iran. By 3 September 1988, the anti-Kurd campaign ended, and all resistance had been crushed.<ref name="csis10" /> 400 Iraqi soldiers and 50,000–100,000 Kurdish civilians and soldiers had been killed.<ref name="csis10" /><ref name="wong06">{{cite news|last=Wong|first=Edward|title=Hussein charged with genocide in 50,000 deaths|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/05/world/middleeast/05iraq.html|newspaper=The New York Times|date=5 April 2006|access-date=9 February 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180624093312/https://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/05/world/middleeast/05iraq.html|archive-date=24 June 2018|url-status=live}}</ref>

At the war's conclusion, it took several weeks for the [[Armed Forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran]] to evacuate Iraqi territory to honour pre-war international borders set by the [[1975 Algiers Agreement]].<ref name="Farrokh 03">{{cite book|last=Farrokh|first=Kaveh|title=Iran at War: 1500–1988|publisher=Osprey Publishing|location=Oxford|isbn=978-1-78096-221-4|date=2011}}</ref> The last [[prisoner of war|prisoners of war]] were exchanged in 2003.<ref name="molavi05">{{cite book|last=Molavi|first=Afshin|title=The Soul of Iran: A Nation's Journey to Freedom|publisher=W.W. Norton & Company|year=2005|isbn=978-0-393-32597-3|edition=Revised|location=England|page=152}}</ref><ref name=nazila03>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2003/03/14/world/threats-and-responses-briefly-noted-iran-iraq-prisoner-deal.html|work=The New York Times|first=Nazila|last=Fathi|title=Threats And Responses: Briefly Noted; Iran–Iraq Prisoner Deal|date=14 March 2003|access-date=9 February 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180813175245/https://www.nytimes.com/2003/03/14/world/threats-and-responses-briefly-noted-iran-iraq-prisoner-deal.html|archive-date=13 August 2018|url-status=live}}</ref>

The Security Council identified Iraq as the [[War of aggression|aggressor]] of the war in 1991.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Tarock|first1=Adam|title=The superpowers' involvement in the Iran–Iraq War|date=1998|publisher=Nova Science Publishers|location=Commack, NY|isbn=978-1-56072-593-0|page=208}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.iranreview.org/content/Documents/Iran_Iraq_War_Legal_and_International_Dimensions.htm|title=Iran–Iraq War: Legal and International Dimensions|work=iranreview.org|access-date=31 July 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180420110303/http://www.iranreview.org/content/Documents/Iran_Iraq_War_Legal_and_International_Dimensions.htm|archive-date=20 April 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref>

==Aftermath==
===Casualties===
The Iran–Iraq War was the deadliest conventional war ever fought between regular armies of developing countries.<ref name="Fürtig" /> [[Encyclopædia Britannica]] states: "Estimates of total casualties range from 1,000,000 to twice that number. The number killed on both sides was perhaps 500,000, with Iran suffering the greatest losses."<ref name="Britannica Iran–Iraq War"/> Iraqi casualties are estimated at 105,000–200,000 killed,<ref name="hiro205" /><ref name="PotterSick2006" /><ref name="Karsh2002" /><ref name="KochLong1997" /> while about 400,000 had been wounded and some 70,000 taken prisoner.<ref name="Mikaberidze2011" /><ref name="Karsh2002" /> Thousands of civilians on both sides died in air raids and ballistic missile attacks.<ref name="AggrPolitics" /> Prisoners taken by both countries began to be released on 17 August 1990, though some were not released until more than 10 years after the end of the conflict.<ref name="molavi05" /> Cities on both sides had also been considerably damaged. While revolutionary Iran had been bloodied, Iraq was left with a large military and was a [[regional power]], albeit with severe debt, financial problems, and labour shortages.<ref name="Dunn 1998" />

According to Iranian government sources, the war cost Iran an estimated 200,000–220,000 killed,<ref name="hiro205" /><ref name="Abrahamian2008" /><ref name="Mikaberidze2011" /><ref name="PotterSick2006" /> or up to 262,000 according to the conservative Western estimates.<ref name="hiro205" /><ref name="Rajaee1997" /> This includes 123,220 combatants,<ref name="hiro205" /><ref name="Abrahamian2008" /> 60,711 [[Missing in action|MIA]]<ref name="hiro205" /> and 11,000–16,000 [[Civilian casualties|civilians]].<ref name="hiro205" /><ref name="Abrahamian2008" /> Combatants include 79,664 members of the [[Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps|Revolutionary Guard Corps]] and additional 35,170 soldiers from [[Armed Forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran|regular military]].<ref name="Abrahamian2008" /> In addition, [[prisoners of war]] accounted for 42,875 Iranian casualties, captured and kept in Iraqi detention centres from 2.5 to more than 15 years after the war was over.<ref name="Zargar2012" />

According to the Janbazan Affairs Organization, 398,587 Iranians sustained injuries that required prolonged medical and health care following primary treatment, including 52,195 (13%) injured due to the exposure to [[chemical warfare]] agents. From 1980 to 2012, 218,867 Iranians died due to war injuries and the mean age of combatants was 23 years old. This includes 33,430 civilians (15% of all fatalities), mostly women and children. More than 144,000 Iranian children were orphaned as a consequence of these deaths.<ref name="Zargar2012" /> On average, 70 people were killed in Iran daily, whereas in addition 1,400 people died from landmines between 1988 and 2003.<ref>{{cite journal| journal=Archives of Iranian Medicine Journal |year=2013 |volume=16 |issue=9 |title=Mortality and injuries among Iranians in Iraq-Iran war: a systematic review |first1=Payman |last1=Salamati |first2=Seyed Mansour |last2=Razavi |first3=Farhad |last3=Shokraneh |first4=Saman Mohazzab |last4=Torabi|pages=542–550 | pmid=23981159 |s2cid=35488378 |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/256188005}}</ref> Other estimates put Iranian casualties up to 600,000.<ref name="Dunnigan 1991" /><ref name="Twentieth Century World History 1997" /><ref name="ReferenceA" /><ref name="Chirot, Daniel 1994" /><ref>Hammond Atlas of the 20th Century (1996), pp. 134–135</ref><ref>War Annual: The World in Conflict [year] War Annual [number].</ref><ref>"B&J": Jacob Bercovitch and Richard Jackson, ''International Conflict: A Chronological Encyclopedia of Conflicts and Their Management 1945–1995'' (1997), p. 195</ref>

Both Iraq and Iran manipulated loss figures to suit their purposes. At the same time, Western analysts accepted improbable estimates.<ref name="PelletiereJohnson1990">{{cite book|last1=Pelletiere|first1=Stephen C.|last2=Johnson|first2=Douglas V.|title=Lessons Learned: Iran–Iraq War|series=Fleet Marine Force Reference Publication|issue=3–203|publisher=[[U.S. Marine Corps]]|location=Washington, D.C.|date=10 December 1990|pages=117–119|url=https://fas.org/man/dod-101/ops/war/docs/3203/appf.pdf|oclc=37998429|access-date=2 November 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131103065353/http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/ops/war/docs/3203/appf.pdf|archive-date=3 November 2013}}</ref> By April 1988, such casualties were estimated at between 150,000 and 340,000 Iraqis dead, and 450,000 to 730,000 Iranians.<ref name="PelletiereJohnson1990" /> Shortly after the end of the war, it was thought that Iran suffered even more than a million dead.<ref name="Abrahamian2008" /> Considering the style of fighting on the ground and the fact that neither side penetrated deeply into the other's territory, [[United States Marine Corps|USMC]] analysts believed events do not substantiate the high casualties claimed.<ref name="PelletiereJohnson1990" /> The [[Ba'athist Iraq|Iraqi government]] has claimed 800,000 Iranians were killed in action, four times more than Iranian official figures,<ref name="hiro205" /> whereas Iraqi intelligence privately put the number at 228,000–258,000 in August 1986.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Murray|first1=Williamson|last2=Woods|first2=Kevin M.|title=The Iran–Iraq War, A Military and Strategic History|chapter=1987–1988: An end in sight?|publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]]|year=2014|isbn=978-1107062290|pages=300–301 (e-book, page numbers approximate)}}</ref> Iraqi losses were also revised downwards over time.<ref name="KochLong1997" />

===Peace talks and postwar situation===

[[File:Iran 2007 229 Golestan War Heros (1732762968).jpg|thumb|right|Iranian Martyr Cemetery in [[Isfahan]]]]

With the [[United Nations Security Council Resolution 598|ceasefire]] in place, and UN peacekeepers monitoring the border, Iran and Iraq sent their representatives to [[Geneva]], Switzerland, to negotiate a peace agreement on the terms of the ceasefire. However, peace talks stalled. Iraq, in violation of the UN ceasefire, refused to withdraw its troops from {{convert|3000|sqmi|km2|order=flip}} of disputed marches unless the Iranians accepted Iraq's full sovereignty over the [[Shatt al-Arab]] waterway. Foreign powers continued to support Iraq, which wanted to gain at the negotiating table what they failed to achieve on the battlefield, and Iran was portrayed as the one not wanting peace.<ref name=Tarock />

In response, Iran refused to release 70,000 Iraqi prisoners of war, compared to 40,000 Iranian prisoners of war held by Iraq. They continued to carry out a naval blockade of Iraq, although its effects were mitigated by Iraqi use of ports in friendly neighbouring Arab countries. Iran began to improve relations with many of the states that opposed it during the war. Because of Iranian actions, by 1990, Saddam had become more conciliatory, and in a letter to the future fourth President of Iran Rafsanjani, he became more open to the idea of a peace agreement, although he still insisted on full sovereignty over the Shatt al-Arab.<ref name=Tarock>{{cite book|last=Tarock|first=Adam|title=The Superpower's Involvement in the Iran Iraq War|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tJVggCw553QC&q=Iran+Iraq+peace+agreement&pg=PA192|isbn=978-1560725930|year=1998|publisher=Nova Publishers|access-date=12 November 2020|archive-date=18 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230118165557/https://books.google.com/books?id=tJVggCw553QC&q=Iran+Iraq+peace+agreement&pg=PA192|url-status=live}}</ref>

By 1990, Iran was undergoing military rearmament and reorganisation, and purchased $10&nbsp;billion worth of heavy weaponry from the USSR and China, including aircraft, tanks, and missiles. Rafsanjani reversed Iran's self-imposed ban on chemical weapons, and ordered their manufacture and stockpile (Iran destroyed them in 1993 after ratifying the [[Chemical Weapons Convention]]).{{citation needed|date=February 2023}} As [[Persian Gulf War|war with the western powers]] loomed, Iraq became concerned about the possibility of Iran mending its relations with the west in order to attack Iraq. Iraq had lost its support from the West, and its position in Iran was increasingly untenable.<ref name=Tarock /> Saddam realised that if Iran attempted to expel the Iraqis from the disputed territories in the border area, it was likely they would succeed.<ref name="Farrokh 03" />

Shortly after his invasion of Kuwait, Saddam wrote a letter to Rafsanjani stating that Iraq recognised Iranian rights over the eastern half of the Shatt al-Arab, a reversion to ''status quo ante bellum'' that he had repudiated a decade earlier,<ref name="Onwar 2000">{{cite web|title=Iran–Iraq war 1980–1990|url=http://www.onwar.com/aced/chrono/c1900s/yr80/firaniraq1980.htm|access-date=10 March 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190410195834/https://www.onwar.com/aced/chrono/c1900s/yr80/firaniraq1980.htm|archive-date=10 April 2019|url-status=dead}}</ref> and that he would accept Iran's demands and withdraw Iraq's military from the disputed territories. A peace agreement was signed finalising the terms of the UN resolution, [[diplomatic relations]] were restored, and by late 1990-early 1991, the Iraqi military withdrew. The UN peacekeepers withdrew from the border shortly afterward. Most of the prisoners of war were released in 1990, although some remained as late as 2003.<ref name=Tarock /> Iranian politicians declared it to be the "greatest victory in the history of the Islamic Republic of Iran".<ref name=Tarock />

Most historians and analysts consider the war to be a stalemate.<ref name="Karsh2002" /><ref>{{Cite magazine|last=Segal|first=David|date=28 January 2009|title=The Iran–Iraq War: A Military Analysis|url=https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/iran/1988-06-01/iran-iraq-war-military-analysis|volume=66|issue=Summer 1988|magazine=Foreign Affairs|access-date=16 March 2019|archive-date=28 November 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181128193219/https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/iran/1988-06-01/iran-iraq-war-military-analysis|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="molavi05" /> Certain analysts believe that Iraq won, on the basis of the successes of their 1988 offensives which thwarted Iran's major territorial ambitions in Iraq and persuaded Iran to accept the ceasefire.<ref name="Farrokh 03" /> Iranian analysts believe that they won the war because although they did not succeed in overthrowing the Iraqi government, they thwarted Iraq's major territorial ambitions in Iran, and that, two years after the war had ended, Iraq permanently gave up its claim of ownership over the entire Shatt al-Arab as well.<ref name="Farrokh 03" />

On 9 December 1991, then-[[U.N. Secretary General|UN Secretary General]] [[Javier Pérez de Cuéllar]], reported that Iraq's initiation of the war was unjustified, as was its occupation of Iranian territory and use of chemical weapons against civilians:

<blockquote>That [Iraq's] explanations do not appear sufficient or acceptable to the international community is a fact...[the attack] cannot be justified under the charter of the United Nations, any recognized rules and principles of international law, or any principles of international morality, and entails the responsibility for conflict. Even if before the outbreak of the conflict there had been some encroachment by Iran on Iraqi territory, such encroachment did not justify Iraq's aggression against Iran—which was followed by Iraq's continuous occupation of Iranian territory during the conflict—in violation of the prohibition of the use of force, which is regarded as one of the rules of ''jus cogens''...On one occasion I had to note with deep regret the experts' conclusion that "chemical weapons ha[d] been used against Iranian civilians in an area adjacent to an urban center lacking any protection against that kind of attack."<ref>{{cite report|publisher=U.N. Secretary General's|date=9 December 1991|url=http://www.iranian.com/Kasraie/2005/April/Ahwaz/Images/page2.pdf|title=Further Report of the Secretary-General on the Implementation of Security Council Resolution 598|quote=That [Iraq's] explanations do not appear sufficient or acceptable to the international community is a fact. Accordingly, the outstanding event under the violations referred to is the attack of 22 September 1980, against Iran, which cannot be justified under the charter of the United Nations, any recognized rules and principles of international law or any principles of international morality and entails the responsibility for conflict.<br />Even if before the outbreak of the conflict there had been some encroachment by Iran on Iraqi territory, such encroachment did not justify Iraq's aggression against Iran—which was followed by Iraq's continuous occupation of Iranian territory during the conflict—in violation of the prohibition of the use of force, which is regarded as one of the rules of jus cogens.<br />...On one occasion I had to note with deep regret the experts' conclusion that "chemical weapons ha[d] been used against Iranian civilians in an area adjacent to an urban center lacking any protection against that kind of attack" (s/20134, annex). The Council expressed its dismay on the matter and its condemnation in [[United Nations Security Council Resolution 620|Resolution 620]] (1988), adopted on 26 August 1988.|access-date=23 May 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120130153306/http://www.iranian.com/Kasraie/2005/April/Ahwaz/Images/page2.pdf|archive-date=30 January 2012|url-status=live}} S/23273, items 6, 7, and 8</ref></blockquote>

He also stated that had the UN accepted this fact earlier, the war would have almost certainly not lasted as long as it did. Iran, encouraged by the announcement, sought reparations from Iraq, but never received any.<ref name=Tarock />

[[File:Iranian Martyrs Museum 08.JPG|thumb|The Iranian Martyrs Museum in Tehran]]

Throughout the 1990s and early 2000s, Iran and Iraq relations remained balanced between a [[Cold war (general term)|cold war]] and a [[cold peace]]. Despite renewed and somewhat thawed relations, both sides continued to have low level conflicts. Iraq continued to host and support the [[People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran|Mujahedeen-e-Khalq]], which repeatedly attacked Iran until the [[2003 invasion of Iraq]], including the [[assassination]] of Iranian general [[Ali Sayyad Shirazi]] in 1999, cross border raids, and mortar attacks. Iran carried out several [[airstrike]]s and missile attacks against Mujahedeen targets inside of Iraq, the largest taking place in 2001, when Iran fired 56 Scud missiles at Mujahedeen targets.<ref name="New York Times Scuds 2001">{{cite web|title=Iraq accuses Iran of Scud missile attack|website=Los Angeles Times|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2001-apr-19-mn-52980-story.html|date=19 April 2001|access-date=21 April 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120111161808/http://articles.latimes.com/2001/apr/19/news/mn-52980|archive-date=11 January 2012|url-status=live}}</ref>

According to General Hamdani, Iran continued to carry out low-level infiltrations of Iraqi territory, using Iraqi dissidents and anti-government activists rather than Iranian troops, in order to incite revolts. After the fall of Saddam in 2003, Hamdani claimed that Iranian agents infiltrated and created numerous militias in Iraq and built an intelligence system operating within the country.<ref name="Woods 2010" />

In 2005, the new government of Iraq apologised to Iran for starting the war.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/sep/23/iran-iraq-war-anniversary|location=London|work=The Guardian|first=Ian|last=Black|title=Iran and Iraq remember war that cost more than a million lives|date=23 September 2010|access-date=14 December 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170102173349/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/sep/23/iran-iraq-war-anniversary|archive-date=2 January 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> The Iraqi government also commemorated the war with various monuments, including the [[Hands of Victory]] and the [[al-Shaheed Monument]], both in Baghdad. The war also helped to create a forerunner for the [[Coalition of the Gulf War]], when the [[Gulf Arab]] states banded together early in the war to form the [[Gulf Cooperation Council]] to help Iraq fight Iran.<ref name="Dunn 1998" />

===Economic situation===
The economic loss at the time was believed to exceed $500&nbsp;billion for each country ($1.2&nbsp;trillion total).<ref name="Riedel"/><ref name="encarta88">{{cite encyclopedia|url=http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761580640_2/Iran-Iraq_War.html|title=Iran–Iraq War|encyclopedia=Encarta|publisher=MSN|date=20 August 1988|access-date=1 March 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090406234844/http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761580640_2/Iran-Iraq_War.html|archive-date=6 April 2009}}</ref> In addition, economic development stalled and oil exports were disrupted. Iraq had accrued more than $130&nbsp;billion of international debt, excluding interest, and was also weighed down by a slowed [[GDP growth]]. Iraq's debt to the [[Paris Club]] amounted to $21&nbsp;billion, 85% of which had originated from the combined inputs of Japan, the USSR, France, Germany, the United States, Italy and the United Kingdom. The largest portion of Iraq's debt, amounting to $130&nbsp;billion, was to its former Arab backers, with $67&nbsp;billion loaned by Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, [[UAE]], and Jordan.{{citation needed|date=February 2023}}

After the war, Iraq accused Kuwait of [[slant drilling]] and stealing oil, inciting its [[invasion of Kuwait]], which in turn worsened Iraq's financial situation: the [[United Nations Compensation Commission]] mandated Iraq to pay reparations of more than $200&nbsp;billion to victims of the invasion, including Kuwait and the United States. To enforce payment, Iraq was put under a [[Sanctions against Iraq|comprehensive international embargo]], which further strained the Iraqi economy and pushed its [[external debt]] to private and public sectors to more than $500&nbsp;billion by the end of Saddam's rule. Combined with Iraq's negative economic growth after prolonged international sanctions, this produced a [[debt-to-GDP ratio]] of more than 1,000%, making Iraq the most indebted developing country in the world. The unsustainable economic situation compelled the new Iraqi government to request that a considerable portion of debt incurred during the Iran–Iraq war be written off.<ref name="weiss11">{{cite report|last=Weiss|first=Martin A.|publisher=Congressional Research Service|title=Iraq's Debt Relief: Procedure and Potential Implications for International Debt Relief|date=29 March 2011|url=https://fas.org/sgp/crs/mideast/RL33376.pdf|via=Federation of American Scientists|access-date=20 June 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924132518/http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/mideast/RL33376.pdf|archive-date=24 September 2015|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="truman03">{{cite news|author=Truman, Edwin M.|url=http://www.iie.com/publications/opeds/oped.cfm?ResearchID=249|title=Op-ed: The Right Way to Ease Iraq's Debt Burden|newspaper=Financial Times|location=London|date=28 April 2003|access-date=2 August 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110713005331/http://www.iie.com/publications/opeds/oped.cfm?ResearchID=249|archive-date=13 July 2011|url-status=dead}} Re-published by Peterson Institute for International Economics</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7492115.stm|publisher=BBC News|title=UAE waives billions of Iraqi debt|date=6 July 2008|access-date=12 August 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080722083028/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7492115.stm|archive-date=22 July 2008|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSTRE5736M320090804|work=Reuters|title=Iraq war reparations to Kuwait could be reduced: UK|date=4 August 2009|access-date=1 July 2017|archive-date=26 January 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210126200140/https://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSTRE5736M320090804|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Science and technology===
The war had its impact on medical science: a surgical intervention for comatose patients with penetrating [[traumatic brain injury|brain injuries]] was [[science and technology in Iran#Medical sciences|created by Iranian physicians]] treating wounded soldiers, later establishing [[neurosurgery]] guidelines to treat civilians who had suffered blunt or penetrating skull injuries.<ref name=":2">{{Cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/health/la-xpm-2011-jan-24-la-he-medical-advances-20110124-story.html|title=Advances in treatment help more people survive severe injuries to the brain|last=Healy|first=Melissa|date=2011-01-24|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|issn=0458-3035|access-date=2016-10-12|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161013082653/http://articles.latimes.com/2011/jan/24/health/la-he-medical-advances-20110124|archive-date=13 October 2016|url-status=live}}</ref> Iranian physicians' experience in the war informed the medical care of U.S. congresswoman [[Gabby Giffords]] after the [[2011 Tucson shooting]].<ref name=":2" /><ref>{{cite journal|last1=Amirjamshidi|first1=Abbass|title=Minimal debridement or simple wound closure as the only surgical treatment in war victims with low-velocity penetrating head injuries: indications and management protocol based upon more than 8 years follow-up of 99 cases from Iran–Iraq conflict|journal=Surgical Neurology|date=2003|volume=60|issue=2|pages=105–110; discussion 110–111|doi=10.1016/S0090-3019(03)00358-6|pmid=12900110}}</ref>

In addition to helping trigger the Persian Gulf War, the Iran–Iraq War also contributed to Iraq's defeat in the Persian Gulf War. Iraq's military was accustomed to fighting the slow moving Iranian infantry formations with artillery and static defences, while using mostly unsophisticated tanks to gun down and shell the infantry and overwhelm the smaller Iranian tank force; in addition to being dependent on [[weapons of mass destruction]] to help secure victories. Therefore, they were rapidly overwhelmed by the high-tech, quick-manoeuvring [[Coalition of the Gulf War|Coalition forces]] using modern doctrines such as [[AirLand Battle]].<ref name="Dunn 1998" />

==Domestic situation==
===Iraq===
At first, Saddam attempted to ensure that the Iraqi population suffered from the war as little as possible. There was rationing, but civilian projects begun before the war continued. At the same time, the already extensive [[personality cult]] around Saddam reached new heights while the regime tightened its control over the military.<ref name=efraimkarsh />

After the Iranian victories of the spring of 1982 and the Syrian closure of Iraq's main pipeline, Saddam did a volte-face on his policy towards the home front: a policy of austerity and total war was introduced, with the entire population being mobilised for the war effort. All Iraqis were ordered to donate blood and around 100,000 Iraqi civilians were ordered to clear the reeds in the southern marshes. Mass demonstrations of loyalty towards Saddam became more common.<ref name=efraimkarsh /> Saddam also began implementing a policy of discrimination against Iraqis of Iranian origin.<ref name="Farrokh 03" />

In the summer of 1982, Saddam began a [[state terrorism|campaign of terror]]. More than 300 Iraqi Army officers were executed for their failures on the battlefield. In 1983, a major crackdown was launched on the leadership of the Shia community. Ninety members of the al-Hakim family, an influential family of Shia clerics whose leading members were the émigrés [[Mohammad Baqir al-Hakim]] and [[Abdul Aziz al-Hakim]], were arrested, and six were hanged.<ref name=efraimkarsh />

The crackdown on Kurds saw the executions of 8,000 members of the [[Barzani Kurds|Barzani clan]], whose head ([[Massoud Barzani]]) also led the Kurdistan Democratic Party. From 1983 onwards, a campaign of increasingly brutal repression was started against the Iraqi Kurds, characterised by Israeli historian [[Efraim Karsh]] as having "assumed genocidal proportions" by 1988. The [[Anfal campaign]] was intended to pacify Iraqi Kurdistan permanently.<ref name="efraimkarsh" /> By 1983, the Barzanis had allied with Iran.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Entessar|first=Nader|title=Kurdish Ethnonationalism|date=1992|publisher=Lynn Rienner Publishers|isbn=978-1-55587-250-2|page=131}}</ref>

====Gaining civilian support====
To secure the loyalty of the Shia population, Saddam allowed more Shias into the Ba'ath Party and the government, and improved Shia living standards, which had been lower than those of the Iraqi Sunnis. Saddam had the state pay for restoring [[Ali|Imam Ali]]'s tomb with Italian white marble.<ref name=efraimkarsh /> The Baathists also increased their policies of repression against the Shia. The most infamous event was the [[Dujail Massacre|massacre of 148 civilians]] of the Shia town of [[Dujail]].<ref name="Dujail-Indian Express">{{cite news|title=The Dujail Massacre|url=http://www.indianexpress.com/news/the-dujail-massacre-/19772|date=31 December 2006|newspaper=The Indian Express}}</ref>

Despite the costs of the war, the Iraqi regime made generous contributions to Shia ''[[waqf]]'' (religious endowments) as part of the price of buying Iraqi Shia support.<ref name=bulloch89 />{{rp|75–76|date=November 2012}} The importance of winning Shia support was such that welfare services in Shia areas were expanded during a time in which the Iraqi regime was pursuing austerity in all other non-military fields.<ref name=bulloch89 />{{rp|76|date=November 2012}} During the first years of the war in the early 1980s, the Iraqi government tried to accommodate the Kurds in order to focus on the war against Iran. In 1983, the [[Patriotic Union of Kurdistan]] agreed to cooperate with Baghdad, but the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) remained opposed.<ref name=katzman>{{cite report|url=https://fas.org/sgp/crs/mideast/RS22079.pdf|title=The Kurds in Post-Saddam Iraq|page=2|date=1 October 2010|access-date=2 August 2011|publisher=Congressional Research Service|author=Katzman, Kenneth|via=Federation of American Scientists|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110815173718/http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/mideast/RS22079.pdf|archive-date=15 August 2011|url-status=live}}</ref> In 1983, Saddam signed an autonomy agreement with [[Jalal Talabani]] of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), though Saddam later reneged on the agreement. By 1985, the PUK and KDP had joined forces, and Iraqi Kurdistan saw widespread guerrilla warfare up to the end of the war.<ref name=efraimkarsh />

===Iran===

[[File:Unknown soldier funeral in Mashhad.jpg|thumb|An Iranian soldier's funeral in [[Mashhad]], 2013]]

Israeli-British historian [[Ephraim Karsh]] argued that the Iranian government saw the outbreak of war as chance to strengthen its position and consolidate the Islamic revolution, noting that government propaganda presented it domestically as a glorious ''[[jihad]]'' and a test of Iranian national character. The Iranian regime followed a policy of total war from the beginning, and attempted to mobilise the nation as a whole. They established a group known as the [[Reconstruction Campaign]], whose members were exempted from conscription and were instead sent into the countryside to work on farms to replace the men serving at the front.<ref name=efraimkarsh />

Iranian workers had a day's pay deducted from their pay cheques every month to help finance the war, and mass campaigns were launched to encourage the public to donate food, money, and blood. To further help finance the war, the Iranian government banned the import of all non-essential items, and launched a major effort to rebuild the damaged oil plants.<ref name=efraimkarsh />

According to former Iraqi general [[Ra'ad al-Hamdani]], the Iraqis believed that in addition to the Arab revolts, the Revolutionary Guards would be drawn out of Tehran, leading to a [[counter-revolution]] in Iran that would cause Khomeini's government to collapse and thus ensure Iraqi victory.<ref name="Woods 2010" /><ref>{{cite book|last1=Murray|first1=Williamson|last2=Woods|first2=Kevin M.|title=The Iran–Iraq War, A Military and Strategic History|chapter=1980: The Iraqi invasion begins|publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]]|year=2014|isbn=978-1107062290|pages=107–109 (e-book, page numbers approximate)}}</ref> However, rather than turning against the revolutionary government as experts had predicted, Iran's people (including Iranian Arabs) rallied in support of the country and put up a stiff resistance.<ref name="Farrokh 03" /><ref name=iranchamber-iraniraqwar />

The [[Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps|IRGC]] grew as an organisation to encompass not just military concerns but also matters of economic, religious, and educational importance.<ref name=":3">{{Cite book|last=Tracy Samuel|first=Annie|url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/unfinished-history-of-the-iraniraq-war/C83D5341A9DC845B9B458F8C3143BC56|title=The Unfinished History of the Iran–Iraq War: Faith, Firepower, and Iran's Revolutionary Guards|date=2021|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-1-108-47842-7|location=Cambridge|access-date=26 April 2024|archive-date=26 April 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240426224945/https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/unfinished-history-of-the-iraniraq-war/C83D5341A9DC845B9B458F8C3143BC56|url-status=live}}</ref> The organisation's growth during the war is vital to understanding its role in Iranian society and how it has evolved since its initial formation in 1979. Domestically, the IRGC dealt with suppressing uprisings by Kurds, Baluchs, Turkmen, and the [[Mojahedin-e-Khalq]] (MEK) which broke with Khomeini in June 1981. While initially dealing with internal threats to the revolution in its first few years, the IRGC focused its attention on external threats at the outbreak of the war in 1980. In January 1981, the IRGC would take control of the [[Basij]] to aid in the fight against Iraqi forces.<ref name=":3" /> The Basij helped bolster the prominence and legitimacy of the IRGC during the war as a vehicle for indoctrination and through its contributions to the defence of Iran. The transformation of the IRGC organised its command structure, which enabled the organisation to match the force of Iran's regular military and its first abroad deployment during the war began the sponsoring of other armed groups in the region through its command of the [[Quds Force|Quds force]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Iran's Revolutionary Guards|url=https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/irans-revolutionary-guards|access-date=2024-04-26|website=Council on Foreign Relations|language=en|archive-date=20 October 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211020120758/https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/irans-revolutionary-guards|url-status=live}}</ref>

====Civil unrest====
{{Further information|Political repression in the Islamic Republic of Iran}}
In June 1981, street battles broke out between the Revolutionary Guard and the left-wing Mujaheddin e-Khalq (MEK), continuing for several days and killing hundreds on both sides.<ref name=bulloch89 />{{rp|250|date=November 2012}} In September, more unrest broke out on the streets of Iran as the MEK attempted to seize power.<ref name=efraimkarsh /> Thousands of left-wing Iranians (many of whom were not associated with the MEK) were shot and hanged by the government. The MEK began an assassination campaign that killed hundreds of regime officials by the fall of 1981. On 28 June 1981, they assassinated the secretary-general of the Islamic Republican Party, [[Mohammad Beheshti]] and on 30 August, killed Iran's president, [[Mohammad-Ali Rajai]].<ref name=bulloch89 />{{rp|251|date=November 2012}} The government responded with mass executions of suspected MEK members, a practice that lasted until 1985.<ref name=efraimkarsh />

In addition to the open civil conflict with the MEK, the Iranian government was faced with Iraqi-supported rebellions in Iranian Kurdistan, which were gradually put down through a campaign of [[Political repression in the Islamic Republic of Iran|systematic repression]]. 1985 also saw student anti-war demonstrations, which were crushed by government forces.<ref name=efraimkarsh />

====Economy====
In September 2020, [[Ali Fadavi]] announced that Iran spent $19.6 billion in the war.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.khabaronline.ir/news/1436923/%D8%A8%D8%A8%DB%8C%D9%86%DB%8C%D8%AF-%D8%A7%D8%B9%D9%84%D8%A7%D9%85-%D8%B1%D8%B3%D9%85%DB%8C-%D9%87%D8%B2%DB%8C%D9%86%D9%87-%D9%87%D8%A7%DB%8C-%D8%AC%D9%86%DA%AF-%D8%AA%D8%AD%D9%85%DB%8C%D9%84%DB%8C-%D8%AA%D9%88%D8%B3%D8%B7-%D8%B9%D8%A7%D9%84%DB%8C-%D8%AA%D8%B1%DB%8C%D9%86-%D9%85%D9%82%D8%A7%D9%85|title=ببینید {{pipe}} اعلام رسمی هزینه‌های جنگ تحمیلی توسط عالی‌ترین مقام نظامی کشور برای اولین بار|date=27 September 2020|website=خبرآنلاین|access-date=30 January 2021|archive-date=28 October 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201028232315/https://www.khabaronline.ir/news/1436923/%D8%A8%D8%A8%DB%8C%D9%86%DB%8C%D8%AF-%D8%A7%D8%B9%D9%84%D8%A7%D9%85-%D8%B1%D8%B3%D9%85%DB%8C-%D9%87%D8%B2%DB%8C%D9%86%D9%87-%D9%87%D8%A7%DB%8C-%D8%AC%D9%86%DA%AF-%D8%AA%D8%AD%D9%85%DB%8C%D9%84%DB%8C-%D8%AA%D9%88%D8%B3%D8%B7-%D8%B9%D8%A7%D9%84%DB%8C-%D8%AA%D8%B1%DB%8C%D9%86-%D9%85%D9%82%D8%A7%D9%85|url-status=live}}</ref> The war furthered the decline of the Iranian economy that had begun with the revolution in 1978–79. Between 1979 and 1981, foreign exchange reserves fell from $14.6&nbsp;billion to $1&nbsp;billion.<ref name=efraimkarsh /> As a result of the war, living standards dropped dramatically,<ref name=efraimkarsh /><ref name=brogan89 />{{rp|252|date=November 2012}} and Iran was described by British journalists John Bulloch and Harvey Morris as "a dour and joyless place" ruled by a harsh regime that "seemed to have nothing to offer but endless war".<ref name=bulloch89 />{{rp|239|date=November 2012}}

Though Iran was becoming bankrupt, Khomeini interpreted Islam's prohibition of usury to mean they could not borrow against future oil revenues to meet war expenses. As a result, Iran funded the war by the income from oil exports after cash had run out. The revenue from oil dropped from $20&nbsp;billion in 1982 to $5&nbsp;billion in 1988.<ref name=brogan89 />{{rp|252|date=November 2012}} French historian Pierre Razoux argued that this sudden drop in economic industrial potential, in conjunction with the increasing aggression of Iraq, placed Iran in a challenging position that had little leeway other than accepting Iraq's conditions of peace.

In January 1985, former prime minister and anti-war Islamic Liberation Movement co-founder [[Mehdi Bazargan]] criticised the war in a telegram to the United Nations, calling it un-Islamic and illegitimate and arguing that Khomeini should have accepted Saddam's truce offer in 1982 instead of attempting to overthrow the Ba'ath.<ref name=efraimkarsh /> In a public letter to Khomeini sent in May 1988, he added "Since 1986, you have not stopped proclaiming victory, and now you are calling upon population to resist until victory. Is that not an admission of failure on your part?"<ref name=brogan89 />{{rp|252|date=November 2012}} Khomeini was annoyed by Bazargan's telegram, and issued a lengthy public rebuttal in which he defended the war as both Islamic and just.<ref name=efraimkarsh />

By 1987, Iranian morale had begun to crumble, reflected in the failure of government campaigns to recruit "martyrs" for the front. Israeli historian Efraim Karsh points to the decline in morale in 1987–88 as being a major factor in Iran's decision to accept the ceasefire of 1988.<ref name=efraimkarsh />

Not all saw the war in negative terms. The Islamic Revolution of Iran was strengthened and radicalised.<ref>{{cite book|last=Nasr|first=Vali Nasr|title=The Shia revival: How Conflicts Within Islam Will Shape the Future|year=2007|publisher=W.W. Norton|location=New York|isbn=978-0-393-32968-1|edition=New|page=140}}</ref> The Iranian government-owned ''Etelaat'' newspaper wrote, "There is not a single school or town that is excluded from the happiness of 'holy defence' of the nation, from drinking the exquisite elixir of martyrdom, or from the sweet death of the martyr, who dies in order to live forever in paradise."<ref>Column in ''Etelaat'', 4 April 1983, quoted in {{cite book|last=Molavi|first=Afshin|title=The soul of Iran a nation's journey to freedom|year=2005|publisher=W.W. Norton & Co|location=England|isbn=978-0-393-32597-3|edition=Revised}}</ref>

==Comparison of Iraqi and Iranian military strength==
{{See also|Order of battle during the Iran–Iraq War}}

Iran's [[Islamic Republic of Iran Army|regular Army]] had been purged after the [[1979 Revolution]], with most high-ranking officers either having fled the country or been executed.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dolatebahar.com/view/205831/%D8%AF%D8%B1-%DA%AF%D9%81%D8%AA-%D9%88-%DA%AF%D9%88-%D8%A8%D8%A7-%D9%87%D9%88%D8%B4%D9%86%DA%AF-%D8%B5%D9%85%D8%AF%DB%8C%D8%8C-%D9%81%D8%B1%D9%85%D8%A7%D9%86%D8%AF%D9%87-%D8%AA%DA%A9%D8%A7%D9%88%D8%B1%D8%A7%D9%86-%D9%86%DB%8C%D8%B1%D9%88%DB%8C-%D8%AF%D8%B1%DB%8C%D8%A7%DB%8C%DB%8C-%D9%85%D8%B3%D8%AA%D9%82%D8%B1-%D8%AF%D8%B1-%D8%AE%D8%B1%D9%85%D8%B4%D9%87%D8%B1-%D9%85%D8%B7%D8%B1%D8%AD-%D8%B4%D8%AF-%DA%AF%D9%84%D8%A7%DB%8C%D9%87-%D9%87%D8%A7%DB%8C-%D9%86%D8%A7%D8%AE%D8%AF%D8%A7%DB%8C-%D8%AE%D9%88%D9%86%DB%8C%D9%86-%D8%B4%D9%87%D8%B1-%D8%A7%D8%B2-%DA%A9%DB%8C%D9%85%DB%8C%D8%A7-|title=در گفت و گو با هوشنگ صمدی، فرمانده تکاوران نیروی دریایی مستقر در خرمشهر مطرح شد/ گلایه های ناخدای خونین شهر از کیمیا – دولت بهار|access-date=27 May 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160603170024/http://www.dolatebahar.com/view/205831/%D8%AF%D8%B1-%DA%AF%D9%81%D8%AA-%D9%88-%DA%AF%D9%88-%D8%A8%D8%A7-%D9%87%D9%88%D8%B4%D9%86%DA%AF-%D8%B5%D9%85%D8%AF%DB%8C%D8%8C-%D9%81%D8%B1%D9%85%D8%A7%D9%86%D8%AF%D9%87-%D8%AA%DA%A9%D8%A7%D9%88%D8%B1%D8%A7%D9%86-%D9%86%DB%8C%D8%B1%D9%88%DB%8C-%D8%AF%D8%B1%DB%8C%D8%A7%DB%8C%DB%8C-%D9%85%D8%B3%D8%AA%D9%82%D8%B1-%D8%AF%D8%B1-%D8%AE%D8%B1%D9%85%D8%B4%D9%87%D8%B1-%D9%85%D8%B7%D8%B1%D8%AD-%D8%B4%D8%AF-%DA%AF%D9%84%D8%A7%DB%8C%D9%87-%D9%87%D8%A7%DB%8C-%D9%86%D8%A7%D8%AE%D8%AF%D8%A7%DB%8C-%D8%AE%D9%88%D9%86%DB%8C%D9%86-%D8%B4%D9%87%D8%B1-%D8%A7%D8%B2-%DA%A9%DB%8C%D9%85%DB%8C%D8%A7-|archive-date=3 June 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref>

At the beginning of the war, Iraq held a clear advantage in armour, while both nations were roughly equal in terms of artillery. The gap only widened as the war went on. Iran started with a stronger air force, but over time, the balance of power reversed in Iraq's favour (as Iraq was constantly expanding its military, while Iran was under arms sanctions). Estimates for 1980 and 1987 were:<ref>{{cite news|title=The Arming, and Disarming, of Iran's Revolution|newspaper=[[The Economist]]|edition=International|date=19 September 1987|pages=56–57}}</ref>

{| class="wikitable" style="margin: 1em auto; text-align:center; "
|-
! Imbalance of Power (1980–1987) !! Iraq !! Iran
|-
| Tanks in 1980
| 2,700
| 1,740 (~500 operable)
|-
|  style="border-bottom:2px solid black;"|Tanks in 1987
|  style="border-bottom:2px solid black;"|4,500+
|  style="border-bottom:2px solid black;"|1,000
|-
| Fighter aircraft in 1980
| 332
| 445 (205 operable)
|-
|  style="border-bottom:2px solid black;"|Fighter aircraft in 1987
|  style="border-bottom:2px solid black;"|500+
|  style="border-bottom:2px solid black;"|65 (serviceable)
|-
| Helicopters in 1980
| 40
| 500
|-
|  style="border-bottom:2px solid black;"|Helicopters in 1987
|  style="border-bottom:2px solid black;"|150
|  style="border-bottom:2px solid black;"|60
|-
| Artillery in 1980
| 1,000
| 1,000+ (~300 operable)
|-
| Artillery in 1987
| 4,000+
| 1,000+
|}

The conflict has been compared to [[World War I]]<ref name=abrahamian08>{{cite book|last=Abrahamian|first=Ervand|title=A History of Modern Iran|year=2008|publisher=Cambridge University Press|location=Cambridge, UK|isbn=978-0-521-52891-7|edition=3rd print}}</ref>{{rp|171|date=November 2012}} in terms of the tactics used, including large-scale [[trench warfare]] with [[barbed wire]] stretched across trenches, manned [[machine gun]] posts, bayonet charges, [[human wave attack]]s across a [[no man's land]], and extensive use of [[chemical weapon]]s such as [[sulfur mustard]] by the Iraqi government against Iranian troops, civilians, and [[Kurds]]. The world powers United States and the [[Soviet Union]], together with many Western and Arab countries, provided military, intelligence, economic, and political support for Iraq. On average, Iraq imported about $7 billion in weapons during every year of the war, accounting for fully 12% of global arms sales in the period.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Murray|first1=Williamson|last2=Woods|first2=Kevin M.|title=The Iran–Iraq War, A Military and Strategic History|chapter=1981–1982: Stalemate|publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]]|year=2014|isbn=978-1107062290|pages=171–173 (e-book, page numbers approximate)}}</ref>

The value of Iraqi arms imports increased to between $12 billion and $14 billion during 1984–1987, whereas the value of Iranian arms imports fell from $14 billion in 1985 to $5.89 billion in 1986 and an estimated $6 billion to $8 billion in 1987. Iran was constrained by the price of oil during the [[1980s oil glut]] as foreign countries were largely unwilling to extend credit to Iran, but Iraq financed its continued massive military expansion by taking on vast quantities of debt that allowed it to win a number of victories against Iran near the end of the war but that left the country bankrupt.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Murray|first1=Williamson|last2=Woods|first2=Kevin M.|title=The Iran–Iraq War, A Military and Strategic History|chapter=Conclusion|publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]]|year=2014|isbn=978-1107062290|pages=350–354 (e-book, page numbers approximate)}}</ref>

Despite its larger population, by 1988 Iran's ground forces numbered only 600,000 whereas the Iraqi army had grown to include 1 million soldiers.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Murray|first1=Williamson|last2=Woods|first2=Kevin M.|title=The Iran–Iraq War, A Military and Strategic History|chapter=1987–1988: An end in sight?|publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]]|year=2014|isbn=978-1107062290|pages=328–330 (e-book, page numbers approximate)}}</ref>

==Foreign support to Iraq and Iran==
{{Main|International aid to combatants in the Iran–Iraq War}}

[[File:Shakinghands high.OGG|thumb|thumbtime=05|[[Donald Rumsfeld]] as the American special envoy to the Middle East meets Saddam Hussein in December 1983. Rumsfeld was later [[United States Secretary of Defense|US Defense Secretary]] during the 2003 [[Iraq War]], which saw Saddam ousted from power and ultimately [[execution of Saddam Hussein|executed]].]]

During the war, Iraq was regarded by the West and the Soviet Union as a counterbalance to [[Iranian revolution|post-revolutionary]] Iran.<ref name=bulloch89 />{{rp|119|date=November 2012}} The Soviet Union, Iraq's main arms supplier during the war, did not wish for the end of its alliance with Iraq, and was alarmed by Saddam's threats to find new arms suppliers in the West and China if the [[Kremlin]] did not provide him with the weapons he wanted.<ref name=bulloch89 />{{rp|119, 198–199|date=November 2012}} The Soviet Union hoped to use the threat of reducing arms supplies to Iraq as leverage for forming a Soviet–Iranian alliance.<ref name=bulloch89 />{{rp|197|date=November 2012}}

During the early years of the war, the United States lacked meaningful relations with either Iran or Iraq, the former due to the [[Iranian revolution]] and the [[Iran hostage crisis]] and the latter because of Iraq's alliance with the Soviet Union and hostility towards [[Israel]]. Following Iran's success in repelling the Iraqi invasion and [[Ruhollah Khomeini|Khomeini's]] refusal to end the war in 1982, the United States made an outreach to Iraq, beginning with the restoration of diplomatic relations in 1984. The United States wished to both keep Iran away from Soviet influence and protect other Gulf states from any threat of Iranian expansion. As a result, the U.S. began to provide limited support to Iraq.<ref name=bulloch89 />{{rp|142–143|date=November 2012}} In 1982, [[Henry Kissinger]], former [[United States Secretary of State|Secretary of State]], outlined U.S. policy towards Iran:

<blockquote>The focus of Iranian pressure at this moment is Iraq. There are few governments in the world less deserving of our support and less capable of using it. Had Iraq won the war, the fear in the Gulf and the threat to our interest would be scarcely less than it is today. Still, given the importance of the balance of power in the area, it is in our interests to promote a ceasefire in that conflict; though not at a cost that will preclude an eventual rapprochement with Iran either if a more moderate regime replaces Khomeini's or if the present rulers wake up to geopolitical reality that the historic threat to Iran's independence has always come from the country with which it shares a border of {{convert|1500|mi|km|disp=x| [|]}}: the Soviet Union. A rapprochement with Iran, of course, must await at a minimum Iran's abandonment of hegemonic aspirations in the Gulf.<ref name=bulloch89 />{{rp|142–143|date=November 2012}}</blockquote>

[[Richard W. Murphy|Richard Murphy]], Assistant Secretary of State during the war, testified to Congress in 1984 that the Reagan administration believed a victory for either Iran or Iraq was "neither militarily feasible nor strategically desirable".<ref name=bulloch89 />{{rp|178|date=November 2012}}

Support to Iraq was given via technological aid, intelligence, the sale of [[dual-use technology|dual-use]] [[Riegle Report|chemical and biological warfare related technology]] and military equipment, and satellite intelligence. While there was direct combat between Iran and the United States, it is not universally agreed that the fighting between the United States and Iran was specifically to benefit Iraq, or for separate issues between the U.S. and Iran. American official ambiguity towards which side to support was summed up by Henry Kissinger when he remarked, "It's a pity they can't both lose."<ref name="McCarthy">{{cite news|url=http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/292496/it-s-pity-somebody-has-win-andrew-c-mccarthy|title=It's a Pity Somebody Has to Win|last=McCarthy|first=Andrew C.|newspaper=National Review Online|date=3 March 2012|access-date=7 November 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130330234452/http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/292496/it-s-pity-somebody-has-win-andrew-c-mccarthy|archive-date=30 March 2013|url-status=live}}</ref>

More than 30 countries provided support to Iraq, Iran, or both; most of the aid went to Iraq. Iran had a complex clandestine procurement network to obtain munitions and critical materials. Iraq had an even larger clandestine purchasing network, involving 10–12 allied countries, to maintain ambiguity over their arms purchases and to circumvent "official restrictions". Arab mercenaries and volunteers from Egypt<ref name=rajaee97>{{cite book|editor1-last=Rajaee|editor1-first=Farhang|title=Iranian perspectives on the Iran–Iraq War|year=1997|publisher=University Press of Florida|location=Gainesville|isbn=978-0-8130-1476-0}}</ref> and Jordan formed the [[Yarmouk Brigade (Iran–Iraq War)|Yarmouk Brigade]]<ref>{{cite book|title=An encyclopedic dictionary of conflict and conflict resolution, 1945–1996|first=John E.|last=Jessup|publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group|year=1998|isbn=978-0-313-28112-9}}</ref> and participated in the war alongside Iraqis.

===Iraq===
{{See also|French support for Iraq during the Iran–Iraq War|Italian support for Iraq during the Iran–Iraq war|British support for Iraq during the Iran–Iraq War}}

[[File:Mi24 tehran.jpg|thumb|right|An Iraqi Mil Mi-24 on display at the military museum of [[Sa'dabad Complex|Sa'dabad Palace]] in Iran]]

According to the Stockholm International Peace Institute, the [[Soviet Union]], France, and China together accounted for over 90% of the value of Iraq's arms imports between 1980 and 1988.<ref>[http://armstrade.sipri.org/armstrade/page/values.php SIPRI Database] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110728025517/http://armstrade.sipri.org/armstrade/page/values.php |date=28 July 2011 }} Indicates that of $29,079&nbsp;million of arms exported to Iraq from 1980 to 1988 the Soviet Union accounted for $16,808&nbsp;million, France $4,591&nbsp;million, and China $5,004&nbsp;million (Info must be entered)</ref>

The United States pursued policies in favour of Iraq by reopening diplomatic channels, lifting restrictions on the export of [[dual-use technology]], overseeing the transfer of third-party military hardware, and providing operational intelligence on the battlefield{{Citation needed|date=December 2023|reason=}}. France, which from the 1970s had been one of Iraq's closest allies, was a major supplier of military hardware.<ref name=bulloch89 />{{rp|184–185|date=November 2012}} The French sold weapons equal to $5&nbsp;billion, which made up well over a quarter of Iraq's total arms stockpile.<ref name=bulloch89 />{{rp|184–185|date=November 2012}} Citing French magazine ''Le Nouvel Observateur'' as the primary source, but also quoting French officials, ''The New York Times'' reported [[France]] had been sending chemical precursors of [[chemical weapons]] to Iraq, since 1986.<ref name=NYT>{{cite web|url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C0CE3DA153EF932A1575AC0A966958260|title=Confrontation in the Gulf; French Reportedly Sent Iraq Chemical War Tools|date=21 September 1990|first=Youssef M.|last=Ibrahim|website=The New York Times|access-date=1 January 2019|archive-date=13 June 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200613032632/https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C0CE3DA153EF932A1575AC0A966958260|url-status=live}}</ref> China, which had no direct stake in the victory of either side and whose interests in the war were entirely commercial, freely sold arms to both sides.<ref name=bulloch89 />{{rp|185, 187–188, 192–193|date=November 2012}}

Iraq also made extensive use of [[front organization|front companies]], middlemen, secret ownership of all or part of companies all over the world, forged [[end-user certificate]]s, and other methods to hide what it was acquiring. Some transactions may have involved people, shipping, and manufacturing in as many as 10 countries.<ref name="UNSCOM-D">{{citation|title=UNSCOM's Comprehensive Review|author=United Nations Special Commission|section=Annex D: Actions by Iraq to Obstruct Disarmament|publisher=James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies|url=http://cns.miis.edu/iraq/ucreport/dis_acti.htm|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130103191459/http://cns.miis.edu/iraq/ucreport/dis_acti.htm|archive-date=3 January 2013}}</ref> [[British support for Iraq during the Iran–Iraq war|Support from Great Britain]] exemplified the methods by which Iraq would circumvent export controls. Iraq bought at least one British company with operations in the United Kingdom and the United States, and had a complex relationship with France and the Soviet Union, its major suppliers of actual weapons.

Turkey took action against the Kurds in 1986, alleging they were attacking the [[Kurdistan Workers' Party]] (PKK), which prompted a harsh diplomatic intervention by Iran, which planned a new offensive against Iraq at the time and were counting on the support of Kurdish factions.<ref>Entessar, Nader (1992), p. 134</ref>

Sudan supported Iraq directly during the war, sending a contingent to fight at the frontlines. The Sudanese unit consisted to a large degree of Ugandan refugees from the [[West Nile sub-region|West Nile Region]], recruited by [[Juma Oris]].{{sfn|Leopold|2005|p=44}}

The [[United Nations Security Council]] initially called for a cease-fire after a week of fighting while Iraq was occupying Iranian territory, and renewed the call on later occasions. However, the UN did not come to Iran's aid to repel the Iraqi invasion, and the Iranians thus interpreted the UN as subtly biased in favour of Iraq.<ref name="encarta88" />

====Financial support====
Iraq's main financial backers were the oil-rich Persian Gulf states, most notably [[Saudi Arabia]] ($30.9&nbsp;billion), [[Kuwait]] ($8.2&nbsp;billion), and the [[United Arab Emirates]] ($8&nbsp;billion).{{citation needed|date=February 2023}} In all, Iraq received $35&nbsp;billion in loans from the West and between $30 and $40&nbsp;billion from the Persian Gulf states during the 1980s.<ref name="ISGfunding">{{Cite book|chapter-url=https://www.cia.gov/library/reports/general-reports-1/iraq_wmd_2004/chap2_annxD.html#use-of-illicit-smuggling|title=Comprehensive Report of the Special Advisor to the DCI [Director of Central Intelligence] on Iraq's WMD|date=27 April 2007|volume=1 of 3|chapter=Annex D: Iraq Economic Data (1989–2003)|publisher=Central Intelligence Agency|access-date=3 November 2012|archive-date=1 November 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121101151425/https://www.cia.gov/library/reports/general-reports-1/iraq_wmd_2004/chap2_annxD.html#use-of-illicit-smuggling|url-status=dead}}</ref>

The [[United States support for Iraq during the Iran–Iraq war#Banca Nazionale del Lavoro|Iraqgate]] scandal revealed that an American branch of Italy's largest bank, [[Banca Nazionale del Lavoro]] (BNL) relied partially on U.S. taxpayer-guaranteed loans to funnel $5&nbsp;billion to Iraq from 1985 to 1989. In August 1989, when [[Federal Bureau of Investigation|FBI]] agents raided the Atlanta branch of BNL, branch manager Christopher Drogoul was charged with making unauthorised, clandestine, and illegal loans to Iraq—some of which, according to his indictment, were used to purchase arms and weapons technology.<ref name="FAS">{{cite report|title=The Administration's Iraq Gate Scandal|first=William|last=Safire|date=19 May 1992|publisher=Congressional Record|url=https://fas.org/spp/starwars/congress/1992/h920519l.htm|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150620160547/https://fas.org/spp/starwars/congress/1992/h920519l.htm|archive-date=20 June 2015|via=Federation of American Scientists}}</ref> According to the ''[[Financial Times]]'', [[Hewlett-Packard]], [[Tektronix]], and [[Arms-to-Iraq|Matrix Churchill]]'s branch in [[Ohio]] were among the companies shipping militarily useful technology to Iraq under the eye of the U.S. government.

===Iran===
{{See also|Israel's role in the Iran–Iraq war|North Korean support for Iran during the Iran–Iraq War}}
While the United States directly fought Iran, citing [[freedom of navigation]] as a major ''[[casus belli]]'', it also indirectly supplied some weapons to Iran as part of a complex and illegal programme that became known as the [[Iran–Contra affair]]. These secret sales were partly to help secure the release of hostages held in [[Lebanon]], and partly to make money to help the [[Contras]] rebel group in [[Nicaragua]]. This arms-for-hostages agreement turned into a major scandal.

[[Israel]] supported Iran in its war against Iraq through the supply of military equipment including spare parts for fighter jets, missile systems, ammunition and tank engines.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Seale|first=Patrick|date=2 November 1980|title=Israel sends spares for US arms to Iran|page=9|work=The Observer|location=London}}</ref> Israel's motivations for supporting Iran stemmed from a fear of what would have become if Iraq came out victorious and as an opportunity to create business for the Israeli arms industry.<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Marshall|first1=Jonathan|url=https://archive.org/details/irancontraconnec00mars|title=The Iran–Contra Connection: Secret Teams and Covert Operations in the Reagan Era|last2=Scott|first2=Peter Dale|last3=Hunter|first3=Jane|date=1987|publisher=Black Rose Books Ltd.|isbn=978-0-921689-15-7}}</ref>

North Korea was a [[North Korean support for Iran during the Iran–Iraq War|major arms supplier to Iran]], often acting as a third party in arms deals between Iran and the Communist bloc. Support included domestically manufactured arms and Eastern-Bloc weapons, for which the major powers wanted [[deniability]]. [[International aid to combatants in the Iran–Iraq War|Among the other arms suppliers and supporters]] of Iran's Islamic Revolution, the major ones were Libya, Syria, and China. According to the Stockholm International Peace Institute, China was the largest foreign arms supplier to Iran between 1980 and 1988.<ref>[http://armstrade.sipri.org/armstrade/page/values.php SIPRI Database] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110728025517/http://armstrade.sipri.org/armstrade/page/values.php |date=28 July 2011 }} Indicates that of $5,044&nbsp;million of arms exported to Iran from 1980 to 1988 China count for $1,958&nbsp;million (Info must be entered)</ref>

Syria and Libya, breaking Arab solidarity, supported Iran with arms, rhetoric and diplomacy.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Terrill|first=W. Andrew|title=Iran's Strategy for Saving Asad|date=Spring 2015|journal=[[Middle East Journal]]|publisher=[[Middle East Institute]]|volume=69|issue=2|pages=222–236|doi=10.3751/69.2.13|s2cid=142964464|url-access=}}</ref> However, Libya then distanced itself from Iran from 1987, criticising Tehran's attitude and restoring diplomatic relations with Iraq.<ref name="LeMonde1">{{cite web|url=https://www.lemonde.fr/archives/article/1987/09/12/la-libye-reequilibre-sa-position-au-profit-de-l-irak_4051052_1819218.html|title=La Libye 'rééquilibre' sa position au profit de l'Irak|website=[[Le Monde]]|date=12 September 1987|access-date=11 March 2023|language=French|archive-date=11 March 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230311223734/https://www.lemonde.fr/archives/article/1987/09/12/la-libye-reequilibre-sa-position-au-profit-de-l-irak_4051052_1819218.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="LeMonde2">{{cite web|url=https://www.lemonde.fr/archives/article/1987/04/25/la-guerre-du-golfe-le-colonel-kadhafi-critique-la-france-et-l-iran_4054912_1819218.html|title=La guerre du Golfe Le colonel Kadhafi critique la France et l'Iran|website=[[Le Monde]]|date=25 April 1987|access-date=11 March 2023|language=French|archive-date=11 March 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230311223734/https://www.lemonde.fr/archives/article/1987/04/25/la-guerre-du-golfe-le-colonel-kadhafi-critique-la-france-et-l-iran_4054912_1819218.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Aid to both countries===
{{See also|Soviet Union during the Iran-Iraq War|Portugal and the Iran–Iraq War}}
Besides the United States and the Soviet Union, [[Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia|Yugoslavia]] also sold weapons to both countries for the entire duration of the conflict. Likewise, [[Portugal and the Iran–Iraq War|Portugal helped both countries]];<ref name=csis10 />{{rp|8|date=November 2012}} it was not unusual to see Iranian and Iraqi flagged ships anchored at [[Setúbal]], waiting their turn to dock.

From 1980 to 1987, Spain sold €458&nbsp;million in weapons to Iran and €172&nbsp;million{{clarify|date=November 2012|reason=The euro wasn't introduced until 1999. What year was this conversion done?}} to Iraq. Weapons sold to Iraq included 4x4 vehicles, [[BO-105]] helicopters, explosives, and ammunition. A research party later discovered that an unexploded chemical Iraqi warhead in Iran was manufactured in Spain.<ref name=csis10 />{{rp|8|date=November 2012}}<ref name=elmundo>{{cite book|title=El camino de la libertad: la democracia año a año (1986)|trans-title=The Path of Liberty: Democracy Year to Year|pages=27–32|language=es|publisher=El Mundo}}</ref>

Although neither side acquired any weapons from Turkey, both sides enjoyed Turkish civilian trade during the conflict, although the Turkish government remained neutral and refused to support the U.S.-imposed trade embargo on Iran. Turkey's export market jumped from $220&nbsp;million in 1981 to $2&nbsp;billion in 1985, making up 25% of Turkey's overall exports. Turkish construction projects in Iraq totaled $2.5&nbsp;billion between 1974 and 1990. Trading with both countries helped Turkey to offset its ongoing economic crisis, though the benefits decreased as the war neared its end and accordingly disappeared entirely with Iraq's invasion of Kuwait and the resulting Iraq sanctions Turkey imposed in response.<ref>{{cite book|last=Fuller|first=Graham E.|title=The New Turkish Republic: Turkey as a Pivotal State in the Muslim World|year=2008|publisher=United States Institute of Peace Press|location=Washington, D.C.|isbn=978-1-60127-019-1|author-link=Graham Fuller|pages=40, 49}}</ref>

==U.S. involvement==
{{Main|United States support for Iraq during the Iran–Iraq War}}
{{See also|Iraq–United States relations|Iran–United States relations}}

American support for [[Ba'athist Iraq]] during the Iran–Iraq War, in which it fought against [[Iranian revolution|post-revolutionary]] [[Iran]], included several billion dollars' worth of economic aid, the sale of [[dual-use technology]], non-U.S. origin weaponry, military intelligence, and special operations training.<ref name="spidersweb">Friedman, Alan. ''Spider's Web: The Secret History of How the White House Illegally Armed Iraq'', Bantam Books, 1993. {{ISBN|978-0553096507}}.</ref><ref name="deathlobby">Timmerman, Kenneth R. ''The Death Lobby: How the West Armed Iraq''. New York, Houghton Mifflin Company, 1991. {{ISBN?}}</ref> The U.S. refused to sell arms to Iraq directly due to Iraq's ties to [[State-sponsored terrorism|terrorist groups]], but several sales of "dual-use" technology have been documented; notably, Iraq purchased 45 [[Bell Textron|Bell helicopters]] for $200 million in 1985. Total sales of U.S. dual-use technology to Iraq are estimated at $500 million.<ref>{{cite book|author-link=Elaine Sciolino|last=Sciolino|first=Elaine|title=The Outlaw State: Saddam Hussein's Quest for Power and the Gulf Crisis|publisher=[[Wiley (publisher)|John Wiley & Sons]]|year=1991|isbn=9780471542995|page=[https://archive.org/details/outlawstate00elai/page/168 168]|quote=Under pressure from the Reagan administration, the <nowiki>[</nowiki>[[Export–Import Bank of the United States]]<nowiki>]</nowiki> began extending short-term loans to cash-starved Iraq for American-made spare parts and consumer goods. Iraq was also keenly interested in more than credits and rice, but the Reagan administration repeatedly told Iraq not even to ask for weapons. Iraq had more than enough arms from Moscow, Paris, and other capitals to fight Iran, and weapons sales to a country with a history of terrorism and antagonism to Israel would never receive congressional approval.&nbsp;... In some instances, items that could be used for military purposes did go through. In 1985, for example, the United States approved a $200 million sale of 45 Bell helicopters to Iraq, on condition they would be used only for civilian purposes. But administration officials learned later that the Iraqi Army took possession of at least some of the helicopters, painted them in military colors, and used them to ferry VIP delegations and journalists to the war front.}}</ref><ref name="Byrne">{{cite book|last=Byrne|first=Malcolm|title=The Iran–Iraq War: New International Perspectives|chapter=Critical Oral History: A new approach to examining the United States' role in the war|publisher=[[Routledge]]|year=2013|isbn=9780415685245}}</ref>

U.S. government support for Iraq was not a secret and was frequently discussed in open sessions of the [[United States Senate|Senate]] and [[United States House of Representatives|House of Representatives]].<ref name="abc2">Koppel, Ted. [https://web.archive.org/web/20040824084457/http://homepage.ntlworld.com/jksonc/docs/ir655-nightline-19920701.html "The USS Vincennes: Public War, Secret War"], ABC ''Nightline''. 1 July 1992.</ref> American views toward Iraq were not enthusiastically supportive in its conflict with Iran, and activity in assistance was largely to prevent an Iranian victory. This was encapsulated by [[Henry Kissinger]] when he remarked, "It's a pity they both can't lose."<ref name="McCarthy"/>

===U.S. embargo===

[[File:Bush reagan.jpg|right|thumb|President [[Ronald Reagan]] and Vice President [[George H. W. Bush]] in the Oval Office of the White House, 20 July 1984]]

A key element of U.S. political–military and energy–economic planning occurred in early 1983. The Iran–Iraq war had been going on for three years and there were significant casualties on both sides, reaching hundreds of thousands. Within the Reagan [[National Security Council (USA)|National Security Council]] concern was growing that the war could spread beyond the boundaries of the two belligerents. A National Security Planning Group meeting was called chaired by Vice President [[George Bush Sr.|George Bush]] to review U.S. options. It was determined that there was a high likelihood that the conflict would spread into Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states, but that the United States had little capability to defend the region.<ref name="wpain1"/>

It was determined that a prolonged war in the region would induce much higher oil prices and threaten the fragile world recovery which was just beginning to gain momentum. On 22 May 1984, President Reagan was briefed on the project conclusions in the Oval Office by [[William Flynn Martin]] who had served as the head of the NSC staff that organised the study. The full declassified presentation can be seen here.<ref name="wpain1">{{cite web|url=http://www.wpainc.com/Archive/Reagan%20Administration/WFM%20Papers%20from%20Reagan%20Archives/Iran-Iraq/Presentation%20on%20Gulf%20Oil%20Disruption%205-22-84.pdf|title=Presentation on Gulf Oil Disruption 5–22–84|access-date=21 August 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304041513/http://www.wpainc.com/Archive/Reagan%20Administration/WFM%20Papers%20from%20Reagan%20Archives/Iran-Iraq/Presentation%20on%20Gulf%20Oil%20Disruption%205-22-84.pdf|archive-date=4 March 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref>

The conclusions were threefold: firstly, oil stocks needed to be increased among members of the [[International Energy Agency]] and, if necessary, released early in the event of oil market disruption; second, the United States needed to reinforce the security of friendly Arab states in the region; and thirdly, an embargo should be placed on sales of military equipment to Iran and Iraq. The plan was approved by the President and later affirmed by the G-7 leaders headed by [[Margaret Thatcher]] in the [[10th G7 summit|London Summit of 1984]].

===U.S. knowledge of Iraqi chemical weapons use===

According to ''Foreign Policy'', the "Iraqis used mustard gas and [[sarin]] prior to four major offensives in early 1988 that relied on U.S. satellite imagery, maps, and other intelligence. ... According to recently declassified CIA documents and interviews with former intelligence officials like Francona, the U.S. had firm evidence of Iraqi chemical attacks beginning in 1983."<ref>{{cite news|title=Exclusive: CIA Files Prove America Helped Saddam as He Gassed Iran|url=https://foreignpolicy.com/2013/08/26/exclusive-cia-files-prove-america-helped-saddam-as-he-gassed-iran/|work=[[Foreign Policy]]|date=26 August 2013|access-date=1 January 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140915042349/http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2013/08/25/secret_cia_files_prove_america_helped_saddam_as_he_gassed_iran?page=0%2C2|archive-date=15 September 2014|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Iraqi attack on U.S. warship===
{{Main|USS Stark incident}}

[[File:USS Stark.jpg|thumb|[[USS Stark|USS ''Stark'']] listing following two hits by [[Exocet]] missiles|right]]

On 17 May 1987, an Iraqi [[Dassault Mirage F1]] fighter jet launched two [[Exocet|Exocet missiles]] at {{USS|Stark|FFG-31|6}}, a [[Oliver Hazard Perry class|''Perry'' class]] frigate.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://warisboring.com/in-1987-a-secret-iraqi-warplane-struck-an-american-frigate-and-killed-37-sailors-b341a948fa21#.av4l0q41w|archive-date=17 August 2016|archive-url=http://webarchive.loc.gov/all/20160817044851/https://warisboring.com/in%2D1987%2Da%2Dsecret%2Diraqi%2Dwarplane%2Dstruck%2Dan%2Damerican%2Dfrigate%2Dand%2Dkilled%2D37%2Dsailors%2Db341a948fa21#.av4l0q41w|url-status=dead|title=In 1987, a Secret Iraqi Warplane Struck an American Frigate and Killed 37 Sailors|first=War Is|last=Boring|date=27 July 2016}}</ref> The first struck the port side of the ship and failed to explode, though it left burning propellant in its wake; the second struck moments later in approximately the same place and penetrated through to crew quarters, where it exploded, killing 37 crewmen and injuring 21. Whether or not Iraqi leadership authorised the attack is still unknown. Initial claims by the Iraqi government that ''Stark'' was inside the Iran–Iraq War zone were shown to be false, and the motives and orders of the pilot remain unanswered.<ref name=fisk05/>

Though American officials claimed that the pilot who attacked ''Stark'' had been executed, an ex-Iraqi Air Force commander since stated he had not been punished, and was still alive at the time.<ref name=fisk05>{{cite book|last=Fisk|first=Robert|title=The Great War for Civilisation: The Conquest of the Middle East|url=https://archive.org/details/greatwarforcivil00fisk_0|url-access=registration|year=2005|publisher=Alfred A. Knopf|isbn=1-84115-007-X|location=New York|author-link=Robert Fisk}}</ref> The attack remains the only successful anti-ship missile strike on an American warship.<ref name="ROE">{{Cite journal|journal=Military Law Review|volume=143|date=Winter 1994|title=Rules of Engagement for Land Forces: A Matter of Training, Not Lawyering|first=Mark S.|last=Martins|pages=43–46|url=https://www.loc.gov/rr/frd/Military_Law/Military_Law_Review/pdf-files/27687D~1.pdf|access-date=29 December 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171011172209/http://www.loc.gov/rr/frd/Military_Law/Military_Law_Review/pdf-files/27687D~1.pdf|archive-date=11 October 2017|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="NoHigher61">{{Cite book|title=No Higher Honor: Saving the USS Samuel B. Roberts in the Persian Gulf|pages=61–63|first=Bradley|last=Peniston|publisher=Naval Institute Press|isbn=1-59114-661-5|url=http://www.navybook.com/nohigherhonor/pic-stark.shtml|location=Persian Gulf|year=2006|access-date=4 June 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120622121924/http://www.navybook.com/nohigherhonor/pic-stark.shtml|archive-date=22 June 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref> Due to the extensive political and military cooperation between the Iraqis and Americans by 1987, the attack had little effect on relations between the two countries.

===U.S. military actions toward Iran===

U.S. attention was focused on isolating Iran as well as maintaining [[freedom of navigation]]. It criticised Iran's mining of international waters, and sponsored [[s:United Nations Security Council Resolution 598|UN Security Council Resolution 598]], which passed unanimously on 20 July, under which the U.S. and Iranian forces skirmished during [[Operation Earnest Will]]. During [[Operation Nimble Archer]] in October 1987, the United States attacked Iranian oil platforms in retaliation for an Iranian attack on the U.S.-flagged Kuwaiti tanker ''[[MV Sea Isle City|Sea Isle City]]''.<ref name=kelley07 />

On 14 April 1988, the frigate {{USS|Samuel B. Roberts|FFG-58|6}} was badly damaged by an Iranian mine, and 10 sailors were wounded. U.S. forces responded with [[Operation Praying Mantis]] on 18 April, the U.S. Navy's largest engagement of surface warships since World War II. Two Iranian oil platforms were destroyed, and five Iranian warships and gunboats were sunk. An American helicopter also crashed.<ref name=kelley07 />

====Iran Air Flight 655====
In the course of escorts by the U.S. Navy, the cruiser {{USS|Vincennes|CG-49|6}} shot down [[Iran Air Flight 655]] on 3 July 1988, killing all 290 passengers and crew on board. The American government claimed that ''Vincennes'' was in international waters at the time (which was later proven to be untrue), that the [[Airbus A300]] had been mistaken for an Iranian [[F-14 Tomcat]], and that ''Vincennes'' feared that she was under attack.<ref name=fisk05 />{{rp|260–273|date=November 2012}}<ref name="ROE" /> The Iranians maintain that ''Vincennes'' was in their own waters, and that the passenger jet was turning away and increasing altitude after take-off. U.S. Admiral [[William J. Crowe]] later admitted on ''[[Nightline (U.S. news program)|Nightline]]'' that ''Vincennes'' was in Iranian territorial waters when it launched the missiles. At the time of the attack, Admiral Crowe claimed that the Iranian plane did not identify itself and sent no response to warning signals he had sent. In 1996, the United States expressed their regret for the event and the civilian deaths it caused.<ref name="AggrPolitics" /><ref name="ROE" />

==Iraq's use of chemical weapons==
{{Main|Iraqi chemical attacks against Iran}}
{{See also|Halabja chemical attack|Iraqi chemical weapons programme|Second Battle of al-Faw}}
{|  style="text-align:center; float:right; font-size:85%; margin-left:2em;"  class="wikitable"
|-
|+ Usage of chemical weapons by Iraq against Iran<ref>{{Citation|first1=Hamid Reza|last1=Qasemi|title=Eradicating Terrorism from the Middle East|series=Policy and Administrative Approaches|chapter=Chapter 12: Iran and Its Policy Against Terrorism|volume=17|editor=Alexander R. Dawoody|isbn=978-3-319-31018-3|doi=10.1007/978-3-319-31018-3|year=2016|publisher=Springer International Publishing Switzerland|page=210}}</ref>
! rowspan=2|Year
! rowspan=2|Number of usage
! colspan=4|Chemical agent used
! colspan=2|Casualties*
|-
! {{small|[[Sulfur mustard|Mustard]]}}
! {{small|[[Nerve agent|Nerve]]}}
! {{small|[[Blood agent|Blood]]}}
! {{small|[[Pulmonary agent|Choking]]}}
! Killed
! Injured
|-
|1980||4||rowspan=9|Yes||rowspan=4 colspan=3 {{n/a}}||20||1
|-
|1981||6||101||{{unknown}}
|-
|1982||12||rowspan=2 colspan=2 {{unknown}}
|-
|1983||64
|-
|1984||{{unknown}}||rowspan=5|Yes||rowspan=5|Yes||rowspan=5|Yes||40||2,225
|-
|1985||76||77||11,644
|-
|1986||102||102||4,720
|-
|1987||43||442||9,440
|-
|1988||34||colspan=2 {{unknown}}
|-
| colspan=8 | <small>* The actual casualties may be much higher, as the [[latency period]] is as long as 40 years.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://world.time.com/2014/01/20/iran-still-haunted-and-influenced-by-chemical-weapons-attacks/|title=Iran Still Haunted and Influenced By Chemical Weapons Attacks|last=Wright|first=Robin|date=20 January 2014|magazine=Time|access-date=2017-09-30|issn=0040-781X|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180613203450/http://world.time.com/2014/01/20/iran-still-haunted-and-influenced-by-chemical-weapons-attacks/|archive-date=13 June 2018|url-status=live}}</ref></small>
|}
In a declassified 1991 report, the CIA estimated that Iran had suffered more than 50,000 casualties from Iraq's use of several chemical weapons,<ref name=wright08>{{cite book|last=Wright|first=Robin|title=Dreams and Shadows: The Future of the Middle East|url=https://archive.org/details/dreamsshadowsfut00wrig|url-access=registration|year=2008|publisher=Penguin Press|location=New York|isbn=978-1-59420-111-0|page=[https://archive.org/details/dreamsshadowsfut00wrig/page/438 438]}}</ref> though current estimates are more than 100,000 as the long-term effects continue to cause casualties.<ref name=AggrPolitics /><ref name=bryant07>{{cite book|last=Bryant|first=Terry|title=History's Greatest War|year=2007|publisher=Global Media|location=Chandni Chowk, Delhi|isbn=978-8189940638|edition=1st}}</ref> The official CIA estimate did not include the civilian population contaminated in bordering towns or the children and relatives of veterans, many of whom have developed blood, lung and skin complications, according to the Organization for [[Disabled Iranian veterans|Veterans of Iran]]. According to a 2002 article in the ''[[Star-Ledger]]'', 20,000 Iranian soldiers were killed on the spot by nerve gas. As of 2002, 5,000 of the 80,000 survivors continue to seek regular medical treatment, while 1,000 are hospital inpatients.<ref>{{cite journal|url=http://www.nj.com/specialprojects/index.ssf?/specialprojects/mideaststories/me1209.html|journal=New Jersey Star-Ledger|title=In Iran, grim reminders of Saddam's arsenal|date=27 October 2002|last=Fassihi|first=Farnaz|access-date=10 January 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071213061050/http://www.nj.com/specialprojects/index.ssf?%2Fspecialprojects%2Fmideaststories%2Fme1209.html|archive-date=13 December 2007|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="r1">Center for Documents of The Imposed War, Tehran. (مرکز مطالعات و تحقیقات جنگ){{full citation needed|date=November 2012}}</ref>

According to Iraqi documents, assistance in developing chemical weapons was obtained from firms in many countries, including the United States, West Germany, the [[Netherlands]], the United Kingdom, and France. A report stated that Dutch, Australian, Italian, French and both West and East German companies were involved in the export of raw materials to Iraqi chemical weapons factories.<ref>{{cite web|title=Iraqi Scientist Reports on German, Other Help for Iraq Chemical Weapons Program|url=https://fas.org/nuke/guide/iraq/cw/az120103.html|publisher=[[Federation of American Scientists]]|access-date=10 May 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190513085855/https://fas.org/nuke/guide/iraq/cw/az120103.html|archive-date=13 May 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> Declassified CIA documents show that the United States was providing reconnaissance intelligence to Iraq around 1987–88 which was then used to launch chemical weapon attacks on Iranian troops and that the CIA fully knew that chemical weapons would be deployed and [[sarin]] and [[cyclosarin]] attacks followed.<ref name=foreignpolicy.com_2013aug26>{{cite web|first1=Shane|last1=Harris|first2=Matthew M.|last2=Aid|title=Exclusive: CIA Files Prove America Helped Saddam as He Gassed Iran|date=26 August 2013|url=https://foreignpolicy.com/articles/2013/08/25/secret_cia_files_prove_america_helped_saddam_as_he_gassed_iran|publisher=[[ForeignPolicy.com]]|access-date=27 August 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130826210438/http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2013/08/25/secret_cia_files_prove_america_helped_saddam_as_he_gassed_iran|archive-date=26 August 2013|url-status=live}}</ref>

On 21 March 1986, the United Nations Security Council made a declaration stating that "members are profoundly concerned by the unanimous conclusion of the specialists that chemical weapons on many occasions have been used by Iraqi forces against Iranian troops, and the members of the Council strongly condemn this continued use of chemical weapons in clear violation of the Geneva Protocol of 1925, which prohibits the use in war of chemical weapons." The United States was the only member who voted against the issuance of this statement.<ref>{{cite report |url = http://www.securitycouncilreport.org/atf/cf/{65BFCF9B-6D27-4E9C-8CD3-CF6E4FF96FF9}/Disarm%20S17911.pdf |author=United Nations Security Council |publisher=Security Council Report |date=12 March 1986|title=Report of the mission dispatched by the Secretary-General to investigate allegations of the use of chemical weapons in the conflict between the Islamic Republic of Iran and Iraq S/17911}} S/17911 and Add. 1. Cited in {{cite web|url=http://www.casi.org.uk/info/usdocs/usiraq80s90s.html#fiftyone|title=U.S. Diplomatic and Commercial Relationships with Iraq, 1980 – 2 August 1990|last=Hurd|first=Nathaniel}}</ref>{{NoteTag|This was a "decision" rather than a resolution.}} A mission to the region in 1988 found evidence of the use of chemical weapons, and was condemned in [[United Nations Security Council Resolution 612|Security Council Resolution 612]].

[[File:Sardashtchemic.jpg|thumb|Victims of the 1987 chemical attack on [[Sardasht, West Azerbaijan]], Iran]]

According to [[W. Patrick Lang]], a senior defence intelligence officer at the U.S. [[Defense Intelligence Agency]], "the use of gas on the battlefield by the Iraqis was not a matter of deep strategic concern" to Reagan and his aides, because they "were desperate to make sure that Iraq did not lose". He claimed that the Defense Intelligence Agency "would have never accepted the use of chemical weapons against civilians, but the use against military objectives was seen as inevitable in the Iraqi struggle for survival".<ref name="Tyler New York Times" /> The Reagan administration did not stop aiding Iraq after receiving reports of the use of poison gas on Kurdish civilians.<ref name="Galbraith">{{cite report|first1=Peter W.|last1=Galbraith|first2=Christopher Jr.|last2=Van Hollen|title=Chemical Weapons Use in Kurdistan: Iraq's Final Offensive|series=Report to the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations|date=21 September 1988|page=30|url=http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/docid/47fdfb1b0.html|publisher=United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees|access-date=3 November 2012|archive-date=18 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191218033316/http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/docid/47fdfb1b0.html|url-status=live}}{{clarify|reason=url points someplace other than to the Galbraith / Van Holland report|date=January 2020}}</ref><ref name="NYT1988-09-15">{{cite news|first=Robert|last=Pear|title=U.S. Says It Monitored Iraqi Messages on Gas|newspaper=The New York Times|date=15 September 1988|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1988/09/15/world/us-says-it-monitored-iraqi-messages-on-gas.html|access-date=9 February 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180130025429/http://www.nytimes.com/1988/09/15/world/us-says-it-monitored-iraqi-messages-on-gas.html|archive-date=30 January 2018|url-status=live}}</ref>

The United States accused Iran of using chemical weapons as well,<ref name=fisk05 />{{rp|214|date=November 2012}} though the allegations have been disputed. [[Joost Hiltermann]], the principal researcher for [[Human Rights Watch]] between 1992 and 1994, conducted a two-year study that included a field investigation in Iraq, and obtained Iraqi government documents in the process. According to Hiltermann, the literature on the Iran–Iraq War reflects allegations of chemical weapons used by Iran, but they are "marred by a lack of specificity as to time and place, and the failure to provide any sort of evidence".<ref name="potter04">{{cite book|last1=Potter|first1=Lawrence|last2=Sick|first2=Gary|title=Iran, Iraq, and the legacies of war|year=2004|publisher=MacMillan|isbn=1-4039-6450-5}}</ref>{{rp|153|date=November 2012}}

Analysts [[Gary Sick]] and Lawrence Potter have called the allegations against Iran "mere assertions" and stated, "No persuasive evidence of the claim that Iran was the primary culprit [of using chemical weapons] was ever presented."<ref name="potter04" />{{rp|156|date=November 2012}} Policy consultant and author Joseph Tragert stated, "Iran did not retaliate with chemical weapons, probably because it did not possess any at the time".<ref name="Tragert">{{cite book|last=Tragert|first=Joseph|title=Understanding Iran|year=2003|isbn=1-59257-141-7|page=190|publisher=Alphan|location=Indianapolis, Indiana}}</ref> Documents uncovered after the [[2003 invasion of Iraq]] show that Iraqi military intelligence was not aware of any large-scale chemical attacks by Iranian forces, although a March 1987 document describes five small-scale chemical attacks perpetrated by the Iranians (four involving mustard gas and one involving [[phosgene]], with the likely source being captured Iraqi munitions), and there are also reports of Iranian use of tear gas and [[White phosphorus munitions|white phosphorus]].<ref>{{cite book|last1=Murray|first1=Williamson|last2=Woods|first2=Kevin M.|title=The Iran–Iraq War, A Military and Strategic History|chapter=Introduction|publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]]|year=2014|isbn=9781107062290|page=2}}</ref>

At his trial in December 2006, Saddam said he would take responsibility "with honour" for any attacks on Iran using conventional or chemical weapons during the war, but that he took issue with the charges that he ordered attacks on Iraqis.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,20867,20950607-1702,00.html|title=Saddam admits Iran gas attacks|newspaper=The Australian|first=Ahmed|last=Rasheed|date=19 December 2006|access-date=18 December 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070527021050/http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,20867,20950607-1702,00.html|archive-date=27 May 2007|url-status=dead}}</ref> A medical analysis of the effects of Iraqi mustard gas is described in a U.S. military textbook and contrasted effects of World War I gas.<ref name="MMCC07">{{cite book|title=Medical Aspects of Chemical and Biological Warfare|publisher=Office of The Surgeon General, Department of the Army, United States of America|chapter-url=http://www.sc-ems.com/ems/NuclearBiologicalChemical/MedicalAspectsofNBC/chapters/chapter_7.htm|chapter=Chapter 7: Vesicants|first1=Frederick R.|last1=Sidell|first2=John S.|last2=Urbanetti|first3=William J.|last3=Smith|first4=Charles G.|last4=Hurst|access-date=17 January 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060112201608/http://sc-ems.com/ems/NuclearBiologicalChemical/MedicalAspectsofNBC/chapters/chapter_7.htm|archive-date=12 January 2006|url-status=dead}}</ref>

At the time of the conflict, the [[United Nations Security Council]] issued statements that "chemical weapons had been used in the war". UN statements never clarified that only Iraq was using chemical weapons, and according to retrospective authors "the international community remained silent as Iraq used weapons of mass destruction against Iranian[s] as well as Iraqi Kurds."<ref>{{cite encyclopedia|url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/iraq-vii-iran-iraq-war|title=Iraq vii. Iran–Iraq War|encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Iranica|date=15 December 2006|access-date=8 February 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170913183529/http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/iraq-vii-iran-iraq-war|archive-date=13 September 2017|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.globalpolicy.org/component/content/article/169/36403.html|title=America Didn't Seem to Mind Poison Gas|first=Joost|last=Hiltermann|work=Global Policy Forum|date=17 January 2003|access-date=18 January 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160310223249/https://www.globalpolicy.org/component/content/article/169/36403.html|archive-date=10 March 2016|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=iranchamber-armingiraq>{{cite web|url=http://www.iranchamber.com/history/articles/arming_iraq.php|title=Arming Iraq and the Path to War|first=John|last=King|publisher=U.N. Observer & International Report|date=31 March 2003|access-date=6 January 2005|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170918203103/http://www.iranchamber.com/history/articles/arming_iraq.php|archive-date=18 September 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref> A 1987 UN report conducted at the behest of both belligerents discovered weapon fragments that established Iraqi responsibility for chemical attacks on Iranian soldiers and civilians, but could not substantiate Iraq's allegations of Iranian chemical weapons use: "Iraqi forces have been affected by mustard gas and a pulmonary element, possibly phosgene. In the absence of conclusive evidence of the weapons used, it could not be determined how the injuries were caused."<ref name="Hiltermann 2007 165–166, 170–172">{{cite book|author-link=Joost Hiltermann|last=Hiltermann|first=Joost R.|title=A Poisonous Affair: America, Iraq, and the Gassing of Halabja|publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]]|year=2007|isbn=9780521876865|pages=165–166, 170–172}}</ref>

Evidence suggests that these Iraqi chemical casualties were likely the result of "blowback", whereas the evidence that Iraq submitted to the UN—such as two Iranian 130&nbsp;mm shells that UN specialists found had "no internal chemical-resistant coating" and were "normally used for filling with high explosives"—did not withstand scrutiny; UN official [[Iqbal Riza]] later acknowledged that Iraq's evidence was "clearly fabricated". However, the report's phrasing—"chemical weapons were again used against Iranian forces by Iraqi forces&nbsp;... now also Iraqi forces have sustained injuries from chemical warfare"—contributed to an erroneous perception that Iran and Iraq were equally at fault.<ref name="Hiltermann 2007 165–166, 170–172"/>

In response to further Iraqi chemical attacks on Kurdish civilians after the August 1988 ceasefire with Iran, United States senators [[Claiborne Pell]] and [[Jesse Helms]] called for comprehensive [[Economic sanctions|economic]] [[International sanctions|sanctions]] against Iraq, including an oil embargo and severe limitations on the export of dual-use technology. Although the ensuing legislation passed in the U.S. Senate, it faced strong opposition within the House of Representatives and did not become law. In a rare rebuke, Secretary of State [[George Shultz]] condemned Iraq's "unjustified and abhorrent" chemical attacks, which Shultz's assistant [[Charles E. Redman]] characterised as "unacceptable to the civilized world". Even after these pronouncements, however, the State Department advised against sanctions.<ref>{{cite book|author-link=Elaine Sciolino|last=Sciolino|first=Elaine|title=The Outlaw State: Saddam Hussein's Quest for Power and the Gulf Crisis|publisher=[[Wiley (publisher)|John Wiley & Sons]]|year=1991|isbn=9780471542995|page=[https://archive.org/details/outlawstate00elai/page/171 171]}}</ref>

=={{anchor|Distinctions and peculiarity}} Comparison to other conflicts==
<!--Anchor is to protect links to old section name-->

{{Events leading to the Iraq War}}
[[Bruce Riedel]] describes the Iran–Iraq War as "one of the largest and longest conventional interstate wars" of the twentieth century and "the only war in modern times in which chemical weapons were used on a massive scale".<ref name="Riedel"/> [[Kanan Makiya]] writes that "there has not been anything like it in the long history of Iraqi–Iranian relations, just like there had been nothing like World War I in the history of Europe."<ref>{{cite book|author-link=Kanan Makiya|last=Makiya|first=Kanan|title=Republic of Fear: The Politics of Modern Iraq|edition=Updated|url=https://archive.org/details/republicoffearpo00maki|url-access=registration|publisher=[[University of California Press]]|year=1998|isbn=9780520921245|page=[https://archive.org/details/republicoffearpo00maki/page/261 261]}}</ref>

[[Operation Scorch Sword|Iran's attack]] on the ''[[Osirak]]'' nuclear reactor in September 1980 was the first attack on a [[nuclear reactor]] and one of only a small handful of [[vulnerability of nuclear plants to attack|military attacks on nuclear facilities]] in history. It was also the first instance of a [[preemptive war|pre-emptive]] attack on a nuclear reactor to forestall the development of a [[nuclear weapon]], though it did not achieve its objective, as France repaired the reactor after the attack.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=52412|title=Iran: Eyes on the Skies Over Bushehr Nuclear Reactor|last=Cohen|first=Marsha|newspaper=Inter Press Service News Agency|date=6 August 2010|access-date=2 August 2011|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110807121348/http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=52412|archive-date=7 August 2011}}</ref> (It took [[Operation Opera|a second pre-emptive strike]] by the [[Israeli Air Force]] in June 1981 to disable the reactor, killing a French engineer in the process and causing France to pull out of ''Osirak''. The decommissioning of ''Osirak'' has been cited as causing a substantial delay to Iraqi acquisition of nuclear weapons.<ref name="schneider_mcnair41">{{cite book|chapter-url=https://digitalndulibrary.ndu.edu/u?/ndupress,6475|title=Radical Responses to Radical Regimes: Evaluating Preemptive Counter-Proliferation|series=McNair Paper|date=1980|publisher=National Defense University Library|access-date=2 August 2011|chapter=Iran Attacks an Iraqi Nuclear Reactor|last=Schneider|first=Barry|issue=41}}{{dead link|date=April 2025|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://fas.org/nuke/guide/iraq/facility/osiraq.htm|title=Osiraq: Iraq Special Weapons Facilities|publisher=Federation of American Scientists|access-date=2 August 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090901175613/http://www.fas.org/nuke/guide/iraq/facility/osiraq.htm|archive-date=1 September 2009|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="reiter05">{{cite journal|url=http://www.diplomatie.gouv.fr/fr/IMG/pdf/Osirak.pdf|title=Preventive Attacks Against Nuclear Programs and the "Success" at Osiraq"|doi=10.1080/10736700500379008|series=Viewpoint|last=Reiter|first=Dan|issn=1746-1766|date=July 2005|publisher=The Monterey Institute of International Studies, Center for Nonproliferation Studies|journal=Nonproliferation Review|volume=12|issue=2|pages=355–371|s2cid=144450978|access-date=3 November 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121002083323/http://www.diplomatie.gouv.fr/fr/IMG/pdf/Osirak.pdf|archive-date=2 October 2012|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=rass07>{{cite journal|url=http://belfercenter.ksg.harvard.edu/files/is3104_pp007-033_raas_long.pdf|title=Osirak Redux? Assessing Israeli Capabilities to Destroy Iranian Nuclear Facilities|last1=Raas|first1=Whitney|last2=Long|first2=Austin|publisher=Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs|journal=International Security|volume=31|date=Spring 2007|pages=7–33|issue=4|doi=10.1162/isec.2007.31.4.7|s2cid=57560777|access-date=6 November 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120706112857/http://belfercenter.ksg.harvard.edu/files/is3104_pp007-033_raas_long.pdf|archive-date=6 July 2012|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://airtoair.blogfa.com/post-18.aspx|script-title=fa:پايگاه هشتم شكاري|publisher=Airtoair|access-date=2 August 2011|language=fa|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110708020616/http://airtoair.blogfa.com/post-18.aspx|archive-date=8 July 2011|url-status=dead}}</ref>)

The Iran–Iraq War was the first conflict in the history of warfare in which both forces used [[ballistic missile]]s against each other.<ref name="schneider_mcnair41" /> This war also saw the only confirmed air-to-air helicopter battles in history with the Iraqi [[Mi-25]]s flying against Iranian [[Bell AH-1 SuperCobra|AH-1J SeaCobras]] (supplied by the United States before the [[Iranian revolution]]) on several separate occasions. In November 1980, not long after Iraq's initial invasion of Iran, two Iranian SeaCobras engaged two Mi-25s with [[BGM-71 TOW|TOW]] wire-guided antitank missiles. One Mi-25 went down immediately, the other was badly damaged and crashed before reaching base.<ref name=vert /><ref name="greg" />

The Iranians repeated this accomplishment on 24 April 1981, destroying two Mi-25s without incurring losses to themselves.<ref name=vert /> One Mi-25 was also downed by an Iranian [[F-14A Tomcat]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.acig.info/CMS/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=63&Itemid=62|title=I Persian Gulf War: Iraqi Invasion of Iran, September 1980|access-date=10 April 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160808125733/http://www.acig.info/CMS/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=63&Itemid=62|archive-date=8 August 2016|url-status=live}}</ref> The Iraqis hit back, claiming the destruction of a SeaCobra on 14 September 1983 (with YaKB machine gun), then three SeaCobras on 5 February 1984<ref name="greg">{{cite web|url=http://www.airvectors.net/avhind_2.html|title=Hind in Foreign Service / Hind Upgrades / Mi-28 Havoc|date=16 September 2012|work=The Mil Mi-24 Hind & Mi-28 Havoc|first=Greg|last=Goebel|access-date=16 September 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131113105640/http://www.airvectors.net/avhind_2.html|archive-date=13 November 2013|url-status=live}}</ref> and three more on 25 February 1984 (two with Falanga missiles, one with S-5 rockets).<ref name=vert /> After a lull in helicopter losses, each side lost a gunship on 13 February 1986.<ref name=vert>Yakubovich, Nikolay. ''Boevye vertolety Rossii. Ot "Omegi" do "Alligatora"'' (Russia's combat helicopters. From Omega to Alligator). Moscow, Yuza & Eksmo, 2010, {{ISBN|978-5-699-41797-1}}, pp. 164–173.</ref> Later, a Mi-25 claimed a SeaCobra shot down with YaKB gun on 16 February, and a SeaCobra claimed a Mi-25 shot down with rockets on 18 February.<ref name=vert />

The last engagement between the two types was on 22 May 1986, when Mi-25s shot down a SeaCobra. The final claim tally was 10 SeaCobras and 6 Mi-25s destroyed. The relatively small numbers and the inevitable disputes over actual kill numbers make it unclear if one gunship had a real technical superiority over the other. Iraqi Mi-25s also claimed 43 kills against other Iranian helicopters, such as [[UH-1 Iroquois|Agusta-Bell UH-1 Hueys]].<ref name="greg" /> Both sides, especially Iraq, also carried out air and missile attacks against population centres.

In October 1986, Iraqi aircraft began to attack civilian passenger trains and aircraft on Iranian soil, including an [[Iran Air]] Boeing 737 unloading passengers at [[Shiraz International Airport]].<ref name="r1" /> In retaliation for the Iranian Operation Karbala 5, Iraq attacked 65 cities in 226 sorties over 42 days, bombing civilian neighbourhoods. Eight Iranian cities came under attack from Iraqi missiles. The bombings killed 65 children in an elementary school in [[Borujerd]]. The Iranians responded with Scud missile attacks on Baghdad and struck a primary school there. These events became known as the ''war of the cities''.<ref name="AggrPolitics" />

The war of the cities resumed and peaked in 1988, when Iraq dropped 40 tons of high explosives on Tehran using modified Scud missiles (dubbed "al-Husayn" missiles) over seven weeks, causing panic among civilians and prompting almost 1 million residents of Tehran to temporarily flee their homes. Nevertheless, scholars have noted that this still "ranks as one of the smallest strategic bombing campaigns in history", paling in comparison to [[strategic bombing during World War II]], which saw 1.2 million tons of bombs dropped on German cities in 1944 alone, or more recent events such as the [[Operation Linebacker II|so-called "Christmas bombings"]] of [[North Vietnam]], which saw 20,000 tons of bombs dropped on [[Hanoi]] and [[Haiphong]] in a mere eleven days. In total, 10,000–11,000 civilians died as a result of the aerial bombardment of Iranian cities with the majority of those deaths occurring in the final year of the war.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Murray|first1=Williamson|last2=Woods|first2=Kevin M.|title=The Iran–Iraq War, A Military and Strategic History|chapter=1987–1988: An end in sight?|publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]]|year=2014|isbn=978-1107062290|pages=330–331 (e-book, page numbers approximate)}}</ref>

Despite the war, Iran and Iraq maintained diplomatic relations and embassies in each other's countries until mid-1987.<ref name="Cooper Blinders" />

Iran's government used human waves to attack enemy troops and even in some cases to clear minefields. Children volunteered as well. Some reports mistakenly have the Basijis marching into battle while marking their expected entry to heaven by wearing "[[Plastic Keys to Paradise]]" around their necks, although other analysts regard this story as a hoax involving a misinterpretation of the carrying of a prayer book called "The Keys to Paradise"([[Mafatih al-Janan]]) by Sheikh Abbas Qumi given to all volunteers.<ref name="moin" />

According to journalist Robin Wright:

<blockquote>During the Fateh offensive in February 1987, I toured the southwest front on the Iranian side and saw scores of boys, aged anywhere from nine to sixteen, who said with staggering and seemingly genuine enthusiasm that they had volunteered to become martyrs. Regular army troops, the paramilitary Revolutionary Guards and [[mullah]]s all lauded these youths, known as baseeji [Basij], for having played the most dangerous role in breaking through Iraqi lines. They had led the way, running over fields of mines to clear the ground for the Iranian ground assault. Wearing white headbands to signify the embracing of death, and shouting "[[Shahid|Shaheed]], shaheed" (Martyr, martyr) they literally blew their way into heaven. Their numbers were never disclosed. But a walk through the residential suburbs of Iranian cities provided a clue. Window after window, block after block, displayed black-bordered photographs of teenage or preteen youths.<ref>{{cite book|last=Wright|first=Robin|title=Sacred Rage: The Wrath of Militant Islam|year=2001|publisher=Simon & Schuster|location=New York|isbn=978-0-7432-3342-2|edition=Updated|page=[https://archive.org/details/sacredragewratho00wrig_0/page/37 37]|url=https://archive.org/details/sacredragewratho00wrig_0/page/37}}</ref></blockquote>

== Iran and Iraq's modern relationship ==
The relationship between Iraq and Iran has warmed immensely since the downfall of Saddam Hussein, out of mostly pragmatic interests, as they share a common enemy in the Islamic State. Significant military assistance has been provided by Iran to Iraq, resulting in Iran holding a large amount of political influence in Iraq's newly elected Shia government. Iraq is also heavily dependent on the relatively more stable and developed Iran for its energy needs, so a stable Iraq is an interest for Iran, foreign policy wise.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.newsweek.com/iran-iraq-war-allies-us-between-1077536|title=Iran–Iraq War, 30 Years Later: From Foes to Allies with U.S. In Between|website=[[Newsweek]]|date=20 August 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181031091207/https://www.newsweek.com/iran-iraq-war-allies-us-between-1077536|archive-date=31 October 2018|url-status=live}}</ref>

[[File:Mosque damage.JPG|thumb|Damage to a mosque in Khoramshahr, Iran, the city that was invaded by Iraq in September 1980|upright|right]]

The Iran–Iraq War is regarded as being a major trigger for rising sectarianism in the region, as it was viewed by many as a clash between Sunni Muslims<ref>{{Cite web|last=Review|first=Catholic|date=2012-01-19|title=Iraqi Christians were safer under Saddam|url=https://www.archbalt.org/iraqi-christians-were-safer-under-saddam/|access-date=2022-08-15|website=Archdiocese of Baltimore|language=en-US|archive-date=5 July 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220705053332/https://www.archbalt.org/iraqi-christians-were-safer-under-saddam/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Iraqi Christians want a stronger state and weaker militias – opinion|url=https://www.jpost.com/opinion/article-704986|access-date=2022-08-15|website=The Jerusalem Post |date=24 April 2022|language=en-US|archive-date=15 August 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220815045824/https://www.jpost.com/opinion/article-704986|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|date=2010-11-01|title=Iraqi Christians' long history|language=en-GB|publisher=BBC News|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-11669994|access-date=2022-08-15|archive-date=2 June 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210602094242/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-11669994|url-status=live}}</ref> (Ba'athist Iraq and other Arab states) and the Shia revolutionaries that had recently taken power in Iran.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/iransource/reflecting-on-the-iran-iraq-war-thirty-years-later|title=Reflecting on the Iran–Iraq War, Thirty Years Later|last=Faily|first=Lukman|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181031134536/http://www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/iransource/reflecting-on-the-iran-iraq-war-thirty-years-later|archive-date=2018-10-31|url-status=dead}}</ref> There remains lingering animosity however despite the pragmatic alliance that has been formed as multiple government declarations from Iran have stated that the war will "affect every issue of internal and foreign policy" for decades to come.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal|last=Tabatabai|first=Arianne|s2cid=57559579|date=Summer 2017|title=What the Iran–Iraq War Tells Us about the Future of the Iran Nuclear Deal|journal=International Security|volume=42|pages=152–185|doi=10.1162/ISEC_a_00286|via=EBSCO host}}</ref>

The sustained importance of this conflict is attributed mostly to its massive human and economic cost, along with its ties to the Iranian Revolution.<ref name=":0" /> Another significant effect that the war has on Iran's policy is the issue of remaining war reparations. In 2004, the UN estimated that Iraq owed about $149&nbsp;billion, while Iran contended that, with both the direct and indirect effects taken into account, the cost of the war reached $1&nbsp;trillion.<ref name=":1">{{cite journal|last=Barzegar|first=Kayhan|year=2004|title=The New Iraqi Challenge to Iran|journal=The Iranian Hub}}</ref>

Iran has not vocalised the desire for these reparations in recent years, and has even suggested forms of financial aid.<ref name=":1" /> This is due most likely to Iran's interest in keeping Iraq politically stable, and imposing these reparation costs would further burden the already impoverished nation. The most important factor that governs Iraq's current foreign policy is the national government's consistent fragility following the overthrow of Saddam Hussein. Iraq's need for any and all allies that can help bring stability and bring development has allowed Iran to exert significant influence over the new Iraqi state despite lingering memories of the war.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Takeyh|first=Ray|s2cid=144891295|date=Summer 2010|title=The Iran–Iraq War: A Reassessment|journal=The Middle East Journal|volume=64|issue=3|pages=365–383|doi=10.3751/64.3.12}}</ref>

Currently, Iraq is between two opposing interests, one with Iran, who can provide a reliable source of power as well as military support to the influential Shia militias and political factions, and the other with the United States, who can offer Iraq significant economic aid packages, along with military support in the form of air and artillery strikes. If Iraq is seen to be pulled too far into one side's orbit, then the benefits offered to them by the other side will likely be gradually reduced or cut off completely. Another significant factor influencing relations is the shared cultural interests of Iraq and Iran's citizens to freely visit the multitude of holy sites located in each country.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Barzegar|first=Kayhan|title=Iran's Foreign Policy in Post-Invasion Iraq|date=Winter 2008|journal=Middle East Policy|volume=15|issue=4|pages=47–58|doi=10.1111/j.1475-4967.2008.00368.x}}</ref>

==Legacy and memory==
{{Main|Legacy and memory of the Iran–Iraq War}}
[[File:Mother of martyr.jpg|thumb|An Iranian mother mourning her son in a military cemetery. [[Isfahan]], 2011.]]
The war is known in Iran as the {{Transliteration|fa|Defā-e Moqaddas}} ("Sacred Defence") and the ''{{transliteration|fa|Jang-e Tahmili}}'' ("the Imposed War").{{Sfn|Khosronejad|2013|p=3}}<ref name="Riedel" /> The war is known in the Arab world and a few other regions as the ''First Gulf War'' ({{langx|ar|حرب الخليج الأولى}}). That name, or simply the 'Gulf War', was used by [[Western media|Western sources]] also, until it was used to refer to the conflict between the [[Gulf War|American-led coalition and Iraq in 1991]]. The Iran–Iraq War was rarely referred to as the ''Persian Gulf War'' until the [[Gulf War|1990–1991 Persian Gulf War]], after which the previous war was dubbed the ''First Persian Gulf War''.<ref name="britannica.com">{{Cite web|title=Iraq War {{!}} Summary, Causes, Combatants, & Facts|url=https://www.britannica.com/event/Iraq-War|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190121065735/https://www.britannica.com/event/Iraq-War|archive-date=21 January 2019|access-date=2019-01-20|website=Encyclopædia Britannica}}</ref>

Besides the Iran–Iraq war, the 1990 Iraq–Kuwait conflict, as well as The [[Iraq War]] from 2003 to 2011 have all been called the ''Second Persian Gulf War''.<ref name="britannica.com"/> State media in Iraq [[Modern usage of al-Qādisiyyah|dubbed the war ''Saddam's Qadisiyyah'']] ({{lang|ar|قادسية صدام}}, ''{{transliteration|ar|Qādisiyyat Ṣaddām}}''), in reference to the seventh-century [[Battle of al-Qādisiyyah]], in which [[Arabs|Arab]] warriors overcame the [[Sasanian Empire]] during the [[Muslim conquest of Iran]].<ref name="lewental01">{{cite journal|last=Lewental|first=D. Gershon|date=November 2014|title='Saddam's Qadisiyyah': Religion and history in the service of state ideology in Baʿthi Iraq|journal=Middle Eastern Studies|publisher=Taylor & Francis|volume=50|issue=6|pages=891–910|doi=10.1080/00263206.2013.870899|s2cid=143904965}}</ref>

"[[We are armed with Allahu Akbar]]", the 1979 Iranian Islamic revolutionary military march song performed by IRGC troops in front of Ayatollah Khomeini in [[Jamaran Hussainiya|Jamaran]] Husinie, made a cultural impact during the war.<ref>{{Cite news|date=2021-03-05|title=سرودی حماسی که به تیتراژ "خبر" تبدیل شد/ ما مسلح به "الله اکبر"یم – خبرگزاری مهر {{!}} اخبار ایران و جهان {{!}} Mehr News Agency|newspaper=خبرگزاری مهر {{pipe}} اخبار ایران و جهان {{pipe}} Mehr News Agency|url=https://www.mehrnews.com/news/4885258/%D8%B3%D8%B1%D9%88%D8%AF%DB%8C-%D8%AD%D9%85%D8%A7%D8%B3%DB%8C-%DA%A9%D9%87-%D8%A8%D9%87-%D8%AA%DB%8C%D8%AA%D8%B1%D8%A7%DA%98-%D8%AE%D8%A8%D8%B1-%D8%AA%D8%A8%D8%AF%DB%8C%D9%84-%D8%B4%D8%AF-%D9%85%D8%A7-%D9%85%D8%B3%D9%84%D8%AD-%D8%A8%D9%87-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%84%D9%87-%D8%A7%DA%A9%D8%A8%D8%B1-%DB%8C%D9%85|access-date=2022-01-20|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210305070357/https://www.mehrnews.com/news/4885258/%D8%B3%D8%B1%D9%88%D8%AF%DB%8C-%D8%AD%D9%85%D8%A7%D8%B3%DB%8C-%DA%A9%D9%87-%D8%A8%D9%87-%D8%AA%DB%8C%D8%AA%D8%B1%D8%A7%DA%98-%D8%AE%D8%A8%D8%B1-%D8%AA%D8%A8%D8%AF%DB%8C%D9%84-%D8%B4%D8%AF-%D9%85%D8%A7-%D9%85%D8%B3%D9%84%D8%AD-%D8%A8%D9%87-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%84%D9%87-%D8%A7%DA%A9%D8%A8%D8%B1-%DB%8C%D9%85|archive-date=2021-03-05|language=fa}}</ref>

== See also ==
{{Portal|Iran|Iraq|Middle East}}
{{columns-list|colwidth=25em|
* [[Arms-to-Iraq affair]]
* [[Iraq–United States relations]]
* [[Iran–Contra affair]]
* [[Iran–Iraq border]]
* [[Iran–Iraq relations]]
* [[Iran–Saudi Arabia proxy conflict]]
* [[Iran–United States relations]]
* [[United States support for Iraq during the Iran–Iraq War]]
* [[Military history of Iran]]
* [[Military history of Iraq]]
* [[Disabled Iranian veterans]]
* [[Iranian involvement in the Iraq War]]
* [[Israel in the Iran–Iraq War]]
* [[Operation Opera|Operation Babylon]]
* [[Rahian-e Noor]]
* [[Reagan Doctrine]]
* [[Women in the Iran–Iraq War]]
* [[List of extensive Iranian ground operations in the Iran-Iraq war]]
* [[List of Iranian commanders in the Iran–Iraq War]]
* [[List of wars involving Iran]]
* [[List of wars involving Iraq]]
}}

===Notable Iranian veterans===

{{columns-list|colwidth=25em|
*[[Abbas Ka'bi]]
*[[Abbas Mohtaj]]
*[[Abdolrahim Mousavi]]
*{{ill|Abu al-Fazl Hassan Baygi|fa|ابوالفضل حسن‌بیگی}}
*[[Ahmad Kazemi]]
*[[Ahmad Meyghani]]
*[[Ahmad Reza Pourdastan]]
*[[Ahmad Salek]]
*[[Ali Abdollahi]]
*[[Ali Akbar Ahmadian]]
*[[Ali Fadavi]]
*{{ill|Ali Mohammad Bozorgvari|fa|سید علی‌محمد بزرگواری}}
*[[Ali Sayad Shirazi]]
*[[Ali Shamkhani]]
*[[Alireza Afshar]]
*[[Alireza Sabahifard]]
*[[Alireza Tangsiri]]
*[[Amir Ali Hajizadeh]]
*[[Ataollah Salehi]]
*[[Bahram Hooshyar]]
*[[Bijan Najdi]]
*[[Esmaeil Kousari]]
*[[Esmail Qaani]]
*[[Farzad Esmaili]]
*[[Gholam Ali Jafarzadeh]]
*[[Gholam Ali Rashid]]
*[[Gholamhossein Gheybparvar]]
*[[Habibollah Sayyari]]
*[[Hamid Chitchian]]
*[[Hamid Taqavi]]
*[[Hassan Firouzabadi]]
*[[Hassan Ghazizadeh Hashemi]]
*[[Hassan Hassanzadeh Amoli]]
*[[Hassan Shateri]]
*[[Hooshang Samadi]]
*[[Hossein Alaei]]
*[[Hossein Allahkaram]]
*[[Hossein Dehghan]]
*[[Hossein Hamadani]]
*[[Hossein Hassani Sa'di]]
*[[Hossein Lashkari]]
*[[Hossein Nejat]]
*[[Hossein Salami]]
*[[Kavous Seyed-Emami]]
*{{ill|Kazim Mousavi|fa|سید کاظم موسوی}}
*[[Kioumars Heydari]]
*[[Mansour Haghdoust]]
*[[Mansour Sattari]]
*[[Mehdi Khazali]]
*[[Mohammad Ali Allahdadi]]
*[[Mohammad Ali Jafari]]
*[[Mohammad-Ali Rahmani]]
*[[Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf]]
*[[Mohammad Forouzandeh]]
*[[Mohammad-Hassan Nami]]
*[[Mohammad Hejazi]]
*{{ill|Mohammad Hussayn Ahmadi Shahroudi|fa|محمدحسین احمدی شاهرودی}}
*[[Mohammad-Hossein Dadras]]
*[[Mohammad-Hossein Malekzadegan]]
*[[Mohammad Jamali-Paqaleh]]
*[[Mohammad Marandi]]
*[[Mohammad Pakpour]]
*[[Mohammad Reza Zahedi]]
*[[Mohammad Salimi]]
*[[Mostafa Izadi]]
*[[Nader Ghazipour]]
*[[Nasir Hosseini]]
*[[Nasser Shabani]]
*[[Qasem Soleimani]]
*{{ill|Qodratollah Mansouri|fa|قدرت‌الله منصوری}}
*{{ill|Sabir Jabbari|fa|سید صابر جباری}}
*[[Sajjad Kouchaki]]
*[[Shahram Rostami]]
*[[Yahya Rahim Safavi]]
}}

===Notable Iranian casualties===

{{columns-list|colwidth=25em|
*[[Abdolbaghi Darvish]]
*[[Ahmad Keshvari]]
*[[Ahmad Motevaselian|Ahmad Motevasselian]]
*[[Ali Eghbali Dogahe]]
*[[Hassan Abshenasan]]
*[[Hasan Aghareb Parast]]
*[[Hossein Khalatbari]]
*[[Hossein Kharrazi]]
*[[Hossein Qajeyi]]
*[[Javad Fakoori]]
*[[Mehdi Bakeri]]
*[[Mehdi Zeinoddin]]
*[[Masoud Monfared Niyaki]]
*[[Mohammad Boroujerdi]]
*[[Mohammad Hossein Fahmideh]]
*[[Mohammad Ebrahim Hemmat]]
}}

===Notable Iraqi veterans===

*[[Abboud Qanbar]]
*[[Abdel Emir Yarallah]]
*[[Abdul Qadir Obeidi]]
*[[Abdel-Wahab al-Saadi]]
*[[Hamid Raja Shalah]]
*[[Hussein Rashid]]
*[[Iyad Futayyih]]
*[[Iyad Khalil Zaki]]
*[[Jawad Rumi Daini]]
*[[Kamel Sajid]]
*[[Ra'ad al-Hamdani]]
*[[Saber Abdel Aziz al-Douri]]
*[[Shihab Jahid Ali]]
*[[Sultan Hashim Ahmad al-Tai]]
*[[Talib Shaghati]]
*[[Wafiq al-Samarrai]]

===Notable Iraqi casualties===

*[[Juwad Shitnah]]
*[[Mohammed Rayyan]]

===Persons===

{{columns-list|colwidth=25em|
* [[Frans van Anraat]]
* [[Morteza Avini]], prominent photographer of the Iran–Iraq War, creator of ''[[Ravayat-e Fath|Revayat-e Fath]]''
* [[Kaveh Golestan]]
* [[Ebrahim Hatamikia]], Iranian filmmaker
}}

===Memoirs===
* ''[[Eternal Fragrance|Eternal Fragrance (Last Sunday)]]''
* ''[[Noureddin, Son of Iran]]''
* ''[[One Woman's War: Da (Mother)]]''

===Stories===
* ''[[A City Under Siege|A City Under Siege: Tales of the Iran-Iraq War]]''

===Relevant conflicts===
* [[Al-Fakkah Field]] dispute
* [[Baluchi Autonomist Movement]]
* [[List of modern conflicts in the Middle East]]

== Notes ==
{{NoteFoot}}
{{Notelist|refs=

<!--(this citation is not used in content and was thus giving a cite error)
{{efn|name=Note 1|Iraq claims that the war began on 4 September 1980, when Iran shelled Iraqi towns.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.britannica.com/event/Iran-Iraq-War|title=Iran–Iraq War {{pipe}} Causes, Summary, Casualties, & Facts {{pipe}} Britannica|date=6 July 2023|website=britannica.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1982/05/25/world/chronology-of-the-war-between-iran-and-iraq.html|title=Chronology of the War Between Iran and Iraq|date=25 May 1982}}</ref>}}
-->

}}

== References ==
{{page numbers improve|date=September 2020}}

=== Citations ===
{{Reflist}}

=== Sources ===
<!-- General references consulted but not in reflist + Most cited references -->
{{refbegin}}
* {{cite book|last=Brogan|first=Patric k|title=World Conflicts: A Comprehensive Guide to World Strife Since 1945|year=1989|publisher=Bloomsbury|location=London|isbn=0-7475-0260-9}}
* {{cite book|last1=Bulloch|first1=John|author1-link=John Bulloch (journalist)|last2=Morris|first2=Harvey|title=The Gulf War: Its Origins, History and Consequences|url=https://archive.org/details/gulfwaritsorigin00bull|url-access=registration|year=1989|publisher=Methuen|location=London|isbn=978-0-413-61370-7|edition=1st}}
* {{cite journal|last=Lewental|first=D. Gershon|title="Saddam's Qadisiyyah": Religion and history in the service of state ideology in Baʿthi Iraq|date=November 2014|volume=50|issue=6|pages=891–910|journal=[[Middle Eastern Studies]]|publisher=Taylor & Francis|doi=10.1080/00263206.2013.870899|s2cid=143904965}}
* {{cite book|last=Farrokh|first=Kaveh|author-link=Kaveh Farrokh|title=Iran at War: 1500–1988|publisher=Osprey Publishing|location=Oxford|isbn=978-1-78096-221-4|year=2011}}
* {{cite book |last=Fisk |first=Robert |authorlink=Robert Fisk |date=2006 |orig-date=2005 |title=The Great War for Civilisation |edition=2nd |location=London |publisher=[[Harper Perennial]] |pages=95 |isbn=9781841150086}}
* {{cite book|chapter-url=http://csis.org/files/media/csis/pubs/9005lessonsiraniraqii-chap08.pdf|publisher=[[Center for Strategic and International Studies]]|title=The Lessons of Modern War – Volume II: Iran–Iraq War|chapter=Phase Five: New Iranian Efforts at "Final Offensives", 1986–1887|access-date=21 September 2012|archive-date=7 June 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130607125439/http://csis.org/files/media/csis/pubs/9005lessonsiraniraqii-chap08.pdf|url-status=dead}}
* {{cite web|url=http://www.iranchamber.com/history/iran_iraq_war/iran_iraq_war1.php|title=Iran–Iraq War 1980–1988|work=History of Iran|publisher=Iran Chamber Society|access-date=29 June 2012|archive-date=15 January 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100115210436/http://iranchamber.com/history/iran_iraq_war/iran_iraq_war1.php|url-status=live}}
* {{cite book|title=The Iran–Iraq War: 1980–1988|pages=1–8, 12–16, 19–82|last=Karsh|first=Efraim|author-link=Efraim Karsh|publisher=[[Osprey Publishing]]|year=2002|isbn=978-1-84176-371-2}}
* {{cite book|last=Motin|first=Dylan|title=Territorial Expansion and Great Power Behavior During the Cold War: A Theory of Armed Emergence|year=2025|publisher=Routledge|location=London|isbn=978-1041029687}}
* {{cite journal|first=James A.|last=Piazza|title=The Democratic Islamic Republic of Iran in Exile|date=October 1994|journal=Digest of Middle East Studies|volume=3|issue=4|pages=9–43|doi=10.1111/j.1949-3606.1994.tb00535.x}}
* {{cite book|last=Pollack|first=Kenneth M.|author-link=Kenneth M. Pollack|title=Arabs at War: Military Effectiveness, 1948–1991|year=2004|publisher=University of Nebraska Press|location=Lincoln|isbn=978-0-8032-8783-9|chapter=Iraq}}
* {{cite journal|last=Wright|first=Edwin M.|author-link=Edwin M. Wright|title=Iran as a Gateway to Russia|date=January 1942|pages=367–372|url=http://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/70155/edwin-m-wright/iran-as-a-gateway-to-russia|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130606092743/http://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/70155/edwin-m-wright/iran-as-a-gateway-to-russia|url-status=dead|archive-date=2013-06-06|journal=Foreign Affairs|volume=20|issue=2|publisher=[[Council on Foreign Relations]]|doi=10.2307/20029156|jstor=20029156|url-access=subscription}}
* {{cite book|last=Pelletiere|first=Stephan C.|title=The Iran–Iraq War: Chaos in a Vacuum|url=https://archive.org/details/iraniraqwarchaos00pell_0|url-access=registration|year=1992|publisher=Praeger Publishers|isbn=978-0-275-93843-7}}
* {{cite book|last1=Pfetsch|first1=Frank R.|author-link1=Frank R. Pfetsch|last2=Rohloff|first2=Christoph|title=National and International Conflicts, 1945–1995: New Empirical and Theoretical Approaches|publisher=Routledge|year=2013|isbn=9781136357817|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dRhUAQAAQBAJ&pg=PA154}}
* {{cite book|title=Fanning the Flames: Guns, Greed & Geopolitics in the Gulf War|last=Timmerman|first=Kenneth R.|author-link=Kenneth R. Timmerman|chapter=Chapter 7: Operation Staunch|url=http://www.iran.org/tib/krt/fanning_ch7.htm|via=Iran Brief|access-date=17 September 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130313220502/http://www.iran.org/tib/krt/fanning_ch7.htm|archive-date=13 March 2013|url-status=dead}} (syndicated by New York Times Syndication Sales, 1987, published in book form as "Öl ins Feuer Internationale Waffengeschäfte im Golfkrieg" Orell Füssli Verlag Zürich and Wiesbaden 1988 {{ISBN|3-280-01840-4}}
* {{cite book|last=Leopold|first=Mark|title=Inside West Nile. Violence, History & Representation on an African Frontier|date=2005|publisher=James Currey|location=Oxford|isbn=978-0-85255-941-3}}
{{refend}}

== Further reading ==
* {{Cite book|last=Khosronejad|first=Pedram|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MYDbAAAAQBAJ|title=Unburied Memories: The Politics of Bodies of Sacred Defense Martyrs in Iran|publisher=Taylor & Francis|year=2013|isbn=9781135711603}}
* Chubin, Shahram, and Charles Tripp. ''Iran and Iraq at War'' (Routledge, 2020) [http://www.h-net.org/reviews/showrev.php?id=57578 online review] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221213174729/https://www.h-net.org/reviews/showrev.php?id=57578 |date=13 December 2022 }}
* {{cite book|last1=Murray|first1=Williamson|last2=Woods|first2=Kevin|title=The Iran–Iraq War: A Military and Strategic History|location=New York|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=2014|isbn=978-1-107-06229-0|oclc=877852628}}
* {{cite book|last1=Razoux|first1=Pierre|last2=Elliott|first2=Nicholas|title=The Iran–Iraq War|location=Cambridge, MA|publisher=The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press|year=2015|isbn=978-0-674-08863-4|oclc=907204345}}
* {{cite journal|last1=Nelson|first1=Chad E.|year=2018|title=Revolution and War: Saddam's Decision to Invade Iran|journal=Middle East Journal|volume=72|issue=2|pages=246–266|doi=10.3751/72.2.14|s2cid=149704506|issn=1940-3461}}
* {{cite magazine|last=Cooper|first=Tom|title='Floggers" in Action: Early MiG-23s in Operational Service|magazine=[[Air Enthusiast]]|date=July–August 2002|issue=100|pages=56–67|issn=0143-5450}}

==External links==
{{sister project links|c=Category:Iran-Iraq War|d=yes|q=yes|n=no|b=no|v=no|voy=no|m=no|mw=no|wikt=no|s=no|species=no}}
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xbm0g-HvBfk Iran–Iraq: Background to the War] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201020073413/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xbm0g-HvBfk&gl=US&hl=en |date=20 October 2020 }} (Video on [[YouTube]]: [[Associated Press|AP Archive]])
* [http://www.warphotoltd.com/exhibitions/iran-iraq-war49 Iran–Iraq War; Photos] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210126191132/http://www.warphotoltd.com/exhibitions/iran-iraq-war49 |date=26 January 2021 }} by Alfred Yaghobzadeh

{{Iran–Iraq War}}
{{Iran topics}}
{{Iraq topics}}
{{Saddam Hussein}}
{{Ruhollah Khomeini}}
{{Iran–United States relations}}
{{Iraq–United States relations}}
{{North Korea–United States relations}}
{{Syria–United States relations}}
{{Iran–Saudi Arabia relations}}
{{Iran–United Kingdom relations}}
{{Iran–Saudi Arabia proxy conflict}}
{{Middle East conflicts}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Iran-Iraq War}}
[[Category:Iran–Iraq War| ]]
[[Category:1980s in Iran]]
[[Category:1980s in Iraq]]
[[Category:1980s conflicts]]
[[Category:Conflicts involving the People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran]]
[[Category:History of the Islamic Republic of Iran]]
[[Category:Invasions of Iran]]
[[Category:Invasions by Iraq]]
[[Category:Iran–Iraq military relations]]
[[Category:Wars involving Iran]]
[[Category:Wars involving Iraq]]
[[Category:Wars involving the Peshmerga]]
[[Category:History of the Persian Gulf]]
[[Category:Saddam Hussein]]
[[Category:Ruhollah Khomeini]]
[[Category:Iran–Saudi Arabia relations]]
[[Category:Iran–United States relations]]
[[Category:Iraq–United States relations]]
[[Category:Iraq–Saudi Arabia relations]]
[[Category:Shia–Sunni sectarian violence]]
[[Category:Articles containing video clips]]
[[Category:Conflicts in 1980]]
[[Category:Conflicts in 1981]]
[[Category:Conflicts in 1982]]
[[Category:Conflicts in 1983]]
[[Category:Conflicts in 1984]]
[[Category:Conflicts in 1985]]
[[Category:Iran–Iraq relations]]
[[Category:1980 in Iran]]
[[Category:1981 in Iran]]
[[Category:1982 in Iran]]
[[Category:1983 in Iran]]
[[Category:1984 in Iran]]
[[Category:1985 in Iran]]
[[Category:1986 in Iran]]
[[Category:1987 in Iran]]
[[Category:1988 in Iran]]