WikipediaExtracts:Iran-Iraq War

Go to full Wikipedia article on: Iran-Iraq War

Extracted from Wikipedia --

{{Cite web|url=https://www.britannica.com/event/Iran-Iraq-War%7Ctitle=Iran-Iraq War | Causes, Summary, Casualties, Chemical Weapons, Dates, & Facts | Britannica|date=25 May 2026|website=www.britannica.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1982/05/25/world/chronology-of-the-war-between-iran-and-iraq.html%7Ctitle=CHRONOLOGY OF THE WAR BETWEEN IRAN AND IRAQ|date=25 May 1982|via=NYTimes.com}}</ref>}} – 20 August 1988 ({{Age in years, months, weeks and days|month1=09|day1=22|year1=1980|month2=08|day2=20|year2=1988}})"},"location":{"wt":"{{flatlist|\n*Iran\n*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":{"wt":"''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 km2. 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/%7Caccess-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/%7Curl-status=live}}</ref><ref name=\"Britannica Iran–Iraq War\"/>}}"},"result":{"wt":"Inconclusive{{efn|Iraq claimed victory following a 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%7Cjournal=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%7Curl-status=live%7Curl-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%7Caccess-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%7Curl-status=live}}</ref>}}"},"combatant1":{"wt":"{{flag|Iran}}"},"combatant2":{"wt":"{{flagcountry|Ba'athist Iraq}}"},"commander1":{"wt":"{{plainlist|\n*{{flagicon|Iran}} Ruhollah Khomeini\n*{{flagicon|Iran}} Akbar Rafsanjani\n*{{flagicon|Iran}} Ali Khamenei{{WIA}}\n*{{flagicon|Iran}} Mohammad-Ali Rajai{{Assassinated|1981 Iranian Prime Minister's office bombing}}\n*{{flagicon|Iran}} Mir-Hossein Mousavi}}"},"commander2":{"wt":"{{plainlist|\n*{{flagicon|Ba'athist Iraq}} Saddam Hussein\n*{{flagicon|Ba'athist Iraq}} Adnan Khayr Allah\n*{{flagicon|Ba'athist Iraq}} Abdul Jabbar Shanshal\n*{{flagicon|Ba'athist Iraq}} Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri\n*{{flagicon|Ba'athist Iraq}} Tariq Aziz}}"},"units1":{"wt":"See order of battle"},"units2":{"wt":"See order of battle"},"strength1":{"wt":"'''Start of war:'''<ref name=\"Pollack, p. 186\">Pollack, p. 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%7Caccess-date=29 January 2023|archive-date=17 February 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230217025950/https://books.google.com/books?id=FGsuCwAAQBAJ%7Curl-status=live}}</ref> 110,000–215,000 soldiers\n{{Collapsible list\n|title = More:\n|1,700–2,100 tanks<ref>Farrokh, Kaveh, 305 (2011)</ref><ref>Pollack, p. 187.</ref> (500–1,150 operable) 1,000–1,900 armoured vehicles (1,300 operable) 300–1,100 artillery pieces<ref>Farrokh, Kaveh, 304 (2011)</ref> 421–485 fighter-bombers<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.imgrumweb.com/post/BoD6JDhArG3%7Ctitle=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%7Carchive-date=2 October 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref> (200–205 fully operational) 750–835 helicopters (240 fully operational)<hr>'''In 1982:''' 350,000 soldiers 700 tanks 2,700 armoured vehicles 400 artillery pieces 350 aircraft 700 helicopters<hr>'''In 1988:'''<ref>Pollack, p. 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/> 600,000–850,000 soldiers 1,500+ tanks{{NoteTag|Pollack gives the figure as 1,000 for fully operational tanks in April 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.}} 800–1,400 armoured vehicles 600–900 heavy artillery pieces 60–80 fighter-bombers 70–90 helicopters<hr>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%7Caccess-date=29 January 2023|archive-date=17 February 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230217025950/https://books.google.com/books?id=FGsuCwAAQBAJ%7Curl-status=live}}</ref> PUK: 12,000 Peshmerga (1986–88)<ref name=Razeoux2/>\n}}"},"strength2":{"wt":"'''Start of war:'''<ref name=\"Pollack, p. 186\"/><ref name=Razeoux/> 200,000–210,000 soldiers\n{{Collapsible list\n|title = More:\n|1,750–2,800 tanks 2,350–4,000 APCs 1,350–1,400 artillery pieces 295–380 fighter-bombers 300–350 helicopters<hr>'''In 1982:''' 175,000 soldiers 1,200 tanks 2,300 armoured vehicles 400 artillery pieces 450 aircraft 180 helicopters<hr>'''In 1988:''' 800,000–1,500,000 soldiers<ref name=\"Pollack, p. 3\">Pollack, p. 3.</ref><ref name=Razeoux/> 3,400–5,000 tanks 4,500–10,000 APCs 2,300–12,000 artillery pieces 360–900 fighter-bombers 140–1,000 helicopters<hr>KDPI: 30,000 Peshmerga (1980–83)<ref name=Razeoux2/> MEK: 15,000 fighters (1981–83, 87–88)<ref name=Razeoux2/>\n}}"},"casualties1":{"wt":"'''Military dead:''' 200,000–600,000{{NoteTag|Estimates of Iranian casualties during the Iran–Iraq War vary.<ref name=\"hiro205\" /><ref name=\"Rajaee1997\" /><ref name=\"Mikaberidze2011\" /><ref>Hammond Atlas of the 20th Century (1999), pp. 134–135.</ref><ref name=\"Dunnigan 1991\" /><ref name=\"Twentieth Century World History 1997\" /><ref name=\"ReferenceA\" /><ref name=\"Chirot, Daniel 1994\" /><ref>\"B&J\": Jacob Bercovitch and Richard Jackson, ''International Conflict : A Chronological Encyclopedia of Conflicts and Their Management 1945–1995'' (1997), p. 195.</ref>}} {{Collapsible list\n| title = More:\n| 123,220–160,000 killed 60,711 missing<ref name=\"hiro205\" /><ref name=\"Abrahamian2008\" /> (Iranian claim) 800,000 killed (Iraqi claim)<ref name=\"hiro205\" /> 320,000–500,000 wounded<ref name=\"Mikaberidze2011\" /><ref name=\"PotterSick2006\" /><ref name=\"Zargar2012\" /> 40,000–42,875 captured<ref name=\"PotterSick2006\" /><ref name=\"Zargar2012\" /> 11,000–16,000 civilian dead<ref name=\"hiro205\" /><ref name=\"Abrahamian2008\" /><hr>'''Economic loss:''' $627 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=251|isbn=978-0-415-90406-3|oclc=22347651|url=https://archive.org/details/longestwariranir00hiro/page/251}}</ref>\n}}"},"casualties2":{"wt":"'''Military dead:''' 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%7Ctitle=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%7Carchive-date=11 October 2017|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=\"Karsh2002\" /><ref name=\"KochLong1997\" /><ref name=\"remembrance\">{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/sep/23/iran-iraq-war-anniversary%7Ctitle=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%7Carchive-date=2 January 2017|url-status=live}}</ref>}} {{Collapsible list\n| title = More:\n| 400,000 wounded<ref name=\"Karsh2002\" /> 70,000 captured<ref name=\"Mikaberidze2011\" /><ref name=\"Karsh2002\" /><hr>'''Economic loss:''' $561 billion<ref name=\"Rajaee1997\" /><ref name=\"hiro251\" />\n}}"},"casualties3":{"wt":"'''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%7Ctitle=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%7Carchive-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%7Ctitle=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%7Carchive-date=17 October 2015|url-status=live}}</ref> }} '''Total dead:''' 450,000{{sfn|Pfetsch|Rohloff|2013|p=154}}–500,000<ref name=\"Britannica Iran–Iraq War\"/>"},"notes":{"wt":""},"campaignbox":{"wt":"{{Campaignbox Iran–Iraq War}} {{Campaignbox Persian Gulf Wars}}{{Campaignbox Iran–Saudi Arabia proxy conflict}} {{Campaignbox Arab-Iranian Wars and Conflicts}}"},"combatant1a":{"wt":"{{flagicon image|Former Flag of KDP.svg}} KDP {{flagicon image|Flag of PUK.svg}} PUK {{flagicon image|Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq (ISCI, SIIC; SCIRI) Infobox Flag.png}} ISCI {{flagicon image|Islamic Dawa Party Flag.svg}} Islamic Dawa Party {{flag|Hezbollah}}<ref>{{cite web|url=http://memri.org/bin/latestnews.cgi?ID=IA44808%7Carchive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090211103949/http://memri.org/bin/latestnews.cgi?ID=IA44808%7Carchive-date=11 February 2009|title=The Iranian Roots of Hizbullah|author=Nimrod Raphaeli|date=11 February 2009|website=MEMRI}}</ref> Shia volunteers{{efn|from:\n* {{nowrap|{{flagicon|Democratic Republic of Afghanistan}} Afghanistan<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.tehrantimes.com/news/428282/Memoires-of-Afghan-volunteers-in-Iran-Iraq-war-published%7Ctitle=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%7Curl-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.tehrantimes.com/news/455870/Mohsen-the-Japanese-chronicles-life-of-Afghan-volunteer-fighter%7Ctitle='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%7Curl-status=live}}</ref>}}\n** Abuzar Brigade\n* {{flagu|Iraq|1963}}<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://s3.amazonaws.com/berkley-center/200918WastnidgeIransShiaDiplomacyReligiousIdentityForeignPolicyIslamicRepublic.pdf%7Ctitle=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%7Curl-status=live}}</ref>\n** Badr Organization\n* {{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%7Caccess-date=21 March 2023|archive-date=27 April 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230427070936/https://books.google.com/books?id=vrpRagljvA4C%7Curl-status=live}}</ref>}}\n** {{flag|Hezbollah|size=23px}}\n* {{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>}}\n** {{flagicon image|Tehreek-e-Jafaria Official logo.svg}} Tehreek-e-Jafaria (Pakistan)\n** {{flagicon image|}} Sipah-e-Muhammad Pakistan\n* {{flag|Kuwait}}<ref name=\"MCUP\">{{Cite web|url=https://muse.jhu.edu/article/795830/pdf%7Ctitle=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%7Curl-status=live}}</ref>\n* {{Flagcountry|Bahrain}}<ref name=\"MCUP\"/>\n* {{flag|India}}<ref name=\"MCUP\"/>\n}}"},"combatant2a":{"wt":"{{flagicon image|Flag of Arabistan.svg}} DRFLA<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0yYdBQAAQBAJ&q=Liberation+of+Arabistan+iran+iraq+war&pg=PA20%7Ctitle=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%7Ctitle=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> {{flagicon image|NCRI National Council of Resistance of Iran Lion & Sun Flag.jpg}} NCRI {{*}} {{flagicon image|Flag of the People's Mujahedin of Iran.svg}} MEK {{*}} {{flagicon image|İran Kürdistanı Demokrat Partisi bayrağı.jpg}} 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> 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%7Cconference=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%7Curl-status=live}}</ref> 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%7Ctitle=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%7Carchive-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%7Ctitle=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%7Carchive-date=8 December 2019|url-status=live}}</ref>\n* {{flag|Egypt|1972}}<ref name=\"auto\"/>\n* {{nowrap|{{flag|Jordan}}<ref>{{Cite journal|url=https://www.csmonitor.com/1982/0211/021106.html%7Ctitle=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%7Carchive-date=8 December 2019|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=\"Schenker\">{{cite book|url=https://www.washingtoninstitute.org/uploads/Documents/pubs/DancingwithSaddam.pdf.pdf%7Ctitle=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%7Carchive-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/%7Ctitle=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/%7Carchive-date=8 December 2019|url-status=live}}</ref>}}\n* {{flag|Morocco}}<ref name=\"auto1\"/><ref name=\"auto\"/>\n* {{flag|North Yemen}}<ref>''Dictionary of modern Arab history'', Kegan Paul International 1998. {{ISBN|978-0710305053}} p. 196.</ref>\n* {{flag|Sudan}}<ref name=\"web.archive.org\">{{Cite web|url=https://www.wilsoncenter.org/sites/default/files/Iran-IraqWar_Part1_0.pdf%7Carchive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180803202218/https://www.wilsoncenter.org/sites/default/files/Iran-IraqWar_Part1_0.pdf%7Curl-status=dead%7Carchive-date=3 August 2018|title=Iran–Iraq War Timeline. Part 1|access-date=19 July 2022}}</ref><ref>Berridge, W.J. \"Civil Uprisings in Modern Sudan: The 'Khartoum Springs' of 1964 and 1985\", p. 136. Bloomsbury Academic, 2015 {{ISBN?}}</ref>\n* {{flag|Tunisia|1959}}<ref name=\"auto\"/>\n}}"}},"i":0}}]}' id="mwDQ">

The Iran–Iraq War, also called the First Imposed War, Eight-Year War, or Sacred Defense by Iran, began with the Iraqi invasion of Iran in September 1980. After eight years of conflict, both countries accepted a ceasefire deal brokered by the United Nations, which became effective in August 1988. The war caused around 500,000 deaths (excluding numbers from the related Anfal campaign), making it the deadliest conventional war ever fought between regular armies of developing countries.

In starting the war, the Iraqi government—led by President Saddam Hussein—primarily wanted to prevent Ruhollah Khomeini, Iran's leader following the 1979 Iranian Revolution, from exporting Iran's new state ideology to Iraq. Iraq also feared that Iran, being a theocratic state mostly composed of Shia Muslims, would rally Iraq's Shia majority against the Sunni Muslim-controlled Baʽathist government. Iraq also wished to replace Iran as the main national power in the Persian Gulf. The war followed a long-running history of border disputes between the two states, as a result of which Iraq planned to retake the eastern bank of the Shatt al-Arab river that it had ceded to Iran in the 1975 Algiers Agreement.

The conflict involved large-scale trench warfare, and deliberate attacks on civilians, including Iraqi chemical attacks. At the start of the war, Iraq expected a decisive victory, considering Iran's post-revolutionary chaos, but their invasion had stalled by December 1980. The Iranian military then gained momentum, and recaptured all their territory by June 1982. Having pushed Iraqi forces back to the pre-war borders, Iran launched an invasion of Iraq, which created a five-year offensive. In mid-1988, Iraq launched a series of counter-offensives that created the military stalemate present at the war's end.

Iraq was aided by the National Council of Resistance of Iran, the United States, the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union, France, Italy, Yugoslavia, and most Arab countries. Iran was aided by the Kurdistan Democratic Party, the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, Syria, Libya, North Korea, China, South Yemen, Pakistan, Cuba, and Israel. Meanwhile, Iraqi support for Arab separatists in Iran increased.

After years of military and economic losses, decreasing morale, intensifying Iran–U.S. relations, and little international action against Iraqi attacks on Iranian civilians, Iran agreed to a ceasefire with Iraq under United Nations Security Council Resolution 598. The war did not create any permanent border changes, and neither country received war reparations afterwards. Both sides suffered financially. They continued engaging in low-level military conflict until relations improved following Saddam's overthrow in 2003.

</section><section data-mw-section-id="1" id="mwAS4"></section>

WikipediaExtracts:Iran-Iraq War

Navigation menu

Personal tools

Namespaces

Variants

Views

More

Search

Navigation

Tools