Iran/Iraq War 1980-1988

Ama K. and Emma E.

Underlying Causes

• Religious Differences: – Iran: Shia Islamic Revolution – Iraq: Sunni; Extreme Arab Nationalism

• Ayatollah Khomeini rejected Saddam's overture by calling for Shia revolution in Iraq

• Saddam was interested in elevating Iraq to a strong regional power– Knew Imperial Iranian Army was collapsing – Petroleum

Immediate Causes

• Began when Iraq invaded Iran via simultaneous invasions by air and land on 22 September 1980

• Shatt al-Arab Waterway– Dispute over boundary lines and ownership of the

waterway• Execution of Ayatollahs in Iraq – Grand Ayatollah Mohammad Baqir al-Sadr and his

sister Amina Hayda

Weapons

Iran• American Made Aircraft

– More sophisticated

• Very few tanks– Equipment not maintained

when Shah came into power

• Libya, China, and North Korea all sent weapons, particularly missiles

• US sold weapons (Reagan)

Iraq • Possessed fully equipped

and trained forces• 190,000 men• 2,200 tanks• 450 aircraft• Egypt, Jordan, Soviet Union

provided weapons• US also provided weapons

BOTH: used chemical weapons (Mustard Gas, Nerve Gas)

Theaters of War

• At the Border, trenches, air • Mountainous border, resulted in use of air

Decisive Battles

• Guerilla Warfare• Air Battles• Trench Warfare• Disorganized • July 1982 Iran launched Operation Ramadan on Iraqi territory• Four major battles were fought from April to August 1988• In October 1980, a prolonged urban battle began in the city

of Khorramshahr with both sides losing about 7,000 dead• In the ensuing Battle of Dezful, the Iranian division was almost

totally destroyed in one of the biggest tank battles of the entire war

Key Strategies

• 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 attacks across a no-man's land, and extensive use of chemical weapons such as mustard gas by the Iraqi government against Iranian troops, civilians, and Iraqi Kurds

Peace Agreements

• 1982 Saddam announced he would accept a ceasefire-Khomeini kept war for 6 more years

• Operation Mersad (مرساد "ambush") was the last major military operation of the war ending in a decisive victory for Iran

• Resolution 598 becoming effective on 8 August 1988, ending all combat operations between the two countries. By 20 August 1988, peace with Iran was restored. UN peacekeepers belonging to the UNIIMOG mission took the field, remaining on the Iran–Iraq border until 1991

Long Term Impacts

• stalled economic development and disrupted oil exports, and cost an estimated million lives. Iraq was left with serious debts to its former Arab backers, including $14 billion loaned by Kuwait, a debt which contributed to Hussein's 1990 decision to invade Kuwait

• Oil industry was damaged. Air raids had been launched by both nations against the oil infrastructure, and Iran had attacked the oil trade of Kuwait as well

• The end of the war left the borders unchanged• During this war, the personnel of the Iraqi Army increased

from 242,250 to 1,200,000 troops

Sources

• www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/war/iran-iraq.htm

• www.historyofwar.org/articles/wars_iraniraq.html

• www.iranchamber.com/history/articles/chemical_warfare_iran_iraq_war.php