The factors that triggered the outbreak of war
At the turn of the seventies and eighties, circumstances developed that plunged the two countries into armed conflict. The role of the neighbouring Arab states was not negligible in the factors that led to the outbreak of war. Among the Arab regimes, Saudi Arabia had long sought to take over the role of leader of the Arab world on the basis of its material resources, the size of its population and its religious importance (pilgrimage sites). One of the obstacles to this was the rise to power of Saddam Hussein. The development of the Iraqi regime was therefore not looked upon favourably by the leaders of Saudi Arabia and the other Gulf states. Nevertheless, the main threat was seen in the Iranian Islamic Revolution, because behind the export of the Islamic Revolution was a politically, economically and militarily powerful Islamic Republic of Iran, which, they proclaimed, could 'destabilise monarchies'. On the basis of the 'divide and rule' principle, Saudi Arabia suggested to Iraqi leaders that war should be launched, while also assuring Iraq of its support.
The general positioning of the Arab world can also be seen as a factor that paved the way to war. Egypt was isolated in the Arab world. It had vacated the seat of power to which Saddam-led Iraq aspired. A victorious war against a 'common enemy', which would have made Iraq look like the defender of the Arab world, would have been a favourable outcome.
On November 4, 1979, with Khomeini's support, they seized the US Embassy in Iran and took the staff hostage. As a result of the conflict, the government resigned and the French-born economist Abdul Hassan Banisadr became president. Saddam Hussein, sensing the political and ideological threat from Iran and the unrest in the Gulf states, sought to use the situation to establish Iraq's leadership.
The diplomatic position of the United States
Iraq's ambitions were not initially supported by the United States, and in December 1979, when the Soviets invaded Afghanistan, President Carter declared that "America will defend Saudi Arabia and the Gulf states against all foreign aggression." In response to the so-called Carter Doctrine, Saddam declared that he would do the same and issued the "Pan-Arab Charter" in February 1980.
The West feared the rise of Khomeini's radical Islamist movement and was determined to prevent the Iranian regime from expanding in the region. The United States therefore favoured Iraq and removed Iraq from its list of sponsors of terrorism in 1982. In 1984, the United States restored diplomatic relations with Iraq. Iraq's main arms supplier at this time was its old ally, the Soviet Union. After the normalisation of relations, Britain, France and the USA also sold arms to Iraq. Indeed, the US shared intelligence information on the region with Iraq during the war.
On April 1, 1980, the Shiite party of the Iraqi Revolution, al-Dawa, attempted to assassinate Christian Prime Minister Tarik Aziz, to which Saddam responded with a ruthless reprisal. The party's members were given the death penalty, Shia Kurds were deported (some 300,000) and the Shia middle class was displaced from major cities. The Shiite leader, Mohamed Bakr-al Sadr Ayatollah, was arrested and executed by the head of the General Intelligence Department (Muhabarat).
Assassination attempt on the Iranian Foreign Minister
In the spring of 1980, the Iranian government was still hoping to ease tensions between the two countries. But on the first stop of the Iranian foreign minister's tour of Kuwait, Iraqi agents attempted to assassinate him. Saddam then decided to go to war. His decision was helped by the fact that exiled generals, officers and politicians of the overthrown Shah's regime claimed that the Iranian army was in total disarray and that it would not be difficult to achieve victory. International anti-Iranian sentiment, which became widespread with the occupation of the US embassy, increased the fighting mood. The tense international situation made it clear to the Iraqi leadership that in the event of war, the US leadership would take a neutral position.
The first attack against Iran is launched
On 15 September 1980, on Iraqi television, Saddam publicly tore up the 1975 Algiers Agreement, which ceded the Arab half of the Shatt-el to Iran. Seven days later, he launched the offensive by invading Iran's oil-rich border region of Khuzestan.
Iraq has taken decisive measures to prepare the country for war. It has increased its procurement of military equipment, increased the size of its armed forces, and improved and intensified training. And he increased the number of People's Militia in the Baath Party's army.
During this period, the main focus in Iran was on the internal political struggle, one of the targets of which was the Iranian armed forces. The Shah and his entourage became unreliable for the victorious revolution. The new 'revolutionary' army of the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, was being organised.
At the start of the war, the Iraqi ground force numbered 200,000, while the Iranian ground force numbered only 150,000. Iraq had 12 divisions, while Iran had 6 divisions.
During the preparatory period, Iraq established three offensive operational groupings: in Suleymania, Kanakin, and the districts of Amara and Basra.
Saddam himself directed the operations, even though he had no military training. And he attempted to repeat the success of the opening manoeuvres used by Israel in the 1967 six-day campaign. It soon became clear that the Iranian air force was quick to respond to the attack. Iraqi air defences were inadequate for the task, so he called on the French for help.
Saddam Hussein presented the following demands to Iran in September 1980:
- Recognise Iraq's inalienable rights over its territory and waters (revision of the Algiers Agreement).
- Stop interference in Iraq's internal affairs.
- Stop supporting the Kurds in Northern Iraq.
- Return the three islands occupied by the Shah's army to the United Arab Emirates.
- Iran should recognise the principle of good neighbourliness in its relations with Iraq.
The Iranian claim was made in September 1980 by Iranian President Banisadr:
- The consequences of aggression in Iraq are immediately reckoned with.
- Iraqi troops should withdraw unconditionally from Iranian territory.
- Iraq should admit its guilt and pay war reparations.
The Iranian leadership's position is reflected in the words of religious leader Muhammad Ali Raji: "Thanks to Allah, the enemies of the Islamic Revolution dug their own graves with this attack. Allah wants us to work with the people of Iraq to overthrow Saddam and his murderous regime." According to him, the leaders of the Islamic Republic of Iran and the civilian movement led by Banisadr did not approach the war in the same way.
Iraq's war aim was to
- terminate the contract that humiliates it,
- regain control of Shatt-el-Arab,
- to grant autonomy to Khuzistan (Arabistan) in Iran,
- overthrow Khomeini's regime and
- Saddam Hussein should be the leader of the Arab world.
By the spring of 1985, the war was escalating. The warring parties increasingly resorted to military action for the purpose of blackmail. Iraq, with almost absolute superiority, launched widespread attacks on various civilian targets and populated areas of cities. In response, the Iranian forces launched strikes on Iraqi populated areas with field artillery and surface-to-surface missiles. The air and fire strikes did not spare each other's capitals. In early 1985, the Iranian armed forces reached the west bank of the Tigris River and briefly occupied the bridgehead there. The Iraqi troops were able to mop up the attacking forces thanks to Egyptian supplies of ammunition.
In July 1986, Iraq began attacking Iranian shipping, and Iran responded by attacking Kuwaiti shipping.
In November 1986, it was unexpectedly revealed that the United States and Israel had secretly sold arms to Iran. At the time, American political prestige in the Arab countries supporting Iraq seemed to have been shaken, prompting Saddam to declare: 'There is all sorts of conspiracy between Zionism and imperialism'.
In January 1987, Iranian troops attacked towards Basra, the second largest city in Iraq, attacking everything in range.
The United States, meanwhile, has developed its security issues and military policy on the Gulf. This came in handy for Kuwait, which asked the US to help protect its oil exports.
The "Seizure" offensive
Iraq used chemical weapons during the so-called "Attack" offensive, which lasted for about seven months and resulted in the disappearance or death of some 50-100 thousand Kurdish residents in the villages destroyed. The UN has condemned Iraq for its use of chemical weapons in a resolution. However, it was only in the final stages of the war that the United States and the governments of several Western countries abandoned their military and political support for Baghdad.
UNSC Resolution 598 (August 1987) called for a ceasefire between the parties. Iraq accepted the resolution until Iran gave a clear response and the war continued. The presence of US and European warships made Iran understand that Washington would not look kindly on a possible victory in the Gulf. The long war ended on 18 July 1988, when Ayatollah Khomeini also accepted the ceasefire announced by the UN.
Iraq's war was also horrific in scale, because it mobilised and sent not just armies to fight each other, but whole peoples. The casualties were also greater than in all the Arab-Israeli wars of the last forty years.
The consequences of war:
- Iraq has accumulated more than 70 billion in debt.
- 5000 prisoners of war remain in Iran.
- During the war, Iraq lost 120,000 dead and 300,000 wounded.
- With Shatt-el, Arabia has become unseaworthy.
- Deserted Iraqi soldiers have formed criminal groups in the marshes of southern Iran.
The ceasefire between Iraq and Iran and the borders between the two countries have been monitored since 20 August 1988 by a UN peacekeeping force of multinational military observers.
The peace treaty between Iraq and Iran, which would have brought the war to a definitive end, was not concluded because of the rigid attitude of the parties, especially Iraq.
