Iran-Iraq War (1980-1988) began on Sept. 22, 1980, when Iraqi President Saddam Hussein ordered the invasion of Iran. The war ended with a cease-fire agreement on Aug. 20, 1988. It was the longest conventional war between two countries in the 1900’s.
Iraq had a number of reasons for invading Iran. First, Hussein thought that Iran was in a weakened condition. In 1979, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, a Shī`ite Muslim leader, had led a revolt against the shah (king) of Iran, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. After overthrowing the shah, Khomeini declared Iran an Islamic republic. However, secular (nonreligious) elements that had taken part in the revolution and some other groups were challenging the control of the Shī`ites. Also, the United States had cut diplomatic relations with Iran. Iranian revolutionaries had taken over the U.S. Embassy in Iran in November 1979 and were holding a group of U.S. citizens—chiefly embassy workers—as hostages. The Iranian revolutionaries did not release the hostages until January 1981.
Second, Iraq and several other Arab countries, including Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia, feared the Shī`ite nature of the revolution. Iraq itself had a Shī`ite majority that was discriminated against by Hussein’s secular but mostly Sunni Muslim government. Also, Iran supported al-Da`wa, a Shī`ite political party in Iraq that fought against Hussein’s government and tried to assassinate the deputy prime minister.
Third, the two countries had territorial disputes that had almost led to war many times before. In 1975, the countries signed a border agreement. But in 1980, Hussein declared the agreement invalid.
Fourth, Hussein saw an opportunity to control the oil-rich region. He thought that a victory against the Shī`ite-inspired revolution would make him the undisputed leader of the Persian Gulf region.
The war passed through many phases. By mid-November 1980, Iraq controlled about 10,000 square miles (26,000 square kilometers) of Iranian territory. By mid-1982, Iran had regained most of its territory. It began to invade southern Iraq, but without much success. By 1984, the two countries had reached a stalemate (draw). From 1984 to 1987, the war became a war of attrition—that is, each side slowly exhausted the other’s energy and resources, without achieving any substantial gains. For example, each side attacked the other’s oil tankers to limit that country’s ability to finance the war.
During the conflict, both sides committed war crimes. Iran used young children and adults over age 50 to clear minefields ahead of tanks. Iraq used chemical weapons against Iranian soldiers and civilians and Iraqi Kurds, an ethnic group. Finally, both countries accepted a cease-fire agreement, and hostilities ended on Aug. 20, 1988. The war cost the two countries billions of dollars and killed hundreds of thousands of people.
