Iran repudiated the demarcation line established in the Anglo-Ottoman Convention of Constantinople of November 1913.
Iraq, encouraged by Britain, took Iran to the League of Nations in 1934, but their disagreement was not resolved.
State media in Iraq dubbed the war Saddam's Qadisiyyah (قادسية صدام, ), in reference to the seventh-century Battle of al-Qādisiyyah, in which Arab warriors overcame the Sasanian Empire during the Muslim conquest of Iran. ==Background== ===Iran–Iraq relations=== 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.
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.
The Iranian abrogation of the 1937 treaty marked the beginning of a period of acute Iraqi-Iranian tension that was to last until the Algiers Accords of 1975. 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.
Finally in 1937 Iran and Iraq signed their first boundary treaty.
Iran sent a delegation to Iraq soon after the Ba'ath coup in 1969 and, when Iraq refused to proceed with negotiations over a new treaty, the treaty of 1937 was withdrawn by Iran.
The Iranian abrogation of the 1937 treaty marked the beginning of a period of acute Iraqi-Iranian tension that was to last until the Algiers Accords of 1975. The 1974–75 Shatt al-Arab clashes were a previous Iranian-Iraqi standoff in the region of the Shatt al-Arab waterway during the mid-1970s.
State media in Iraq dubbed the war Saddam's Qadisiyyah (قادسية صدام, ), in reference to the seventh-century Battle of al-Qādisiyyah, in which Arab warriors overcame the Sasanian Empire during the Muslim conquest of Iran. ==Background== ===Iran–Iraq relations=== 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.
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.
Iran sent a delegation to Iraq soon after the Ba'ath coup in 1969 and, when Iraq refused to proceed with negotiations over a new treaty, the treaty of 1937 was withdrawn by Iran.
Between 1973 and 1980 alone, Iraq purchased an estimated 1,600 tanks and APCs and over 200 Soviet-made aircraft.
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.
The Iranian abrogation of the 1937 treaty marked the beginning of a period of acute Iraqi-Iranian tension that was to last until the Algiers Accords of 1975. The 1974–75 Shatt al-Arab clashes were a previous Iranian-Iraqi standoff in the region of the Shatt al-Arab waterway during the mid-1970s.
The Iranian abrogation of the 1937 treaty marked the beginning of a period of acute Iraqi-Iranian tension that was to last until the Algiers Accords of 1975. 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.
Nonetheless, Saddam considered the 1975 Algiers Agreement to be merely a truce, rather than a definite settlement, and waited for an opportunity to contest it. ===After the Iranian Revolution=== Tensions between Iraq and Iran were fuelled by Iran's Islamic revolution and its appearance of being a Pan-Islamic force, in contrast to Iraq's Arab nationalism.
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.
The Iranian abrogation of the 1937 treaty marked the beginning of a period of acute Iraqi-Iranian tension that was to last until the Algiers Accords of 1975. The 1974–75 Shatt al-Arab clashes were a previous Iranian-Iraqi standoff in the region of the Shatt al-Arab waterway during the mid-1970s.
It was the most significant dispute over the Shatt al-Arab waterway in modern times, prior to the Iran–Iraq War. 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 declaring the treaty null and void, on 14 September and 17 September, respectively.
The Iranian abrogation of the 1937 treaty marked the beginning of a period of acute Iraqi-Iranian tension that was to last until the Algiers Accords of 1975. 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.
Their regular army (which, in 1978, was considered the world's fifth most powerful) had been badly weakened.
Iraq's rationale for the invasion was primarily to cripple Iran and prevent Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini from exporting the 1979 Iranian Revolution movement to Shia-majority Iraq and threaten the Sunni-dominated Ba'athist leadership.
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.
Between February and September 1979, Iran's government executed 85 senior generals and forced all major-generals and most brigadier-generals into early retirement. By September 1980, the government had purged 12,000 army officers.
By the end of 1980, Iraq had destroyed about 500 Western-built Iranian tanks and captured 100 others. ===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.
The Iran–Iraq War (جنگ ایران و عراق; حرب الخليج الأولى, الحرب الإيرانية العراقية) was a protracted armed conflict that began on 22 September 1980 when Iraq invaded neighbouring Iran.
The war followed a long-running history of border disputes, as a result of which Iraq had planned to annex Iran's oil-rich Khuzestan Province and the east bank of the Shatt al-Arab (also known in Iran as the Arvand Rud). Although Iraq hoped to take advantage of 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 invasion had stalled.
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. Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini called on Iraqis to overthrow the Ba'ath government, which was received with considerable anger in Baghdad.
Between 1973 and 1980 alone, Iraq purchased an estimated 1,600 tanks and APCs and over 200 Soviet-made aircraft.
By 1980, Iraq possessed 242,000 soldiers (second only to Egypt in the Arab world), 2,350 tanks and 340 combat aircraft.
Between February and September 1979, Iran's government executed 85 senior generals and forced all major-generals and most brigadier-generals into early retirement. By September 1980, the government had purged 12,000 army officers.
It was the most significant dispute over the Shatt al-Arab waterway in modern times, prior to the Iran–Iraq War. 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 declaring the treaty null and void, 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. ==Course of the war== ===1980: Iraqi invasion=== Iraq launched a full-scale invasion of Iran on 22 September 1980.
The Iraqi troops advancing into Iran in 1980 were described by Patrick Brogan as "badly led and lacking in offensive spirit".
By the end of 1980, Iraq had destroyed about 500 Western-built Iranian tanks and captured 100 others. ===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.
Iran launched dozens of "human wave assaults". ====Battle of Dezful==== On 5 January 1981, Iran had reorganised its forces enough to launch a large-scale offensive, Operation Nasr (Victory).
Once he was impeached and the competition ended, the performance of the Iranian military improved. Iran was further distracted by internal fighting between the regime and the Islamic Marxist Mujaheddin e-Khalq (MEK) on the streets of Iran's major cities in June 1981 and again in September.
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. Despite the successful H-3 airbase attack (in addition to other air attacks), the Iranian Air Force was forced to cancel its successful 180-day air offensive.
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. ====Introduction of the human wave attack==== The Iranians suffered from a shortage of heavy weapons, but had a large number of devoted volunteer troops, so they began using [wave attack]s against the Iraqis.
As fierce fighting broke out between the two sides, the Iranian military started to gain momentum against the Iraqis and regained virtually all lost territory by June 1982, pushing the Iraqis back to the pre-war border lines.
Initially, they refused to fight alongside the army, which resulted in many defeats, but by 1982, the two groups began carrying out combined operations. Another paramilitary militia was founded in response to the invasion, the "Army of 20 Million", commonly known as the Basij.
In 1986, Rajavi moved from Paris to Iraq and set up a base on the Iranian border.
The war lasted almost eight years, ending in a stalemate on 20 August 1988 when Iran accepted a UN-brokered ceasefire.
The end of the war resulted in neither reparations nor border changes. ==Terminology== The Iran–Iraq War was originally referred to as the Persian Gulf War until the Persian Gulf War of 1990 and 1991, after which it was known as the First Persian Gulf War.
The end of the war resulted in neither reparations nor border changes. ==Terminology== The Iran–Iraq War was originally referred to as the Persian Gulf War until the Persian Gulf War of 1990 and 1991, after which it was known as the First Persian Gulf War.
They were subordinate to the Revolutionary Guards, and they made up most of the manpower that was used in the Revolutionary Guard's attacks. Stephen Pelletiere wrote in his 1992 book The Iran–Iraq War: Chaos in a Vacuum: ===Border conflicts leading to war=== The most important dispute was over the Shatt al-Arab waterway.
The Iraq War from 2003 to 2011 has been called the Second Persian Gulf War. In Iran, the war is known as the Imposed War (جنگ تحمیلی ) and the Holy Defense (دفاع مقدس ).
The Iraq War from 2003 to 2011 has been called the Second Persian Gulf War. In Iran, the war is known as the Imposed War (جنگ تحمیلی ) and the Holy Defense (دفاع مقدس ).
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