1. Gavin Bryant, John Chapman
Iran-Iraq War
Gavin Bryant, John Chapman

2. Background and Casus Belli
Originated as a territorial dispute over the Khuzestan
region
Saddam Hussein sought to extend his influence over the banks of the Shatt al-Arab river and several minor islands in the Persian Gulf
Saddam Hussein was provoked by ¨attempts by Iran’s Islamic revolutionary government to incite rebellion among Iraq’s Shiite majority¨ (Hoiberg)
Hussien also sought a drawn out war to centralize the authority of his regime and increase nationalist spirit

3. The Early Years
In 1980, Hussein sent a formal demand for the province of Khuzestan
The Iranian government quickly refuted the demands, in response Iraq declared war
Iraq was hoping for a rapid victory, as the did not expect the disorganized Iran to offer much resistance
The Iraqi from occupied the city of ¨Khorramshahr but failed to take the important oil-refining centre of Abadan¨ (Hoiberg)
By 1982, Iran had coordinated an effective response, driving the Iraqis back to the Karun River
The war developed into a long drawn out conflict as neither side could gain an edge

4. Tactics The tactics used in the war were very similar to those of WWI
Both nations engaged in random air and missile attacks against civilian and military targets, Mikko declares that “this was The War on Cities” (37).
Both country threw conscripted children at the enemy to serve as cannon fodder
Both countries engaged in protracted trench warfare
Chemical weapons were used extensively
Mass artillery bombardment of civilian targets

5. The Latter Years Foreign involvement
The USSR, Saudi Arabia, and Kuwait openly supported the Iraqis
The USA, somewhat under the table, supported Iran
Both countries began to attack oil-carrying ships in the Persian Gulf
Little change in fronts, the Iraqi military was successfully kept at a standstill by the Iranian militia
Unsucessful air strikes were conducted by the Iranian air force, they accomplished little in the way of moving fronts, and merely killed civilians
WWI-style trench warfare resulted in massive amounts of casualties without any change in the fronts, the war became a stalemate where each side just continually threw conscripted soldiers at the enemies lines
Ronald Reagan summarizes the war as,“Iraq’s intelligence collection, capabilities, and analysis certainly fed into Saddam’s worldview for achieving his strategic goal but it was poorly aligned to achieve his aims.”

6. Outcomes
In 1988, Iran and Iraq, amidst fail economies and dwindling manpower, were forced to accept a UN mandated peace
The outcome was a white peace
The number of casualties is estimated is as low as 500,000 to as high as over two million
Iraq and Iran divided sovereignty of the Shatt al-Arab River and in 1990 Iraqi forces withdrew from occupied territory, resulting in the status quo
Caused an increased tension between the countries, however diplomatic relations were resumed a mere two years after the war
Both countries economies were destroyed by the lack of production and destruction of infrastructure and factories

7. Works Cited Canini, Mikko. Iran. San Diego, Greenhaven Press, 2005.
Hoiberg, Dale. “Iran-Iraq War.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 22 Sept. 2008,
Taleblu, Behnam Ben, Patrick M. Cronin, Aram Bakshian Jr., Aaron David Miller, and Richard Sokolsky. "The Long Shadow of the Iran-Iraq War." The National Interest. The Center for the National Interest, 23 Oct Web. 17 Feb
"Intelligence in Public Literature." Central Intelligence Agency. Central Intelligence Agency, 10 July Web. 27 Feb