The Iran-Iraq War E-Book

50MINUTES

• Herausgeber: 50Minutes.com
• Kategorie: Bildung
• Serie: History
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 33

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2016

Beschreibung

Keen to learn but short on time? Get to grips with the events of the Iran-Iraq War in next to no time with this concise guide.

50Minutes.com provides a clear and engaging analysis of the Iran-Iraq War. On 22 September 1980, Saddam Hussein attacked the Shatt al-Arab with the aim of annexing territories around it. This marked the start of a protracted war between Iraq and Iran. After eight years of hostilities that included the controversial use of chemical weapons, the war finally came to an end, with neither side achieving significant gains and both suffering a devastating number of casualties.

In just 50 minutes you will:
• Understand the political and social context of the war and the reasons behind the first attack
• Identify the main leaders of Iran and Iraq and their role in the conflict
• Analyse the outcome of the war and its impact on the futures of Iran, Iraq and the countries that supported them

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Leseprobe

The Iran-Iraq War

Key information

When: 22 September 1980 – 20 August 1988Where: In Iran and IraqContext: The Islamic revolution in Iran and the territorial expansion policy in IraqBelligerents: The Islamic Republic of Iran against the Republic of IraqCommanders and leaders:Ruhollah Musavi Khomeini, Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran (1902-1989)Saddam Hussein, president of Iraq (1937-2006)Outcome: Status quoVictims:Iranian camp: between 220 000 and 400 000 deathsIraqi camp: between 200 000 and 500 000 deaths

Introduction

As part of an ancient struggle between Iran and Iraq, the war of 1980-1988 (known in Iran as the “Sacred Defense”) was one of the deadliest conflict since 1945, as well as the longest. While President Saddam Hussein wanted to make his Republic of Iraq a powerful force in the region, Ayatollah Ruhollah Musavi Khomeini meanwhile planned to export his Islamic Revolution beyond the borders of Iran and extend it to the Iraqis. With the pretext of multiple provocations around their border, Saddam Hussein launched his troops to conquer the Shatt al-Arab (Middle Eastern river), and proclaimed their complete domination over this area on 22 September 1980. A war erupted that people hoped would be very short, but it was soon slowed down and took the form of a war of attrition. Thus, after eight years of fierce fighting and a price of several hundred thousand deaths on both sides, neither of these two great powers of the Gulf could claim victory. However, this conflict, which was absurd in many ways, generated dreadful bloodshed and culminated in a disastrous economic situation for the two warring countries, strengthened the hold of the two men in their respective countries and ensured their power.

Good to know

An ayatollah (“sign of God”) is an honorary title awarded to the highest Shiite dignitaries. The ayatollahs are considered experts of Islam. They teach in Islamic schools and claim to be descendants of the Prophet Muhammad (570-632), through his son-in-law, Ali (1st century A.D.).

Political and social context

The Arab river

On 22 September 1980, Saddam Hussein declared war on Iran, using the territorial disagreement that had plagued relations between the two neighbors for several years as an excuse to do so. For him, it was a case of asserting his right over territories that were legitimately Iraqi, but which had been amputated from Iraq five years earlier by a treaty with Iran.

Following the First World War (1914-1918) and the collapse of the Ottoman Empire (1922), which then extended over much of the Middle East, the borders of the region had been fully redrawn, according to the interests of the victorious Western powers, namely France and Britain. However, throughout the 20th century, this artificial division was questioned extensively. In the Gulf, the agreement of Algiers from 1975 – in which Iran continued to provide military aid to Iraqi Kurds in exchange for recognition of the Iraq border of the Shatt al-Arab River – was supposed to end territorial tensions that animated the two countries. Yet, the stakes were high with regards to the Shatt al-Arab, literally the “Rivers of the Arabs”, because it connected the oil areas of both countries. Thus, despite the agreement between the two neighbors, the strategic importance of this area did not fail to cause many provocations and confrontations until the rejection of the treaty by Saddam Hussein on 17 September 1980, and the conquest of the disputed territories five days later.

Did you know?

The Kurds are members of an ethnic group with its own language, mainly of Sunni confession, which occupied the Zagros and Taurus mountains of southeastern Turkey, northwestern Iran, northern Iraq and the adjacent territories of Syria and Nakhichevan (autonomous Republic of Azerbaijan). Despite this explosion in different countries, some Kurdish nationalism was manifested at the end of the 19th