Global Affairs Session 12 10 April 2026

THE FORGOTTEN IRAN-IRAQ WAR 1980-88

The war that forged modern Iran

The 1980-88 Iran-Iraq War grew from fear of Iran's 1979 Islamic Revolution, leadership rivalry, the Shatt al-Arab territorial dispute and Iraq's belief that post-revolution Iran was vulnerable. It evolved from invasion and counter-offensives into trench warfare, human-wave attacks, chemical warfare and the Tanker War, ending without a clear winner but leaving a lasting imprint on Iran's institutions, strategic outlook and distrust of the West.

Geography Revolutionary context Causes War timeline Nature of war Alliances Iran-Contra Outcome Modern Iran

Geography before the war

The presentation first establishes the geographical setting of the conflict: ancient Mesopotamia between the Tigris and Euphrates, the modern Iran-Iraq border, the Persian Gulf and the wider regional neighbourhood. The maps also highlight how terrain, borders and access to waterways formed the physical setting in which the later conflict unfolded.

Religious, sectarian and revolutionary context

The presentation then places Iran and Iraq inside the Middle East's wider religious and sectarian geography. It uses maps of Shia and Sunni distribution and a visual sequence of Iran's rulers and the 1979 Islamic Revolution to explain the political atmosphere that preceded the war.

The revolutionary change in Iran became central to Iraq's threat perception: after the revolution led by Ruhollah Khomeini, Iraq feared the spread of Shia revolutionary ideology into its own Shia population.

Causes of the 1980-88 war

• Islamic Revolution fear (1979): After Iran's revolution led by Ruhollah Khomeini, Iraq feared the spread of Shia revolutionary ideology into its own Shia population.
• Leadership rivalry & regional dominance: Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein wanted Iraq to dominate the Persian Gulf.
• Territorial dispute (Shatt al-Arab): Long-standing conflict over control of a strategic waterway between the two countries.
• Iran's internal instability: Iraq believed post-revolution Iran was weak, disorganized, and easy to defeat.

Timeline of the war

• War begins - Sept 22, 1980: Iraq launches a full invasion of Iran.
• Phase 1 (1980-1982) - Iraqi advance to Iranian recovery: Iraq initially gains territory, but Iran pushes them back across the border by 1982.
• Phase 2 (1982-1987) - Iranian offensives: Iran invades Iraq, trying to overthrow Saddam, leading to prolonged, brutal fighting.
• Phase 3 (1984-1988) - Stalemate & the "Tanker War": Iraq initiated the Tanker War in 1984 by targeting oil ships to cripple Iran's economy. This drastically escalated in 1987-1988 when the US militarily intervened to protect Kuwaiti shipping, leading to direct US-Iran naval skirmishes.
• End of war - 1988 ceasefire & 1990 peace: A UN-brokered ceasefire ends active fighting in 1988. Formal peace only came in 1990 because Saddam Hussein urgently needed to secure his eastern border with Iran before launching his invasion of Kuwait.

What happened in the war: military tactics and nature of conflict

• Trench warfare & WWI-style combat: Static front lines, massive casualties and agonizingly slow territorial changes produced a long war of attrition.
• Human-wave attacks by Iran: Iran used large numbers of highly motivated but poorly equipped volunteers, including Basij forces, in attempts to clear minefields and overwhelm Iraqi lines.
• Chemical weapons used by Iraq: Iraq used deadly chemical agents against Iranian troops and Kurdish civilians, one of the war's most brutal and internationally condemned features.
• Economic warfare against oil targets: Both sides heavily attacked oil infrastructure and tankers in an effort to damage the other's ability to sustain the war.

Alliances and enemies

The presentation depicts an uneven external environment around the two belligerents. Iraq was backed heavily by many Arab states and was indirectly supported by Western powers, including the United States, amid a shared fear of Iran's revolutionary regime. Iran, by contrast, is shown as largely isolated by the West and the Arab bloc and relying heavily on internal volunteer mobilisation.

• Iraq's support: Many Arab states provided political or financial backing, while Western support helped Iraq at different stages.
• Iran's external links: The visual identifies Syria, North Korea, Libya and China among states that assisted or aligned with Iran in different ways.
• Cold War dynamics: Both the United States and the Soviet Union are shown tilting towards Iraq at different stages as part of efforts to contain Iran.
• Covert arms channel: Iran also secretly acquired weapons from the United States and Israel through the Iran-Contra affair.

Iran-Contra Affair

• The Iran-Contra Affair occurred during the presidency of Ronald Reagan.
• The U.S. secretly sold weapons to Iran despite an official arms embargo.
• Israel acted as an intermediary in transferring some of these weapons.
• The goal was to secure the release of American hostages held in Lebanon.
• The intended chain presented in the session was: arms to Iran to fight Iraq, Iran influences Hezbollah in Lebanon, and hostages may be freed.
• Profits from arms sales were secretly diverted to fund the Contra rebels in Nicaragua.
• This funding violated the Boland Amendment, which banned U.S. support to the Contras.
• The operation was carried out without full approval of the U.S. Congress.
• The scandal became public in 1986, causing major political controversy.
• Several officials were investigated; key figure Oliver North was prosecuted.
• It raised serious concerns about executive power, secrecy and accountability in U.S. governance.

Outcome of the war

• No clear winner: The war ended in a military stalemate with virtually no permanent territorial gains for either side.
• Massive human and economic loss: An estimated 1 million to 1.5 million total casualties (dead and wounded), with Iran suffering a disproportionately higher death toll, alongside devastating economic destruction for both nations.
• Regional instability: The war cemented and increased sectarian and geopolitical tensions across the Middle East.

How the war forged modern Iran

• Militarization of society: Iran built strong parallel institutions like the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), shaping its modern military and political landscape.
• Deep distrust of the West: The widespread foreign backing of Iraq, coupled with international silence on Iraq's use of chemical weapons, permanently reinforced Iran's anti-Western geopolitical stance.
• Doctrine of "resistance": The trauma of the war shaped Iran's entire modern defense strategy: avoiding direct conventional wars in favour of asymmetric warfare, building up proxy groups, and prioritizing endurance-based conflict.

Value addition

Glossary and related terms

Iran-Iraq War

The 1980-88 war between Iran and Iraq that began with Iraq's invasion of Iran and ended in a UN-brokered ceasefire.

Shatt al-Arab

A strategic waterway forming part of the Iran-Iraq boundary and a long-standing source of territorial dispute between the two countries.

Islamic Revolution

The 1979 revolution that transformed Iran's political system and intensified Iraqi fears about the spread of revolutionary Shia ideology.

Basij

Iranian volunteer forces associated in the presentation with mass mobilisation and human-wave attacks during the war.

Tanker War

The phase of the conflict in which oil tankers and oil-related shipping became major targets as both sides sought to damage the other's economy.

War of the Cities

A period of intensified attacks on urban centres during the later years of the Iran-Iraq War.

Chemical warfare

The use of toxic chemical agents as weapons; the presentation highlights Iraq's use of such weapons against Iranian troops and Kurdish civilians.

Iran-Contra Affair

A Reagan-era covert operation involving secret arms sales to Iran and diversion of proceeds to Contra rebels in Nicaragua.

Boland Amendment

U.S. legislative restrictions cited in the presentation as prohibiting support to the Contra rebels.

IRGC

Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, a powerful Iranian institution whose growth is linked in the session to the wartime militarization of society.

Asymmetric warfare

A strategy that avoids matching an opponent through conventional force alone and instead relies on indirect, irregular or differently structured methods.

Proxy groups

Armed or political groups supported by an outside state to advance influence or security objectives without relying only on direct conventional warfare.

Military stalemate

A situation in which neither side achieves a decisive victory despite prolonged fighting and heavy losses.

Value addition

Conceptual references

• The 1979 Islamic Revolution and Iraq's fear of revolutionary spillover.
• The Shatt al-Arab territorial dispute and Persian Gulf regional rivalry.
• The 1980 Iraqi invasion, Iranian counter-offensives, the Tanker War and the 1988 ceasefire.
• Trench warfare, human-wave attacks, chemical weapons and economic warfare against oil targets.
• Cold War alignments, the Iran-Contra Affair and the Boland Amendment.
• The IRGC, anti-Western distrust, asymmetric warfare, proxy groups and the doctrine of resistance.