The Iran-Iraq War was fought from 22 September 1980, when Iraq under Saddam Hussein invaded Iran hoping to exploit the chaos following the Iranian Revolution, to a United Nations-brokered ceasefire on 20 August 1988. Eight years of trench warfare, static front lines, mass infantry assaults and the repeated use of chemical weapons by Iraq killed on the order of half a million people, making it, by most tallies, the deadliest conventional war ever fought between the regular armies of two developing countries. The war ended in stalemate on a status quo ante bellum basis, with no territorial changes and no reparations, after inflicting catastrophic economic and human cost on both nations and drawing in outside support, including American and Soviet backing for Iraq and arms supplies to Iran, that shaped the wider Middle East for a generation.
Facts
LocationThe Iran-Iraq border region, chiefly Khuzestan Province in Iran and the Persian Gulf 1 Disputed
Death Toll, Low EstimateEstimates for total war dead vary by source; commonly cited figures range from about 450,000 to 500,000. Connections
Associated With
Iran, Polities Additional Source Wikipedia: Iran-Iraq WarLead section (belligerent)
Iraq, Polities Additional Source Wikipedia: Iran-Iraq WarLead section (belligerent, invasion)
In Era
Participant
Source Wikipedia: Iran-Iraq War
In the Other Atlases
Same As
Also in War and Military Atlas: the same subject.
Took Place In
Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject took place.
Sources
1. Wikipedia: Iran-Iraq War
WikipediaLead section (casualties)
The war caused around 500,000 deaths (excluding numbers from the related Anfal campaign), making it the deadliest conventional war ever fought between regular armies of developing countries.
Lead section (dates)
22 September 1980 - 20 August 1988
Lead section (year)
22 September 1980 - 20 August 1988
Lead section (location)
Iran-Iraq border, Persian Gulf
Lead section (casualty range, low estimate)
The war caused around 500,000 deaths (excluding numbers from the related Anfal campaign)
Lead section (casualty range, high estimate)
The war caused around 500,000 deaths (excluding numbers from the related Anfal campaign)
Iran-Iraq War: Event Type
The Iran-Iraq War was fought from 22 September 1980, when Iraq under Saddam Hussein invaded Iran hoping to exploit the chaos following the Iranian Revolution, to a United Nations-brokered ceasefire on 20 August 1988.
Lead
disputes between the two states, as a result of which Iraq planned to retake the eastern bank of the Shatt al-Arab river that it had ceded to Iran in
Infobox: result
Inconclusive
Associated With: Iran, Lead section (belligerent)
Iraq under Saddam Hussein invaded Iran
Associated With: Iraq, Lead section (belligerent, invasion)
Iraq under Saddam Hussein invaded Iran hoping to exploit the chaos following the Iranian Revolution
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