A report on Ba'athist Iraq, Iran–Iraq War and Sanctions against Iraq

Top-left to bottom-right: Iranian child soldier on the frontlines

Iranian soldier in a trench wearing a gas mask to guard against Iraqi chemical attacks

Port quarter view of the USS Stark listing to port after being mistakenly struck by an Iraqi warplane

Pro-Iraq MEK forces killed during Iran's Operation Mersad

Iraqi prisoners of war after the recapture of Khorramshahr by Iranian forces

ZU-23-2 anti-aircraft gun being used by the Iranian Army

An American helicopter shadows the Russian oil tanker Volgoneft-147

Meeting of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, Houari Boumédiène and Saddam Hussein (left to right) during the Algiers Agreement in 1975.

Protesters in Washington DC against sanctions and invasion of Iraq, 2002 or 2003

Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr was de jure leader of Iraq from 1968 to 1979.

Ruhollah Khomeini rose to power after the Iranian Revolution.

Adnan Khairallah, Iraqi Defense Minister, meeting with Iraqi soldiers during the Iran-Iraq war.

Location of Khuzestan Province in Iran which Iraq planned to annex

Retreating Iraqi forces sabotaged Kuwaiti oil wells, causing massive fires across Kuwait's oil fields.

Iranian President Abolhassan Banisadr, who was also commander-in-chief, on a Jeep-mounted 106mm recoilless anti-tank gun. Banisadr was impeached in June 1981.

Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr (left), the Regional Secretary of the Iraqi Ba'ath, shaking hands with Michel Aflaq, principal founder of Ba'athist thought, in 1968.

The Shatt al-Arab on the Iran–Iraq border

Saddam Hussein (right) talking with founder of Ba'athism and Ba'ath Party leader Michel Aflaq in 1988.

Kurdish peshmerga (opposition forces) in northern Iraq during the Iran–Iraq War.

Iranian F-14A Tomcats equipped with AIM-54A, AIM-7 and AIM-9 missiles.

Saddam Hussein (left) talking with Michel Aflaq in 1979.

Resistance of the outnumbered and outgunned Iranians in Khorramshahr slowed the Iraqis for a month.

Alexei Kosygin (left) and Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr signing the Iraqi–Soviet Treaty of Friendship and Co-operation in 1972.

Iranian president Abulhassan Banisadr on the battlefront

GNP per capita in Iraq from 1950 to 2008.

Iraqi President Saddam Hussein and Massoud Rajavi, the leader of MEK and the National Resistance Council of Iran (NCRI) in 1988.

28 February 2003: Iraqi soldiers ride an MT-LB armored vehicle on an Iraqi highway, one month before the start of the Iraq War.

The surprise attack on H-3 airbase is considered to be one of the most sophisticated air operations of the war.

Saddam Hussein and female students. Ba'athism promoted greater participation of women in Iraqi society.

Iranian soldier holding an IV bag during the Iran–Iraq War

Iranian Northrop F-5 aircraft during Iran-Iraq war

Iraqi T-62 tank wreckage in Khuzestan Province, Iran

Iraqi soldiers surrendering after the Liberation of Khorramshahr

An admonitory declaration issued from the Iraqi government in order to warn Iranian troops in the Iran–Iraq War. The statement says: "Hey Iranians! No one has been downtrodden in the country where Ali ibn Abi Ṭālib, Husayn ibn Ali and Abbas ibn Ali are buried. Iraq has undoubtedly been an honorable country. All refugees are precious. Anyone who wants to live in exile can choose Iraq freely. We, the Sons of Iraq, have been ambushing foreign aggressors. The enemies who plan to assault Iraq will be disfavoured by God in this world and the hereafter. Be careful of attacking Iraq and Ali ibn Abi Ṭālib! If you surrender, you might be in peace."

95,000 Iranian child soldiers were made casualties during the Iran–Iraq War, mostly between the ages of 16 and 17, with a few younger.

Iraqi POW who was shot by Iranian troops after they conquered the Iraqi Majnoon oil field in October 1984

Iranian troops fire 152 mm D-20 howitzer

Battle of the Marshes Iran front 1983 rest after exchange of fire 152 mm D-20 H

Operation Earnest Will: Tanker convoy No. 12 under US Navy escort (21 October 1987)

A map indicating the attacks on civilian areas of Iran, Iraq, and Kuwait targeted during the "War of the Cities".

Iraqi commanders discussing strategy on the battlefront (1986)

Iranian President Ali Khamenei on the battlefront during the Iran–Iraq War

Operation Dawn 8 during which Iran captured the Faw Peninsula.

Iranian soldier killed during the Iran–Iraq War with Rouhollah Khomeini's photo on his uniform

The People's Mujahedin of Iran, supported by Saddam, started a ten-day operation after both the Iranian and Iraqi governments accepted UN Resolution 598. Casualty estimates range from 2,000 to 10,000.

Adnan Khairallah, Iraqi Defense Minister, meeting with Iraqi soldiers during the war

IRGC navy speedboats using swarm tactics

An Iranian soldier wearing a gas mask during the Iran–Iraq War.

The Iranian frigate IS Sahand burns after being hit by 20 U.S. air launched missiles and bombs, killing a third of the crew, April 1988

Iranian soldiers captured during Iraq's 1988 offensives

USS Vincennes in 1987 a year before it shot down Iran Air Flight 655

MEK Soldiers killed in Operation Mersad in 1988

Al-Shaheed Monument in Baghdad was erected to commemorate the fallen Iraqi soldiers during the war.

An Iranian soldier's funeral in Mashhad, 2013

An Iraqi Mil Mi-24 on display at the military museum of Sa'dabad Palace in Iran

President Ronald Reagan and Vice President George H. W. Bush work in the Oval Office of the White House, 20 July 1984.

USS Stark (FFG-31) listing following two hits by Exocet missiles.

Victims of the 1987 chemical attack on Sardasht, West Azerbaijan, Iran

Damage to a mosque in Khoramshahr, Iran, the city that was invaded by Iraq in September 1980

The Iran–Iraq War (الحرب الإيرانية العراقية) was a protracted armed conflict that began on 22 September 1980 with a full-scale invasion of Iran by neighbouring Iraq.

- Iran–Iraq War

The sanctions against Iraq were a comprehensive financial and trade embargo imposed by the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) on Iraq.

- Sanctions against Iraq

Rapidly deteriorating relations eventually led to the Iran–Iraq War by 1980, which began following the Iraqi invasion of Iran in September 1980.

- Ba'athist Iraq

The Reagan administration generally supported Iraq during the Iran–Iraq War, despite Iraq's extensive use of chemical weapons against post-revolutionary Iran.

- Sanctions against Iraq

The United Nations (UN) initiated economic sanctions against Iraq in the war's aftermath to weaken the Ba'athist regime.

- Ba'athist Iraq

To enforce payment, Iraq was put under a comprehensive international embargo, which further strained the Iraqi economy and pushed its external debt to private and public sectors to more than $500 billion by the end of Saddam's rule.

- Iran–Iraq War

3 related topics with Alpha

Clockwise from top: USAF F-15Es, F-16s, and an F-15C flying over burning Kuwaiti oil wells; British troops from the Staffordshire Regiment in Operation Granby; camera view from a Lockheed AC-130; the Highway of Death; M728 Combat Engineer Vehicle

Gulf War

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Donald Rumsfeld, US special envoy to the Middle East, meets Saddam Hussein on 19–20 December 1983.

Kuwaiti Armed Forces Chieftain main battle tanks

Kuwait Air Force McDonnell Douglas A-4KU Skyhawk ground-attack aircraft

Lion of Babylon main battle tanks, common Iraqi battle tank used in the Gulf War by the Iraqi Army.

An Iraqi Air Force Bell 214ST transport helicopter, after being captured by a US Marine Corps unit at the start of the ground phase of Operation Desert Storm

Kuwaiti Armed Forces M-84 main battle tanks

President Bush visiting American troops in Saudi Arabia on Thanksgiving Day, 1990

American F-15Es parked in Saudi Arabia during Operation Desert Shield

US Army soldiers from the 11th Air Defense Artillery Brigade during the Gulf War

Countries that deployed coalition forces or provided support (On behalf of Afghanistan, 300 Mujaheddin joined the coalition on 11 February 1991. Niger contributed 480 troops to guard shrines in Mecca and Medina on 15 January 1991.)

General Norman Schwarzkopf, Jr. and President George Bush visit US troops in Saudi Arabia on Thanksgiving Day, 1990.

Dick Cheney meets with Prince Sultan, Minister of Defence and Aviation in Saudi Arabia to discuss how to handle the invasion of Kuwait.

Gen. Colin Powell (left), Gen. Norman Schwarzkopf Jr., and Paul Wolfowitz (right) listen as Secretary of Defense Dick Cheney addresses reporters regarding the 1991 Gulf War.

The USAF F-117 Nighthawk, one of the key aircraft used in Operation Desert Storm

Aftermath of Amiriyah shelter bombing by U.S. Air Force, which killed at least 408 civilians in Baghdad

An Iraqi T-54A or Type 59 tank lies destroyed after a coalition bombing attack during Operation Desert Storm.

Scud Transporter Erector Launcher (TEL) with missile in upright position

Aftermath of an Iraq Armed Forces strike on US barracks

Military operations during Khafji's liberation

Marine Artillery played a huge factor in disrupting Iraqi counterattacks during the 1st Gulf War, February 1991.

Iraqi tanks destroyed by Task Force 1-41 Infantry, February 1991

Soldiers of 2nd Platoon, Company C, 1st Battalion, 41st Infantry Regiment pose with a captured Iraqi tank, February 1991

An Iraqi Republican Guard T-55 tank destroyed by Task Force 1–41 Infantry, February 1991

American AH-64 Apache helicopters proved to be very effective weapons during the 1991 Gulf War.

4th Battalion of the 3rd Field Artillery Regiment, 2nd Armored Division (FWD) conducts artillery strikes on Iraqi positions during the 1st Gulf War. 4-3 FA was the primary fire support battalion for Task Force 1-41 during the 1st Gulf War, February 1991.

Battery C, 4th Battalion of the 3rd Field Artillery Regiment, 2nd Armored Division (FWD) moves into position to conduct fire missions during the Battle of Norfolk, February 1991.

U. S. M1A1 Abrams tanks move out on a mission during Desert Storm in 1991. A Bradley IFV and logistics convoy can be seen in the background.

A M109A2 howitzer belonging to Battery C, 4th Battalion of the 3rd Field Artillery Regiment, 2nd Armored Division (FWD) during the Gulf War, February 1991.

A M60A1 tank with a Track Width Mine Plow, Desert Storm February 1991

British Challenger 1 tanks during the 1st Gulf War. The British Challenger tank was the most efficient tank of the Gulf war suffering no losses while destroying approximately 300 Iraqi tanks during combat operations.

A destroyed Iraqi Army T-55 tank lies among the wreckage of many other Iraqi vehicles, such as trucks, cars and buses, somewhere along the Highway of Death in April 1991.

US M1A1 Abrams tanks from the 3rd Armored Division along the Line of Departure

Two Iraqi T-55 tanks lie abandoned near Kuwait City on 26 February 1991.

The oil fires caused were a result of the scorched earth policy of Iraqi military forces retreating from Kuwait.

Ground troop movements 24–28 February 1991 during Operation Desert Storm

Iraqi T-62 knocked out by 3rd Armored Division fire

Aerial view of destroyed Iraqi T-72 tank, BMP-1 and Type 63 armored personnel carriers and trucks on Highway 8 in March 1991

Iraqi 'Saddam' main battle tank destroyed during Operation Desert Storm

A Bradley IFV burns after being hit by Iraqi T-72 fire.

Civilians and coalition military forces wave Kuwaiti and Saudi Arabian flags as they celebrate the retreat of Iraqi forces from Kuwait.

Coalition troops from Egypt, Syria, Oman, France, and Kuwait during Operation Desert Storm

Argentine Navy Alouette III helicopter on board, February 1991

Canadian CF-18 Hornets participated in combat during the Gulf War.

French and American soldiers inspecting an Iraqi Type 69 tank destroyed by the French Division Daguet during Operation Desert Storm

One of the Italian tornadoes used in the operation

British Army Challenger 1 main battle tank during Operation Desert Storm

Iraqi Kurds fleeing to Turkey shortly after the war

Sailors from a US Navy honor guard carry Navy pilot Scott Speicher's remains.

Approximate area and major clashes in which DU rounds were used

Destroyed Iraqi civilian and military vehicles on the Highway of Death

An armored bulldozer similar to the ones used in the attack

Oil well fires rage outside Kuwait City in 1991.

USS Missouri launching a Tomahawk missile. The Gulf War was the last conflict in which battleships were deployed in a combat role.

Military personnel examine the remains of a Scud.

The Gulf War was an armed campaign waged by a United States-led coalition of 35 countries against Iraq in response to the Iraqi invasion and annexation of Kuwait.

Different speculations have been made regarding the true intents behind the invasion, including Iraq's inability to pay Kuwait the more than US$14 billion that it had borrowed to finance its military efforts during the Iran–Iraq War, and Kuwait's surge in petroleum production levels which kept revenues down for Iraq.

The invasion of Kuwait was met with international condemnation, and economic sanctions against Iraq were immediately imposed by the United Nations Security Council in response.

Saddam in August 1998, preparing to deliver a speech for the 10th anniversary of the end of the Iran–Iraq War

Saddam Hussein

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Iraqi politician who served as the fifth president of Iraq from 16 July 1979 until 9 April 2003.

Saddam in his youth as a shepherd in his village, near Tikrit

Saddam Hussein and the Ba'ath Party student cell, Cairo, in the period 1959–1963

Promoting women's literacy and education in the 1970s

Saddam talking to Michel Aflaq, the founder of Ba'athist thought, in 1988

Propaganda art to glorify Saddam after Iran–Iraq War, 1988.

Saddam Hussein and al-Bakr, de jure president of Iraq alongside Hafez al-Assad of Syria at an Arab Summit in Baghdad in November 1978

Saddam greeting Carlos Cardoen, a Chilean businessman who provided Iraq with weapons during the war in the 1980s

U.S. Ambassador to Iraq April Glaspie meets Saddam for an emergency meeting

Iraqi stamp about the Arab Cooperation Council (ACC), founded 1989 by Saleh of (North) Yemen, king Hussein of Jordan, Saddam Hussein and Hosni Mubarak of Egypt

Saddam addresses state television, in January 2001

Statue of Saddam being toppled in Firdos Square after the invasion

Saddam is discovered and interrogated by American soldiers, December 2003

Hussein after being captured and shaven to confirm his identity

Saddam Hussein's sons Qusay and Uday were killed in a gun battle in Mosul on 22 July 2003.

He suppressed several movements, particularly Shi'a and Kurdish movements which sought to overthrow the government or gain independence, respectively, and maintained power during the Iran–Iraq War and the Gulf War.

In the course of his reign, the Ba'athist regime officially included the historic Kurdish Muslim leader Saladin as a patriotic symbol in Iraq, while Saddam called himself son of the Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar and had stamped the bricks of ancient Babylon with his name and titles next to him.

The United Nations-placed sanctions against Iraq for invading Kuwait were not lifted, blocking Iraqi oil exports.

The Iranian Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi meeting with President Jimmy Carter and Zbigniew Brzezinski, 1977.

United States support for Iraq during the Iran–Iraq War

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President Ronald Reagan and Vice President George H. W. Bush work in the Oval Office of the White House, July 20, 1984.

Ronald Reagan hosts then-Iraqi foreign minister Tariq Aziz of the Saddam Hussein administration at the White House, 1984

The MK-84: Saudi Arabia transferred to Iraq hundreds of U.S.-made general-purpose "dumb bombs".

Iraq purchased 8 strains of anthrax from the United States in 1985, according to British biological weapons expert David Kelly. The Iraqi military settled on the American Type Culture Collection strain 14578 as the exclusive strain for use as a biological weapon, according to Charles Duelfer.

MD 500 Defender: Iraq acquired 60 multi-role military helicopters directly from the United States in 1983. Additional helicopter sales prompted congressional opposition, forcing the Reagan administration to explore alternative ways of assisting Saddam.

Agusta-Bell 212 ASW: The Italian subsidiary of Bell Textron sold Iraq military helicopters fitted out for anti-submarine warfare. This deal needed, and duly received, government approval.

American support for Ba'athist Iraq during the Iran–Iraq War, in which it fought against post-revolutionary Iran, included several billion dollars' worth of economic aid, the sale of dual-use technology, military intelligence, and special operations training.

In response to further Iraqi chemical attacks on Kurdish civilians after the August 1988 ceasefire with Iran, U.S. senators Claiborne Pell and Jesse Helms called for comprehensive economic sanctions against Iraq, including an oil embargo and severe limitations on the export of dual-use technology.