A report on Iran–Iraq War and Iraqi Armed Forces

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

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

The 2nd Brigade, 1st Iraqi Division took delivery of 10 armored HMMWVs

Ruhollah Khomeini rose to power after the Iranian Revolution.

Location of Khuzestan Province in Iran which Iraq planned to annex

Iraqi Security Force fire a howitzer at known Islamic State of Iraq and Syria locations near the Iraqi-Syrian border during Operation Roundup, June 5, 2018

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.

Iraqi soldiers from 1st Hammurabi Armoured Division in 1982.

The Shatt al-Arab on the Iran–Iraq border

Iraqi commanders discussing strategy on the battlefront (1986)

An Iraqi Mil Mi-24 on display at the military museum of Kirkuk in Iraq

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

An Iraqi Type 69 main battle tank sits on the side on the road into Kuwait City during the ground phase of Operation Desert Storm.

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

Iraqi special forces soldiers with M4A1 carbines, March 2020.

Iranian president Abulhassan Banisadr on the battlefront

Iraqi Soldiers during exercise in Babylon

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

Modified T-55 tank of the 5th Mechanized Division which saw action in the Battle of Khafji

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

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

Iraqi F-16D landing at Tucson International Airport

Iranian Northrop F-5 aircraft during Iran-Iraq war

Iraqi Coastal Defense Force (ICDF) Patrol.

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".

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

While the Iraqi leadership had hoped to take advantage of Iran's post-revolutionary chaos and expected a decisive victory in the face of a severely weakened Iran, the Iraqi military only made progress for three months, and by December 1980, the Iraqi invasion of Iran had stalled.

- Iran–Iraq War

A much larger conflict was the Iran–Iraq War, initiated by the Iraqis in 1980, which continued until 1988.

- Iraqi Armed Forces

7 related topics with Alpha

Ba'athist Iraq

3 links

Ba'athist Iraq, formally the Iraqi Republic until 6 January 1992 and the Republic of Iraq thereafter, covers the national history of Iraq between 1968 and 2003 under the rule of the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party.

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

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

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

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.

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.

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

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

GNP per capita in Iraq from 1950 to 2008.

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

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

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

After the 1979 Islamic Revolution, the Iraqi leadership believed that Iran's internal post-revolutionary chaos had made the Iranians militarily weak, and thus a relatively easy target for the Iraqi military, which had until this point struggled to combat Iranian forces under the Shah.

Iraq

3 links

Country in Western Asia.

Inside the Shanidar Cave, where the remains of eight adults and two infant Neanderthals, dating from around 65,000–35,000 years ago were found.

Map of the Akkadian Empire and the directions in which military campaigns were conducted (yellow arrows). The Akkadian Empire was the first ancient empire of Mesopotamia after the long-lived civilization of Sumer

Bronze head of an Akkadian ruler from Nineveh, presumably depicting either Sargon of Akkad, or Sargon's grandson Naram-Sin

Hammurabi, depicted as receiving his royal insignia from Shamash. Relief on the upper part of the stele of Hammurabi's code of laws.

Map of the Neo-Assyrian Empire under Shalmaneser III (dark green) and Esarhaddon (light green)

Jehu, king of Israel, bows before Shalmaneser III of Assyria, 825 BC.

Lamassu from the Assyrian gallery at the Iraq Museum, Baghdad

The Neo-Babylonian Empire under Nabonidus (r. 626–539 BC)

Al-Hariri of Basra was a poet, high government official and scholar of the Arabic language, He is known for his Maqamat al-Hariri (‘'Assemblies of Hariri'’), a collection of some 50 stories written in the Maqama style. Al-Hariri's best known work, Maqamat has been regarded as the greatest treasure in Arabic literature.

Conquest of Mosul (Nineveh) by Mustafa Pasha in 1631, a Turkish soldier in the foreground holding a severed head. L., C. (Stecher) 1631 -1650

Crowning of King Faisal II of Iraq in the Council of Representatives, 1953

Nuri Said (1888 - 1958), contributed to the establishment of the Kingdom of Iraq and the armed forces while also served as the Prime minister of the state.

Iraq state emblem under nationalist Qasim was mostly based on Mesopotamian symbol of Shamash, and avoided pan-Arab symbolism by incorporating elements of Socialist heraldry.

The April 2003 toppling of Saddam Hussein's statue by US Army troops in Firdos Square in Baghdad shortly after the US-led invasion.

Destroyed Lion of Babylon tank on Highway 9 outside Najaf during US-led invasion in 2003.

An Iraqi Army Aviation Command aerial gunner prepares to test fire his M240 machine gun, Near Baghdad International Airport, 2011

Combined Air and Space Operations Center (CAOC) at Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar, provides command and control of air power throughout Iraq and Syria.

Pro-independence rally in Iraqi Kurdistan in 2017. The Kurdistan Regional Government announced it would respect the Supreme Federal Court's ruling that no Iraqi province is allowed to secede.

Protest in Baghdad in November 2019. The protests were the largest incident of civil unrest Iraq has experienced since the 2003 invasion.

The Asiatic lion has remained a prominent symbol of the country throughout history.

Baghdad Convention Center, the current meeting place of the Council of Representatives of Iraq.

View over Green Zone, which contains governmental headquarters and the army, in addition to containing the headquarters of the American embassy and the headquarters of foreign organizations and agencies for other countries.

US President Donald Trump with Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi in 2017.

Agriculture is the main occupation of the people.

Mosul Museum is the second largest museum in Iraq after the Iraq Museum in Baghdad. It contains ancient Mesopotamian artifacts.

Mor Mattai Monastery (Dayro d-Mor Mattai) in, Bartella, Nineveh, Iraq. It is recognized as one of the oldest Christian monasteries in existence and is famous for its magnificent library and considerable collection of Syriac Christian manuscripts

Saddam Hussein Promoting women's literacy and education in the 1970s

Al-Mutanabi, regarded as one of the greatest, most prominent and influential poets in the Arabic language, much of his work has been translated into over 20 languages worldwide

Wasiti's illustrations served as an inspiration for the modern Baghdad art movement in the 20th-century.

Zaha Hadid (1950–2016), an acclaimed architect.

Facade of Temple at Hatra, declared World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1985.

The Queen's gold lyre from the Royal Cemetery at Ur. Iraq Museum, Baghdad.

Madina Stadium in Baghdad is Iraq's first-ever stadium solar power plant, and the second in the Middle East of its kind.

Sunni Arabs
Shiite Arabs
Sunni Kurds
Assyrians
Yazidis
Turkmen

In 1980, Iraq invaded Iran, sparking a protracted war which would last for almost eight years, and end in a stalemate with devastating losses for both countries.

In addition, Said contributed to the establishment of the Kingdom of Iraq and the Iraqi army.

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

2 links

Armed campaign waged by a United States-led coalition of 35 countries against Iraq in response to the Iraqi invasion and annexation of Kuwait.

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 Iraqi military invaded the neighbouring State of Kuwait on 2 August 1990 and fully occupied the country within two days.

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.

Iranian soldiers resisting the Iraqi invasion during the Battle of Khorramshahr, 1980

Iraqi invasion of Iran

2 links

The Shatt al-Arab waterway on the Iran–Iraq border

Explosion in Mehrabad Air Base in Tehran after Iraqi forces attacked Tehran on 22 September, 1980

Iranian Northrop F-5 during Iran–Iraq War

Ali Khamenei (right), the future Supreme Leader of Iran, in a trench during the Iran-Iraq war.

The Iraqi invasion of Iran refers to the Iraqi military campaign against neighbouring Iran in 1980, when the Iraqi Armed Forces crossed the international border and invaded the country, sparking the protracted Iran–Iraq War.

Iraqi Air Force

1 links

An Iraqi Air Force De Havilland Vampire FB.52, before delivery in 1953

USS Stark listing following two hits by Iraqi Exocet missiles

An Iraqi MiG-29 aircraft lies in ruins after it was destroyed by coalition forces during the Persian Gulf War's Operation Desert Storm.

An Iraqi MiG-25 Foxbat found buried under the sand west of Baghdad.

A U.S. Airman conducts post-flight checks on an IQAF C-130 Hercules.

An Iraqi Air Force Commander at an F-16 training session in Arizona.

Night flying certification for the UH-1 crews of the Iraqi 2nd Squadron

Iraqi Air Force F-16 Fighting Falcon flies over an undisclosed location July 18, 2019

An Iraqi Cessna 208 on a training mission

The Iraqi Air Force (IQAF or IrAF) (القوات الجوية العراقية) is the aerial warfare service branch of the Iraqi Armed Forces.

The air force's peak came after the long Iran–Iraq War, which ended in 1988, when it consisted of 1029 aircraft of all types (of which 550 were combat aircraft), becoming the largest air force in the region.

1975 Algiers Agreement

1 links

Agreement between Iran and Iraq to settle any disputes and conflicts concerning their common border (such as the Shatt al-Arab, known as Arvand Rud in Iran), and it served as basis for the bilateral treaties signed on 13 June and 26 December 1975.

From left to right: Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, Houari Boumédiène and Saddam Hussein

Tensions between the new government and the Kurds increased, with the Iraqi Armed Forces engaging in military action against Kurdish separatists.

This resulted in one of the longest wars of the 20th century, the Iran–Iraq War, which would last from 1980 to 1988.

Peshmerga

0 links

Kurdish military forces of the autonomous Kurdistan Region of Iraq.

Mustafa Barzani was the primary political and military leader of the Kurdish cause until his death in 1979.

Iraqi Kurdish Peshmerga fighter (KDP) in 2003.

Peshmerga special unit near the Syrian border on June 23, 2014.

Peshmerga soldiers stand in formation during the Modern Brigade Course graduation ceremony.

A Peshmerga American interpreter with US military, with a refugee during Operation Inherent Resolve, Duhok

People's Defense Units' (YPG) woman volunteer with Peshmerga soldier

According to the Constitution of Iraq, the Peshmerga, along with their security subsidiaries, are responsible for the security of Kurdistan Region, due to the fact that the Iraqi Armed Forces are forbidden by Iraqi law to enter Iraqi Kurdistan.

Following the First Persian Gulf War, Iraqi Kurdistan saw the Kurdish Civil War between the two major parties, the KDP and the PUK, and Peshmerga forces were used to fight each other.