A report on Operation Scorch Sword

Unofficial map displaying the general course of the Iranian aerial operation
an Iranian F-4 being refueled over Iraq's airspace during the war, 1982

Surprise airstrike, carried out by the Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force on 30 September 1980, that damaged an almost-complete nuclear reactor located 17 km southeast of Baghdad, Iraq.

- Operation Scorch Sword
Unofficial map displaying the general course of the Iranian aerial operation

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Overall
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

Iran–Iraq War

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Protracted armed conflict that began on 22 September 1980 with a full-scale invasion of Iran by neighbouring Iraq.

Protracted armed conflict that began on 22 September 1980 with a full-scale invasion of Iran by neighbouring 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
Meeting of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, Houari Boumédiène and Saddam Hussein (left to right) during the Algiers Agreement in 1975.
Ruhollah Khomeini rose to power after the Iranian Revolution.
Location of Khuzestan Province in Iran which Iraq planned to annex
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.
The Shatt al-Arab on the Iran–Iraq border
Destroyed Iranian C-47 Skytrain
Iranian F-14A Tomcats equipped with AIM-54A, AIM-7 and AIM-9 missiles.
Resistance of the outnumbered and outgunned Iranians in Khorramshahr slowed the Iraqis for a month.
Iranian president Abulhassan Banisadr on the battlefront
Iraqi President Saddam Hussein and Massoud Rajavi, the leader of MEK and the National Resistance Council of Iran (NCRI) in 1988.
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
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
Saddam Hussein in 1982
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.
Furthest ground gains
Iranian POWs in 1983 near Tikrit, Iraq
Iranian child soldier
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.
Iranian Martyr Cemetery in Isfahan
Iranian Martyrs Museum in Tehran
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

On 30 September, Iran's air force launched Operation Scorch Sword, striking and badly damaging the nearly-complete Osirak Nuclear Reactor near Baghdad.

Badge of the Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force

Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force

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Aviation branch of the Islamic Republic of Iran Army.

Aviation branch of the Islamic Republic of Iran Army.

Badge of the Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force
An IRIAF C-130 Hercules in 1988
A P-3F Orion of the Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force
An Iranian C-130 Hercules in 2010
Iran Air Forces training in Tehran, 2014
A Mirage F1BQ landing
An Su-24MK of the IRIAF flying over Shahid Dastghaib International Airport
An F-14A Tomcat of the IRIAF
A MiG-29 on the tarmac at Dezful Airport
A CH-47 Chinook
An Iranian C-130E

The IRIAF was heavily involved in the Iran–Iraq War, carrying out major operations like Operation Kaman 99, Operation Sultan 10, the H-3 airstrike, and the first attack on a nuclear reactor in history, Operation Scorch Sword.

McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II

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American tandem two-seat, twin-engine, all-weather, long-range supersonic jet interceptor and fighter-bomber originally developed by McDonnell Aircraft for the United States Navy.

American tandem two-seat, twin-engine, all-weather, long-range supersonic jet interceptor and fighter-bomber originally developed by McDonnell Aircraft for the United States Navy.

The McDonnell F3H-G/H mockup, 1954
Key figures in the F-4 development: David Lewis, Robert Little, and Herman Barkey
An F4H-1F aboard USS Independence (CV-62), April 1960
VF-74 was the first operational U.S. Navy Phantom squadron in 1961
Transcontinental "Operation LANA" in 1961
Cockpit of F-4 Phantom II
435th TFS F-4Ds over Vietnam
USAF F-4 Phantom II destroyed on 18 February 1968, during the enemy attack against Tan Son Nhut, during the Tet Offensive
USAFE F-4G, A-10A and RF-4C, 6 April 1987
A U.S. Navy F-4B from VF-111 dropping bombs over Vietnam, 25 November 1971
The Blue Angels flew the F-4J, 1969–1974
A U.S. Marine F-4B with VMFA-314, flies over South Vietnam in September 1968
Egyptian Air Force F-4E Phantom IIs of the 222nd Tactical Fighter Brigade in formation with a U.S. Air Force 347th Tactical Fighter Wing F-4E Phantom II during exercise Proud Phantom
McDonnell RF-4E Phantom II of the Luftwaffe's AKG52 unit in 1977
Hellenic Air Force RF-4E Phantom II in a special color scheme, lands at RIAT 2008, UK
Iranian F-4E Phantom refueling through a boom during Iran-Iraq war, 1982
An Israeli F-4E on static display in the Olga's Hill neighborhood of Hadera, Israel
JASDF F-4EJ Kais (57-8354 and 87-8407) of 8 Hikōtai in grey air superiority paint scheme, 2002
JASDF RF-4E Kai 57-6913 of 501 Hikōtai in 2017
South Korean F-4E, armed with an AGM-65 Maverick air-to-ground missile, 19 February 1979
Retired Turkish Air Force F-4E Phantom II, serial number 67-0360, housed at the Istanbul Aviation Museum
An F-4J of the U.S. Navy (foreground), alongside an F-4K of the Fleet Air Arm (background) wait to be catapulted from USS Independence (CV-62), March 1975; one of the major differences can be seen by the higher degree of the British aircraft's extendable nose wheel. Both variants were eventually used by the RAF
The Collings Foundation F-4D Phantom II, with Vietnam-era "Ritchie/DeBellevue" markings, taxis at Selfridge ANGB, May 2005
QF-4E AF Serial No. 74-1626 at McGuire AFB in May 2007 with an A-10 in the background
F-4Fs of the German Air Force, 21 January 1998
Iranian F-4Es, 2009
Spanish Air Force RF-4C Phantom II, 15 June 1993
An F-4F on display described as the "World's largest distributor of MiG parts", because of the high number of this type of enemy aircraft shot down
The Spook
3-side view of the F-4E/F
Structural view of partially disassembled German F-4 Phantoms.
A U.S. Marine Corps RF-4B in September 1982
F-4Gs over Bahrain during Operation Desert Shield
An F4E Phantom II aircraft with the Turkish Air Force takes off from Third Air Force Base Konya, Turkey, during Exercise Anatolian Eagle.
A RAAF F-4E Phantom II at RAAF Base Pearce in 1971

Notable operations of Iranian F-4s during the war included Operation Scorch Sword, an attack by two F-4s against the Iraqi Osirak nuclear reactor site near Baghdad on 30 September 1980, and the attack on H3, a 4 April 1981 strike by eight Iranian F-4s against the H-3 complex of air bases in the far west of Iraq, which resulted in many Iraqi aircraft being destroyed or damaged for no Iranian losses.

The Osirak reactor prior to the Israeli attack

Operation Opera

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Surprise airstrike conducted by the Israeli Air Force on 7 June 1981, which destroyed an unfinished Iraqi nuclear reactor located 17 km southeast of Baghdad, Iraq.

Surprise airstrike conducted by the Israeli Air Force on 7 June 1981, which destroyed an unfinished Iraqi nuclear reactor located 17 km southeast of Baghdad, Iraq.

The Osirak reactor prior to the Israeli attack
Menachem Begin, Prime Minister of Israel and in charge of the operation, disembarks from an aircraft upon his arrival in the United States, accompanied by Israeli Foreign Minister Moshe Dayan.
Scheme of operation
Israeli Air Force F-16A Netz 243, flown by Colonel Ilan Ramon in Operation Opera.
Nose of F-16A 243 showing the triangular mission marking for the attack, a nuclear reactor silhouette against the Iraqi Air Force emblem.
IAF F-16A Netz 107 with Osirak bombing mark.
Osirak reactor site in the aftermath of the attack

The Israeli operation came after Iran's partially successful Operation Scorch Sword had caused minor damage to the same nuclear facility a year prior, with the damage having been subsequently repaired by French technicians.