Why did events in the Gulf matter, 1970-2000? - Iran–Iraq War

Question 1

When did the war start?

Answer 1

September 1980

Question 2

What marked the beginning of the war?

Answer 2

Iraq’s land and air invasion, which destabilised the region

Question 3

Who was the aggressor?

Answer 3

Saddam Hussein

Question 4

What was Saddam’s aim for starting the war?

Answer 4

He wanted to destroy Khomeini before Khomeini destroyed him

Question 5

What were the causes of the war?

Answer 5

• Territorial disputes
• Domination of the Gulf
• The opportunity provided by the Islamic Revolution
• Ayatollah Khomeini’s opposition to Saddam Hussein

Question 6

What did Iran and Iraq share in regards to territory?

Answer 6

A land border of 1,400 km

Question 7

What was one area of particular dispute?

Answer 7

The Shatt al-Arab waterway

Question 8

Why was the Shatt al-Arab important for both countries?

Answer 8

This waterway was important for both countries for their oil exports as it provided a link to the Persian Gulf
It was Iraq’s only outlet to the sea

Question 9

What agreement was made in 1937 in regards to territory?

Answer 9

An agreement favourable to Iraq had been signed which placed the boundary between the two countries on the eastern bank of the river

Question 10

What did the Shah do in regards to the agreement about territory made in 1937?

Answer 10

In 1969, he rejected the treaty and refused to pay any further shipping tolls

Question 11

What province did Saddam claim the right to control?

Answer 11

The south-western Iranian province of Khuzestan, encouraging the Arabs who lived there to revolt against the Shah’s rule. Khuzestan was an oil-rich province

Question 12

What did Iran do in retaliation to Saddam’s claim for the right to control Khuzestan?

Answer 12

Iran began encouraging the Kurds in the north of Iraq to take up arms equipment

Question 13

When was the Algiers agreement signed?

Answer 13

1975

Question 14

What was the Algiers agreement regarded as to Saddam?

Answer 14

A setback, and he was determined to regain lost ground

Question 15

What was the Algiers agreement?

Answer 15

Under the agreement, Iran ended its support for the Kurds, and in return, Iraq dropped its claims to Khuzestan
It was also agreed that the border along the Shatt Al-Arab was to be more equitable

Question 16

What did Saddam do to the Algiers agreement shortly before he invaded Iran in September 1980?

Answer 16

He renounced it

Question 17

How did the Islamic Revolution put Iran at a disadvantage?

Answer 17

The revolution meant that the Shah was overthrown, which brought an end to the the alliance between the USA and Iran, depriving the Iranian army of much needed spare parts for its military
It also brought a major purge of senior officers in the Iranian army, reducing effectiveness

Question 18

How did Saddam see Iran after the revolution?

Answer 18

He saw Iran as being politically unstable, in diplomatic isolation and with its military disintegrating
It was a unique opportunity for him
Iran was however not as weak as he anticipated

Question 19

What did Khomeini regard Saddam’s regime as and why?

Answer 19

He regarded it with contempt, partly because of its religious composition and partly because he was expelled from Iraq in 1977

Question 20

How did religion within the government differ in Iraq and Iran?

Answer 20

Iran was a Shiite Muslim state governed in accordance with Muslim law
Iraq was a secular state where the leading politicians were Sunni Muslims

Question 21

What did Khomeini encourage the Iraqi Shiites to do and when?

Answer 21

In June 1979, he encouraged them to overthrow the Baath regime and establish another Islamic republic

Question 22

How did the Iraqi Shiites respond to Khomeini’s encouragements?

Answer 22

Anti-Baath riots broke out

Question 23

How did Saddam respond to Khomeini’s encouragements?

Answer 23

Saddam became convinced that Khomeini was deliberately trying to undermine his government
He believed that the best form of defence was attack

Question 24

When did Iraq invade Iran?

Answer 24

22 September 1980

Question 25

What did the invading Iran trigger?

Answer 25

A bitter 8 year war which destablised the region and devastated both countries

Question 26

What did Saddam claim the reason for invasion was?

Answer 26

The dispute over the Satt-Al-Arab waterway

Question 27

How did the Khomeini see Saddam?

Answer 27

A brutal Sunni tyrant who was oppressing his country’s Shia majority

Question 28

When did Iranian forces had regained the territory they had lost?

Answer 28

1982

Question 29

Who rejected an offer of a ceasefire?

Answer 29

Khomeini

Question 30

How many young Iranians died in ‘human wave attacks’?

Answer 30

Thousands of young Iranians

Question 31

Who did Saddam use chemical weapons against?

Answer 31

The Iranians and against the Kurds of Halabja, who were his own people

Question 32

What did both sides do in the war?

Answer 32

The civilian population of both sides was constantly bombarded from the air
Both sides attacked opposition oil tankers in the Gulf in an attempt to prevent trade

Question 33

What changed the war into an international one?

Answer 33

The tanker war

Question 34

Why did the US and Soviet Union become involved?

Answer 34

In response to Kuwait’s appeal for protection

Question 35

How did foreign involvement affect Iran?

Answer 35

Iran became exhausted and isolated

Question 36

When was a ceasefire accepted by Khomeini?

Answer 36

August 1988

Question 37

Why did the West become involved in the war?

Answer 37

They wanted to preserve the balance of power in the Middle East
They wanted to ensure the uninterrupted flow of oil supplies

Question 38

What was the West’s greatest fear?

Answer 38

The instability and volatility in the region that would result from an Iranian victory and the installation of Islamic revolutionary governments in the Gulf states

Question 39

What was the USA’s aim?

Answer 39

To ensure that at the very least Iraq did not lose the war

They supplied Iraq with arms, intelligence and finance

Question 40

What did Britain, France and West Germany supply to Iraq?

Answer 40

Military equipment

Question 41

When did the USA become more involved?

Answer 41

May 1984

Question 42

What did the USA do in May 1984?

Answer 42

They sent warships to the Gulf to help guarantee oil supplies as each side was attacking the other’s tankers and merchant shipping

Question 43

What were the consequences of the war?

Answer 43

• There was no winner
• Neither side achieved its war aims
• Both sides suffered substantial casualties of at least half a million
• Many suffered rom serious wounds or psychological damage
• The economic plight of Iraq was one of the factors why Saddam invaded Kuwait in 1990
• Saddam and Khomeini both remained in power
• Living standards in both countries plummeted
• Social projects in Iraq stopped
• Both faced bankruptcy and had incurred substantial foreign debt
• Both countries’ annual oil revenues halved

Question 44

What did Saddam view the result of the war as?

Answer 44

He claimed a glorious victory for Iraq

He had halted the spread of the Islamic Revolution and prevented the toppling of his regime