Zusammenfassung der Ressource
Causes of the Iran-Iraq War
- TRIGGER
- September 22 1980 - Iraqi
forces invade Iran
- Pre-emptive strike
- SOCIAL
- Hussein ordered the exile of 100,00 Iraqi
citizens that had been born in Iran
- Iraq = Arab Iran
= Persian Both
have Kurds
- Variety of ethnoreligious groups due
to artificially constructed borders in
the fall of the Ottoman Empire????
- POLITICAL
- Both leaders are new in power and thus
want to establish themselves as
superior in the Arab world.
- Iranian Revolution (1979) - established
Ayatollah Khomeini as leader.
- Souresafil - direct result of the revolution.
Clash of personalities played a part
- 1979 - Saddam Hussein emerged as
the effective head of state (in a rise
similar to Stalin)
- Cold War Tenions
- Iraq - treaty of freindhip with the USSR
Iran - support of the US
- REGIONAL HEDGEMONY
- 1980 - 20 Iraqi Ba'ath officials assassinated
- 1980 execute Ayatollah Sabr as
Hussein power under threat
- MILITARY
- Iranian army weakening . 12,000 officers killed or
dismissed. 50% of armed forces deserted. 50% of pilots
purged. 50% of planes inoperable.
- By contrast, Iraq had more tanks
and could man all of its weapons.
- Iraq had a lot of international
support USA, UK, France. Iran
had just North Korea.
- Miscalculation as to how weak Iran were as
they were able to summon masses of
people with the promise that they would be
guaranteed entry to paradise as a martyr.
- ECONOMIC
- Long term territorial
dispute over the Shatt al
Arab waterway.
- Significance; It is Iraq's only access
to the Persian gulf thus allowing
exporting and importing.
- 17th September 1980 - Iraq abrogates the 1975
Algiers accord which split the waterway
- Pipes - main factor. Iraq launched the
war to wrest full control of the Shatt
al-Arab waterway and gain the prestige
of victory
- Khadduri agrees - Iran disrespected the
Algiers Agreement which represented
peace between the two nations
- Territorial dispute over south western Iranian territory,
Khuzestan. Valuable as major oil producer. Area is
predominantly made up of Arabs (Iraq)
- Iran supported Kurdish rebels in Iraq
- Importance of Kurdistan; produced 2/3 of the oil all of
grain production. Its loss would ruin the Iraqi economy.
- In retaliation and to destabalise Iran,
Iraq supported Iranian Kurdish rebels
- Territorial issues are inevitable
as majority of Iraqi oil fields are
close to the border
- Iraqi economic context; world oil boom 1979-80,
rising oil prices, as a result the economy
booms. Improved living conditions.
- Iranian economic context; growing
unemployment, shortages of consumer
goods, wealthy lose western business.
- RELIGION
- Iraqi religious divisions.
60% Shiite 20% Sunni.
- Minority Iraqi government hold power
through fear. Ayatollah Khomeini felt it was
his duty to overthrow the Sunni government.
- However the Shiite population of
Iraq were content being ruled by the
Sunni government
- Pipes - cultural and religous tensions were
minimal shown through contemporary
literature
- Souresafil - Iraq feared a Shiite rebellion
- Khadduri - origin lies in the Sunni Shia divide
- Sunni (Iraq rule) vs Shia (Iran).
- Khadduri = Iraqi born, former Iraqi UN
delegate. Soresafil = exiled Iranian journalist.
Pipes - impartial American historian