Iran-Iraq War
Iraqi forces firing rocket launchers on the outskirts of Khorramshahr, Iran, October 1980.
Iran-Iraq War
1980–1988
Also known as: Iraq-Iran War
Quick Facts Iran-Iraq War, (1980–88), prolonged military conflict between Iran and Iraq during the 1980s. The incredibly deadly and destructive nature of the conflict left a long legacy, including the proliferation in the development of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq and Iran. The war placed tremendous strain on the countries’ resources, a factor that precipitated Iraq’s later invasion of Kuwait in 1990 (see Persian Gulf War). In Iran, which was fresh out of the...