Iran-Iraq War
The Iran-Iraq War (Referred to as قادسيّة صدّام "Saddām's Qādisiyyah" in Iraq, and جنگ تحمیلی "Iraqi Imposed War" in Iran) was a major war fought between the Islamic Republic of Iran and Ba'athist Iraq from 1980 to 1988.[1]
Invasion
The war began on September 22, 1980, when Iraqi armored forces crossed the border in to Iran, taking advantage of the turmoil caused by the Iranian Revolution. Though the Iraqi forces had the element of surprise, they were soon turned back by the Iranians.
The "Tanker War"
the United States had been at odds with Iran since the Iran Hostage Crisis. After Iranian and Iraqi forces both began attacking oil tankers from noncombatant nations, the US began to provide direct financial and military aid to Iraqi forces.
Aftermath
The war was marked by Saddam Hussein's use of chemical and [biological weapons|biological]] weapons against Kurdish populations in northern Iraq. During the eight years of warfare, nearly 1,000,000 people lost their lives.[2]