One no one lost. 2 considering Iran is much bigger ,and the question was there since 50s during kingdom era and it was clear Iran wants to expand and British moves , Iraq weakened Iran and stopped a potential attack. That is a massive achievement and it strengthened Iraq military with tone of experience. Iran loses are almost 3 times that of iraq. Iraq got out with a stronger bigger military. The tie in itself was a marical. Iraq focused on capturing some land that had oile in the south that has arabs too. However if they changed their strategy properly and actually go after the capital and government itself they could have won and taken all of Iran. That is especially if Iraq worked and asked with Islamic language getting macineries from across Muslim world.
It was the original "Iraq war", the one I grew up with. Anyway, in due time, Saddam made Kissinger's adagio true: "to be enemy of the USA is dangerous but to be our ally is deadly".
First off, thanks to this channel @Hikmahistory for covering many of the events I’m about to mention. I’m glad I can share my perspective here. The Iran-Iraq War had no clear winner-both nations were devastated. But if you look at history, it feels like the Middle East has been condemned to chaos by design. Here’s why: 1. Sykes-Picot Agreement (1916): Arbitrary borders drawn by Britain and France divided the region, ignoring ethnic and sectarian realities and planting the seeds of long-term conflict. 2. Operation Ajax (1953): The CIA and MI6 overthrew Iran’s Prime Minister Mossadegh after he nationalized oil, prioritizing Western control over regional stability. 3. Iran-Iraq War (1980-1988): The U.S. backed Iraq with weapons and intelligence while secretly arming Iran (Iran-Contra), prolonging the war to weaken both sides. Kissinger even said, “It’s a pity they can’t both lose.” 4. Gulf War Setup (1990): U.S. Ambassador April Glaspie’s comments to Saddam Hussein about Kuwait were ambiguous enough to bait Iraq into invasion, leading to Iraq’s devastation. 5. Clean Break Strategy (1996): A policy document suggested destabilizing the region to weaken adversaries like Iraq and Syria. 6. 2003 Iraq Invasion: The U.S. toppled Saddam Hussein under false WMD claims, leaving Iraq in chaos for decades. 7. General Wesley Clark’s Memo (2007): He revealed plans to “take out” seven Middle Eastern countries, including Iraq, Syria, and Iran, further highlighting a broader agenda. Looking at these events, it’s hard not to see a deliberate strategy to keep the Middle East fragmented and unstable. Why focus on Iran today? Because Iran, with its deep history and cultural backbone, is the only country in the region currently capable of breaking the rules the West seems to have set for the Middle East. In short, it looks like the region has been condemned to chaos-and Iran is now the focal point because it refuses to play along.
Iraq started the war by invading Iran and was repelled. While it subsequently prevented Iran from taking any of the Iraqi land it still qualifies as an Iranian victory.
Unfortunately your dad is right... on the soldier's level. On the political/governmental, I'm afraid that's not the case - countries gain and lose a great amount in a war.
The Iran-Iraq War dragged on in a stalemate until 1988, when both countries accepted a cease-fire that ended the fighting. Despite the large foreign debt with which Iraq found itself saddled by war's end, Saddam continued to build up his armed forces. In August 1990 the Iraqi army overran neighbouring Kuwait
you missed a very important detail about the foreign debt Saddam built up during his war with Iran, most of the debt was indebted to surprise surprise Kuwait. Saddam thinking he did a favour to the entire middle east by supressing Iranian aggression thought Kuwait would forigve Iraq's debt but they chose not to leading to the invasion in which Saddam wanted to take Kuwaits oil rich land
@@shxmana 1. Iraqi debt wasn't just owed to Kuwait. It was owed to all Gulf countries. 2. Iraq didn't ask Kuwait to forgive its debt. 3. Iraq asked OPEC to lower production so Iraq could recover. But Kuwait not only did not lower production, it lowered oil prices instead. 4. Kuwait was engaging in slant drilling across Iraqi border. 5. Iraq invaded Iran at behest of USA and Gulf region.
@@maquacr7014 I never said only to kuwait I said most of it which was 13 billion (37 in total from all states) which they did ask to forgive for the exact reason I stated being that Saddams opinion was that he defended the entire middle east from Iranian aggression. When Kuwait refused multiple times even! Saddam threatened to reignite a long standing feud between the countries threatening Kuwait with invasion if it didn’t hand over the Bubiyan and Warbah Islands which Kuwait did not. That in combination with Kuwait lowering oil prices which you mentioned is true Saddam accused them of undermining Iraq and not long after took military action. Literally just googled it to get the facts straight and countless of articles pop up saying exactly what I said but worded different in some cases
@@maquacr7014 1. I never said it was but said MOST was learn to read... 13 billion out of a total of 37 was owed to Kuwait 2. Iraq did ask for its debt to forgiven and have them be payments instead for defending the middle east from Iranian aggression cause that was Saddams opinion on the matter. 3. This is true but only after Saddam threatened to reignite a feud over 2 islands governed by Kuwait if Kuwait didnt hand them over. 4. could be evidence for this is hard to find and its largely unkown whether this really happened 5. bro just google this shit I just did to get the facts straight and its so easy to find all over the place
@@maquacr7014you’re wrong on most your points in attempts to whitewash saddams warmongering. Saddam owed its debt to the gulf states, kuwait wasn’t the only nation threatened by invasion, the entire gulf was, hence why saddam had an allied coalition of western AND gulf arabs against him
Iraq started the war and failed to achieve any of its war aims, despite suffering enormous costs. It may not have been a victory for Iran, but it was unquestionably a defeat for Iraq.
@@wrathofachilles Now we're getting into history. The problem is iran tried to inspire Iraqi Shia revolutionairies in Iraq to ovethrow the saddam Huseein government. I wouldn't say Iraq started the war or Iran, it just happend because of different actions.
Saddam was a baathist tyrant just like assad, and Khomeini was a fanatic: basically a shia version of Bn Laden. Both tyrants who made their people suffer.
i get ur point but i would say saddam was much worse. khomeini didnt start this war and didnt drop chemical weapons on his own people like saddam and assad. comparing khomeini to bin laden is ridiculous to me
What has bldn done that’s so bad? Ridiculous comment, and how can you put saddam in the same sentence as that monster the majority of his people actually loved him unlike assad where the majority lived in fear and hated him, tell me you’re not Arab or don’t understand the land without telling me, shut up white boy
Looks can be deceiving. Iran has improved significantly since the 70s, despite the Imposed War and decades of sanctions and sabotage. The literacy rate then was below 40%, now it’s around 90%. The scientific output of the country has risen drastically, and women make up around half of STEM graduates. The infrastructure has also improved. Iraq hasn’t fared as well, especially after the 2003 invasion, sadly.
There is a story I came across in the the book Web of Deceit by Barry Lando. During the Iraq-Iran War, Iraqi military officers were being trained by Green Berets Special Forces in the US in urban guerilla warfare. By the mid 1980s the war was a stalemate and the fear of the US was that the momentum was shifting towards Iran's favor; which it eventually did towards 1988 as Iran started going into Iraq, and so the idea was that in the worst case scenario of the Iranians defeating tge Iraqi army and taking Baghdad, an organized urban guerilla warfare would erupt throughout Baghdad and other Iraqi cities where the Iranian occupation would be a chatastrophic nightmare for Iran. Fast foward to 2003 with the American War and Occupation of Iraq. A few months into the American occupation after L.Paul Bremmer fires the entire Iraqi military, the Iraqi insugency explodes and urban guerilla warfare is unleashed on the American occupation that lasts for years. And it was organized with cells throughout the country. The same military officers who were trained by the American Green Berets Special Foces in urban guerilla warfare used these tactics against the Americans.
That be an amazing story if it's true. Maybe if you find enough material, could you do a video? Just a suggestion. By the way, truly enjoy your videos and they greatly inform me about the Middle East.
@@HikmaHistory basically the Americans instigated saddam to attack Iran but covertly supported Iran as well in order to force khomeni to covertly collaborate with the west in its designs for the middle east. In 2003 the Americans simply served Iraq (which hosts a large no. of shia religious shrines) on a platter to iran by invading the country. We don't know what the Americans got in return for that. But 1 thing is becoming quite clear that iran and the west including Israel are actually partners. And the verbal khurafaat they say to each other is just optics to deceive people.
@@HashiramaSenyuexcept america is suppprted by nearly entire middle east state turkey and saudi alone doing more than iran not to mention gulf states and it because by that time they hate sadam for invade quwait america actually ok (at least tolerate) saddam in charge of iraq but it was saudi who pressure america to help quwait ofcourse arab monarch the reason iran able to gain much influence simply american backed government is unpopular in long term specially their first agenda is privatization of iraqi economy wich most of populace see as balatant stealing and without scular baathist (or other to replace them) as powerfull player and iraq themself didnt have powerfull goverment and fell into chaos with rise of isis, most shia population ofcourse look for iran and iran simply use this for their regional intrest like everyone else
Thank you for this. I was born in Khorramshahr in 1977. This war had a massive impact on my family. I was saddened to see many Iraqi refugees in Khorramshahr and Abadan, when I last visited those town in 2006.
Just to show the interconnectedness of this war, 20:10 in the photo with Khomeini is my grandfather (the one with the white turban). He was born in Iraq, studied in Iran, believed in the exportation of the revolution, became the official Arabic translator for Khomeini in exile in France, then fled to the UAE when Khomeini put his older brother, Ayatollah Shoberi Khaqani under house arrest in Qom. This is how complicated this conflict was on personal level for Iraqis and Iranians. Many people want this conflict to be described in numbers and figures and opposing ideologies, while it is, as a matter of fact, a conflict between two countries that shared cultural and historical similarities for centuries, often intermarried between one another and influenced one another. Ps. I’m an Iraqi citizen, born, raised and living in Iraq.
As an Afghan who went through the savage and brutal invasion of the Red Army of my country, I will never forget an unshakable bravado of Imam Khomeini when he was told by Kremlin during the toughest period of Iran - Iraq war: “compromise your stand on Afghanistan and we will compromised ours on your war with Iraq”, and he said NO.
@@mustafaali3333-q1m You can have a thousand differences with Imam Khomeini but if you consider him as a dumb due to standing to the brutal invasion of an independent country, then it means we shouldn’t bother if an innocent nation is brutalised and destroyed by a super power. The USSR killed 1.5 million and forced almost 7 million Afghans (almost 35% of the population in that time) to leave their country regardless of their ethnicity, religious sects etc. And just for your information, after the USSR withdrawal many heart breaking and horrible things happened but there hasn’t been any massacre whatsoever.
Funny you mention Khomenei caring for countries being invaded and at the same time supporting the same Russians invading Ukraine. Kind of ironic. @@mohamednazir913
Having studied this war for many years I can say this is all correct. Millions of lives lost billions of dollars spent and the end result was a stalemate.
Imam Khomeini was a great leader chosen by his people, his version of governing 'islamic republic' was voted for by 26 million out if 32 million Iranis. He took Iran out of humiliation and subjugation and poverty into what Iran is tiday, A super power. This is the view of an afghan living in the west.
Yes like most people your ignorant about what the US policy - It has always been that while ever the west remains dependent on oil no middle eastern countries will be allowed to hold the western nations to ransom it has nothing to do with monopolizing oil
@@Payamjafarian I really like both of my parents. They’re divorced. My mother is Iraqi. Back then I preferred my father because I often went to work with him, but now I live with my mother and do more things with her.
Khomeini agreed to the seize fire only after US Navy shutdown the Iranian civilian airliner thinking there is no limit to American strategy in not allowing Iran to win !
Saddam’s decision to launch a war against Iran was not rooted in his desire to defeat the Ayatollahs and invade Iran; rather, it was a calculated move to solidify his authoritarian grip and cement his one-man rule over Iraq.
Yes because the Southern Shia Iraqis were always a threat being they had the largest population within Iraq. Shia Sunni and Kurds being main groups but there was also a large population of Christians
@ghostirq Saddam didn't respect the 1975 algiers agreement, which ceded half of shatt al arab to Iran. The war was necessary for saddam to cement his one-man demigod rule.
@@JustCallMe-Moe that’s not what the conflict started over. Ayatollah was in Iraq before the Algerian deal and he was part of the deal. That’s why he was exiled to France and considered Saddam and his party to be a foe. He started shelling and sending fighter jets into Iraq after he took over
When a war descends into static fighting (like trenches), it becomes a war of attrition. It becomes more and more unlikely that one side will have a crushing and overwhelming victory.
This documentary really opened my eyes to the devastating cost of the Iran-Iraq War. It’s shocking how both Saddam Hussein and Ayatollah Khomeini sacrificed so many lives for territorial ambitions that ultimately led to nothing. The geopolitical maneuvering behind the scenes, with countries like the U.S. and Israel playing both sides, adds another layer of tragedy. A war with no winners-just immense suffering for ordinary people
Saddam had the support of all the powerful western countries and used every weapon including chemical weapons on the Iranians but lost horribly. This shows that having all financial and military support doesn’t mean you can win.
1) no he didn’t. Only country he was dealing with was the USSR doing arms deals. 2) Iran is 3x bigger than Iraq and has 3x the population 3) the full scale escalation started to stop the Iranian shelling not to take over.
1. Iran under the shah had frequently harassed Iraq in the 1960s as they sought to grab the entire contested border area. To make matters worse, Iran under the shah , actively armed Kurdish rebels in Iraq to weaken Iraq. This caused immense resentment in Iraq - amongst Shias and Sunnis. 2. So Saddam sought to avenge these things in 1980 on seeing that Khomeini was threatening the whole world: US hostage crisis, threatening Sunni Gulf countries with ‘pious Shia revolution’ , arming shia militants in Bahrain, Pakistan, Afghanistan, etc. 3. The Iran Iraq war at the ground was not shia-Sunni conflict: Iranian Sunnis in oil rich Kuzestan fought brilliantly against Iraqi occupation, and even surprised khomeini amd his shia clergy. Similarly Shias in the Iraqi army fought against iran. 4. Iraq offered a cease fire in 1983 seeing that Iran was more resilient than he calculated but Iran refused and saddam then lost it going bezerck. And then the west stepped in with arms sales, other Sunni countries pitched in as they had seen how shia militants in their countries had been armed and funded by Iran in the zeal of spreading the shia revolution overseas.
It seems like only Sunni are allowed to spread their pan Arabism in the Middle East, but theyre threatened if the Iranian Shia spread their influence. Double standards.
@@az6802far from it. Whilst Arabs are trying to reunite. Iran is actively seeking to destroy it under the banner of shiaism but in reality it's pure paganism and polytheistic sect that has nothing to do with islam
The complex interplay between regional and geo politics are factors whose consequences still affect both nations & the region to date. Leaders across the region have been unable to leverage geopolitics to their advantage. And instead are used as pawns by the bigger world powers.
@HikmaHistory If anything the Khaleeji states have been pivotal in the regions political power play: As trusted agents of West. Propping up financially, politically & militarily governments allied to them also opposition groups. It's their financial muscle that has given them significant regionally. Prior to the discover & exploitation of their crude oil resources. The Khaleeji States weren't considered much of a factor in regional politics.
Great video as always, but I must disagree when you say that the US was Iraq's "erstwhile ally". The US never had any illusions about Saddam's true nature and was merely trying to check Iranian power and stop the spread of the revolution. To call the US an Iraqi ally is a stretch.
I get where you're coming from. I was trying to allude to the fact that the US gave very real material aid to Iraq during the war with Iran. I know that doesn't necessarily make them allies in the traditional sense but then you have to be careful - were the US/Britain not allies with Stalin's USSR during WWII? Obviously we saw what happened after and even during WWII it was obvious that it was an alliance of convenience but I would say they were still allies.
The Americans sold none of their weapons to Iraq. By 1990, Iraq only had less than 10 unarmed OH-58 Kiowa observation helicopters. All their military equipment was supplied by the USSR and France. Iraq was a Soviet client state. The US eventually gave them some information when it looked like there was a chance Iraq could possibly fall to Iran, putting a finger on the scale. However, calling it an "alliance" is a stretch. If anyone was allied with Iraq it would've been the Soviets, and the US knew this. The Soviets got what they wanted when the Shah of Iran was gone since Iran's ties to the US and UK were largely severed. They were quite happy with the situation right before the war started so the Soviets were in a quandary. Between a client state (Iraq) and an upcoming client state they didn't want to alienate. Also note how quickly Saddam apologized for the attack on USS Stark and sent money to the families of the dead US sailors. He believed there was a possibility the US would attack in retribution and make his situation worse if he didn't take all steps to avoid it.
@@HikmaHistory The US and Britain gave massive aid to the USSR and had multiple joint conferences discussing grand strategy. My main issue is with the characterization of Desert Storm as the US turning on its ally. In any case, I'm a big fan of your videos. I can't remember if it was you, but someone MSA'd Nasser's first name, I found that hilarious!
You understand I'm limited by what's available on Google, right? The purpose of the visuals is to give the viewer an understanding of the audio narration. Inshallah in the future when I become much bigger and I can dedicate more funds to each video, I will aim to make every visual synchronise accurately with the audio.
@@HikmaHistoryquit making excuses! You failed us Hikma. Lol. Jk. Love your channel. Of all the channels on UA-cam I'm most excited to see your channel grow.
Kuwait, as per Iraq, was tapping into oil reservoirs that straddled both countries in alleged violation of pre war agreements. You know, or should know of others… I am not trying to shoot down the video. It is extremely well done for such a short clip. My only concern here was that certain important information is missing, however winners write history. Iraq in my view lost the war. Its regime survived, but was much weakened. Also, it looked for a way out for years. Not Iran.
not true , Iraq simply won and forced Iran to accept the ceasefire after liberating Faw peninsula and the huge push into Iranian territory thereafter .
Alternative timeline Iraq: Hey, how about we solve our problems diplomatically? Iran: Good idea. Let us focus on peace and development as well Iraq: Nice. Now we sign trade agreements. Iran: Don't forget to keep those extreme ideas to a minimum Now both regimes avoid a pointless war and maintain close ties to each other with despite differences
you made a lot of videos on many important leaders of middle east so i would love it if u make one on him considering that there are rarely any videos about him in english and your content is great so i assume you would attract many kurds to your video.
I should mention there are decent and good people in both countries however, they aren't the ones that's terriorizing the countries! No good people want to hate and kill!
People always say "saddam lost bc he couldnt gain any iranian territory", okay then did iran overthrow the iraqi government?? Did they capture basra at all from 1982-1988?? The iraqi army literally maintained control over the shatt al arab all the way until 1990 and khomeini himself literally admitted that he was displeased with iran accepting the ceasefire and that he was happy for all the iranian "martyrs" but unhappy that he was still alive. Its simple, iraq invaded in 1980, iran kicked out iraq in 1982, iran invaded iraq in 1982 and continued to do so until 1988, and the iranian army got kicked out from iraq in the tawakalna ala allah operations, that is why iran lost, respectively. The only reason iran is a regional power in the middle east today is bc saddams regime was ousted from power in 2003, so iran becoming a regional power has nothing to do with the iran iraq war at all, that war was when iran lost
@@maquacr7014USA is not the world GOD!! And so you think Middle East people care about what US wants? Haha. They are not afraid of USA. Trust me I’ve been to IRAQ.
Thanks for pointing out that Saddam lost. People who say the war was a tie don’t understand the conflict. Iran was fighting Iraq backed by the Europe USSR US and the Gulf getting their territory back and surviving is a win.
Lol bro both countries got wrekt. The only way Iran stayed in the fight as long as it did was it sent millions of underage children to the frontlines to engage Iraqi troop positions. Cannon fodder.
Ultimately the war was a tie because everything went back to ante bellum. But if you delve deeper, Iran winning is a lot easier to argue than Iraq winning.
Absolute rubbish. Iraq never lost. Saddam crushed khomaini. Iran is a massive country compared to iraq and for iraq to go toe to toe with iran, that alone tells you that iraq won the war u idiot.
USSR was the only one trading weapons with Iraq. EU didn’t do anything and the US was passing satellite images to both sides. The conflict started by Iran and dragged by them for 8 years
Hell of a docco, thanks for making it! A very important part of recent Iranian and Iraqi history. A great follow up would be to cover how Iran and Iraq became friendly after the American forces left , leading a complete reversal of the situation in the 1980s
Iran came out stronger after the war and rebuilt beautifully, with thriving cities today. Meanwhile, Iraq never fully recovered. It’s still not a free country and is largely influenced by Iran. Saddam faced a humiliating death, while Khomeini was honored with an unforgettable funeral. Tyrants always meet a bad end. Proud to be a Shia Muslim! ❤️
Saddam's humiliating death is saying the shahada? Big, big difference between Saddam who died a martyr and Khomeini and his successor, who allied with Israel and America.
@dragon888193ftw he was a secular dude who posed himself as muslim he didnt even recite the shahdah and was killed. Lol! Khomenei never asked for America or Israel's help. Those 2 countries played double games like they do now
This happened to weaken both countries. The aftermath was that Iraqi military broke down facilitating the 2003 US and allies invasion. As for Iran, Iran learnt its lessons from this war and began developing their own missiles with the help of North Korea, Russia etc. . All in all I think this war just stopped industrialization of both countries enormously. No one won, but Iraq having 3 times less the population of Iran actually suprised
Iraqi military didn't break down as a result of Iran Iraq war. Infact, both Iranian and Iraqi militaries became aware of modern warfare and gained tons of experience. Iraqi invasion of Kuwait, subsequent American response and sanctions on Iraq weakened Iraqi military.
Also iraqi infastructure was still intact to an extent after the war, the only thing that wasnt was the iraqi economy, however both were destroyed after the 1991 persian gulf war
Im sorry but you fail to mention your sources for the claims of Israel arming iran to the tune of $Billions. I would really appreciate it if you could please tell us more about the source of these claims. Because without sources its a rather hard pill to swallow.
The title is completely wrong. Both sides lost and gained nothing from the war but destruction. Iranian (military and civilian) casualties were larger however. Additionally, Iraq repelled a war waged (arguably) by Iran in the first place.
@@pyrowar7199Iraqis are super prideful about this war when in reality it was a pathetic attempt by both nations to cripple each other. There was no winner. There were two losers for sure though.
@ I kinda have to disagree Iran Definitely won.they were in a defensive war and didnt lose any territory, and through the war Khomeini was able to strenghten his rule while Iraq only got weaker.
It was also our government and uk that give saddam the chemical weapons to fight against Iran then we support Iran against saddam to the last year of the war
It’s a shame the Iranian monarchy fell. It’s also a shame that corruption was rampant which also led the rise of Khomeini. The monarchy failed to do one thing, “Preach the need for change, but never reform too much at once”. The western culture was too much. If he wanted western culture, he’d have to implement bit by bit.
The Shah was put in place in 1953 after Uncle Saddam took out Mossadeq for oil interests, the Shah was a Pillar of American Interests in the Middle East for at least two and a half decades, and now Iran happens to be the biggest enemy of Uncle Sam and the Zionists in the region
Saddam felt threatened, much like the gulf monarchies and the west (who orchestrated the coup against Mossadegh), that Iranian revolution would have ripple effects in the region somewhat similar to the french revolution and the Napoleonic wars that spread french revolutionary ideas, Khomeini also took up the Palestinian cause. Saddam thought his military and the green light from the gulf and the west were more than enough to beat Iran and further solidify his rule, not only did he fail but he realized the gulf countries weren't willing to help with oil prices as it was the thing Saddam needes to fund his campaigns and economy. This would lead to the invasion of kuwait.
The stalemate only began in the third year and when IRGC took over the decision making. Even though the war lasted for eight years, most of the decisive operations and intense fighting occurred up to June 1982, a pivotal point in the war, when twelve armored divisions of the Iraqi forces were either annihilated or crushed and were forced to retreat to pre-war borders. The defeat caused the shocking events within the Iraqi camp following the conviction of Iraqi top military commanders in the court martials of July 1982. Up until this point in the war, it was Iran’s regular army, the remnant of the Shah's army after the revolution, who led and did bulk of the fighting, and managed to preserve the pre-war borders while maintaining superiority on the ground, air, and in the Persian Gulf, in addition to holding a staggering amount of Iraqi prisoners of war (only the last operation in June 1982 led to the capturing of around twenty thousand Iraqi PoWs). At this point Iran had the upper hand for a peace treaty, and even could have captured the Iraqi city of Basra, which did not materialize since the regular army opposed it as an act of aggression, but the revolutionary government in Iran had other plans for the war going forward.
Materially both lost and gained nothing. Both countries failed to occupy any territories. Iran was on defence under Iraqi offence first 2 years of the war, Iraq was on defence for 6 years under Iranian offence later. Both lost materially, Iraq was on a huge debt, and Iran collapsed economically, therefore accepting ceasefire (while Iraq was planning for biggest offence, after Iranian offence failed). Khomeini wanted to spread Islamic revolution throughout the middle east, Iraq was the first and biggest target. Khomeini wanted the Shia of Iraq (Shia is the majority of Iraq already at that point) to side with Iran and revolt against Saddam’s Sunni dominated regime. Khomeini basically main goal of the war was to overthrow Saddam’s regime, and replace it with Iranian proxy. Saddam on the other hand wanted to smash that, the main reason on why he invaded Iran is because so that Shia Iraqis won’t be inspired by the Islamic State ideology, and so that the revolution won’t enter Iraq. He thought also occupying Iranian province Ahwaz was a bonus to the goal. The invasion lasted 2 years successfully for Iraq. The UN wanted them to accept ceasefire by 1982, which Saddam agreed to, but Khomeini refused. Because Iranians became united under one goal at that point, to defend their soil from Iraqi aggression. Both countries gained support internationally. Iraq gained support from Soviet Union, Germany and France on weaponry, Gulf countries financially, and US by satellites. Iran gained both financially and weaponry support from China, Japan, North Korea, Israel, Libya, Syria and even USA during Iran-Contra Affair, and Iraqi Kurdistan region in Northern Iraq supported Iranian armies as well. Iraq also had mercenaries from some other Arab countries as well. The war destined to be a stalemate. Iraqis claimed victory because their defence succeeded, and Iranian offences failed (1982-1988). Tehran was on their worst period of absences, also 30% of Iranian population moved out from Tehran. Baghdad on the other hand was on pure joy in the end of the war. In conclusion: Both lost materially, Iran lost more on both materially and casualties, Iraq won morally because their actual goal was to counter Iranian islamic proxy and offence. Iranian succeeded defending their soils but failed to occupy Iraqi soil and didn’t win anything materially as well. Khomeini kept the Islamic regime in Iran but failed heavily by trying to overthrow Saddam’s Sunni regime in Iraq. In my opinion, no winners. Most of the western analysts claims that neither side won, while some analysts claimed that Iraq was victor of the war, because of overwhelming successes in the end. But this war also led to Iraq invading Kuwait, which also led to fall of Iraq.
has IRAN learnt anything from IRAQI-US war? is Iran BEST buddy with Russia yet? still insist on helping muslims in Georgia against Russia? Your whole country is at risk now....
I wonder what would have happened if the us supported Iraq. I knew the Iran was shaky after the revolution but I didn’t understand just how shaky. I am of the opinion that had Iran fallen it might have lead to a different early 21st century.
World War II on the Eastern Front so useful to Anglo power that they decided to do it again on a model scale! The duo comparison of the leaders of the Iran vs Iraq and the Eastern Front are very similar. Many other things are similar to.
You’re missing the Israeli part. Israel was heavily involved in Iran be it industry, defence, agriculture, sewage to all the way to training Iran’s military and airforce which paved the way for Iran to defeat Iraq despite having everyone’s support. Israel also the was the only country to actually support Iran despite the new regime’s hostility towards Israelis but the Jewish state hoped that it’ll keep the window of cooperation open but it was unfortunately not true. Israel not only armed Iran but also carried out airstrikes to destroy Iraq’s nuclear ambitions forever and both countries shared intelligence to counter Saddam’s regime. Both countries cooperated closely to contain Arab nationalism. Iran also supplied oil to Israel during the OPEC’s oil embargo.
Who do you think won the Iran-Iraq War and why?
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One no one lost. 2 considering Iran is much bigger ,and the question was there since 50s during kingdom era and it was clear Iran wants to expand and British moves , Iraq weakened Iran and stopped a potential attack. That is a massive achievement and it strengthened Iraq military with tone of experience. Iran loses are almost 3 times that of iraq. Iraq got out with a stronger bigger military. The tie in itself was a marical.
Iraq focused on capturing some land that had oile in the south that has arabs too.
However if they changed their strategy properly and actually go after the capital and government itself they could have won and taken all of Iran. That is especially if Iraq worked and asked with Islamic language getting macineries from across Muslim world.
It was the original "Iraq war", the one I grew up with. Anyway, in due time, Saddam made Kissinger's adagio true: "to be enemy of the USA is dangerous but to be our ally is deadly".
First off, thanks to this channel @Hikmahistory for covering many of the events I’m about to mention. I’m glad I can share my perspective here.
The Iran-Iraq War had no clear winner-both nations were devastated. But if you look at history, it feels like the Middle East has been condemned to chaos by design. Here’s why:
1. Sykes-Picot Agreement (1916): Arbitrary borders drawn by Britain and France divided the region, ignoring ethnic and sectarian realities and planting the seeds of long-term conflict.
2. Operation Ajax (1953): The CIA and MI6 overthrew Iran’s Prime Minister Mossadegh after he nationalized oil, prioritizing Western control over regional stability.
3. Iran-Iraq War (1980-1988): The U.S. backed Iraq with weapons and intelligence while secretly arming Iran (Iran-Contra), prolonging the war to weaken both sides. Kissinger even said, “It’s a pity they can’t both lose.”
4. Gulf War Setup (1990): U.S. Ambassador April Glaspie’s comments to Saddam Hussein about Kuwait were ambiguous enough to bait Iraq into invasion, leading to Iraq’s devastation.
5. Clean Break Strategy (1996): A policy document suggested destabilizing the region to weaken adversaries like Iraq and Syria.
6. 2003 Iraq Invasion: The U.S. toppled Saddam Hussein under false WMD claims, leaving Iraq in chaos for decades.
7. General Wesley Clark’s Memo (2007): He revealed plans to “take out” seven Middle Eastern countries, including Iraq, Syria, and Iran, further highlighting a broader agenda.
Looking at these events, it’s hard not to see a deliberate strategy to keep the Middle East fragmented and unstable. Why focus on Iran today? Because Iran, with its deep history and cultural backbone, is the only country in the region currently capable of breaking the rules the West seems to have set for the Middle East.
In short, it looks like the region has been condemned to chaos-and Iran is now the focal point because it refuses to play along.
Iraq started the war by invading Iran and was repelled. While it subsequently prevented Iran from taking any of the Iraqi land it still qualifies as an Iranian victory.
Obvious Iran won, Iraq was a lost, because they didn't achieve any of their war aims.
Im Iranian. My father was in the war. Wheni asked him "dad who won the war". He always told me son in war there are no winners only losers.
Unfortunately your dad is right... on the soldier's level. On the political/governmental, I'm afraid that's not the case - countries gain and lose a great amount in a war.
Iran didn't win the war's against Sadam Hussein, but George bush did
I mean it was a white peace, no one gained anything from it. But Iran did defend it’s sovereignty’s
@@HikmaHistoryyeah…. Right.
I was in the war, too.
The Iran-Iraq War dragged on in a stalemate until 1988, when both countries accepted a cease-fire that ended the fighting. Despite the large foreign debt with which Iraq found itself saddled by war's end, Saddam continued to build up his armed forces. In August 1990 the Iraqi army overran neighbouring Kuwait
you missed a very important detail about the foreign debt Saddam built up during his war with Iran, most of the debt was indebted to surprise surprise Kuwait. Saddam thinking he did a favour to the entire middle east by supressing Iranian aggression thought Kuwait would forigve Iraq's debt but they chose not to leading to the invasion in which Saddam wanted to take Kuwaits oil rich land
@@shxmana 1. Iraqi debt wasn't just owed to Kuwait. It was owed to all Gulf countries.
2. Iraq didn't ask Kuwait to forgive its debt.
3. Iraq asked OPEC to lower production so Iraq could recover. But Kuwait not only did not lower production, it lowered oil prices instead.
4. Kuwait was engaging in slant drilling across Iraqi border.
5. Iraq invaded Iran at behest of USA and Gulf region.
@@maquacr7014 I never said only to kuwait I said most of it which was 13 billion (37 in total from all states) which they did ask to forgive for the exact reason I stated being that Saddams opinion was that he defended the entire middle east from Iranian aggression. When Kuwait refused multiple times even! Saddam threatened to reignite a long standing feud between the countries threatening Kuwait with invasion if it didn’t hand over the Bubiyan and Warbah Islands which Kuwait did not. That in combination with Kuwait lowering oil prices which you mentioned is true Saddam accused them of undermining Iraq and not long after took military action. Literally just googled it to get the facts straight and countless of articles pop up saying exactly what I said but worded different in some cases
@@maquacr7014 1. I never said it was but said MOST was learn to read... 13 billion out of a total of 37 was owed to Kuwait
2. Iraq did ask for its debt to forgiven and have them be payments instead for defending the middle east from Iranian aggression cause that was Saddams opinion on the matter.
3. This is true but only after Saddam threatened to reignite a feud over 2 islands governed by Kuwait if Kuwait didnt hand them over.
4. could be evidence for this is hard to find and its largely unkown whether this really happened
5. bro just google this shit I just did to get the facts straight and its so easy to find all over the place
@@maquacr7014you’re wrong on most your points in attempts to whitewash saddams warmongering. Saddam owed its debt to the gulf states, kuwait wasn’t the only nation threatened by invasion, the entire gulf was, hence why saddam had an allied coalition of western AND gulf arabs against him
Great coverage as always. What a tragic, pointless war.
Couldn't have said it better myself.
Like all Arab wars
It kept the islamic regime takt on power for decades and US got paid
It wasnt tragic for Iran. We were defending our land from being invaded
It's was Sunni vs Shia war. Arabs vs Persian war.
Actually it was more of a stalemate.
Agreed but one side lost more than the other
The owner of this channel has Persian leanings
Iraq started the war and failed to achieve any of its war aims, despite suffering enormous costs. It may not have been a victory for Iran, but it was unquestionably a defeat for Iraq.
@@wrathofachilles Now we're getting into history. The problem is iran tried to inspire Iraqi Shia revolutionairies in Iraq to ovethrow the saddam Huseein government. I wouldn't say Iraq started the war or Iran, it just happend because of different actions.
@@mohammedalsmadi680 Big statement - what makes you say that?
I always know I'm going to learn something new when Hikma History has a new video upload!!
Glad you enjoy the content!
Saddam was a baathist tyrant just like assad, and Khomeini was a fanatic: basically a shia version of Bn Laden. Both tyrants who made their people suffer.
You put it perfectly
as an iranian you couldn't explain it better than this
i get ur point but i would say saddam was much worse. khomeini didnt start this war and didnt drop chemical weapons on his own people like saddam and assad. comparing khomeini to bin laden is ridiculous to me
What has bldn done that’s so bad? Ridiculous comment, and how can you put saddam in the same sentence as that monster the majority of his people actually loved him unlike assad where the majority lived in fear and hated him, tell me you’re not Arab or don’t understand the land without telling me, shut up white boy
@@aooi9191 truu
Both countries looked so advanced and modern in the 70's as compared to today.
Looks can be deceiving. Iran has improved significantly since the 70s, despite the Imposed War and decades of sanctions and sabotage. The literacy rate then was below 40%, now it’s around 90%. The scientific output of the country has risen drastically, and women make up around half of STEM graduates. The infrastructure has also improved. Iraq hasn’t fared as well, especially after the 2003 invasion, sadly.
Great video Tariq! Those complex geopolitics resulted in some arms sales and alliances between unexpected nations!
~Chris
Thanks Chris!
There is a story I came across in the the book Web of Deceit by Barry Lando. During the Iraq-Iran War, Iraqi military officers were being trained by Green Berets Special Forces in the US in urban guerilla warfare. By the mid 1980s the war was a stalemate and the fear of the US was that the momentum was shifting towards Iran's favor; which it eventually did towards 1988 as Iran started going into Iraq, and so the idea was that in the worst case scenario of the Iranians defeating tge Iraqi army and taking Baghdad, an organized urban guerilla warfare would erupt throughout Baghdad and other Iraqi cities where the Iranian occupation would be a chatastrophic nightmare for Iran.
Fast foward to 2003 with the American War and Occupation of Iraq. A few months into the American occupation after L.Paul Bremmer fires the entire Iraqi military, the Iraqi insugency explodes and urban guerilla warfare is unleashed on the American occupation that lasts for years. And it was organized with cells throughout the country.
The same military officers who were trained by the American Green Berets Special Foces in urban guerilla warfare used these tactics against the Americans.
Fascinating, I will check it out cuz if true that's amazingly interesting!
That be an amazing story if it's true. Maybe if you find enough material, could you do a video? Just a suggestion. By the way, truly enjoy your videos and they greatly inform me about the Middle East.
The dumbass thing the us have ever done 😂
Why would Americans fear iranian domination when they & Israel were supplying weapons?
Saddam didn't lose to nor win over Khomeini. The countries went back to the original borders with many casualties. It was a tragic war.
technically he distablized his country and got overthrown
That is a loss in my books
@BigBratwurstthe USA overthrew him
@@موسى_7 Hi Hope you're well. The title of the video is not accurate aa Saddam didn't lose to Khomeini.
Saddams gone so he lost
"They tried to overwhelm them with Shia (sheer) numbers" - best unintentional pun ever.
Unintentional?! I'm offended good sir.
Amazing job brother
Thanks wrora!
What’s funny is that thanks to a domino effect, plus America, Iran got everything they wanted in the war
I think I agree but could you elaborate?
I think you should thank Israel too.
@@HikmaHistory basically the Americans instigated saddam to attack Iran but covertly supported Iran as well in order to force khomeni to covertly collaborate with the west in its designs for the middle east. In 2003 the Americans simply served Iraq (which hosts a large no. of shia religious shrines) on a platter to iran by invading the country. We don't know what the Americans got in return for that. But 1 thing is becoming quite clear that iran and the west including Israel are actually partners. And the verbal khurafaat they say to each other is just optics to deceive people.
@@HashiramaSenyuexcept america is suppprted by nearly entire middle east state turkey and saudi alone doing more than iran not to mention gulf states and it because by that time they hate sadam for invade quwait america actually ok (at least tolerate) saddam in charge of iraq but it was saudi who pressure america to help quwait ofcourse arab monarch the reason iran able to gain much influence simply american backed government is unpopular in long term specially their first agenda is privatization of iraqi economy wich most of populace see as balatant stealing and without scular baathist (or other to replace them) as powerfull player and iraq themself didnt have powerfull goverment and fell into chaos with rise of isis, most shia population ofcourse look for iran and iran simply use this for their regional intrest like everyone else
@@HashiramaSenyu You're my new favorite schizo.
Great video as always!
Thank you for this. I was born in Khorramshahr in 1977. This war had a massive impact on my family. I was saddened to see many Iraqi refugees in Khorramshahr and Abadan, when I last visited those town in 2006.
Great research. Lots of facts i didn't know, thank you for sharing ❤️
Thanks Pedro, this one took me a while. Very convoluted conflict.
I was amazed your incredible videos, great truthful history, you spent time and hardwork, Mate may I just know where you're from? Thank you very much.
Thanks for the support. I'm Afghan but spent much of my life in the UK.
Amazing video keep it up !
Thank you for the support!
It was a draw technically
First video of yours I have seen, just subbed.
Just to show the interconnectedness of this war, 20:10 in the photo with Khomeini is my grandfather (the one with the white turban). He was born in Iraq, studied in Iran, believed in the exportation of the revolution, became the official Arabic translator for Khomeini in exile in France, then fled to the UAE when Khomeini put his older brother, Ayatollah Shoberi Khaqani under house arrest in Qom.
This is how complicated this conflict was on personal level for Iraqis and Iranians. Many people want this conflict to be described in numbers and figures and opposing ideologies, while it is, as a matter of fact, a conflict between two countries that shared cultural and historical similarities for centuries, often intermarried between one another and influenced one another.
Ps. I’m an Iraqi citizen, born, raised and living in Iraq.
As an Afghan who went through the savage and brutal invasion of the Red Army of my country, I will never forget an unshakable bravado of Imam Khomeini when he was told by Kremlin during the toughest period of Iran - Iraq war: “compromise your stand on Afghanistan and we will compromised ours on your war with Iraq”, and he said NO.
I wish I could've figured out a place to mention that!
❤❤
And he was dumb to do so he gained nothing and when Taliban gain other Afghanistan they massacred Shias
@@mustafaali3333-q1m You can have a thousand differences with Imam Khomeini but if you consider him as a dumb due to standing to the brutal invasion of an independent country, then it means we shouldn’t bother if an innocent nation is brutalised and destroyed by a super power. The USSR killed 1.5 million and forced almost 7 million Afghans (almost 35% of the population in that time) to leave their country regardless of their ethnicity, religious sects etc. And just for your information, after the USSR withdrawal many heart breaking and horrible things happened but there hasn’t been any massacre whatsoever.
Funny you mention Khomenei caring for countries being invaded and at the same time supporting the same Russians invading Ukraine. Kind of ironic. @@mohamednazir913
The Iran-Iraq war was technically the Gulf War part 1
Having studied this war for many years I can say this is all correct. Millions of lives lost billions of dollars spent and the end result was a stalemate.
Excellent video thank you !
It was Khomeini who was forced to accept the ceasefire while some Iran’s territories was still under Iraq occupation.
Imam Khomeini was a great leader chosen by his people, his version of governing 'islamic republic' was voted for by 26 million out if 32 million Iranis. He took Iran out of humiliation and subjugation and poverty into what Iran is tiday, A super power. This is the view of an afghan living in the west.
Such a great concise video, very professional voice too
Greatest tragedy. Two great nations fought and only israel and the USA won
So in Iran - Iraq war, the world care more on losing some oil field rather than losing human lives?.
Yes like most people your ignorant about what the US policy - It has always been that while ever the west remains dependent on oil no middle eastern countries will be allowed to hold the western nations to ransom it has nothing to do with monopolizing oil
Imagine how many wars have been fought throughout history at these very same locations.
I‘m half Irani and half Iraqi. I like both countries but I prefer Iraq.
Like preferring mom over dad? 😁
@@Payamjafarian I really like both of my parents. They’re divorced. My mother is Iraqi. Back then I preferred my father because I often went to work with him, but now I live with my mother and do more things with her.
@@danim8414 you are anyways the light of my eyes brother, I have the same story as u actually. I was just stuck in Iran. 😅
@@Payamjafarian 🤝
Why do you prefer Iraq?
Khomeini agreed to the seize fire only after US Navy shutdown the Iranian civilian airliner thinking there is no limit to American strategy in not allowing Iran to win !
Iran attacked the US in the Persian Gulf whilst simultaneously letting a civilian airliner cross the Persian Gulf. It was Iran's mistake.
How Iran rallied after a chaotic year long revolution was nothing short of a miracle
Saddam’s decision to launch a war against Iran was not rooted in his desire to defeat the Ayatollahs and invade Iran; rather, it was a calculated move to solidify his authoritarian grip and cement his one-man rule over Iraq.
💯
Yes because the Southern Shia Iraqis were always a threat being they had the largest population within Iraq.
Shia Sunni and Kurds being main groups but there was also a large population of Christians
The war was forced on him by Iran. They were shelling and attacking by air way before the full scale escalation
@ghostirq Saddam didn't respect the 1975 algiers agreement, which ceded half of shatt al arab to Iran. The war was necessary for saddam to cement his one-man demigod rule.
@@JustCallMe-Moe that’s not what the conflict started over. Ayatollah was in Iraq before the Algerian deal and he was part of the deal. That’s why he was exiled to France and considered Saddam and his party to be a foe. He started shelling and sending fighter jets into Iraq after he took over
When a war descends into static fighting (like trenches), it becomes a war of attrition. It becomes more and more unlikely that one side will have a crushing and overwhelming victory.
8:00 is this a iranian soldier running in chuck taylors?
This documentary really opened my eyes to the devastating cost of the Iran-Iraq War. It’s shocking how both Saddam Hussein and Ayatollah Khomeini sacrificed so many lives for territorial ambitions that ultimately led to nothing. The geopolitical maneuvering behind the scenes, with countries like the U.S. and Israel playing both sides, adds another layer of tragedy. A war with no winners-just immense suffering for ordinary people
Beautiful
Saddam had the support of all the powerful western countries and used every weapon including chemical weapons on the Iranians but lost horribly. This shows that having all financial and military support doesn’t mean you can win.
1) no he didn’t. Only country he was dealing with was the USSR doing arms deals.
2) Iran is 3x bigger than Iraq and has 3x the population
3) the full scale escalation started to stop the Iranian shelling not to take over.
I was in high school at the time and saw the horrors of both Islamic countries fight each other, specially the chemical weapons that where used!!!!
One sad episode in the history of the Islamic Ummah
Clearly Umma isn’t a thing
@@Hermesborugerdian Ok berg.
@@maquacr7014 More like -ian.
@@Hermesborugerdian Ok stein.
@@maquacr7014stop crying it’s the truth
1. Iran under the shah had frequently harassed Iraq in the 1960s as they sought to grab the entire contested border area. To make matters worse, Iran under the shah , actively armed Kurdish rebels in Iraq to weaken Iraq. This caused immense resentment in Iraq - amongst Shias and Sunnis.
2. So Saddam sought to avenge these things in 1980 on seeing that Khomeini was threatening the whole world: US hostage crisis, threatening Sunni Gulf countries with ‘pious Shia revolution’ , arming shia militants in Bahrain, Pakistan, Afghanistan, etc.
3. The Iran Iraq war at the ground was not shia-Sunni conflict: Iranian Sunnis in oil rich Kuzestan fought brilliantly against Iraqi occupation, and even surprised khomeini amd his shia clergy. Similarly Shias in the Iraqi army fought against iran.
4. Iraq offered a cease fire in 1983 seeing that Iran was more resilient than he calculated but Iran refused and saddam then lost it going bezerck. And then the west stepped in with arms sales, other Sunni countries pitched in as they had seen how shia militants in their countries had been armed and funded by Iran in the zeal of spreading the shia revolution overseas.
Not true Iran started that.
It seems like only Sunni are allowed to spread their pan Arabism in the Middle East, but theyre threatened if the Iranian Shia spread their influence. Double standards.
@@az6802far from it. Whilst Arabs are trying to reunite. Iran is actively seeking to destroy it under the banner of shiaism but in reality it's pure paganism and polytheistic sect that has nothing to do with islam
Lol lies
@ lol truth
The complex interplay between regional and geo politics are factors whose consequences still affect both nations & the region to date.
Leaders across the region have been unable to leverage geopolitics to their advantage.
And instead are used as pawns by the bigger world powers.
What about the Saudis and some of the Khaleeji states?
@HikmaHistory If anything the Khaleeji states have been pivotal in the regions political power play:
As trusted agents of West.
Propping up financially, politically & militarily governments allied to them also opposition groups.
It's their financial muscle that has given them significant regionally. Prior to the discover & exploitation of their crude oil resources. The Khaleeji States weren't considered much of a factor in regional politics.
Great video as always, but I must disagree when you say that the US was Iraq's "erstwhile ally". The US never had any illusions about Saddam's true nature and was merely trying to check Iranian power and stop the spread of the revolution. To call the US an Iraqi ally is a stretch.
I get where you're coming from. I was trying to allude to the fact that the US gave very real material aid to Iraq during the war with Iran. I know that doesn't necessarily make them allies in the traditional sense but then you have to be careful - were the US/Britain not allies with Stalin's USSR during WWII? Obviously we saw what happened after and even during WWII it was obvious that it was an alliance of convenience but I would say they were still allies.
The Americans sold none of their weapons to Iraq. By 1990, Iraq only had less than 10 unarmed OH-58 Kiowa observation helicopters. All their military equipment was supplied by the USSR and France. Iraq was a Soviet client state. The US eventually gave them some information when it looked like there was a chance Iraq could possibly fall to Iran, putting a finger on the scale. However, calling it an "alliance" is a stretch. If anyone was allied with Iraq it would've been the Soviets, and the US knew this. The Soviets got what they wanted when the Shah of Iran was gone since Iran's ties to the US and UK were largely severed. They were quite happy with the situation right before the war started so the Soviets were in a quandary. Between a client state (Iraq) and an upcoming client state they didn't want to alienate.
Also note how quickly Saddam apologized for the attack on USS Stark and sent money to the families of the dead US sailors. He believed there was a possibility the US would attack in retribution and make his situation worse if he didn't take all steps to avoid it.
@@HikmaHistory The US and Britain gave massive aid to the USSR and had multiple joint conferences discussing grand strategy. My main issue is with the characterization of Desert Storm as the US turning on its ally. In any case, I'm a big fan of your videos. I can't remember if it was you, but someone MSA'd Nasser's first name, I found that hilarious!
Talks about american and british weapons show's a soviet tank and a soviet mig21.
You understand I'm limited by what's available on Google, right? The purpose of the visuals is to give the viewer an understanding of the audio narration. Inshallah in the future when I become much bigger and I can dedicate more funds to each video, I will aim to make every visual synchronise accurately with the audio.
@@HikmaHistoryquit making excuses! You failed us Hikma. Lol. Jk. Love your channel. Of all the channels on UA-cam I'm most excited to see your channel grow.
Clear summary of these events. However certain key events and their interpretations were very sadly omitted.
Such as?
Kuwait, as per Iraq, was tapping into oil reservoirs that straddled both countries in alleged violation of pre war agreements. You know, or should know of others… I am not trying to shoot down the video. It is extremely well done for such a short clip. My only concern here was that certain important information is missing, however winners write history. Iraq in my view lost the war. Its regime survived, but was much weakened. Also, it looked for a way out for years. Not Iran.
not true , Iraq simply won and forced Iran to accept the ceasefire after liberating Faw peninsula and the huge push into Iranian territory thereafter .
Alternative timeline
Iraq: Hey, how about we solve our problems diplomatically?
Iran: Good idea. Let us focus on peace and development as well
Iraq: Nice. Now we sign trade agreements.
Iran: Don't forget to keep those extreme ideas to a minimum
Now both regimes avoid a pointless war and maintain close ties to each other with despite differences
Iraq wanted natural resources they believed belonged to them. Iran disagreed.
Iraq didnt lose. It ended in a stalemate.
If it’s one thing neighbors of Iran learned in those 8 years, it’s don’t attack Iran when Iran is attacking itself
can you make a video on mustafa barzani
Him specifically? Probably not. Kurdish movement for self-determination - definitely yes!
you made a lot of videos on many important leaders of middle east so i would love it if u make one on him considering that there are rarely any videos about him in english and your content is great so i assume you would attract many kurds to your video.
I hope they dont blame me for the war
I should mention there are decent and good people in both countries however, they aren't the ones that's terriorizing the countries! No good people want to hate and kill!
People always say "saddam lost bc he couldnt gain any iranian territory", okay then did iran overthrow the iraqi government?? Did they capture basra at all from 1982-1988?? The iraqi army literally maintained control over the shatt al arab all the way until 1990 and khomeini himself literally admitted that he was displeased with iran accepting the ceasefire and that he was happy for all the iranian "martyrs" but unhappy that he was still alive. Its simple, iraq invaded in 1980, iran kicked out iraq in 1982, iran invaded iraq in 1982 and continued to do so until 1988, and the iranian army got kicked out from iraq in the tawakalna ala allah operations, that is why iran lost, respectively. The only reason iran is a regional power in the middle east today is bc saddams regime was ousted from power in 2003, so iran becoming a regional power has nothing to do with the iran iraq war at all, that war was when iran lost
God bless our martyrs of Iran, i owe my life to them and they are deeply loved by me
Who controls Iraq now?
Imagine all those men’s lives wasted on a war that meant nothing . So sad
Saddam was not an intellegent leader, not a good strategist.
excuse me, The Shah of Iran wasn't a dictator
Never forget: iraq traded fn fal rifles for irish beef, our army got badly needed arms, iraqi people got meat to eat, everyone won in this deal
What do u mean by US vilified Iraq? Didn’t US turn on Saddam & trashed him after he invaded Kuwait?
You think superpowers sided with countries out of principle rather than self interest?
Iraq was supposed to fight US enemies, not US allies.
@@maquacr7014USA is not the world GOD!! And so you think Middle East people care about what US wants? Haha. They are not afraid of USA. Trust me I’ve been to IRAQ.
But whomst drunk the cup of poison?
Interesting.
Thanks for pointing out that Saddam lost. People who say the war was a tie don’t understand the conflict.
Iran was fighting Iraq backed by the Europe USSR US and the Gulf getting their territory back and surviving is a win.
Lol bro both countries got wrekt. The only way Iran stayed in the fight as long as it did was it sent millions of underage children to the frontlines to engage Iraqi troop positions. Cannon fodder.
Ultimately the war was a tie because everything went back to ante bellum. But if you delve deeper, Iran winning is a lot easier to argue than Iraq winning.
Absolute rubbish. Iraq never lost. Saddam crushed khomaini. Iran is a massive country compared to iraq and for iraq to go toe to toe with iran, that alone tells you that iraq won the war u idiot.
@HikmaHistory
It wasn't a tie considering the state of the belligerents 40 years later
USSR was the only one trading weapons with Iraq. EU didn’t do anything and the US was passing satellite images to both sides. The conflict started by Iran and dragged by them for 8 years
First I am hearing Saddam lost this war? I’m not saying he won, but I’ve never heard Iraq lost either
Clickbait
Hell of a docco, thanks for making it! A very important part of recent Iranian and Iraqi history. A great follow up would be to cover how Iran and Iraq became friendly after the American forces left , leading a complete reversal of the situation in the 1980s
Saddam was then an US ally.
Iran came out stronger after the war and rebuilt beautifully, with thriving cities today. Meanwhile, Iraq never fully recovered. It’s still not a free country and is largely influenced by Iran. Saddam faced a humiliating death, while Khomeini was honored with an unforgettable funeral. Tyrants always meet a bad end.
Proud to be a Shia Muslim! ❤️
Saddam's humiliating death is saying the shahada? Big, big difference between Saddam who died a martyr and Khomeini and his successor, who allied with Israel and America.
@dragon888193ftw he was a secular dude who posed himself as muslim he didnt even recite the shahdah and was killed. Lol!
Khomenei never asked for America or Israel's help. Those 2 countries played double games like they do now
How dare Narrator say Iran started this particular war
Did I say that?
@HikmaHistory in an early section you did
This happened to weaken both countries. The aftermath was that Iraqi military broke down facilitating the 2003 US and allies invasion.
As for Iran, Iran learnt its lessons from this war and began developing their own missiles with the help of North Korea, Russia etc. . All in all I think this war just stopped industrialization of both countries enormously.
No one won, but Iraq having 3 times less the population of Iran actually suprised
Iraqi military didn't break down as a result of Iran Iraq war. Infact, both Iranian and Iraqi militaries became aware of modern warfare and gained tons of experience.
Iraqi invasion of Kuwait, subsequent American response and sanctions on Iraq weakened Iraqi military.
Also, Iran got Soviet missile technology from Libya. Iran reverse engineered Soviet tech. China, North Korea, India and Pakistan did the same.
No side really won, sadm wanted peace since 1982 but khomeni wanted to conquer Iraq but he failed to due to the strength of the Iraqi army.
Lol
true, khomen got repelled around 1987 to inside of his borders you can see it on the map channels lol
@@lambert801 He is right.
saddam started and didnt achieve any goal, could conquer one cm.
It was saddam who started the invasion and didn't gain shit lol
Also iraqi infastructure was still intact to an extent after the war, the only thing that wasnt was the iraqi economy, however both were destroyed after the 1991 persian gulf war
Interesting opinion..
Im sorry but you fail to mention your sources for the claims of Israel arming iran to the tune of $Billions. I would really appreciate it if you could please tell us more about the source of these claims. Because without sources its a rather hard pill to swallow.
That Sayed sistani in the picture. lol can’t even get the person right
The title is completely wrong. Both sides lost and gained nothing from the war but destruction. Iranian (military and civilian) casualties were larger however. Additionally, Iraq repelled a war waged (arguably) by Iran in the first place.
The title is already wrong💀
Care to explain?
@@pyrowar7199the conflict started to stop Iran and that’s what happened
@@ghostirq How did it stop Iran? Iran is still a theocracy and Iraq is basically a puppet to Iran
@@pyrowar7199Iraqis are super prideful about this war when in reality it was a pathetic attempt by both nations to cripple each other. There was no winner. There were two losers for sure though.
@ I kinda have to disagree Iran Definitely won.they were in a defensive war and didnt lose any territory, and through the war Khomeini was able to strenghten his rule while Iraq only got weaker.
Best movie from Sean Connery
It was also our government and uk that give saddam the chemical weapons to fight against Iran then we support Iran against saddam to the last year of the war
It’s a shame the Iranian monarchy fell. It’s also a shame that corruption was rampant which also led the rise of Khomeini.
The monarchy failed to do one thing, “Preach the need for change, but never reform too much at once”. The western culture was too much. If he wanted western culture, he’d have to implement bit by bit.
The Shah was put in place in 1953 after Uncle Saddam took out Mossadeq for oil interests, the Shah was a Pillar of American Interests in the Middle East for at least two and a half decades, and now Iran happens to be the biggest enemy of Uncle Sam and the Zionists in the region
Saddam should have never trusted america and britain. He should have learned from the native americans who said they "talk with forked tongeus"
No one trusted anybody, everyone know that the idea was to stop Iran.
He was soviet backed for the most part.
More like, shouldn't have trusted the soviets, who, suprise, suprise, no longer exist 😅
Try France and the Soviets
I have a better takeaway: he shouldn't invade people who are on God's side, and he shouldn't make Muslims kill Muslims
Saddam felt threatened, much like the gulf monarchies and the west (who orchestrated the coup against Mossadegh), that Iranian revolution would have ripple effects in the region somewhat similar to the french revolution and the Napoleonic wars that spread french revolutionary ideas, Khomeini also took up the Palestinian cause. Saddam thought his military and the green light from the gulf and the west were more than enough to beat Iran and further solidify his rule, not only did he fail but he realized the gulf countries weren't willing to help with oil prices as it was the thing Saddam needes to fund his campaigns and economy. This would lead to the invasion of kuwait.
The stalemate only began in the third year and when IRGC took over the decision making. Even though the war lasted for eight years, most of the decisive operations and intense fighting occurred up to June 1982, a pivotal point in the war, when twelve armored divisions of the Iraqi forces were either annihilated or crushed and were forced to retreat to pre-war borders. The defeat caused the shocking events within the Iraqi camp following the conviction of Iraqi top military commanders in the court martials of July 1982.
Up until this point in the war, it was Iran’s regular army, the remnant of the Shah's army after the revolution, who led and did bulk of the fighting, and managed to preserve the pre-war borders while maintaining superiority on the ground, air, and in the Persian Gulf, in addition to holding a staggering amount of Iraqi prisoners of war (only the last operation in June 1982 led to the capturing of around twenty thousand Iraqi PoWs).
At this point Iran had the upper hand for a peace treaty, and even could have captured the Iraqi city of Basra, which did not materialize since the regular army opposed it as an act of aggression, but the revolutionary government in Iran had other plans for the war going forward.
Materially both lost and gained nothing. Both countries failed to occupy any territories. Iran was on defence under Iraqi offence first 2 years of the war, Iraq was on defence for 6 years under Iranian offence later. Both lost materially, Iraq was on a huge debt, and Iran collapsed economically, therefore accepting ceasefire (while Iraq was planning for biggest offence, after Iranian offence failed).
Khomeini wanted to spread Islamic revolution throughout the middle east, Iraq was the first and biggest target. Khomeini wanted the Shia of Iraq (Shia is the majority of Iraq already at that point) to side with Iran and revolt against Saddam’s Sunni dominated regime. Khomeini basically main goal of the war was to overthrow Saddam’s regime, and replace it with Iranian proxy.
Saddam on the other hand wanted to smash that, the main reason on why he invaded Iran is because so that Shia Iraqis won’t be inspired by the Islamic State ideology, and so that the revolution won’t enter Iraq. He thought also occupying Iranian province Ahwaz was a bonus to the goal.
The invasion lasted 2 years successfully for Iraq. The UN wanted them to accept ceasefire by 1982, which Saddam agreed to, but Khomeini refused. Because Iranians became united under one goal at that point, to defend their soil from Iraqi aggression.
Both countries gained support internationally. Iraq gained support from Soviet Union, Germany and France on weaponry, Gulf countries financially, and US by satellites. Iran gained both financially and weaponry support from China, Japan, North Korea, Israel, Libya, Syria and even USA during Iran-Contra Affair, and Iraqi Kurdistan region in Northern Iraq supported Iranian armies as well. Iraq also had mercenaries from some other Arab countries as well.
The war destined to be a stalemate. Iraqis claimed victory because their defence succeeded, and Iranian offences failed (1982-1988). Tehran was on their worst period of absences, also 30% of Iranian population moved out from Tehran. Baghdad on the other hand was on pure joy in the end of the war.
In conclusion: Both lost materially, Iran lost more on both materially and casualties, Iraq won morally because their actual goal was to counter Iranian islamic proxy and offence. Iranian succeeded defending their soils but failed to occupy Iraqi soil and didn’t win anything materially as well. Khomeini kept the Islamic regime in Iran but failed heavily by trying to overthrow Saddam’s Sunni regime in Iraq.
In my opinion, no winners. Most of the western analysts claims that neither side won, while some analysts claimed that Iraq was victor of the war, because of overwhelming successes in the end. But this war also led to Iraq invading Kuwait, which also led to fall of Iraq.
This war is not held now Iraq helped Iran and Iran helped Iraq.
this hikma history dude clearly on that ayatollah payroll 👀
has IRAN learnt anything from IRAQI-US war?
is Iran BEST buddy with Russia yet?
still insist on helping muslims in Georgia against Russia?
Your whole country is at risk now....
Why did king Zahir Shah succeed in winning over both moderates and islamists but Mohammad reza pahlavi didn't
Iran ❤❤
This is why we in India are the superior peoples.
Why exactly?
This dictator really caused a lot of damage to the Middle East.
i also published a video about Saddam.
I wonder what would have happened if the us supported Iraq. I knew the Iran was shaky after the revolution but I didn’t understand just how shaky. I am of the opinion that had Iran fallen it might have lead to a different early 21st century.
World War II on the Eastern Front so useful to Anglo power that they decided to do it again on a model scale! The duo comparison of the leaders of the Iran vs Iraq and the Eastern Front are very similar. Many other things are similar to.
Stop eating paint chips.
@@BrorealeK Anglos ran away from goat herders in Afghanistan.
After revolation, Iran dont have armer more than 83 countries, helping sadam .and Iran was along 😢😢😢😢
Shah forgot who put him in place and started barking at his owners and that let to his removal…
Buy weapons from superpowers to become a superpower dont make sense
You’re missing the Israeli part. Israel was heavily involved in Iran be it industry, defence, agriculture, sewage to all the way to training Iran’s military and airforce which paved the way for Iran to defeat Iraq despite having everyone’s support. Israel also the was the only country to actually support Iran despite the new regime’s hostility towards Israelis but the Jewish state hoped that it’ll keep the window of cooperation open but it was unfortunately not true. Israel not only armed Iran but also carried out airstrikes to destroy Iraq’s nuclear ambitions forever and both countries shared intelligence to counter Saddam’s regime. Both countries cooperated closely to contain Arab nationalism. Iran also supplied oil to Israel during the OPEC’s oil embargo.
I specifically spoke about Israeli aid to Iran. Around the 13/14 minute mark.
And a tiny redpill sprinkled in the first 2 minutes if you look hard enough
So in short.... Both leaders were bumbling fools
How?
Don’t forget America considered Saddam as friend during this!!
« Friend » not really, more like they didn’t want to see Iraq fall under Iran. But saddam was more of a soviet backed dictator
Is that why they were backing Iran ?