Joint Crisis Committe. The Iran-Iraq War. Deha Boran Bahçuvan & Ali Doruk Bekatlı

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1 Joint Crisis Committe Deha Boran Bahçuvan & Ali Doruk Bekatlı Alman Lisesi Model United Nations 2018

2 Introduction The Iran-Iraq war was an armed confictt which began with the invasion of Iran by Iraq on 22 September 1980 and ended on 20 August 1988 when Iran accepted the ceasefire. The primary motivation of the Iraqi invasion was the Iranian Revolutiont which took place one year prior to the invasion of Iran. Iraq hoped to exploit the chaos caused by the revolution and thus become the dominant Persian Gulf state. The revolution was also troublesome for Iraq as it was worried that it might Although Iran was relatively isolated in terms of international supportt the extensive usage of chemical weaponry by Iraq and increased tension between the United States and Iran led to a ceasfire brokered by the UN. The 8 year war resulted with status quo. Key Terms Trench: A longt narrow ditch dug by troops to provide a place of shelter from enemy fire. Trench warfare: A type of combat in which opposing troops fight from trenches facing each other. Chemical Weapon: A weapon that depends for its efect on the release of toxic or noxious chemicals Iranian Revolution: A series of events which resulted with the overthrow of the Pahlavi Dynasty and the establishment of an Islamic regime lead by Ruhollah Khomeini. Persian Gulf: The Persian Gulf was a battlefield of the Iran Iraq Wart in which each side attacked the other's oil tankers Shia: One of the two main branches of Islamt followed by about a tenth of Muslimst especially in Irant that rejects the first three Sunni caliphs and regards Alit the fourth calipht as Muhammad's first true successor. Sunni: The larger of the two main branches of Islamt which difers from Shia in its understanding of the Sunnat its conception of religious leadershipt and its acceptance of the first three caliphs. Infantry: Soldiers marching or fighting on foot; foot soldiers collectively. Human Wave Attack: An ofensive tactic in which an attacker conducts an unprotected frontal assault with a considerably high amount of foot soldiers as an efort to outnumber the opposing party. 1

3 Ayatollah: A high-ranking religious leader among Shiite Muslimst especially in Iran. Major Parties and Singular Entities Involved: Ruhollah Khomeini: Khomeini was the son a family of mullahs who led the Iranian Revolutiont resulting with the overthrow of the Pahlavi Dynasty. He obviously was a man of religious origin and upbringing. He practiced and taught Shi`ite Islamic philosophyt law and ethics and produced many works regarding the issue. During the early 1960s he became the grand Ayatollaht making him a rather prominent figure among the Shi`ite community. After getting exiled from Iran for speaking against the Shaht he spent 15 years in various countries such as Iraqt France and Turkey. He returned to Iran on February 1t 1979 following the success of the Iranian Revolutiont becoming the supreme leader of Iran. Ali Khamenei: A companion and student of Khomeinit who assisted him during his years in exile. He was one of the members of Revolutionary Council and after its dissolutiont the deputy minister of defense. He became the Secretary General of the Islamic Republican Party after an attack which resulted with the previous Secretary General's death. He was elected President of Iran in Saddam Hussein: Saddam was the President Iraq of from 16 July 1979 until 9 April 2003 and a key member of the Arab Socialist Ba`ath Party whose ideology was Ba`athismt a mixture of socialism and Arab nationalism. Saddam had a crucial role in the 1968 coup which made him the vice president of Iraq. Although he was the de facto leader of Iraqt he rose to power ofcially in His rule brought the suppression of separatist movements of Kurdish and Shi`ite origin. Ali Chemical Ali Hassan al-majid: Ali Hassan al-majid was the cousin of Saddam Hussein and a Ba`athist. He was the Defense Ministert Interior Ministert military commander and last but not leastt the chief of the Iraqi Intelligence Service during the reign of Saddam. He was the mind behind the systematic oppression of Kurdish rebels in the northern regions of Iraq and Shia rebels of the South. He earned his nickname Chemical Ali by utilizing chemical weapons extensively against Kurds. 2

4 The United States of America: The United States was one of the main supporters of Iraq during the war and provided economic aidt military intelligencet trainingt weaponry of foreign origin and dual-use technology in an attempt to weaken post-revolutionary Iran. Although the United States had openly supported Iraq during the beginning of the wart the Iraqi usage of chemical weaponry caused US support to gradually decline due to international backlashes. Union of Soviet Socialist Republics: The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics` initial stance was strict neutrality. The USSR initially aimed to ally with both Iraq and Iran but the pro-western policies of the Shah had already weakened the Relationship of the USSR with Iran which further degenerated with the Iranian Revolution whose slogan was neither East nor West. The USSR resumed the sale arms to Iraq in 1982 and aided Iraq drastically after Iranian advances began in Religious and Ethnic Demographics of Iran 3

5 Religious and Ethnic Demographics of Iraq 4

6 The Map Of Iran and Iraq during the war 5

7 Military strength of both sides at the start of the war Iran: At the onset of the war: 110t t000 soldierst 1t700 2t100 tankst] (500 operable) 1t000 armored vehiclest 300 operable artillery piecest 485 fighter-bombers (~100 operable)t 750 helicopters After Iraq withdrew from Iran in 1982: 350t000 soldierst 700 tankst 2t700 armored vehiclest 400 artillery piecest 350 aircraftt 700 helicopters early 1988: 600t000 soldierst 1t000 operable tankst 800 armored vehiclest 600 heavy artillery piecest fighter-bomberst helicopters 6

8 Iraq: At the onset of the war: 200t000 soldierst 2t800 tankst 4t000 APCst 1t400 artillery piecest 380 fighter-bomberst 350 helicopters After Iraq withdrew from Iran in 1982: 175t000 soldierst 1t200 tankst 2t300 armored vehiclest 400 artillery piecest 450 aircraftt 180 helicopters At the end of the war: 1t500t000 soldierst ~5t000 tankst 8t500 10t000 APCst 6t000 12t000 artillery piecest 900 fighter-bomberst 1t000 helicopters Further Reading The Great War for Civilizationt Robert Fisk: Understanding Iraqt William R. Polk Dünya Çatışmaları - Çatışma Bölgeleri ve Konuları 2t Nobel Yayınları Bibliography 7