Cold Open

It’s 1:45 P.M. on September 22nd, 1980, at an air base near Hamadan in western Iran.

An Iranian Air Force mechanic wipes sweat from his forehead and leans over the open engine compartment of a fighter jet. He’s been working on this aircraft since early this morning, replacing a faulty component that’s kept it grounded. His hands are black with grease, and his uniform is stained with oil, but at last the repairs are nearly finished.

He reaches for a wrench and ducks back into the engine bay as a formation of planes approaches from the west. The mechanic pays them no attention, though. This is one of the Iranian Air Force’s most important bases, and military aircraft are constantly taking off and landing.

But this flight is different. The formation flies unusually low and fast over the runway.

An explosion rings out across the airfield. A shock wave rattles the plane as the mechanic struggles to stay on his feet.

Another blast quickly follows, and then another. The mechanic drops his wrench and sprints toward a bomb shelter as smoke rises from the runway in the distance.

The air base is under attack—and the mechanic knows exactly who’s responsible.

The attack on the air base in Hamadan is not an isolated incident. Jets from Iran’s regional rival, Iraq, have targeted Iranian military facilities across the country. But the damage is not as devastating as Iraq’s leader Saddam Hussein hoped. Most Iranian aircraft survive the attack, and soon, they will return to the air to strike back. Once they do, one of the longest and bloodiest wars of the 20th century will have begun, and the first shots were fired on September 22nd, 1980.

Introduction

From Noiser and Airship, I’m Lindsay Graham, and this is History Daily.

History is made every day. On this podcast—every day—we tell the true stories of the people and events that shaped our world.

Today is September 22nd, 1980: Iraq Invades Iran.

Act One: Casus Belli

It’s April 1st, 1980, in Baghdad, Iraq, five months before the surprise attack on Iran.

Sitting in the back of an open-topped convertible, Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Tariq Aziz runs his hands over his suit jacket, smoothing out the creases. His motorcade is approaching Al-Mustansiriya University. A crowd of students is waiting outside, and the convertible slows, allowing Aziz to lean out of the car and shake as many hands as he can.

At 43 years old, Aziz is one of the most powerful men in the country. He’s a senior figure in the Ba’ath Party, which has ruled Iraq since 1968. He’s also a close ally of the country’s young leader, Saddam Hussein. Nine months ago, Saddam seized the two main offices of state, making himself both president and prime minister. And he named Aziz as his new deputy prime minister.

But Aziz’s rise to power has come at a time of growing hostility between Iraq and its neighbor, Iran. Five years ago, war almost broke out between the two countries after clashes over a disputed section of the border. A full-scale conflict was avoided, but tensions rose again last year, when Iranian revolutionaries toppled the country’s monarchy and established an Islamic Republic in its place. The new Supreme Leader of Iran, Ruhollah Khomeini, has openly denounced Saddam Hussein’s secular regime and called on Iraqis to rise up against it.

So there’s plenty of speculation that this war of words may lead to a real conflict. But for now at least, Iraq and Iran officially remain at peace. So Deputy Prime Minister Aziz has come to the University to deliver just a routine speech.

His motorcade moves deeper into the university grounds, inching past lines of students. But then, an object is thrown from the back of the crowd and lands on the road in front of the car with a metallic clatter. Several students scream when they realize what it is—a grenade.

Two bodyguards pull Aziz down and throw themselves over him as the grenade explodes. But the students aren’t shielded from the blast, and many at the front fall to the ground, bloodstains already blossoming on their clothes. Behind them, the rest of the crowd panics, pushing and shoving as they try to escape. In the chaos, Aziz’s driver manages to swing the vehicle around and speeds them away from danger.

As the car accelerates, Aziz pushes the bodyguards off. His ears are ringing, and blood runs from his hand. Both bodyguards have also been struck by shrapnel and are bleeding heavily.

Their quick reactions may have saved Aziz’s life. But others weren’t so lucky.

The attack left two people dead. And three days later, violence strikes again when the victims’ funeral procession is also bombed.

The Iraqi government blames both attacks on an Islamic opposition movement with close ties to Iran. And the tensions between the countries flare again.

In public, Saddam Hussein is full of righteous anger, loudly condemning Iran for bringing terror to the streets of Baghdad. But in private, he sees an opportunity. He believes that the Revolution in Iran has weakened its military. A surprise attack now might allow him to settle the disputes between the two countries in Iraq’s favor—and these bombings are just the excuse he needs to ramp up preparations.

So over the next five months, there is a series of minor clashes on the border as Iraqi troops mass for an invasion. Then finally, on September 22nd, 1980, Saddam launches his long-planned attack. Iraqi jets take off with orders to destroy the Iranian Air Force ahead of an advance by ground forces.

But they don’t deliver the knockout blow that Saddam hoped for. The majority of Iranian planes are stored in hardened shelters and escape the bombing raids with minimal damage.

Still, the next day, the Iraqi Army crosses the border as planned. It advances in three columns across a 400-mile front. In places, this invasion force quickly overwhelms Iranian defenses and is able to push into the oil-rich Khuzestan Province. But progress is slower elsewhere. And as supply lines become frayed, the advance stalls, and an Iranian counterattack begins.

So that by June 1982, Iran has recaptured almost all the territory lost during the invasion and driven most Iraqi forces back across the border.

With its military action failing, Iraq offers a ceasefire and tries to negotiate an end to the war—but Iranian Supreme Leader Khomeini refuses to talk. He vows that the war will not end until Saddam Hussein’s regime is toppled and Iraq agrees to pay reparations.

Khomeini’s decision will extend the conflict for years to come. Hundreds of thousands of soldiers and civilians on both sides will be killed. And as the war settles into a bloody stalemate, Khomeini’s hated enemy Saddam Hussein will reach for increasingly brutal weapons to secure a breakthrough.

Act Two: Chemical Warfare

It’s March 21st, 1986, at the headquarters of the United Nations in New York City, five and a half years after the Iraqi invasion of Iran.

In the Security Council Chamber, Danish diplomat Ole Bierring looks at the other faces around the large horseshoe-shaped table. Behind Ole is a large mural, symbolizing the promise of peace. But today, it’s war that is on the agenda. As the current president of the Security Council, Ole’s job is to coordinate its response to the ongoing conflict between Iraq and Iran. As the war closes in on its sixth year, there are fears on the Council that the fighting may escalate even further over the use of a lethal and illegal battlefield technology—chemical weapons.

In June of 1982, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ruhollah Khomeini rejected Iraq’s peace overtures and ordered his troops to advance into enemy territory. But the Iraqi army dug in, and grueling trench combat ensued. With neither side able to win a decisive victory, the war reached a stalemate. Hoping to secure a breakthrough, Iraqi President Saddam Hussein then authorized the use of mustard gas. Iraq had been developing chemical weapons for years, but this was the first time that they had been deployed in battle. And the mustard gas was soon followed by an even more deadly substance, a nerve agent known as tabun.

Chemical weapons had been deployed by all sides during World War I. But their use in battle was then banned by the Geneva Protocol of 1925, and even during the devastation of World War II, stockpiles of poison gas and other chemical weapons remained almost entirely unused. Still, when it emerged that Iraq had broken the Protocol and deployed the deadly weapons, the international community took no decisive action. The tepid response was largely due to politics—Western powers saw Iraq as an important counterbalance to Iran’s new revolutionary government and were wary of getting too involved. But the Iranian government eventually convinced the UN to dispatch specialist teams to investigate. After repeated field inspections and months of clinical examinations and chemical analyses, scientists have found undeniable proof that Iraq used chemical weapons against the Iranians.

So now, it’s time to tell the world.

And in U.N. headquarters, Ole Bierring glances down at the carefully drafted statement. He takes a deep breath and begins. Saying that the UN specialists have unanimously concluded that Iraqi forces repeatedly used chemical weapons against Iranian troops, and the Council “strongly condemns” it, and calls for an end to the conflict and “a prompt, comprehensive, just and honorable settlement.”

This statement is the first time the Security Council has directly pointed the finger at Iraq.

But as Ole finishes speaking, he can’t help but feel that his words are hollow. While the naming of Iraq is a significant moment, Ole knows that words alone won’t stop this war. And despite undeniable evidence of wrongdoing, the support for Iraq around the Security Council table makes a more decisive response politically impossible.

And with the international community seemingly standing aside, Saddam Hussein doesn’t hesitate. He doesn’t just continue using chemical weapons—he escalates. Before, the Iraqis mostly used the poison gas defensively to stop or disrupt Iranian attacks. But in 1987, Saddam begins targeting civilians as well. In June that year, Iraqi planes drop mustard gas on the Iranian border city of Sardasht. Then, Saddam starts using the weapons on his own people as well. He steps up attacks on Iraq’s Kurdish minority, who have long rejected his rule and they fought for a homeland of their own. Thousands of civilians are killed.

And World's leaders condemn the attacks. But little is done to stop them—and the United States even secretly provides battlefield intelligence to the Iraqi military, despite knowing it may be used to target Iranian troops with poison gas.

As these attacks continue, pressure steadily grows on the Iranians. A long war has taken a toll on both sides. Oil revenues are down, and the two countries’ economies are flatlining. But Iraq has financial backing from wealthy Gulf Arab states, as well as extensive arms supplies from the Soviet Union, France and China, and growing political support from the West. By contrast, Iran is increasingly isolated. It simply can’t hold out as long.

So with Iran’s people tiring of the war and its armed forces increasingly on the defensive, the Supreme Leader Ruhollah Khomeini will soon be forced back to the negotiating table—and one of the longest wars of the 20th century will finally come to an end.

Act Three: War of Attrition

It’s July 20th, 1988, in the Iranian capital Tehran, nearly eight years after the start of the Iran-Iraq War.

In his compound in the city, Supreme Leader Ruhollah Khomeini sits at his desk, reviewing a statement that will soon be broadcast to the Iranian people. His pen scratches across the page as he adjusts a word here and deletes another there.

And once he’s finished, he reads the statement one more time. The words are difficult for Khomeini to accept. Iran is agreeing to a ceasefire—and this is a peace that feels a long way from victory.

For years, Khomeini has insisted that Iran would fight on until Saddam Hussein’s regime was punished for the invasion. He rejected calls for compromise and dismissed peace proposals that did not hold Iraq responsible for starting the war. But recently, Saddam Hussein has escalated his use of chemical weapons. The Western world has shown little desire to intervene. Iran’s economy is under immense strain, and the military is struggling to replace its losses. So with no end to the suffering in sight, Khomeini has reluctantly accepted United Nations Security Council Resolution 598—a proclamation that calls for an immediate ceasefire. And now, he must tell the people of Iran that the war is finally about to end.

After one last check of the document, Khomeini lowers his pen. A clerk hurries away with the paper, ready to distribute it to the press. And soon, Khomeini’s words are broadcast across the country by state media. And the response of the Iranian people is subdued. In Iraq, however, Saddam Hussein portrays the end of the war as an Iraqi victory, and celebrations break out on the streets of Baghdad.

But the fighting continues for another month until the ceasefire takes effect, and UN observers move in to supervise the withdrawal of both sides’ forces.

By this stage, the Iran-Iraq War has killed hundreds of thousands of people. Countless others have been wounded or displaced, and entire communities have been left devastated. But despite all the death and destruction, little has really changed. Both Saddam Hussein and Ruhollah Khomeini remain in power, and the border between their two countries is essentially the same as it was when Iraq first invaded Iran on September 22nd, 1980.

Outro

Next on History Daily. September 23rd, 1933. American geologists arrive in Saudi Arabia in a quest for the region’s greatest natural resource— its oil.

From Noiser and Airship, this is History Daily, hosted, edited, and executive produced by me, Lindsay Graham.

Audio editing by Muhammad Shahzaib.

Sound design by Mollie Baack.

Music by Thrumm.

This episode is written and researched by Arjun Kumar.

Edited by Scott Reeves.

Managing producer Emily Burke.

Executive Producers are William Simpson for Airship and Pascal Hughes for Noiser.