For a long time, the relationship between Iran and Iraq was marked by tensions and rivalries between Arabs and Persians. Both countries wished to control the Shatt al-Arab region, which would make it possible to control the entire Arab-Persian region. In 1975, a treaty was signed between Iran and Iraq regarding free navigation on the Shatt al-Arab and access to its ports. In exchange for this freedom of navigation, Iran was supposed to support Iraq in its fight against the Kurds.
An Islamist republic was founded in Iran in 1979, changing the nature of the relationship between Iran and Iraq. The new Islamic Republic in Iran refused to revise the treaty signed in 1975, causing political relations to deteriorate further between the two countries. Expressing its disapproval and wanting to end the Islamic Revolution, Iraq invaded Iran in 1980.
Saddam Hussein declared war against Iran on September 17, 1980. Hussein believed that Iran was weakened by the revolution, and he was confident of a quick victory. However, Iran fared better than he had expected and the war ultimately lasted for 8 years.
Forces were balanced between the more numerous Iranians and the better armed Iraqis. The war was very violent, marked by religious fanaticism as well as chemical weapons. The two countries could buy a lot of weapons with the money from oil. The armies also received many weapons from European countries. The fighting was particularly difficult, taking place almost entirely in swampy areas. Both countries exhausted all of their human, military and economic resources.
The neighbouring countries, hostile to the war, took part in the blockade on Iran to bring the conflict to a quicker end. The United States and the USSR also wanted to end hostilities. The most important thing for these two countries was to safeguard their oil interests. Iraq was supported by France and the USSR at the time. Iran was supported by Israel. The United States supplied weapons to Iran.
On July 20, 1987, the United Nations (UN) ordered a ceasefire and the withdrawal of troops. Iran initially refused before agreeing on July 18, 1988, when the country had exhausted its military resources. On August 15, 1990, Saddam Hussein agreed to free his prisoners and to leave the occupied territories. The peace treaty was signed on August 20, 1990.
A ceasefire is a temporary cessation of fighting and hostilities between adversaries in time of war. In order to be truly effective and honoured by the groups involved in a conflict, a ceasefire must go through a negotiations process and then be made official in the form of an agreement.
Iraq invaded Kuwait on August 2, 1990, before it had signed the peace treaty with Iran. This invasion followed a conflict between Iraq and Kuwait over their borders.
Iraq wanted to increase its territory with access to the Persian Gulf. Kuwait would have to relinquish a small part of its territory in order for this to happen. Iraq was heavily in debt due to its war with Iran and could only see a single solution for reviving its economy: using its oil resources for profit. Unfortunately, the price of oil dropped by 30% at the same time. This drop in price was caused by certain oil-producing countries not respecting quotas and producing more oil than was allowed.
Iraq had several goals in mind when it invaded Kuwait: putting an end to the border conflict with Kuwait, expanding its access to the sea, increasing its oil production and convincing neighboring countries to stop producing excess oil. Iraq’s leader, Saddam Hussein, was convinced that his invasion would not provoke any international reaction. U.S. advisors suggested that the United States would not intervene.
Foreign countries reacted immediately after Iraqi troops entered Kuwait. The United States organized the Western response on behalf of the United Nations (UN).
The UN imposed a total embargo against Iraq on August 6. On August 7, 1990, U.S.troops were deployed in the Saudi Arabian desert to prevent a possible invasion. This operation was nicknamed Desert Shield.
Even though the action included several countries, U.S. soldiers represented 80% of the foreign forces present. This meant that it was the United States that set the pace for the war, operations and negotiations. Washington turned down all of Hussein’s negotiating proposals, preferring armed interventions.
The liberation of Kuwait was presented as a battle in the name of freedom and the president of the United States, George Bush (senior), described it as a war between Good and Evil. The United States was in a period of recession at the same time so the war was also seen as a means to boost the U.S. economy.
In October 1990, the United States assembled a vast army of more than 500 000 soldiers and more than 2000 military aircraft. Operation Desert Storm began. The goal of this operation was to ensure that the Persian Gulf remained a safe passageway for oil supplies. The United States also wanted to keep control of oil prices. To achieve this, they wanted to prevent Iraq from gaining too much power and increasing oil prices.
This is why soldiers carried out military operations directly aimed at permanently weakening Iraq, enabling the United States to impose its own rules and benefit from the weakening of the Soviet Union. Furthermore, as the Cold War drew to an end and the struggle between the Eastern and Western Blocs was running out of steam, the United States was now aiming at a new target, formed by countries nicknamed Rogue States.
Operation Desert Storm was officially set in motion on January 17, 1991. The U.S. began massive bombings of both military and civilian targets in Iraq. Targets included Iraqi troops as well as urban and industrial centres.
Iraq was continuously bombarded for 46 days. The country was hit with as many bombs as Germany throughout the Second World War. The bombing demonstrated the United States’ intentions to destroy Iraq.
On February 22, 1991, Saddam Hussein offered to surrender Baghdad in exchange for the end of the embargo. The surrender of Iraq would have led to the end of the bombings but the United States refused this offer.
U.S. troops initiated the land offensive on February 24, 1991. Since the Iraqi army was already weakened, the fighting ended 4 days later. Estimates are that there were between 100 000 and 250 000 deaths among the Iraqis with only 466 deaths among the allies and the United States.
Iraq was not at the end of its struggles because the Kurds and the Shiites (incited by the United States) rebelled in March of the same year. This rebellion was violently suppressed by Saddam Hussein’s troops.
The United States received rebuilding contracts for Kuwait at the end of the war. The Gulf War confirmed the United States’ imperialist intentions and its desire to control oil resources in the Middle East. Their victory enabled them to increase their control over both the oil and the political regimes in the region.