on September 22nd 1980 Iraqi war planes screamed over the Iranian Plateau as the men in every cockpit checked their list of targets many of them expected their strikes to be the opening Salvo of a quick war that would reshape the Middle East it was not a quick War but it would reshape the Middle East the Iran Iraq war was influenced by two key revolutions the first was the both party's seizure of power in Iraq on July 17th 1968 this party blending socialism anti-imperialism and Arab nationalism installed Ahmed Hassan al-baker as president with Saddam Hussein as vice president over a decade Saddam enhancing Iraq's economy and infrastructure Rose to power becoming president on July 16th 1979 his rule commenced with the executing of 22 party members a move indicative of the ruthless regime that followed culminating in further executions and consolidating saddam's absolute control despite saddam's harsh methods to quell opposition his position remained vulnerable his regime advocating Arab Unity and nationalism faced challenges due to Iraq's significant non-arab populations especially the Kurds who did not align with the Arab Centric ideology additionally the bth party predominantly soon Muslims including Saddam governed a country where the majority were Shia Muslims this religious divide posed a continuous threat of potential revolt against saddam's rule in 1979 as Saddam Hussein Consolidated his power turmoil unfolded in neighboring Iran previously a secular Western aligned autocracy Iran was in disarray since the second world war the Sha Muhammad Raza palavi had centralized power embarking on extensive industrialization and westernization he aligned Iran against the Soviet Union and procured advanced American Weaponry the Sha's alignment with the West and his regime's repressiveness fueled widespread discontent in Iran this discontent culminated in the chaotic Iranian Revolution of 1978 to 1979 leading to the Shaw's outing despite the revolution's internal divisions many United behind ruhala Kumi a Shia cleric later known globally as the Ayatollah creating content can be a daunting Prospect for new creators looking to start out on platforms like YouTube Instagram or Tik Tok script writing scene creation voice recording and video editing are timeconsuming tasks that can easily overwhelm even the most ambitious firsttime Creator that's why the sponsor of today's video is invido AI an AI powered program that can turn any idea into a video instantly invid AI is a valuable tool that allows novice creators to express themselves and share what interests them quickly and easily without being overwhelmed by the production side of content creation how it works is easy simply go to ai. envido doio type your video idea into the prompt box and click generate that's it inv video's AI will work with the details you've given it and instantly create your video in just minutes this was not about physical destruction but rather about controlling the narrative and shaping perceptions this video looks great as it is but if you want to make any sorts of edits simply click on the edit command box below the video and type in the changes you want to make like switching the voice over from male to female speeding up the pace of the video and much more check out our Link in the description below and start using invid AI today to create up to four watermark videos for free or upgrade to a paid plan which starts as low as $20 a month to remove the watermark and gain access to millions of royalty-free stock footage clips and humans sounding voiceovers Ki a stark contrast to the secular sha advocated for Theocratic rule in Iran believing only an imom chosen by God was a legitimate leader his vision faced opposition leading to rebellions across Iran including the o loyal Rich majority Arab province of kusan where conflict arose against K's mostly Persian supporters the rebels were swiftly defeated but this wasn't the last Strife kistan would experience amid the chaos in Iran Saddam Hussein saw both danger and opportunity he considered K's Shia theocracy as a threat to his Sunni Le rule in Shia majority Iraq Saddam strategy involved claiming the shat Al Arab Waterway and Iran's Arab majority kistan Province seizing these areas aimed to extend his influence undermine Iran by seizing its oil reserves and weaken Ken's challenge Saddam also counted on Iran's Revolution induced disarray to hinder its response to Iraqi military actions by the summer of 1980 as various Iranian factions squabbled for power Saddam Was preparing for war in June aerial intelligence was being collected over Iran and by early September the Iraqi military had seized two disputed Villages along the border on September 16th Saddam held a closed door meeting with the highest political officers in the country 6 days later on September 22nd 1980 Iraq invaded Iran the opening of Iraq's offensive did not go as planned Iraqi aircraft aimed to surprise and disable Iran's American equipped Air Force but failed to achieve decisive results leading to Iran destroying about 30 Iraqi planes and gradually gaining air superiority on the ground however Iraqi Army units initially fared better they crossed the shot Al Arab Waterway advancing along three fronts across the Iran Iraq border this caught local Iranian units off guard as they were unprepared and inadequately equipped to counter the Iraqi advancement by late 1980 Iran's military was significantly weakened with around 60% desertions and substantial purges in its officer Corp initially Iraq faced only local militias police and spare units of Iran's Islamic revolutionary guard despite their disadvantages Iranian forces mounted unexpectedly strong resistance in some areas notably in the southern city of cormar here despite being vastly outnumbered and outgunned they engaged Iraqi forces in over a month of intense Urban Warfare effectively stalling the Iraqi offensive when Iraq captured kmar on October 24th Iran had managed to mobilize reinforcements halting further Iraqi ground progress contrary to saddam's expectations of a fragmented and demoralized Iran The Invasion unified Iranians under K's leadership facing an external threat they rallied to kaman's call to defend Islam and the Revolution by November recognizing the conflict wouldn't be brief Saddam adjusted his strategy as Iraqi forces besieged kastan both Nations prepared for a protracted war in January 1981 Iran shifted from defense to offense with operation Nasser targeting Iraqi Siege lines near desil despite their skill and being equipped with M60 and Chieftain tanks Iranian forces couldn't break through as the Iraqis forewarned decisively repelled the offensive in a 4-day tank battle while Iran's tank Crews managed to inflict considerable damage the operation resulted in the loss of hundreds of Iranian tanks and armed Vehicles operation nasser's failure plunged Iran into Political turmoil the Iranian president a key advocate of the offensive faced impeachment triggering internal conflict akin to a civil war amidst this chaos K's faction backed by the Army Consolidated more power positioning the Ayatollah to lead Iran in the ongoing war with Iraq consequently Iran resorted to cannibalizing parts from its sophisticated equipment to maintain its military capabilities as the war continued Iran discreetly obtained spare parts and Munitions from Nations like the United States and Israel who wished to prolong the conflict for their own interests conversely Iraq faced fewer constraints in rearming sourcing arms from various countries like the Soviet Union France and Greece however this rearmament was costly and with declining oil revenues due to the war Saddam resorted to borrowing up to $1 billion monthly from Kuwait and Saudi Arabia the aftermath of operation Nasser revealed a severe shortage of military supplies for Iran weapon availability became crucial for both Iraq and Iran Iran's Arsenal primarily Western made included F4 Phantoms F14 Tomcats Chieftain and M60 tanks these Advanced weapons occasionally gave Iran an advantage but Western sanctions made Replacements unattainable in September 1981 the Iran Iraq Wars Dynamic shifted as Iran aimed to recapture Aban unlike the failed operation Nasser this Iranian offensive took the Iraqis by surprise leading to a hasty Iraqi Retreat across a pontoon Bridge leaving behind significant equipment Iran claimed the capture of60 armored vehicles 5 155 mm artillery pieces and 150 other vehicles significantly boosting their morale this success propelled Iran to launch more offensives with the war turning un favorable and Iraq's economy deteriorating Saddam proposed withdrawing from kastan for peace but Iran rejected the offer Iran's momentum continued with operation undeniable victory in March of 1982 emulating World War I tactics Iran bombarded Iraqi positions with artillery followed by mass infantry assaults despite heavy Iranian casualties the assaults were effective leading to the recapture of desol and the capture of over 15,000 Iraqi prisoners by April's end approximately 70,000 Iranian infantry and 200 tanks stormed cormar resulting in a fierce battle the second in 2 years for the city the battle prolonged for weeks intensified under a lingering fog that led to intense Close Quarters combat ultimately Saddam ordered a disorderly Retreat from cormar forfeiting nearly all of Iraq's initial territorial gains with the vast majority of Iranian territory now liberated and its military seemingly ascendant Ayatollah Ki expanded his goals for the war Iran subsequently announced that it would now be seeking regime change in Iraq with the specific aim of capturing and trying Saddam Hussein as a war criminal for Saddam the war he had started now became a fight for personal survival following their Retreat from kormar Iraq fortified the area around Basra and its oil fields with a defense system dubbed the iron ring this stronghold was meant to Halt the Iranian Advance decisively on July 13th 1982 Iran tested these defenses with operation Ramadan launching an offensive into Iraqi territory with 990,000 troops crossing the shat Al Arab Waterway they penetrated 10 mi into Iraq but were eventually stopped the 70,000 Iraqi Defenders repelled multiple Iranian assaults over the ensuing months leading to Iran abandoning the operation having suffered 10,000 fatalities and significant vehicle losses the iron ring had effectively withstood the Iranian offensive despite the setback in operation Ramadan Iran remained Resolute in the following years they initiated a long series of offensives against Iraqi defenses but none significantly shifted the war's trajectory repeated Iranian in infantry assaults met with staunch Iraqi resistance resulting in a stalemate with neither side gaining substantial ground faced with this impass and eager to break the deadlock in southern Iraq both Nations resorted to more unconventional and increasingly inhumane tactics including the widespread use of chemical weapons attacks on civilians and the use of child soldiers these elements underscored the war's brutality but are sensitive topics for a platform like YouTube to view the uncensored version of this video along with countless other hours of content be sure to become a member to armchair history TV Link in the description below despite the horrors of War by 1985 the prolonged conflict had drained both Iran and Iraq leaving them unable to launch major offensives the front lines largely unchanged for a while saw a dramatic shift in June 1986 when Iran captured the Ala Peninsula this strategic Victory denied Iraq sea access and established an Iranian presence west of the shat Al Arab this significant gain posed a continuous threat to the major Iraqi city of Basra which soon found itself under Iranian Siege in preparation for their assault on Basra the Iranians had purchased over $1 billion in Arms from China and Eastern Europe and amassed up to2 200,000 troops including some of their most elite units at the beginning of 1987 Iran launched its Long awaited offensive aiming to seize Basra and accelerate saddam's downfall to Iran this assault was known as operation carala 5 to Iraqis it would become known as the Great Harvest the Iranians launched a fierce attack that caught the overly confident Iraqis off guard rapidly advancing into basser's suburbs and breaking through five of the city's six defensive Rings through intense combat and extend ensive use of mustard gas Iraq managed to Halt the Iranian Onslaught turning the Swift Advance into a grueling 3month Siege with no further progress to the dismay of the Iranians the next significant turn in the war would come from an Iraqi counter offensive the tie turned with Iraq's operation blessed Ramadan beginning on April 17th 1988 coinciding with the start of Ramadan at dawn 1,400 Iraqi artillery units barded Iranian positions with explosive and chemical shells this was followed by an assault of up to 100,000 Iraqi soldiers on the Ala Peninsula southeast of Basra they rapidly ousted the Iranians from their significant territorial gains marking one of the war's quickest reversals capitalizing on this success Iraq escalated the operation into a larger offensive eventually driving the Iranian military out of Iraq by July 1988 a month later Iran and Iraq agreed to seize hostilities returning to their pre-war borders after nearly 8 years of brutal conflict and the loss of hundreds of thousands of lives both Iran and Iraq claimed Victory but the aftermath of the Iran Iraq war had complex and enduring consequences in Iran the Revolution was preserved potentially strengthening K's grip on power however the war inflicted massive econom iic losses estimated in the hundreds of billions and left extensive destruction across the country in Iraq Saddam Hussein's regime remained intact but his territorial Ambitions were unmet and the nation was burdened with crippling debt much of it owed to the small but oil Rich neighbor Kuwait although the Iran Iraq war had concluded it set the stage for continued conflict in the Middle East thanks again to nid AI for sponsoring this video visit our Link in the description below to sign up and create up to four watermarked videos for free or upgrade to a paid plan for as low as $20 a month and get access to millions of royaltyfree stock footage Clips human sounding voiceovers and no watermark