The Iran–Iraq War, also known as the First Gulf War, was an armed conflict between Iran and Iraq that lasted from September 1980 to August 1988. Active hostilities began with the Iraqi invasion of Iran and lasted for nearly eight years, until the acceptance of United Nations Security Council Resolution 598 by both sides. Iraq's primary rationale for the attack against Iran cited the need to prevent Ruhollah Khomeini—who had spearheaded the Iranian Revolution in 1979—from exporting the new Iranian ideology to Iraq. There were also fears among the Iraqi leadership of Saddam Hussein that Iran, a theocratic state with a population predominantly composed of Shia Muslims, would exploit sectarian tensions in Iraq by rallying Iraq's Shia majority against the Baʽathist government, which was officially secular and dominated by Sunni Muslims. Iraq also wished to replace Iran as the power player in the Persian Gulf, which was not seen as an achievable objective prior to the Islamic Revolution because of Pahlavi Iran's economic and military superiority as well as its close relationships with the United States and Israel.
The second USS La Salle (LPD-3/AGF-3) was built as a Raleigh-class amphibious transport dock and entered service with the United States Navy in 1964. La Salle was named for the city in Illinois that was in turn named after René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle. La Salle saw service in the Caribbean Sea, Gulf of Mexico and throughout international waters in the Middle East and Europe. The vessel served as a command ship for Joint Task Force Middle East and as flagship for the Sixth Fleet. In 2005 the ship was decommissioned and sunk as a target ship off the Atlantic coast of the United States in 2007.
Operation Earnest Will was an American military protection of Kuwaiti-owned tankers from Iranian attacks in 1987 and 1988, three years into the Tanker War phase of the Iran–Iraq War. It was the largest naval convoy operation since World War II, and flowed from Resolution 598 which had been adopted three days earlier.
Iran Ajr, formerly known as the Arya Rakhsh, was a Japanese-built landing craft used by Iran to lay naval mines during the Iran–Iraq War. Built in 1978, the 614-ton, 54-meter ship was powered by two diesel engines and featured a bow ramp for unloading cargo. She was scuttled in 1987.
Operation Forough Javidan and Operation Mersad were among the last major military operations of the Iran–Iraq War.
The United Nations Iran–Iraq Military Observer Group (UNIIMOG) was a United Nations commission created during the Iran–Iraq War by the United Nations Security Council in Resolution 619 of August 9, 1988. The withdrawal of UNIIMOG forces in 1991 marked the official end to the Iran–Iraq War.
United Nations Security Council resolution 514, adopted unanimously on 12 July 1982, after recalling Resolution 479 (1980) and noting the mediation efforts by the Secretary-General, Organisation of the Islamic Conference and the Non-Aligned Movement, the council expressed its deep concern at the prolonged conflict between Iran and Iraq.
United Nations Security Council resolution 522, adopted unanimously on 4 October 1982, after recalling Resolution 479 (1980) and Resolution 514 (1982), the council called for an immediate ceasefire between Iran and Iraq, calling for the withdrawal of both sides to their internationally recognised borders.
United Nations Security Council resolution 540, adopted on 31 October 1983, noting the report of the Secretary-General and the increased cooperation from the governments of Iran and Iraq, the Council requested he continue with the mediation efforts in the region.
United Nations Security Council resolution 582, adopted unanimously on 24 February 1986, after noting that the council had been seized for six years and the continued conflict between Iran and Iraq, the council deplored the initial acts that started the Iran–Iraq War and continuation of the conflict.
United Nations Security Council Resolution 588, adopted unanimously on 8 October 1986, after expressing concern at the continuation of the conflict between Iran and Iraq, the Council urged both countries to implement Resolution 582 (1986) without delay.
United Nations Security Council Resolution 612 was adopted unanimously on 9 May 1988. After considering a report by the Special Mission that was dispatched by the Secretary-General to investigate the alleged chemical warfare that had been occurring in the Iran–Iraq War, the council confirmed the use of chemical weapons and issued a condemnation on the grounds that the usage of these weapons ran contrary to states' obligations under the Geneva Protocol.
United Nations Security Council resolution 616, adopted unanimously on 20 July 1988, after hearing representations from the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Council expressed its distress at the downing of Iran Air Flight 655 over the Strait of Hormuz by a missile from the United States Navy cruiser USS Vincennes during the conflict between Iran and Iraq.
United Nations Security Council resolution 619 was a resolution adopted unanimously on 9 August 1988 by the United Nations. The resolution came after recalling Resolution 598 (1987) and approving a report by the Secretary-General Javier Pérez de Cuéllar on the implementation of paragraph 2 of Resolution 598.
United Nations Security Council resolution 620, adopted unanimously on 26 August 1988, after recalling Resolution 612 (1988) which found evidence of the use of chemical warfare between Iran and Iraq, the Council again condemned the use of such weapons, in violation of the Geneva Protocol.
United Nations Security Council resolution 631, adopted unanimously on 8 February 1989, after recalling resolutions 598 (1987) and 618 (1988) and having considered a report by the Secretary-General Javier Pérez de Cuéllar on the United Nations Iran–Iraq Military Observer Group, the Council decided:
United Nations Security Council resolution 642, adopted unanimously on 29 September 1989, after recalling resolutions 598 (1987), 618 (1988) and 631 (1989) and having considered a report by the Secretary-General Javier Pérez de Cuéllar on the United Nations Iran–Iraq Military Observer Group, the Council decided:
United Nations Security Council resolution 651, adopted unanimously on 29 March 1990, after recalling resolutions 598 (1987), 619 (1988), 631 (1989) and 642 (1989), and having considered a report by the Secretary-General Javier Pérez de Cuéllar on the United Nations Iran–Iraq Military Observer Group, the Council decided:
Anthony Albert Less is a vice admiral in the United States Navy. He was Commander Naval Air Force, U.S. Atlantic Fleet from 1991 to 1994. He is an alumnus of Leetonia High School in Leetonia, Ohio and Heidelberg University in Tiffin, Ohio.
The Bridgeton incident was the mining of the supertanker SS Bridgeton by Iranian IRGC navy near Farsi Island in the Persian Gulf on July 24, 1987. The ship was sailing in the first convoy of Operation Earnest Will, the U.S. response to Kuwaiti requests to protect its tankers from attack amid the Iran–Iraq War.
